Nokia E61 – All Business
The Nokia E-series, namely the butterfly-like E70, the candybar E60, and the QWERTY-tastic E61 aka the Smiler, are methadone to the Crackberry addiction. The E61, shown above, is the latest in Nokia’s long war for the pockets of the business-class with support for “BlackBerry Connect, GoodLink from Good Technology, Nokia Business Center, Seven Mobile Mail, Seven Always-On Mail and Visto Mobile.”
The phone has a great spec-sheet: VOIP via WiFi and MiniSD expansion are nice. Quadband and Bluetooth are nice. The US release date, Q1 2006, is a pipe dream, but it would be nice to see Nokia prove us wrong.
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BlackBerry Connect on Nokia E61, E61i, and E62
BlackBerry Connect
Benefit from BlackBerry email on your Nokia device virtually wherever you are with BlackBerry Connect. When you’re on the move, BlackBerry Connect also allows you to securely access BlackBerry email in addition to existing office email applications.
Key Features
- Broadens email capability for the Nokia 6810, Nokia 6820, Nokia 6822, Nokia 9300, Nokia 9500 and Nokia E60, Nokia E61, and Nokia E70 devices
- Built-in messaging keyboard eliminates the need for a stylus or separate keyboard
- Works with Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes to build on your existing architecture
- Provides advanced voice features like 6-way conference calling and faxing
- Has security features such as PIN code lock, SIM card locking, MMC card locking and remote SMS lock
Nokia E61
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Nokia bulks out its Notes application with a set of software with which you can create and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint presentations, as well as a utility for sending the screen contents to a projector. I haven’t a suitable projector with which to try this, but it should mean you can create a simple presentation on the move then deliver it without a notebook PC. You wouldn’t want to do too much work using the on-board software, but there is enough here for you to create or edit documents fairly effectively.
Mobile email support runs to both corporate and personal email with on the former side Intellisync Wireless Email, Visto email technology, BlackBerry Connect, GoodLink and Seven all supported and on the latter POP, IMAP and SMTP protocols catered for. I set up my gmail account and used that to test the E61.
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BlackBerry on the Nokia E61
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The set up can vary from company to company but normally includes getting the BlackBerry software which is installed on the device and a BlackBerry Connect Desktop application that is installed on your PC. Don’t forget that you also need to have PC Suite installed.
For me the whole set-up, from when I started installing the BlackBerry on the Nokia E61 until I was completely up and running took less than 15 minutes. That includes the time I spent reading the instructions. Needless to say it was a smooth, flawless transaction. However, do make sure that your SIM card is enabled for BlackBerry with your carrier.
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Nokia E61 – “Nokiaberry”
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Nokia E61 vs Blackberry 7290
One question then.. how does the Nokia E61 stack up against the Blackberry 7290? The E61 has twice the number of pixels on the display, plus 3G, WiFi and expandable memory. The Blackberry probably has better keyboard ergonomics, and RIM’s transflective display is very impressive. The “footprint” of both devices is very similar, although the Nokia is significantly slimmer. Talktime and battery life on GSM are roughly similar. The Nokia seems to lack the neat holster that the Blackberry comes with though.
Whether or not the E61 is better than a Blackberry is hard to say – Blackberry devices are very focussed on messaging, where the E61 seems to have a little too much going on. Certainly the Nokia E61 is a better phone from looking at the specifications, but Nokia can’t expect an easy ride as they’re up against some tough competition.
Nokia E61: Our Verdict
This is a fine handset, with a very impressive technical specification. If you’re interested in messaging, and are committed to the Nokia/Symbian platform, then this is an excellent device.. compared to a Blackberry.
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Is the Nokia E61 the real BlackBerry contender?
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Specifications for the Nokia E61 include UMTS/EDGE/GSM/GPRS connectivity, 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 1.2 radios, push to talk and VoIP integrated functionality, Symbian OS 9.1 with S60 3rd Edition interface, 32-bit RISC CPU based on ARM-9 series clocking in at 220 MHz (may be faster, but this spec is very hard to find), 64MB user accessible onboard memory, miniSD external card slot, large 320×240 high resolution display with support for 16 million colors, large 1500 mAh battery, and full QWERTY thumb keyboard in a magnesium alloy and plastic silver casing.
