Ewan dates the Nokia E61i

>>'E61 now runs some cool black plastic trim around half of the edges � it puts me in mind of a Ford Cortina GLX from the seventies'

YES! I've been trying to put my finger on exactly what that new styling reminds me of. I kept thinking: 'Old Mans Beard' but I think you're spot on there. 😊

Ewan,

how does the battery in the E61i differ from the E61? Is it simply smaller but just as powerful (I hope 😉)?

regards,

Slart

Plastic battery cover on the E61?

Nope, mine's magnesium alloy - hence the surprisingly low mass.

"Replacing the plastic battery cover on the original with a steel cover also adds to this business-like air "

The original's battery cover definitely isn't plastic, as JimH says it's a magnesium alloy (very very light). There's a moulded label on the inside of it if you want to check.

"On the other hand the E61 joystick could cause sore thumbs with prolonged use and others will favour the new style controls over the old."

Yes, definitely, count me in. The original E61's joystick is very annoying with prolonged use, it doesn't allow the thumb to rest comfortably on it, which is a real pain with things like web browsing and moving round documents.

I'm really glad the E61i replaces it with a flat d-pad, definitely a step forward IMHO.

Indeed it is magnesium. My bad. Sorted on the review, but the E61i cover is certainly muh more cold steel and masculine!

If that phone has a VGA screen, could be a serious PC Replacer, at least for most regular task�s. But still a great unit🙄

So, the most important question? How is the memory usage like?
Can you still open Web and download a 10-page Msft DOC to open?
This simple test worked in e61 but died 100% in the gull-wing e70...

I bet the new v3 firmware in the E70 would solve this: http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/5222_The_Nokia_E70_receives_v3_at_l.php

Steve

Personally, I feel that compared to the simplicity and accuracy of the joystick directional control on the E61 this is a step backwards.

What? :con? I couldn't disagree more. I, and many other users with me, found the E61's joystick to be horrible. That's the most important change made to the E61i in my book. The d-pad in the E61i makes a world of difference when it comes to navigating menus in a device with a UI that relies so much on the navigation button. Try using the abysmal joystick in the E61 daily for a year and you will know what I'm talking about... 😉

Btw, I've written my own mini-review of the E61i here: http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/forum//forum/thread/59446/

The E61i feels much more like a complete device to me than its predecessor. Battery-life is just as good, if not slightly better, as the E61 (both uses the highest capacity battery Nokia makes - 1500mAh).

It seems that the joystick is a very personal thing.
I have a E61 for almost a year and I like the taste of the joystick (but it lacks diagonals and this is a very important flaw).

I have not used the new d-pad, but I have used the ones in 6680, N70, 6630, 3650 and I found them inferior to the joysticks in E61, 6600, 7650...

I like to play, and I found a joystick much more comfortable. If only Nokia had added diagonals to the E61, it would be a very nice playing phone with that big landscape screen.

I used a joystick when I had the 3230 and now I would say I cannot live without my N70's D-pad. I was going to upgrade to E70, but it looks like I'm more and more astonished by the E61i. It's bigger than what I would name as being a phone, but it's smartphone, whatta heck. I will make my pockets bigger 😃 The lack of joystick is another thing which pushes me to choose E61i, even if the one on E70 works great though.

As I have said before, the joystick/pad subject seems a very personal one. But I find surprising that you like the N70 one. I think that is one of the worst I've tried, for example, it does support diagonals, but the physical design makes almost impossible to get them.

Have you tried to play commando in MAME with the N70? It's very frustrating.

The company I work for makes localization based services and I have done a S60 program in which you navigate in a map. It's easier to navigate the map with a joystick. For the menus it's almost the same.

Unregistered wrote:As I have said before, the joystick/pad subject seems a very personal one. But I find surprising that you like the N70 one. I think that is one of the worst I've tried, for example, it does support diagonals, but the physical design makes almost impossible to get them.

I agree with ratza. I also had an N70 and loved the d-pad. I can't understand how you can enjoy any games with E61's joystick... I certainly couldn't, but I can now with the E61i. 😊

But as you said it's a personal preference thing of course. Different strokes for different folks. 😊

"I like to play, and I found a joystick much more comfortable. If only Nokia had added diagonals to the E61, it would be a very nice playing phone with that big landscape screen."

Personally I find the E61 joystick is terrible for games. If I play K-Rally (which is excellent by the way, buy it now) using the E61's joystick, it gets painful after about 10 minutes. I cannot see the E61 joystick ever being popular with gamers.

This is probably all academic though, because I doubt any Eseries phones will be opened up to the Next Gen games. Eseries are sold as business phones, and businesses might not take kindly to compatibility with gaming services.

Unregistered wrote:But I find surprising that you like the N70 one. I think that is one of the worst I've tried, for example, it does support diagonals, but the physical design makes almost impossible to get them.

I can't disagree more. First of all, it doesn't support diagonals at all; only left, right, up and down. The only joystick which I know to support diagonals too is in the Motorola A1000. Secondly, I'm not an addicted gamer but I must admit that I never used the joystick when playing. Even in Rally Contest from 3230 I was playing with numeric keypad, which was alot more comfortable. The joystick was a real pain in the thumb.

hi,
i'm undecided whether to buy e65 or e61i. e61 is priced more than e65. is it worth the difference? i'd probably be using the wifi for browsing, then the phone functions next. tks for any advice. bert

I would say that E65 suits you better.

hihi!! can anyone tell me that can E61i create and edit document like words, excel? thanks for telling..

E65 is the option because is cheaper. There are many differences between these two phones, but the main are the huge 2.8 inch landscape display and QWERTY keyboard on the E61i.