The Nokia E61 smartphone was just released. It is quite obvious by its flat pancake design that Nokia is stepping up to directly compete with the ever popular Research in Motion Blackberry.

Disclaimer: I have been a long time Nokia fan, so this blog entry will most likely be highly biased. :)

PREPARE YOURSELF FOR A CHAOTIC REVIEW

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

So many to choose from… hmmmm. I’ll compare the Nokia E61 to the very popular Blackberry 7290. (I know… the 7290 is much older so this isn’t a fair fight from a technology standpoint)

EXTERIOR

On looks alone I say the Nokia wins hands down. The E61 has a metal case where the 7290 is plastic. The E61 and the 7290 both have a near identical layout of keys except Nokia added a few to the front including a thumbstick. The screen on the E61 is 320×240 with 16M colors, the 7290 comes in with a smaller screen at 240×160 and a mere 65K colors. The E61’s dimensions are 117 mm x 69.7 mm x 14 mm at 144 g, and the 7290 is 113 mm x 74.5 mm x 22 mm at 139 g. Finally, the E61 has three buttons on the left side (presumeably used for scrolling etc) where the 7290 has the Blackberry traditional scroll wheel.

Overall the Nokia is better. The Blackberry is lighter and the scroll wheel is way better than buttons, but the Nokia beats it on all other counts.

NETWORK

Nokia E61

GSM 850/900/1800/1900 and WCDMA 2100 (3GPP Release 99) networks in Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific, North America, and South America where these networks are supported

Blackberry 7290

Quad-band: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS networks

* US (850/1900 MHz)
* Canada (850/1900 MHz)
* Europe/Asia Pacific (900/1800 MHz)

Essentially the same, but the Nokia has added WCDMA 2100… winner - Nokia.

BATTERY LIFE

Nokia E61

Talk time GSM - 4 to 7 Hours
Standby time GSM - 9 to 11 Days

Blackberry 7290

Talk Time - 4 Hours
Standby Time - 9 Days

Once again close, but Nokia takes it.

OTHER

Wow. This could go on forever, and I’m tired of typing. :)

If you want more information on either click on the images. Nokia has made a great Blackberry alternative. It beats all Blackberry handhelds as far as I’m concerned. Nokia has packed a lot of features into this excellent flapjack phone. If only I hadn’t just bought a Sony Ericsson P910a.

Ummmm… MORE OTHER

Here are some random Nokia E61 Specs:

Memory Functions

* Up to 64 MB of fixed user data memory
* Expandable memory: 64 MB hot swappable miniSD card

Navigation

* Two soft keys with five-way joystick, power key can be used as profile key
* Configurable right and left soft keys
* Input method: full keyboard
* Active standby enables user to configure 5 applications for fast access
* Symbian operating system OS 9.1
* S60 software on Symbian OS

Email and Messaging

* Email client for connecting to personal and business email
* Supports POP, IMAP(with idle) and SMTP protocols, and MS Active Sync
* Settings via OMA Client Provisioning, OMA Device Management
* Supported email clients: Intellisync Wireless Email, Visto email technology, BlackBerry Connect, GoodLink and Seven Always-On Mail1
* Attachments viewers and editors support the most common features of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel (Microsoft Office 97, 2000, XP and 2003). Compatible with Zip Manager and Adobe Reader
* Instant Messaging client (Yahool, AOL, OMA)
* SMS distribution list

Enhanced Voice Features

* Voice dialing, voice commands for menu short cuts, keypad lock and profiles
* Enhanced voice commands (SIND)
* Dedicated voice key for easy use of voice recording, voice dialing, and Push to Talk

Connectivity

* Pop-Port™ interface
* USB port full speed supported via Pop-Port™
* Remote and local (peer-to-peer) synchronization over Bluetooth technology, IR, cable
* Bluetooth wireless technology 1.2
* Video and audio streaming (3GPP and RealMedia: Real Video and Real Audio)
* WCDMA (3GPP Release 99)
* Multiconnectivity
* WLAN connection can be shared by multiple applications at the same time. For example: email, browser and synchronization
* Possible to use WLAN, Bluetooth technology, USB and infrared at the same time
* Maximum six Bluetooth technology connections in use at the same time. Note: only one for Bluetooth wireless connectivity for audio

Data Transfer

* EGPRS (Class B, MSC 11)
* GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) Multislot Class 11
* GSM Circuit-Switched Data up to 14.4 and 43.2 (HSCSD) kbps

Call Management

* Push to Talk
* Internet call over WLAN
* Voice dialing
* Speed dialing: Up to 8 names
* Automatic redial (max 10 attempts)
* Call waiting, call hold, call divert, call timer
* Automatic and manual network selection
* Caller identification with image
* The name of the calling party (spoken caller line identification) is mixed with the ringing tone. The functionality is enabled/disabled through profile settings.
* Fixed dialing number, allows calls only to predefined numbers
* Conference call capability (up to 6 participants)
* Vibrating alert
* Integrated handsfree speaker

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 3rd, 2006 at 7:41 am and is filed under Bucho, Hardware, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.