REVIEW of my Nokia E71: impressions after 5 months

[g2cris]

BAP BAP. Nice review bro, If I had had a review like this i wouldn't have been undecided when making the purchase.

Try do a utilities section that will show the real power of this device.

[TheRaptor]

Yes since its microsdhc compatible... It should be out for all versions so i dont know what you are doing wrong, however you can use a software called phoenix to flash it which i use and find safer than nsu. There is a guide here search for 's60 phone modding' open the thread and scroll down till you see it.. I am about to add part 2 of the review.

I upgraded to the latest firmware using the NSS and NSU method, but now some of the keys are messed up. I tried changing the product code and re-flashing with the same firmware but NSU won't allow me. Does phoenix permit this.

[kalel17]

I upgraded to the latest firmware using the NSS and NSU method, but now some of the keys are messed up. I tried changing the product code and re-flashing with the same firmware but NSU won't allow me. Does phoenix permit this.

You flashed with the wrong fw, that is why i had spoken AGAINST changing product code with qwerty phones... Search for the topic and read it and flash via nsu with a fw correspondin to your rm number e.g rm 357 which is the version u get wit claro e71s.

[TheRaptor]

You flashed with the wrong fw, that is why i had spoken AGAINST changing product code with qwerty phones... Search for the topic and read it and flash via nsu with a fw correspondin to your rm number e.g rm 357 which is the version u get wit claro e71s.

I acknowledge that you did speak against it.

I found the topic and I read it. It outlines the steps to be taken, however I have already updated to v400.21.013.

I want to update it again using a different product code so I can get the correct keypad layout - NSU won't allow me to re-flash with version 400.21.013.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong. Is there any other way?

Any help appreciated.

[kalel17]

I acknowledge that you did speak against it.

I found the topic and I read it. It outlines the steps to be taken, however I have already updated to v400.21.013.

I want to update it again using a different product code so I can get the correct keypad layout - NSU won't allow me to re-flash with version 400.21.013.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong. Is there any other way?

Any help appreciated.

Reflash with phoenix it should be fine, follow the instructions in 's60 modding' carefully

[kalel17]

Contents

Camera
Gps

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Camera
The e71 is equipt with a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash. While the specs seem good on paper, we should take note that pixels have little to do with camera performance... Things such as lens size, flash strength and decoder hardware/software are even more important in determining performance.
While the E71 is a business class device it should be able to hold its own in the camera department with decent shots. So how does the E71 perform? Continue reading to find out.
Camera software
The camera software found in the e71 is the same as the one in the latest Nseries handsets(UI that is). The camera takes 2-3 seconds to startup which is quite reasonable compared to the 3-5 seconds my N73 used to take on first startup. What Nseries like N73 does to make it even faster than the e71 in consecutive startups is that on startup and close the camera process on the N73 continues to run in the background. No such thing in the e71, it isnt needed really since the snappy processor (n73 used a 220mhz omap1) enables the startup to be almost as fast as the n73's with the background process in action.
After startup you are presented with a fullscreen viewer with a box in the center, that box is where the autofocus is engaged. When autofocus is needed position the box around the subject that need to be focused on then press 'T' to focus, a green box and a tone means it has been successfully focused while a red box mean it failed.
Camera interface at startup with autofocus box

box when autofocus is successful:

box when autofocus failed

In dark situations you will struggle to get the camera focused properly and it lacks an autofocus assist light.

[kalel17]

Camera UI with icons
The camera ui is quite intutive, there are icons for color balance, swith to video mode, light settings, view mode, timer etc . It is quite easy to use and i have no gripes over it.
One of the useful features is the close up mode:
Text in normal mode:

text in close up:

you can see the diffence in clarity, about 5x better.
Photo taken in automatic mode is as good as it gets for the device, blue haza?:

[kalel17]

the camera struggles in bright incandescent light:
even worst in low light situations:
VIDEO RECORDING:
video recording on the e71 is only useful for quick shots, nothing else. Video is recorded in qvga 320*288 at 15fps, the specs speak for itself so i wont go into details.
Sample 48second video for download.
http://www.fileupyours.com/view/248645/12162010.MP4
One thing of note is the excellent audio recording capabilities while recording videos, if you listen closely to the vid you will be able to hear vehicles over 1km away quite clearly.
Verdict: The camera have really come a long way. It was uterly useless in the last 3 firmwares, so terrible was it that i branded it the worst camera ever. Firmware v400 brought major improvements and we can now use it to take pics.. Such a drastic improvement have been made that its fair to compair the innitial version to spider's eyes that can only detect light, and the latest version to ours that can see color .

[kalel17]

GPS
There have been alot of buzz surrounding gps in the last couple of years since the iphone came with it in 08 (which is weird considering the n95 had it a year before and was the first device to do so). For those who dont know what gps is: gps is a positioning system based on a US satelite system consisting of 24 satelites orbiting the earth. Each of these satelites exchange data with a gps chip in devices such as phones to calculate your location. You must be locked to atleast 3 satelites for it to work, and the more the better.
The american satelites have an accuracy to 50m for civilian use and as little as 10m for millitary. The european union have planned to launch a superior sattelite gps system in 2012 that is capable of as little as 2m accuracy.
The e71 contains a quite capable gps chip. While it lacks the gps boosting capabilities of the omap3 processor in the 3gs and i8910, it still does an admirably good job. My review is being based on google maps since nokia maps is basically non existent for Jamaica (i dont understand why we are one of the 18 countries worldwide with a localised ovistore and we aint got maps!).
Google maps is good but i hate the fact that you cant sideload maps, which is a setback. Maps startup takes 2 second so it is very fast. On startup you can choose between satelite view and map view:
satellite view of new kingston:
map view:
Gps itself (without a-gps support) locks in 6-10 minutes depending on weather condition while a-gps locks in 1-5 depending on conditions. Hot fixes or secondary fixes lock almost immediately a couple of seconds. Once you have a lock pressing 'M' will take you to your current location.
My location(bush ):


Google maps only offer the basics: no routing, no turn by turn direction for jamaica. I find the map still useable though on a certain level.

[TheRaptor]

Reflash with phoenix it should be fine, follow the instructions in 's60 modding' carefully

Downloading from blue nokia: Blue Nokia Link

Downloading 'E71 (RM-357) Major 400.21.013 v6 (LTA)' will sort out the keyboard problem?


I am a noob at this.