I was using a Samsung E250 for last three years. I always loved Samsung phones and so happy with quality of the phones they offered. Once I start thinking about an upgrade I had few requirements in mind. Here comes the long list of requirements
It should hav a QWERTY keyboard as I send a lot of sms
Should have GPS as I drive a lot.
Wifi support as I have a wireless connectivity in my home and office.
Attractive looks as mobile phones are becoming identity of a person.
Not too expensive(<15K) as I used to change my mobile in every three yrs.
It should not have touch screen as I am not that careful with my phones.
I should be able tosynchronize my phonewith MS outlook calendar as I used to miss meetings in office once I am away from my PC especially meetings just after lunch:-).
I wont consider phones like Micromax, Karbon, Lava, Lemon etc etc
Mainly I had two models in my mind which satisfies all of my conditions 1. Samsung Omnia Pro 2. Nokia E71. I never used a Nokia phone before in my life being a Samsung fan it is never easy to kick Omnia out but my consideration this time were very clear as I invested around 15K I need good support for my phone. My main reason against Samsung was they dont support older phones once an updatedversionof that phone comes to market and this was the real differentiator for me in favour of Nokia. Another reason was Samsung use Windows OS and I loved the looks of Symbian which Nokia uses. So my decision was Nokia E71. yes my first Nokia in 6 yr association with mobile phones.
Once E72 came to market I saw a considerable reduction in price of E71 so I thought this is the right time. Pure black model was also available on E71(Earlier it was not available). Now started enquire the prices on most of the leading showrooms in my city. The mobile store quoted the best price 13, 800 and I manage to get a scratch guard free after some bargaining. I think it was a fair deal as all others quoted higher price. Yes E71 was in my hand and I made my first call to my mom and started the buisness.
Unexpected For a Nokia Phone
So phone started working I was so happy as first time I had a QWERTYkeyboardand lot of functions. After few days I identified in few occasions people in the other end not able to hear me sametime I can hear them but this was notconsistent I called Mobile store they adviced it will be an issue with service provider I raised a complaint in Airtel regarding this and they come up with an answer saying there is no issues from their side in few days. Next time once I contacted mobile store they diverted me to Nokia Care. I was so irritated you can imagine after spending 14K u get a phones which dosent work properly from day 1. I went to Nokia Care on the 10th day and demanded a replacement for my phone. They told they cant replace the phones untill n ulnless it is really required otherwise they will repair it and give me back replacement is valid only 48 Hrs after purchase. I argued but no use and worst part wasI was not facing this issue while I was in Nokia care. The technician in Nokia care cleane dusts inside my phone and told me they may have send the phone to Nokia if I face this issue again.Very next day I again faced the issue and I went back to Nokia care I think it was on 13th day. This time they advices to send the phone to Nokia and it may take 10 days time I agreed. The lady in Nokia care told me I will loose all my data in phone memory it was painful asI alredy loaded Nokia maps and loads of contacts in the phone but no otheralternative. I got the phone back on 8th day and Issue was resolved from that moment I never faced that issue again still it is really painful if something new stop working from day 1 especially from a company like Nokia. Now my phone works fine and I loaded maps and contacts back to my phone.
Features Impressed Me
GPS, Voice navigation and freely downloadable Nokia Map.
Text reading Capability including "Say callers name" functionality.
Wifi.
Frequent software upgrades available in NOKIA website.
After sale service of Nokia.
Loads n loads of features
Disapointments
IssuesI faced with phone from day 1(got rectified with Nokia Care).
Phone hangs sometime while I use bluetooth.
3.Average looks . I think E63 is far better looking phone.
Too many options so sometime hard to find simple/common functions you need.
Screen felt small especially once you use GPS
Not so userfriendly configuration for some functions eg. wifi
General Review
GPS is the feature I am most impressed, it has amazing accuracy almost al major roads in Bangalore are coveredin Nokia map, best part is u dont have to spend anything to use this wonderful feature voice navigationis also really good. Some occasions I found phone takes lot of time to detect the satellite especially once u keep the phone in your pocket. Now I have a mobile holder in my car. Using mobile holder phone detect thesatellitesreasonably fast. Phone is packed with features I think I am using only 30% of avaialble features in this phone. Wifi connectivity is also good using the same internet wifi connection I think phone browsing is faster than PC eventhough I never measured itprecisely. I found Nokia PC suite more user friendly compared to Ovi an we have regular updates on OS(one of my reason to select Nokia over Samsung). Now I am using applications like mCheck in my phone butneverfaced any issue mCheck transactions are always successful.
Many occasions I observed phone hangs whener I access Bluetooth some people complained phone is bit slow I never observed it may be because I use only limited feature in this phone. Camera is kind of average I was expecting a better clarity but it is ok. About the voice clarity songs have better clarity compared to the calls. I used this phone to attend meetings through Webex and voice clarity is not as good as the calls. Battery life is just like other Nokia phones but remember GPS with Voice navigation gonna drain ur battery so fast.
Conclusion
Other than the initial problem I faced there is nothing really wrong about this phone. It is a real value for money comparing the features offered from a trusted brand like Nokia. But the question here is who gonna use all these features. I went for this phone as this was one of the cheapest available phone which satisfies all my conditions. If u r not keen on using GPS I will suggest you E63 which is much cheaper than this(<9k) and have almost all functions. But built quality of E71 is better compared to E63. Now after using this phone now I found it is difficult to go back to normal phones with 12 keys. E72 is also available int he market if your budget allows go for that which has 5 MP camera, better processor and very few additional features but you will never regret purchasing E71 as it is a true VFM.
Thanks for reading my review hope this was useful