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Design

With a stainless steel case, etched graphics & available in 2 colours, the Nokia E71 bears the hallmarks of Nokia quality & craftsmanship. The cool metallic finish is complemented by the bright colour display, which showcases its brilliantly simple user interface. Designed for both one-handed & two-handed use, it pays special attention to ergonomics, as evidenced by its narrow shape & specially designed keypad.

The display screen size is just nice for Internet Explorer and Nokia Maps! I could just play with my phone anywhere I was with Internet.Sync between the phone and PC, and it doesn’t have many compliance issues. As compared with the Nokia E61i, the keypad feel is much better and it does not lag when running applications.

From: Adeline Wu
Nokia has done it right this time. The moment it fell into my hands, I knew that I had found it. The stainless steel case, together with the cool metallic casing, has given the Nokia E71 the professional feel that those who hold it will not want to let go of. The perfect fit in my palm also made work with the set a breeze with either one or both hands.

From: Benjamin Chong
I love the design of the phone. Grey steel makes it sexier and it’s really slim. But it’s a li’l too wide for my liking.

From: Bibi_Lala
At only 10mm thick, I find the Nokia E71 compact and nicely weighted. With its stainless steel finish, the Nokia E71 exudes a certain elegance not found in the older Eseries models. Executives will certainly not be embarrassed to be seen using it. The keypad, although reduced in size, is still surprisingly easy to use. The keys are big and distinct enough to reduce typing mistakes. The tactile feedback is excellent and serves to reduce typing fatigue. Another added feature is the middle key, which glows when there is a message or event, or when you are charging the phone. The only negative design aspect of this phone is its glossy finish: while it enhances the refinement of the phone, the smooth finish also attracts fingerprints.

From: Christopher Tan
The Nokia E71’s sleek design really made me fall in love the first time I saw it. The keys are not so friendly at first, but after spending some time with it, I find it not so bad after all.

From: Efren
The design is sleek and stylish, which portrays an image of class and status. However, it is quite heavy compared to other phones. The QWERTY keypad is not as user-friendly as it seems, because you would end up pressing onto the buttons beside it.

From: Karen Lim
Design and form-factor of the E71 can be described in these few words: slim, sleek, classy, good build quality and comes with a useable QWERTY keyboard. One minor gripe is that the E71 is a potential fingerprint magnet with all its metallic finishing. Oh well, since I am very much into metallic phones nowadays, it’s just a necessary evil. All the relevant slots and connection ports can be found at very convenient positions around the device and the size & weight feel just nice in my hand (although the device is a bit ‘bottom-heavy’, if you know what I mean). The only other observation is the use of red for the Power key, which I feel is kind of a mismatch in this instance.

From: Kia How
Reason no.2: Stainless steel is the new black (or white).
Reason no.3: Its aesthetics is a masterpiece in ergonomics and functionality design, smartphones never looked so appealing. A svelte form factor, tactile surfaces, intuitive interface layout, I’m gratified instantly.

From: Kiwi Wang
The E71 impressed me with a professional and sturdy feel when I held it in my hands for the first time. Constructed with a polished stainless steel casing, it has a very sleek and modern design, but attracts plenty of fingerprints. There is also an exceptionally unique notification light located within the D-Pad, which will glow & pulsate when you have a missed event like an SMS, e-mail or call.

From: Peng Hui
The size and weight of the device produced a secure yet comfortable feel even when typing with only one hand. Phone locking/unlocking might be better served by another combination of keys rather than the Menu & Function keys. The full QWERTY keypad is usefully supplemented by shortcuts accessed via long presses of some keys. The subtle pulsating light built into the D-pad button is a stylish alert for incoming e-mail and other missed events. The device was stylishly thin and while the metal finish might be a bit of a smudge magnet, it appeared to be quite durable.

From: Philip Ho
With the current bulk of phones for consumers being manufactured in plastic, it was nice to hold a phone that I knew was going to withstand some knocks – although I would be very careful if this phone was my own as I wouldn’t want to have scratches on its shiny finishing. Its slim profile is what attracts me the most and the fact that it sat comfortably in my palm meant that Nokia had clearly not neglected user ergonomics during the design phase of the E71. It’s definitely suitable for the style conscious.

From: Qiaoyun
I love the fact that it looks really stylish, sexy and sleek, but yet fits both men and women to use, in the office or when you’re out partying. The QWERTY keyboard makes typing easy and quick. The buttons may look small but the texture helps with precision.

From: Rafidah
To me, the Nokia E71 with its chrome outfit is easily one of the coolest looking phones I’ve seen in a long while. Touching the phone for the first time will convey a feeling of excellent build quality and sturdiness. The design is proportionate and the layout of the keypad is compact with great tactile feedback. The already excellent form factor is further distinguished by the brightly coloured UI over a comfortable aspect display.

From: Victor Goh
Upon opening the box, I admired the colour, smoky silver. It is pretty nice and for a phone this slim, it really packs a lot of punches. But this metallic body is also a magnet for finger prints. Every time after I used the phone, I kept cleaning away the fingerprints. As for the memory card slot, it is nicely placed and easily accessible. If the headset jack could be mounted on the top instead of the bottom, it would be a lot better. It makes charging and listening to music at the same time more friendly. To me, I tend to find the buttons too hard to press. But that’s just my personal opinion.

