My E-series story

Before I start on this new post, I have a confession to make. I'm not using my Nokia E61i anymore. I know its only been like a week since my last post. There's a good reason of course....

I gave it to my dad.

For quite a while now, since the release of the E61i, I've been telling my dad so much about it; how much its improved from the old E61, how it now sports a camera etc etc, but more importantly, how much it would suit his needs. (Before this, he was using a Nokia N73. I recommended it to him back in Sept 06. Read my post here.) SO, when I first started using my E61i, one of the first things I did was to give a demo of its capabilities to my dad. Needless to say, he was very impressed with its features, especially with the screen resolution on the wide screen, and .... the wifi capabilities. (Yup, my dad's more techy than most men his age I know).

Since that day, I thought to myself, my dad's N73 is starting to seem a bit "dated" (No offence N73 owners out there), and with numerous complaints from friends about how the N73 lags or hangs at times, especially when sending a text message, I decided, I think I should replace my dad's phone. Afterall, a full QWERTY mobile would surely benefit his usages. (He has never used T9 on his N73 anyway). I called him up and told him that I'd like to give him my E61i. And in exchange, I'd use his N73 (and find out more about what everyone's so unhappy about). He was pleasantly surprised, and agreed. I told him, for me, "mobiles come and go", and that I also truly believed that the E61i was the most ideal model for him.

That was almost a week ago. Since then, from what I gather, the E61i has grown on my dad. I'm happy. It almost seems he's replying my sms's more often now too. Its gotta be the QWERTY.

ANYWAY, as I promised in my previous post, (and although I'm not using an E61i anymore now) I'd like to share a Top 10 reasons why I loved about the E61i (even if it was in my hands for barely a week), and why you should get one too if you have been thinking about it;

1. The overall build has improved tremendously from the E61. If you thought the E61 was slim, Nokia made the "i" version slightly more slimmer. Made of a solid metallic body, and sporting a mocha-brownish-black colour, the E61i looks and feels REALLY good in hand. I loved holding it.
   
2. The QWERTY keyboard is a JOY to use. The overall layout of the keys has changed somewhat from the original E61 version, but this has been a good move by Nokia. I found myself just WANTING to type something just to use the QWERTY. (If you've never used a QWERTY phone, try it). Once you do, you'll never go back. Also, there isn't a nubby joystick anymore like the E61's. Its now a simple D-pad. Its SO much easier to navigate around. No more accidental presses as with like the E61 too.
   
3. The E61i now has a camera. And a very decent one too I must add. With 2 mega pixels, it is capable of handling the needs of an average user. Keep in mind, business folks aren't interested in using cameras much anyway. Video playback is good too. The E61i also supports microSD cards (256MB included inbox), so saving your images/videos will not be a problem.
   
4. The screen resolution. Oh the BEAUTY of it. 16M colour TFT display with a QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) resolution on its 2.8 inch screen. That says it all!
5. The active standby display. If you're a user like me, with mobiles running my daily schedules and appointments, you will love the E61i. You can choose 7 shortcut keys, view all your appointments for the day, see the number of unread messages/emails, the number of To-Do notes etc... all on the standby screen.
   
6. E61i runs on the 3rd edition of the Symbian OS 9.1 S60 software. Nokia has contantly been improving themselves in this area. Gone are the days of lags and complaints of "hanged screens". The E61i is f-a-s-t.
   
7. The Music player is good if you are the type that listens on-the-go. Typical Nokia interface, you wouldn't be lost searching through all your saved mp3's, wav or midi files. Sound quality is also loud and clear with equaliser settings available where needed.
   
8. The web browser is brilliant! Coupled with the 2.8inch screen, the web pages displayed are similar to what you'd see on a pc screen too! With Nokia's mini-map control, surfing on the E61i is now so smooth. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
   
9. As E61i is a business phone, it also handles all Office (Word, Excel, powerpoint and PDF) requirements very well with QuickOffice. It is very easy and straightforward to use. You can view/edit all documents.
   
10. Lastly, FANTASTIC battery life. Switching from my Treo(s), its almost strange to be able to go through 2-3 days without the need to charge every night. Its a fuzzy nice feeling.
    

What I didn't like about the E61i (Not much really, but if I REALLY had to nit-pick...)

1. The lack of a secondary front facing camera on this 3G capable giant? This is a small issue.
   
2. The size (width mainly) might also be an issue for some, but I personally know a few lady friends who own this phone.
   
3. The lack of touchscreen might also be an issue for the hardcore pda-phone lovers out there. All I can say is, "get used to it".
   

So there you have it. My brief and hopefully useful review. I'd really like to give the Nokia E61i a rating of 5 stars, but with the presence of the few minor issues, a 4.8 star rating it is then. Yes, it IS that good. Available at Incomm at BND688-00 (use your DST privilege card for discounts), I honestly believe it is very reasonably priced for a powerhouse pda-phone of this calibre.

Which brings to question now, so what AM I using if I don't have the E61i?

Meet.... The ultimate....

The new.....

And just released......

Flagship model for Nokia....

My RED ............ Nokia E90 Communicator!

(Note: Pls ignore the blacked-out active standby. I purposely edited it)

It has finally arrived on our shores yesterday! After being informed it had arrived, I zoomed over immediately to pick one up. There were already a couple of new E90 owners by the time I reached the store. (Nuts, I wasn't the first one!). It is definitely selling fast.

Having spent most of last night with my E90 (till the wee hours of the morning), all I will say for now is that the E90 is (for lack of a better word) G-R-E-A-T. It does e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g.
I really hated the 9500 communicator before, sold it off without hesitation and vowed I'd NEVER get another again. Until now that is. The E90 has really brought back my belief in the Nokia communicator series. The build quality, its capabilities.... too many to mention for now. Wait for my E90 review ....... soon!

Available NOW at Incomm, Gadong in limited quantities, please call or visit them immediately to reserve your set.
Selling price: BND1,488-00.
(Remember to use your DST Privilege card for better discounts!)
Colours available: MOCHA or RED.

(Note: The N73 I did have in my possession did suffer from a serious lagging problem. The other owners were right)