The Nokia E71 and E63 are both business-centric smartphones from the stables of Nokia. They are both candy-bar, QWERTY-keyboard devices. They are both powered by Symbian OS 3rd Edition. At the core, they are one and the same device. I had already laid a basic foundation in my article on my first impressions of the E63. Simply put, the E63 is a cut-down version of the E71.

Here is a concise comparative review of the two devices.

Areas where the E71 trumps the E63

1. Camera: the E71 is equipped with a 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera, while the E63 comes with a meagre 2.0 megapixel fixed-focus camera. Naturally, the E71 takes better photos than its younger cousin. As if to spoil things further for the E63, the highly intuitive N-series-like camera interface implemented on the E71 was dropped in the E63, and in its place Nokia decided to take us back to the days of the Nokia E61i.

2. Connectivity: the E71 has full connectivity options: Bluetooth, Infrared, USB, GPS, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS (3G), HSDPA (3.5G). On the E63, infrared, GPS and HSDPA are both missing.

3. Audio Quality: the E71 beats the E63 hands down in this department. While both devices have their speaker grill in the same position at the top, the E71′s speaker is physically bigger and produces louder and better sound than the E63.

Areas where the E63 trumps the E71

1. Price: this is a very important win for the E63 as the price difference between the two phones is between N15, 000 and N20, 000. Honestly, this difference is much considering that the E63 is an E71 with a few compromises.

2. Typing: both devices have full QWERTY keyboard, but the letter buttons of the E63 are slightly bigger than on the E71 and I find them more comfortable to use. Also, some characters like ( ) can now be typed directly from the keypad, while you will have to open a character menu to type them on the E71.

3. Flash Light: this is a first for Nokia smartphones and a very welcomed one at that, especially for those of us in this part of the world. The LED flash which works in camera mode only on the E71, works both as a camera flash and also as flash light (outside the camera mode) on the E63.

So is there a clear winner between the two devices? I think each device will win depending on what individuals are looking for.

If you’re not one of those who care about owning a good looking mobile phone, you don’t care much about taking stunning photos with your phone, and certainly don’t need top-end entertainment features on your mobile device, the E63 is your baby.

If what you’re looking for is a robust, stable, functional and inexpensive device that gets the job done, then the E63 fits that bill perfectly.

I was discussing with Dayo yesterday, and he mentioned that he had come to realise that a phone without a QWERTY keyboard is not one he would consider as a primary device. He had used the Nokia 5800 for some time now (after a long romance with the E71), and despite finding excellent points about the phone, he just still could not get comfortable with the lack of a hardware QWERTY keyboard.

In other words, the lack of a hardware QWERTY keyboard is a deal breaker for him. He has since replaced the 5800 with the more humble Nokia E63, which meets his requirements more.

Deal breaker: any issue or factor that is significant enough to terminate a negotiation, esp. in business or politics

Dayo and I are clearly in the same class: text input on a mobile device is important to us. Late last year, I purchased a Samsung i900 Omnia in a moment of a streak of daring. Within 5 minutes of unboxing the device, I knew I had made a mistake. I needed QWERTY! I replaced the Omnia with the E90 and lived happily ever after.

What’s your deal breaker? Poor video playback? Lack of a good camera? Lack of a touchscreen?

You tell me.

Okay, it hasn’t happened yet, but if the feature list of the new iPhone OS 3.0 is anything to go by, things don’t look too good for Nokia/Symbian.

The newly announced iPhone firmware (version 3.0) has a list of – wait for it – 100 new features. Many of those features are things that smartphone power users had lamented were absent on the iPhone and thus kept them away from the allure of the apple (pun intended).

Now, with things like system-wide cut-and-paste, SMS forwarding, MMS, Stereo A2DP Bluetooth streaming, System-wide landscape keyboard, WiFi auto-login for hotspots, live video and audio streaming, tethering, and voice recording, now available on the iPhone OS, the picture has suddenly changed.

