Nokia E61 Unlocked (GSM only, No CDMA) Symbian OS Cell Phone (Silver) - International Version

Okay, I was a Windows Mobile fan for years. After, using the MPX200, I was very much into WM. I used a Nokia Symbian years back. There was a major problem with syncing with Outlook. My contacts were in Outlook so that was important. I abandoned the Nokia and never returned to it.Until now. I read the sync with Outlook had improved, so I got it the E61. Awesome. I like the feel, much more comfortable than the Blackberry. The webbrowser is the best, presenting the pages in an easier to read format, much better than the clumsy WM browser. Attachments are easier to read than the WM. The home page has appointments and email, very business like. And it syncs very well with Outlook. Google maps is easy to install.Minus? the email client is text, but the WM email client is really no better. The blackberry connect doesn't attach file. Plus this is a big one for me, the minimum time you can set the email client to check for mail is 30mins. I want every 5mins! Look at the Mailx application. Couldn't get VOIP to work although, I haven't see the benefit of the VOIP, its not free and I am already paying for 1000 anytime mins. But I guess a new feature to explore and in the next few years, may be the way to go.PLus GPS is bullt in. You still have to buy a GPS receiver which was a bit of a turn-off.But in all the keyboard is great to use, there is mouse...yes, its great. I am selling my WM and going Symbian