Software on the device includes a full Office suite that allows you to view, edit, and create Word documents, Excel spreadsheets (with charts), and PowerPoint presentations, voice command utilities, PIM software with improvements over S60 2nd Edition, MP3, video and Flash players, voice recorder, basic GPS application that gives you location, speed, altitude, and basic trip data when paired with a Bluetooth GPS device, web browser and email client. The E61 is 4.61″ x 2.74″ x 0.55″ and weighs in at 5.08 ounces. There is no camera on the E61, which is more conducive to the enterprise environment in most cases.
While the “push” email client is not installed on the device when it is shipped, you can visit the Nokia Business Software site and choose which wireless email conduit you need, Visto, Good, BlackBerry, ActiveSync or Seven, to connect to your server. I downloaded and installed the ActiveSync client and was up and running with my hosted Exchange service in a few minutes and then had all my email, contacts, and calendar synced to my server. I now get true “push” email and can specify what peak times I desire to have email instantly hit my device.
I am a huge thumb keyboard fan and the Treo 650 has been my primary device for about a year, even though it doesn’t have WiFi. I have only had the Nokia E61 for a day, but I have to say that this could very likely be my next main device with the integrated WiFi and Bluetooth, outstanding high quality construction and phone performance (call and speakerphone volume, reception, usability), very functional integrated applications (the Office suite looks like the best I have ever seen on a mobile device), ability to sync to Exchange ActiveSync effortlessly, high resolution vivid display, and thumb keyboard.
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Comments of Nextel before the FCC (November 2004)
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“Nextel supports the development of surveillance solutions that help law enforcement
accomplish its mission, and in particular supports such solutions for PTT services. Nextel
urges the Commission, however, to support law enforcement’s public safety requirements
through a public interest determination rather than trying to fit information services into a
CALEA framework.”
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“In providing surveillance solutions and technical assistance, however, carriers have the right
to recover their costs as provided by federal and state law — not by Commission rule.”
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“Nextel explained that, as the leading provider of push-to-talk (“PTT”) dispatch service, it
long has recognized and supported law enforcement’s need to conduct lawfully-authorized
electronic surveillance on Nextel’s Direct Connect® service. Nextel has provided a fully
CALEA-compliant, standards-based intercept solution for its PTT service since early in
2002.5 Nextel supported generally the notion that all PTT-like services come to market with
a CALEA-compliant intercept solution to ensure that law enforcement and national security
agencies have the capability to conduct lawfully-authorized electronic surveillance.”
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“In its Joint Petition Reply Comments, Nextel explained that it recovers some portion
of its costs of providing a 24×7 security office to assist with electronic surveillance requests
from law enforcement agencies, as provided for in court orders and federal and state law.
The security office is staffed around the clock by professionals who respond to thousands of
requests for electronic surveillance and production of customer records each year. The
security office is not a profit center and, in fact, Nextel fails to recover its costs.”
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“The Commission’s rules require Nextel and other carriers to maintain a security office
with personnel available 24×7, keep policies, procedures and records regarding the conduct
of electronic surveillance on their premises, and train employees.16 Nextel personnel handle
hundreds of surveillance calls each day from law enforcement agencies across the country.”
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Signed on November 8, 2004 by
Robert H. McNamara
Senior Counsel – Regulatory
Ray Rothermel
Counsel – Regulatory
NEXTEL COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
2001 Edmund Halley Drive
Reston, VA 20191
(703) 433-4222
Wiretaps may mute Nextel rivals
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Meanwhile, Nextel is sitting on the sidelines, watching its competitors sweat it out. The company, along with Motorola, introduced push-to-talk technology in the early 1990s and has been able to capture the conversations for at least two years.
With competitors’ development efforts now possibly sidelined, the Reston, Va.-based carrier can continue perfecting its first consumer-oriented phones after a decade of selling them predominantly to mobile business professionals.
Nextel’s engineers, which worked alongside Motorola’s for two years on its tapping solution, uses an older generation of push-to-talk technology, in which everything, from the silences to the giggles, passes through the same bit of bandwidth.
“I can’t stress this enough: It took a lot of work for us to tap these phone calls,” Nextel spokeswoman Audrey Schaeffer said. “We had to invent an entirely new technology. It wasn’t easy, and we worked long and hard at it.”
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