Nokia E71 vs. BlackBerry Bold: the QWERTYs rip each other to shreds
In the latest chapter of “response to the onslaught of reader’s requests,” we’ve decided to put the Nokia E71 and the BlackBerry Bold head-to-head. While both are totally different breeds of devices, they do share a number of similarities and are targeted to the same demographic. You’ve got two enterprise handsets with QWERTY keyboards, cameras, Wi-Fi, 3G, corporate email, great battery life, etc. Click on through to see which device wins out in this epic showdown of QWERTY gone violent.
We used some of the information from our Bold vs. iPhone post since in most cases it was exactly the same.
Design
BlackBerry Bold:
Some could agree the Bold is the sharpest and cleanest-looking BlackBerry ever to come out of Waterloo. With a complete black face, chrome border and sides, and faux black leather back, the device looks great. From all the matching chrome accents all over the phone to the simple and not confusing layout, RIM has designed a great BlackBerry which should set the bar for future devices down the road.
Nokia E71: Nokia, Nokia, Nokia…aw, who are we kidding? The E71 is one of the nicest designs to have come out of Espoo as of late. With a real metal structure (read: plastic BlackBerry Bold), great materials, and some pretty slick engineering, the E71 looks awesome. Well, except for the vicious red power button. Totally ruined it for us, Noke.
Build quality
BlackBerry Bold:
The BlackBerry Bold is built extremely well. Not including minor screen scratches and things of that nature, the Bold should be able to last you as long as you want to keep the thing. The unit is a little lighter than it looks and there no creaks or anything to get you worried about. The only negative thing we’d have to say, it that the build quality on the BlackBerry Curve slightly trumps the Bold. We’d ever go as far to say that the 8800 does too. But not the Pearl. Hell no.
Nokia E71: Again, Nokia hits it out of the park. Nokias have great build quality for the most part across the board, as do BlackBerrys, but the E71 is built like an absolute tank. Literally. We don’t think we could break this thing if we tried.
Size
The Bold is the biggest BlackBerry to be released in a pretty long time. Well, since the 8700. It is larger in every way than the BlackBerry 8800 and can sometimes feel a little hard to hold in one hand. It’s definitely no Curve. Comparing it the E71, the E71 feels much better when holding it, but since the Bold’s keyboard makes use of the larger size, we’re going to call this one a tie because of the pretty comfy Bold QWERTY.
Nokia E71: If you had to shrink 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, a camera, physical QWERTY keyboard, and other components into the smallest package possible, what would get? Most likely an E71. We don’t think the device could be any smaller, though the small size does hinder the QWERTY keyboard slightly. Everything else is well balanced, and it makes the Bold seem like this huge Dark Knight hovering over it, jealous it can’t shed a couple inches on its waistline.
Screen:
We’re sticking to the “BlackBerry Bold’s screen is the best. mobile. device. screen. ever.” line. Sorry, Nokia, but the E71s screen as decent as it is, can not hold a candle to the Bolds rich, sharp, and spaceous display.
OS
BlackBerry Bold:
This is a tricky and sensitive subject for a lot of people. Many of us live and die by the BlackBerry OS. Some could say we even know it better than we know some of our significant others… But therein lies the problem. While RIM has been on a mission to revamp the BlackBerry from the old school “pager” into an all-in-one communications device for consumers and business alike, we can’t help but wonder when the OS will get a real makeover. Not a Mariah Carey cover page airbrushed makeover, more like a Carnie Wilson 300lbs to 150lbs makeover. But, we do have to say that RIM has a great thing going. The BlackBerry minions have figured out every single tip and trick there is to squeeze every ounce of usability out the operating system, and for a lot of people, the OS is fine. It does what it is supposed to, and there is nothing wrong with that. It’s just that the market has changed so drastically in the last year and half. People want to be connected more, they want to do more while doing less.
Nokia E71: S60, huh? We’d have really liked to see FP2 make it to the E71 out of the gate. Anyone that’s not a current Nokia user might have a bit of trouble dealing with access points, configuring their email, and getting around. This is a tricky subject as there are no doubt some die-hard Nokia fans, but we’d so S60 is showing its age a lot at this current point in time, just as RIM’s OS. What you do get with S60, however, is a ton of great 3rd party applications. We think you’d hard pressed to find more than 10-15 useful applications for the BlackBerry platform, whereas you have thousands for S60.
Call quality / RF performance
This has been explored before, but we find the Nokia E71 to be one of the worst performing Nokia handsets in the RF department. That compared to the outstanding reception on the Bold leaves us without too much faith that the E71 will be able to handle our daily usage in low signal areas. In terms of call quality, the Bold did a much better job at delivering us a clear and loud call, while the E71 often garbled our voice to the party on the other end. Speakerphone was the same with the Bold performing better than the E71.
Battery life
You’d be surprised, but we’ve found the Bold and E71 to go toe for toe in our battery tests. They both last longer than any other 3G device we’ve used, but to be fair, since the E71 isn’t the best RF signal holder, the Bold was on 3G more than the E71, and the E71 was rarely on Wi-Fi. We say the Bold inches out the E71 in the battery department.
