[3GSM] Improved Messaging with the E61i Announced

[Ewan]

Having proved surprisingly popular in the Enterprise circles, the updated Qwerty thumb board range from Nokia now welcomes the E61. It's clearly an evolutionary approach, with changes to the d-pad and the keyboard layout the most obvious tweaks. The addition of a camera there must be some demand from the consumer market as well as the businesses that normally eschew cameras on devices). More details to follow

Read on in the full article.

[krisse]

Thank goodness they've ditched the joystick, it was a bit painful to use for extended periods of time.

[elaverick]

Is it just me or has Nokia missed a trick here? Surely of all the devices coming out THIS would be the one to include builtin GPS on... nice large screen and aimed firmly at Enterprise users. The only thing I can think is that the GPS receiver is a multichip solution and would bulk the phone up to much. Still seems like a missed opportunity to me tho.

I must disagree with the joystick comment. I have used the joystick extensively every day on my E61 for over 8 months, and it is absolutely superb!

I have Psion 3 and 5 range devices, Makos (Revos), Sharp Zaurus 5500s, various Palms, various WinCE/PocketPC devices, Nokia 6800s, HP 95LX, and many other platforms, with many types of input devices. In most ways, the E61 blows them all away. Only the Psion 3c is better for extensive text entry, and none is better for screen and menu positioning/navigation. Only the E61 and 6800 are usable in total darkness. The E61 is incredibly refined! A few software tweaks would make it just about perfect.

This E61i looks like a serious downgrade. Thank the deity of your choice that they didn't shackle it with a touchscreen while they were at it! Not only that, but the colour scheme looks horrible. It appears as though it was pieced together from several different original devices, like a Honda Element. All black would have been much better.

And no internal GPS is a plus, because you can position a BT GPS receiver at an optimum signal location much more easily than making sure that the phone always has a clear view of the sky.

For that matter, the lack of a camera is one of the greatest FEATURES of the E61. Many of us end up in situations where cameras are simply not permitted, and cell phone cameras pretty much suck anyway.

Something important for a Business Phone

Hi all!

Sure there are some slight improvements but what I'm missing most is a standard USB connector like the one used in the new communicator.

Any idea when this phone will actually go on sale, now that we've seen it at 3gsm?

[krisse]

"I have used the joystick extensively every day on my E61 for over 8 months, and it is absolutely superb!"

What do you find it does better than a normal d-pad?

For me the E61's joystick just hurts my thumb, and I too use it daily.

[turl]

n0k1a: how do type faster on an E61 than on a Psion Series 5, or Revo?

Do you only have one hand?

Perhaps you can post a clip to YouTube showing what you mean, and we'll calculate relative Word-per-Minute scores.

I agree with krisse, the joystick was too sharp, even tho I prefer joysticks to dpads most of the time. The E70 joystick is firm but rounded, shame Nokia didn't borrow that for the E61i.

Perhaps there are E61 joysticks which are stiffer than mine or something. I have one of the first units from Finland (English/Spanish keyboard, by very happy coincidence and luck). Though a friend recently got one of the infamous 3 branded units from Hong Kong, which I believe has the same feel, so I doubt the variation theory.

I am not an expert touch typist, preferring to hold a given device in both hands and type with my thumbs primarily. For me, the 5mx and Mako keyboards have inconsistent feel between different keys and require too much pressure, and they are intolerant (especially the 5mx) of being pressed from any angle other than directly above (difficult while walking around holding the device; though I can see how they would be better for a touch typist, using them on a table). The 3c has none of these problems, and is my favorite for portable text entry, it just has too many other limitations these days to be a primary PDA. I have typed emails on a 3c which pressed its limit of a 50 KB text file in one shot, and that is pure text, with no formatting codes! I have done similar writing with the E61, and find it to be the next best for me. I'm not likely to win any speed competitions, but I can type very large messages comfortably, sometimes spanning hours.

I stand by what I said about the joystick. Perhaps I have not yet had the pleasure of using a device sporting one of these mystical, utopian D-pads. Every other pointing device on a PDA or phone which I have used is less pleasant to me (including the directional pad on the Zaurus 5500, those on various iPaqs and Jornadas, the joystick on the 6800, which would be better if it could be pressed, the ball on the Blackberry Pearl, etc.).

The E61 joystick is very positive in its response and feel. It definitely and consistently goes the direction I want it to, and not any other, unlike many other devices. It reliably allows me to press it in to select items, without simultaneously or alternatively deciding to add a directional component to my selection by itself, unlike many others. And it does it in a way which does not require me to move my thumb all around in the process, like some others (Zaurus 5500 for example). And all of this while also allowing excellent one-handed use (though I do have two functional hands, thanks for asking!).

I would be curious to hear suggestions of devices which have what would be considered to be good D-pads, especially ones which are regarded as being better than the E61 joystick. Maybe I am missing something. I typically try to find the best of whatever it is I am looking for, which is why I ordered a $500 cell phone which isn't even marketed on this continent, rather than buying what was offered to me by the local carriers. And for me, the E61 is still the best of the best, bar none!

Also, I ***LIKE*** the Pop-Port! So there! The thing has IR (thank goodness! IR is still extremely useful!), BT, and Wi-Fi...I really don't see why everyone makes such a big deal about the perceived lack of 'standard' USB connectors. The extremely robust (and nearly ubiquitous) Nokia charging jack (hopefully the new mini version will prove to be as robust; I swap batteries with an external charger to prevent undue wear on the jack anyway) is much more desirable to me.