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All About Symbian previews the Nokia E61i

Categories: Devices
By: , IntoMobile
Monday, February 26th, 2007 at 12:09 PM

Check out the full preview; here are some snippets:

E61i_2
With some black trim around the outside, and a metal back cover taking up almost three quarters of the device, it looks and feels sleeker and more solid when compared to the original E61.

The keyboard, the mainstay of such devices, has also been improved. It still takes up the same amount of space and the same excellent layout has been preserved, but the space between the keys has been increased and the keys are slightly more domed, with the result that mis-keying the wrong button is now something that happens a lot less.

Some existing users may be disappointed that the E61i does not use the latest version of S60 (S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1). Nokia says this is due to ‘time to market considerations’ – in other words in order to get the device out in a reasonable time frame, the original software has been retained.

Unsurprisingly, Nokia says the addition of a camera has been one of the commonest requests from E61 users. Is commonest a word? =P

Sample image from the E61i

I’m not buying it because there is no performance upgrade and it still uses the same OS as my regular E61.

Do I think it looks pretty? Yes!

What would an updated model have to contain for me to open my wallet? Higher resolution screen, faster processor, S60v3FP2, 3.5 mm headphone jack, SDHC compatibility, mini usb (with charging support!) and GPS.

I think all of those are possible, except for the 3.5 mm headphone jack.

Enterprise customers want to listen to their music too!

About The Author

Stefan Constantinescu

Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.

  • Karen

    “Enterprise customers want to listen to their music too!”

    Totally agree! For me, the lack of fm radio is a nonstarter since I listen to local fm radio daily on my ny73. Otherwise, the E61 rocks.

    Why, oh why, doesn’t Nokia include fm radio on e-series devices??

    I am a corporate drone and would love to have a Nokia smartphone with a qwerty keyboard, 3-5mp camera and fm radio (in other words, an N series device with qwerty input capability) :-)