It is slightly strange to think that the Nokia E71 has been around for nearly two years now. It launched back in mid-2008 when the iPhone had only just got its 3G upgrade and nobody had heard of Lady Gaga. You can read the fact that it is still relevant and receiving updates from Nokia in two different ways. Either it is a testament to the fact that Nokia is willing to support its previous smartphones long after they have been launched, or it shows that Nokia is slow in updating the software platforms that it continues to employ in virtually unchanged forms on its smartphones over the last two years. An investor or competitor from within the industry might be willing to adhere to the latter opinion, but from a consumer point of view these are both perfectly acceptable options and the truth probably lies somewhere between the two.
It is known that Nokia smartphones hold their value better than most other handsets released by rivals and this is certainly due to the amount of future-proof functionality with which the Nokia E71 and its peers are packed. The most recent life extending update that Nokia provided for the E71 came just a few weeks ago when the Ovi Maps platform was modified to operate on the phone. The availability of Ovi Maps on the E71 is a significant point of interest because it brings full turn-by-turn navigation to the smartphone and allows the E71 to stand head and shoulders above alternatives in the business-centred market in this respect.
After acquiring a mapping and navigation software firm, Nokia decided that it would use its financial clout to undercut its rivals and make standalone sat navs obsolete with the updated version of Ovi Maps. First it arrived on handsets such as the 5800 XpressMusic and the N97 and then it gradually made its way to more mobiles. People who picked up the E71 two years ago might justifiably have assumed that Nokia would never be working all the way backwards to their handset, but they were proved wrong with a recent update for the software, which Nokia actually said would be the last to add new handsets to the compatibility listings for Ovi Maps. Then it launched a firmware update for the ageing N86 which added Ovi Maps, changing everything once more.
The most recent firmware update for the E71 from Nokia, which actually came after it produced the compatible version of Ovi Maps, continues to stabilise the platform whilst simultaneously adding new features. The biggest new functionalities to appear in this release include better support for instant messaging using a native Nokia app and an upgrade that supports push email provided by Microsoft Exchange. The speed at which instant messages are sent and responded to has been heightened and Gmail users in the UK can now avoid a bug which messed with the organisational properties of the email inbox in service on the E71. Nokia has even continued to tweak the full QWERTY keypad, making sure that inputting text is getting easier all the time.
The support from Nokia which is keeping smartphones such as the E71 alive, relevant and appealing in the modern market is being supplemented from all sides by third party developers, keen amateurs and new acquisitions. Nokia recently picked up a geotagging and metadata firm, which means that it is likely to bring location-based services to customers in the future. The next version of Ovi Maps could therefore feature augmented reality services, or a separate app might bring these to various Nokia smartphones. There is no reason why the E71 would not be included in this upgrade, as it has all of the right tools to make it compatible with such services and Nokia has proven that it is dedicated to supporting it for the time being. There are currently no high end handsets which offer more in terms of connectivity than the Nokia E71's Wi-Fi, 3G, GPS and Bluetooth. The main restrictions would be posed by its RAM and processor, which look a little limited when compared to the 1GHz monsters which are sitting in imposing fashion alongside the E71 on the shelves today.
The biggest benefit of having a handset that has hung around on the market for a long time is that there are plenty of other people out there who own E71s and want to share news, reviews, updates and information about being an E71 user. There are a number of blogs and fan sites dedicated specifically to the Nokia E71 and even if you think that you are fairly clued-in with the mobile phone world, owning an E71 and visiting these sites is a must. You will not only learn about official updates to the phone platform, but also about special information and deals relating to third party software that has been developed for the E71 and other Symbian-based smartphones produced by Nokia.
The Nokia E71 was received very positively by critics when it first hit the UK and it seems that time has not diminished its ability to serve well any user that picks it up. Many manufacturers concentrate on shoving new products down your throat every few months and to be fair Nokia is guilty of this from time to time. However, the E71 proves that a solid phone remains a viable option well into the future as long as the creator is willing to provide long term support to further its original concept.
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