BlackBerry Bold:
Listen, you can’t throw around the word “BlackBerry” without thinking about email. That’s RIM bread and butter, and we don’t see that changing for a very long time. There are probably 500 competitors vying for the title of “Best. Email. Ever.”, but they’re not coming close anytime soon. While Windows Mobile offers some of the same feature-set, there is nothing like using a BlackBerry for email. From changing your out of office message, to configuring email filters on the go (what, you think we actually get all 6,000 comments from our iPhone 3G giveaway post on our BlackBerry?), to remote searching (awesome!), RIM has perfected email on the BlackBerry for the most part. When new features like full attachment viewing and HTML get introduced, though, it gets a little murky. Instead of viewing attachments natively off the bat on your BlackBerry, RIM’s data network will compress and send you what you need bit by bit. There is also a clear separation between RIM’s BES services and BIS services, and they are totally unnecessary. There is no reason we should have the ability to view HTML on BIS, but not on BES yet (unless you hacked that in), and there is no reason file type support is so convoluted. For instance, we can listen to our voicemail MP3s on our BIS email, but not on BES because even the latest BES service pack still doesn’t support the encoding used in our MP3s. Things like this really confuse users and there’s no reason for it. BIS features should mirror BES features as much as possible and be upgraded at the same time. If we have to email an attachment from our BES to one of our BIS email accounts one more time…
Nokia E71: Email is email for Nokia. There’s no HTML support, there’s really not a lot of configurable options when using an Exchange server, and the email application isn’t the most reliable thing under the sun in general. As far as comparing it to email on a BlackBerry… well, we won’t even go there. It would take a couple more days to list all the issues and inconsistencies with Nokia’s default email application. We’re not saying it’s terrible, it is definitely usable, but it’s not something we’d like to use. Get it?
Keyboard
Another tricky subject. You’ve got the Bold which mashes up the Curve, the Pearl, and the 8800’s keyboard, and you’ve got the E71 which takes its cues from the E61i. If we could fault the E71’s keyboard, it would be that it is a little too small to use 100% comfortably. We’d also point out the stupidity of their keyboard layout once again. Get it through your heads, the “Z” key NEVER goes directly under the “A” key. That’s not how it’s done, boys. The keyboard does give you a nice response when pushed, and the keys are a bit on the hard side, but that actually works well on the phone. With the Bold, we find ourselves banging away emails like we’ve always done — that’s great. RIM didn’t mess with success here.
Corporate usage
BlackBerry Bold:
RIM has made the BlackBerry the hands-down winner for a perfect desktop extension. Pretty much whatever you can do from Outlook on your Exchange server, you can do from your BlackBerry. In addition to looking at the device specifically, RIM’s BES server offers the now standard way of managing, controlling, and deploying devices across a corporate infrastructure. Their BES servers allow IT admins to tweak and configure every possible setting, making this is the ideal solution for mid-to-large businesses and government agencies. RIM’s focus on security also make the BlackBerry the most secure device on the planet to use in a corporate environment.
Nokia E71: And dropped BlackBerry Connect again why? Not a good idea, guys. At least as far as the U.S. market is concerned. You had a device which would have been bought by the pound and used by a lot of corporate executives along with their BES, giving them an opportunity to venture outside of the immediate BlackBerry world. You now have to deal with people buying devices personally for the most part, and at + / – $500 with no discount for corporate volume purchases, it’s going to be a tough sell. Especially considering MailForExchange’s shortcomings.
Pricing:
BlackBerry Bold: The Bold’s pricing hasn’t been revealed yet, but it’s going to be in the $199-$299 price range with a two-year agreement. Or three if you’re unlucky to be a slave to Ted Rogers.
Nokia E71: The E71 is priced at $499 at Nokia stores directly, but you most likely can find it for around $420-$475 depending where you shop.
Conclusion:
It’s a little hard to put this but… we absolutely loved the Nokia E71. It was the best S60 we’d ever used. And it still is, some would argue. There is no doubt it is the finest QWERTY device Nokia has made. Don’t bring up the E90, ok? Even though we had used a Bold prior to our Nokia E71 first review, it wasn’t until we had both devices together that we really had our mind change. This is a personal opinion here, but the BlackBerry Bold smokes the E71 out of the water in so many ways. The E71 is fine as a personal communication device, but once you enter into the realm of corporate email, or even small business, for that matter, the Bold is the reigning king, and will stay that way for a pretty long time.
Agreed. The review was incorrect in that.
I’m buying E71 tomorrow!Good opinion though about Blackberry but a lot of people I know don’t find e mailing hard on Nokia E71. Plus, desighn of Nokia can’t even compare to Blackberry, because is waaaaaay much better and sophisticated than Bold!
I got the Nokia E71; Wife got the BB Bold.
Nokia was a piece of piss to configure, transfer contacts and use for internet, email etc.
BB Bold is a nightmare to set-up.
The ringtones are pathetic. No ring ring just a ring long pause ring. Vibrate and ring cannot operate at the same time -what?-
Battery lasts twice as long for the E71.
Contacts transfer from erikson was a disaster.
The list goes on but I do love the keyboard.