The iPhone has gone from an expensive toy to a very functional, expensive tool – and Nokia/Symbian needs to watch it. Why?

Here’s Why

That stunning, user-friendly interface on the iPhone still has no competitor. Forget s60 5th edition Touch. Forget TouchWiz, and all the other slap-on layers individual manufacturers have come up with.

iPhone 3.0 screams a balance in uber-cool and functionality.

I have used Symbian devices most of my smartphone history, but consider for example that Nokia/Symbian is yet to implement cut-and-paste in the built-in web browser (which is insane; the elder statesman Nokia 9500 had this simple feature), and now the iPhone has beaten s60 to it – plus that user interface, and I won’t be surprised to see many erstwhile Symbian users take a bite of the apple. No kidding.

Will I be picking an iPhone? I don’t know. I am a physical QWERTY keyboard person. No; those on-screen QWERTY keyboards just don’t offer the same ease of use as their hardware counterparts.

If Apple releases a QWERTY version of the iPhone running v3.0 tomorrow, I have no doubts that I will pick one up. Till then…

Heads-up from: GSMarena.com

Quote from InformationWeek:

According to a German technology magazine, Ericsson is seeking ways to end its part in the Sony (NYSE: SNE) Ericsson joint venture. Ericsson and Sony are in talks to work out a plan, but apparently financing the deal is a big problem.

German publication Manager-Magazin.de is reporting that Ericsson recently approached Sony to talk about the two companies’ mobile phone joint venture Sony Ericsson.

Ericsson wants out.

Read full news item: Ericsson Wants Out Of Sony Ericsson Joint Venture

Ericsson phones used to be a favourite of mine, for the simple reason that they offered more features and functionality than phones from other manufaturers in the same price bracket. Translated, that means Ericsson phones offered more value for money. We are talking about devices like the R320s and R380s. Then Ericsson went into the joint venture with Sony, and things sort of changed.

Meanwhile, Sony phones (back then) stood in a class of their own too. Sony is to be credited with the innovative jog dial seen on the earlier Sony Ericsson phones. I remember owning a Sony J5, and it was a fine device in its day.

Why does Ericsson want out? Will this divorce actually happen? Can Sony hold the fort in the absence of Ericsson?

For mobile phone enthusiasts and others who simply love to keep up with the times, trading in a phone is probably the most economical way to do this.

I have used over 32 different phones since GSM arrived on our shores years ago, and trading in an existing phone for a newer model has made it convenient for me.

In more established climes, network operators often let subscribers pick phone models at subsidised rates when they sign up for a mobile contract. Then there is the option to upgrade the selected phone when the contract is renewed.

While this practice has not taken root here, phone users can still enjoy phone upgrade services via trade-in. In other words, you can now upgrade your phone once a year by trading in your existing handset for a newer model.

The Mobility Nigeria phone store offers an excellent mobile phone trade-in service. This is in addition to other unique benefits.

The package is unmatched yet in the mobile industry in Nigeria, and you really should check it out if you change your phone at least once a year.

The phone store is entirely an online operation and the service is delivery only. As such, we do not have an open store for customers to walk in and make purchases from.

Visit the phone store to purchase your phone today.

At times, it is easy to forget the progress that has been made over a period of time. The mobile sector is particularly one in which innovations come by the day.

For me, it has been years of adventure in mobility, from my first phone, a very basic Motorola T2288 to my present, the Nokia E90 communicator. The T2288 had a WAP 1.1 browser, I used the browser only on a few occassions and that in the later part of its lifetime with me – and, was it limited or what?

And do you remember those horrible antennas that stick out at the top of most phones then?

In contrast, the E90 has a highly capable web browser (that matches Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7 in some ways and is better in others), office editing tools, a capable e-mail client, instant messaging apps, and much more. I used to have a desktop at home and a laptop. I no longer do. My E90 fulfills their roles so well that i only use a PC at the office now. The present crop of devices outgun and out-everything mobile that was available then. They also outgun the PCs of the late 90s and early 2000s.