From: Wai Kit
First impressions are the most important to me. The design is definitely tailored for executive personnel. The heavily chromed finish does have a premium feel, but the fear of it peeling off is a concern for such a finish and only time will tell. Also, it tends to get smudged easily, but the build quality is solid with no creaky feeling. The onboard QWERTY keypad is a bonus, but it feels too cramped to use for frequent SMSing. Dimensions-wise, it’s a slimmed down version of its predecessor and still a tad bit wide to hold, but still acceptable.

From: Wilson Teo
Yes, I would have liked the screen to be slightly bigger, but besides that I have a few minor complaints (rubber cap for the USB and memory card; red color on/off button..), but no major ones. Solid to hold, and most importantly, it is thin and made of metal! The plus points of this phone definitely outshine the minus points.

From: xanthus_f
The allure of the slim steel case was an eye-catcher to me and everyone who saw me using it. I could input with the QWERTY keys with speed and ease with the tactile keys. The large screen display is easy on the eyes in viewing video and text.

From: Karen Koh
The QWERTY keyboard was more than interesting. The last experience I had was on a virtual one on a smaller screen, requiring a stylus to do the input. This time, the miniature size was overcome by the ergonomically shaped keys, which were rounded out, allowing one to hit the correct keys even with stubby fingers. Taking the phone with me on a short business trip revealed a slight drawback in the QWERTY design. In trying to call a taxi knowing the contact number only as 13-CABS without any way of translating that using a regular phone keypad (13-CABS dials out as 13-2227) proved to be a memory challenge, especially on the last digit. But in spite of that, I’d still give a thumbs-up on the keyboard layout and design.

From: Arnold Apostol
The Nokia E71 is surprisingly slim and compact when compared to the Nokia E61i. The entire phone is chrome (chrome frame, chrome battery cover) and as a result, the Nokia E71 is the perfect fingerprint magnet. One may need to bring a cloth around to wipe those fingerprints off before showing off your new cellphone to your colleagues. One thing I really like about the Nokia E71 is its notification light. The navigation button glows white when there is a missed event (calls, SMS, etc.).

From: shadowandy
A slim form factor is a rather rare sight with today’s PDAs and the Nokia E71 scores full marks in this area. Nokia has put in a lot of work in making this phone lighter, slimmer & more ergonomic than previous Eseries models. It fits the average hand quite well, as I discovered while taking calls & composing text messages using both one and two hands.

From: Aeshan Wijetunge
This can be considered one of the sexiest phones I have ever used! Its finishing is just sleek and elegant! The only other possible design that can rival it would be the Vertu, which incidentally is by Nokia as well. And now the minus points: The on/off switch would be sexier if it wasn’t red! It felt like a sore thumb sticking out in the middle of the ball park, my best suggestion would be a silver button or gun metal grey. The keypad, despite being specially designed, needs a little more spacing.

From: Ian Koh
It’s definitely a gem to look at, but the surface texture is not exactly what I would want to have, because it feels very prone to scratches. Being a guy, and usually careless, who puts my phone in my pants pockets along with keys and such, scratches happen. Any protection casing, be it leather, plastic or silicon, will add to the bulkiness of the phone, not to mention making it less appealing to look at.

From: Alan Chan
The professional sleekness of the grey steel Nokia E71 marries both form and function beautifully. I’m an advocate of quality and my guess is that because Nokia chose to use durable stainless steel for the Nokia E71, they could achieve its incredible slimness, a big plus point. As its ergonomic design cleverly allows it to fit perfectly into pockets, both jackets and pants, I almost forgot I even had the Nokia E71 on me after dropping it into my pocket! I thoroughly enjoyed the metallic sheen and the comfortable curves of the Nokia E71. It’s truly designed for the business executive.

From: Darryl Ng
The slim, sleek and professional design was one of the first things that caught my eye when I saw the phone. The QWERTY keypad also makes it so easy to key in my messages, notes, meetings and private appointments!

From: Irene Tan
As stated in the tagline, it is SEXY. The stainless steel case and slim “figure” makes it look classy and professional. It takes me some time to get used to its wide width, but I soon mastered using both one hand and two hands on the QWERTY keypad. The buttons can be quite addictive once I had picked up speed as they are so easy to press.

From: Joy Teo
I’m very much satisfied with the chrome, glossy metal body of the Nokia E71, although I must say it’s a fingerprint magnet. The slim and light-weight design is a bonus and a great improvement from its predecessor, the Nokia E61. The Nokia E71 sits snugly on my rather small palm and the QWERTY keypad I’ve heard so much about, but never got to try till now, doesn’t disappoint either. My SMSing speed has definitely moved up a notch. My only gripe would be the “Ctrl” key as there are now 2 keys at the bottom left end of the keypad. One for accessing the symbols and numerals, and the other for switching between upper and lowercase. It might be due to the fact that this is my 1st experience, but it took me some time to get used to.

From: Shawn Png
Utterly classy and sleek, with a stainless steel chassis and a solid feel, this mobile device feels more shock proof than a bullet-proof vest.

From: juliancho
Without a doubt, I’m won over by its stainless steel case, overall phone design and the layout of its keypad. However the overly large icons are a bit of a miss because they clog up the entire interface. It would be nice if such settings can be optimised by the user.

From: euniqueflair
It’s a very pretty phone with nice details and a touch of class with its stainless steel encasement, definitely not an embarrassment when meeting up with clients and business partners.

From: SerSiTiv