I had tried for a ong ime now but had failed to have in the E71 the basic and usefull function of addinga contact into a meeting.
That makes addign a metting item a long process. In my previous BB it was extremely simple.
SIP Client: E71 has it, BB does not.
Off-line maps: Have not found a decent solution for BB.
e71 is the best
i have a bold and e71. love the bold but i have to say all ur problems with the e71 i actually dont have but get them with the bold. if i had to go down to only the 1 phone id definatly get rid of the bold. sorry…
when will it be available for us to download blackberry software for NOKIA E71
I have on my desk an iphone 3G, an E71 and a Bold. I love them all and hate them all, the Bold is too big but the email has no rival… whatsoever!! The E71 is the best looking, best built and nicest to handle without question but the email is too poor, I only bought it because I was told by O2 that is has Blackberry Connect… liars! and to the iphone… well it it outstanding in every way except… email… very poor no searching etc… and as a phone it is not great either, i get loads of voicemails from people who went straight there and I live in a good reception area and have no problems with reception on bold or E71. It also sounds awful through my Range Rover blue tooth system whilst the other 2 are perfect. i have tried 2 different iphones and have the same probelem with both. SO to sum up i would have the Bold if it were smaller ( i have tried the new curve but it is WAY WAY too slow!!) I would have the E71 if it had blackberry connect and likewise the iphone…. so it looks as if we are nearly there, one of them has to just add that extra 10%…
my only with the nokia e71… the email the email.i hate when i delete my emails and its still there in my freaking inbox. wtf? i ordered a bold today. its so hard to part with my nokia e71…email is very important to me. if joikuspot were available for Blackberry. i hope the n97 supports blackberry connect.
we’re really waiting for the blackberry connect stuff on our E71.
im is good to blackberry is somone
Instead of using ‘personal opinion’ to break a seeming tie, I’d factor in E71’s 3mp camera w/auto focus. Bold fends that off with it’s 1gb onboard memory. Of course, both can handle 8gb, but at extra cost. E71 sports an FM radio. Bold has a faster processor. (624mhz to 369).
Bold = performance
E71 = features
if according to my nokia E71 is superior than the Blackberry bold
the Bold is for business people who need to access email on the go. The e71 is for everything else including email but not the best. The iphone is for entertainment on the go it is not a business class phone. So i want put it against blackberry or e71. They can do similar things but they have separate target users.
I have that phone and it is so easy to use
I’ve given up on the pocketPC platform. Never worked, doesn’t and will probably never work as it should. I just made the decision between the Nokia E71, Blackberry Bold and iPhone. The iPhone doesn’t even come into the same class, that said it was no longer a consideration. Feature for feature, size, performance. The Nokia did it for me. Has the best form-factor, feel, interface and functionality. I disagree with the RF performance.. works like a charm.. handset, bluetooth and speakerphone.
The Bold battery is on par with the e71?? You’ve got to be kidding me! The Bold battery SUCKS and that’s why I switched to the e71…it has an awesome battery (double that of the Bold) and RF signal has been no problem for me at all.
I have E71, never used a BB. According to the comparison above, E71 is better from two aspects only:
1- Available Applications for S60
2- Design
Rest everything else is better in BlackBerry.
So I rather say that BB wins.
I left a response when they both first came out.
I have N958GB, a Bold, and an E71. after 6 months, I can now give a fair response.
if you need a Qwerty keyboard but enjoy Media, then the E71 is without a doubt a better cchoice. Battery is WAY better. Voice quality is FAR superior to the Qualcomm Bold chip. Camera is actually a high quality printable pic.Bold still suffers from the media quality of the camera. GPS is perfect(GARMIN XT).Better Thin Sexy design of E71. … Blackberry IS still king for POWER email and corporate BES users. And yes, the international BB DATA package is a nice blackberry feature. Blackberry packages for most carriers still only start at $25 and up. However, with E71 you can buy smaller and more affordable unlimited On Device(no MODEM Tethering) data for 5-15 bucks a month… Blackberry Will never sell you that. VoIP on the E71 is great and easy, Push To Talk also an amazing feature on the E71 not on a BOLD…
Basically if you are a power mobile user and only need basic email ability E71 is a MEDIA KING!!! BB EMAIL/Corporate King.
I will stick with my E71 for now and the BOLD is sitting back in a box.
I also see a large amount of complaints about the Email on an E71?
I have easily set up pull email and it works beautifully. simple and easy.
I don’t need instantaneous annoyances of unimportant/SPAM emails. Bleeping at me throughout the day. Even with a good Spam scrubber 10 out of 40 messages a day are actually messages fom direct contacts. Nobody apart from mission critical employees/execs really need the instantaneous connectivity of a Push mail services. for $20-50(BES Unlim) per month of savings, I am quite happy with my E71 pulling my messages every hour. People who want me sooner, call- with a phone? Novel thought.
We have all forgeted about the Browsing, on some blackberryes you can’t access some java or other applications websites, ¿can you do it on nokia’s?
E71 is the ugliest pos i’ve seen in a hot minute.
Thanks a bunch, my minds made up now, gonna get a bold right now.:)
Yeah I agree, the Bold sounds alot better