Nokia is making two versions of this phone, the E61 (available for all markets except the US) and E62 (destined for the US). The only difference is that the E61 is capable of wireless LAN and CDMA connectivity, whereas the E62 is not. Otherwise, they are exactly the same.Now, on to the review. I've been through several cell phones from different manufacturers. My very first cell phone was a Nokia (and at 8 years old, still would make a great phone today!). I have since tried Motorola, Samsung, and Sony-Ericsson (I consider the latter the worst of the bunch). My last phone was a Nokia 6600 and when I wanted to upgrade, I tried the latest-and-greatest Samsung t-809. I was sorely disappointed in that purchase, which was promptly returned (you can read my review about it on Amazon), and I started looking for phones that were not (at the time) being sold directly in the US. The Nokia E61 was my savior - the E61 is the most PERFECT phone I have ever used.Why did I like it? Number one - it's a NOKIA. I think Nokia has perfected the user interface. If you've owned a Nokia before, your transition will be easy because many things are carried over. You will also like the easy transfer of everything from your old Nokia to your new one (go to the nokiaUSA website and search for "phone-to-phone transfer"). The way the phone book is setup is better all others. Nokias, in general, all use the same adapter.Number two - it's a smartphone. That means you can upgrade the software, you can download new applications, you can personalize with themes.Number three - it is QUAD band. I travel a lot and I need this feature. In general, two frequency bands are used by GSM services in the US (850 and 1900). Two different frequency bands are used by GSM services elsewhere in the world (900 and 1800). A phone that works in one frequency band unfortunately can not also work in the frequency band next to it unless added as a specific extra frequency band. Ideally, you'd want a phone that can work on all four bands - commonly called a quad-band phone. But these are still rare and expensive. If choosing a tri-band phone as a second best choice, be careful which three bands your phone has. In the US, many rural areas are served with the 850 band (because the signal travels further). Some tri-band phones are 900/1800/1900 and people wonder why they get poor service in some cities (mostly rural) in the US!Number four - all connectivity options are available. WiFi, EDGE, GPRS, and 3G. Sign up for a data plan with your provider (cheapest with T-Mobile) and you can surf the net at about 128kbps anywhere there's cell service! Or you can use your Wifi network to surf for free wherever there's a wireless g signal. You can even use the WiFi feature to use this phone with a VOIP provider (such as Vonage). Lots about this over at HowardForums. And this is the particular feature that is scaring the US telecoms - hence the lack of WiFi in the US-destined E62 version. 3G is not available in the US, but is all the rage in Japan (blazingly fast downloads - even enough for VIDEOS!). The E61 also supports CDMA connectivity, although this is absent in the E62. That really won't affect US GSM users much - as far as I know.Number five - push email. This means you can set it up like a BlackBerry and have your E61 notify you everytime you get an email. The software provided with the phone makes this easy. If you need more help, just search for "E61 forum" - lots of helpful people.Number six - NO CAMERA. This for me is an advantage. I never used any of my prior cell phone cameras. Their presence in a phone only serves to make it more bulky and more expensive. Eventhough there is no camera, you can still upload pictures to use for wallpaper or as picture caller-ID - use bluetooth or WiFi.More good stuff;7. Bluetooth works great.8. Screen looks good, even in daylight. It doesn't have as high a resolution as the latest Palm Treo, but believe me, 65K is more than enough.9. You can add more memory with a miniSD card - you don't have to remove the battery to change cards. I've already used a 1GB Kingston miniSD card and it worked fine.10. The charger it uses (which works 100-240V) uses a smaller plug than all other previous Nokias, but the E61 comes with a short adapter that allows you to use your old charger! I wish Sony and Samsung would remember this!11. The buttons are nicely configured and easy to type with (not too small, not too flat - just right). Someone will invariably write a review saying the phone is too wide. I don't understand why people will do this? It is a business phone with a full keyboard layout - what do you expect? If you don't need the full keyboard, then don't get this phone. IT is definitely thinner than you'd expect though.12. Battery life is pretty good. When I use it as a phone, I can go about three days without recharging. Using wireless services can drop the battery life pretty quick. In general, I charge it every other night.13. Case is brushed aluminum with a magnesium-alloy back. Fingerprints will not show like they do on the shiny Samsung t-809. Feels sturdy in the hand too. I wouldn't drop it, though, because the screen is pretty big.14. Speakerphone works nicely. Loud. Single button switchover to speakerphone while on a call (I don't know what Samsung was thnking hiding it under a menu)15. You can use it as an MP3 player and even assign MP3s as ringtones. You will want to truncate your MP3s to 20 seconds or less though because it will only play that much before looping. Having more would be a waste of memory - unless you still want to keep the song so you can listen to the whol ething using the media player (included in the software package).Anyway, all that being said, there are a few things that aren't "perfect". Using Wifi is slower than expected. While connected to a "g" network, you don't get speeds higher than dial-up. Connect using EDGE though, and you're good to go (but that requires a data plan with the service provider). Also, this phone uses Symbian software - that's great BUT you will not be able to use the readily available Palm or WinCE applications. To sync it with my Outlook at work, I had to call the computer department to give me privileges to install the special Nokia syncing software. It works great, but just a little hassle.Also, you will find it difficult to use phone numbers that are based on letters, ie 1-800-CALL-ME (or whatever). This is a keyboard layout, so the letters are in QWERTY fashion, and the numbers keys just take up the center spots. Not a big deal for me, and I'm sure there's software available (or soon will be) to use an onscreen guide. That's the beauty of this being a smartphone!This is a business phone, so don't expect a lot of games. It came preinstalled with some Golf game. No Snake! Part of the reason I love Nokias is because of the snake game. I'll get around to downloading it sooner or later.Another thing (which Noia has already addressed in more advanced phones such as the priced-like-a-computer N91) is that there is no input for regular headsets. This means that if you want to listen to MP3s, then you'll have to use the single-ear headset included with this phone. They might have a double-ear (stereo) headset available once the phone gets more popular).All in all, I think this is a great phone. It gives me almost everything I want and none of what I don't want. I wish it could accept standard headsets. It's a keeper!I hope this review has been helpful.

Having owned an heavily used a range of pda's and smartphone from Psion S3a, 5 and revo, over Palm Tungsten C and LifeDrive to Blackberry 7290, I bought the Nokia E61 some weeks ago. This device really fits every need I have: It is light, solid and good looking (aluminium), works on W-Lan, GPS and UMTS (3G), and is compatible with BlackBerry services. Above all, there is already quite a big range of 3rd party applications that enrich its functions. If you want to have a really powerful smartphone, buy the E61.