Travel Book Logs

My long quest for a new cell phone came to an end last month when I picked up the Nokia E61i – a superb response from those remarkable Finns to the RIM Blackberry. My search took longer than expected because I found that its not enough to just have a phone – you need up to date information as well. A few years ago I had thought the laptop was the solution but a hand held device is more suitable. And for long the best solution on the market has been the Blackberry device.

Research in Motion (RIM) offers some nifty solutions for those who need this kind of connectivity. Their website lists out the devcies they have an offer, front lined by the Blackberry 8100 Pearl, the Blackberry 8300 Curve and the Blackberry 8800. If you are a business phone user this is a superb selection of devices. All supported by their famous push email service which pops your email inbox to your device. The popularity and power of this device can only be realized once you notice the sheer number of people using Blackberry devices these days. So much so that detractors have coined a term to describe the phenomenon i.e. the “Crackberry”.

And I did the give the Blackberry a try – the Blackberry 8800 . For a longtime Nokia user, the feel of the device is different. Catching a signal can be tricky. And surprisingly, though they are famous for their rugged build quality, support for repair of Blackberry devices is dismal in India at the moment. Blackberry users will tell you that once your device needs repair it usually takes a few weeks if at all you are able to qualify for authorized repair. Blackberry devices unfortunately do have issues to be solved as yet.

As luck would have it my cellphone company, Airtel, offers another nifty tool from Blackberry – called the Blackberry Connect service. A superb solution from Blackberry who wisely realize that not all users are amenable to switching our hardware. Blackberry Connect is a soft solution from Blackberry that loads the Blackberry Service on to your device and is a happy marriage for all – a true win win. I get to use a Nokia Handset and I get to use the Blackberry Service.

For a while I was in the market for the Nokia E90 Communicator – the first Communicator with the Symbian OS. By all accounts this is the best Communicator Nokia has put out in the market. To think that Nokia had the concept for the perfect handheld long before Blackberry and did absolutely nothing with it is a topic for another discussion. The E90, while an excellent phone, put me off in large part with its price tag and poor installation of the Blackberry Connect software. No amount of coaxing seems to get the two to work together very well.

Enter the Nokia E61i – a late comer to the India market and I don’t know why. The E61i has all that its cousin the E61 does and then some. Throw in WiFi connectivity along with a superb metal skin which gives it a solid feel. There are a few extra keys on the E61i which give it a little more functionality that were perhaps lessons learned from the E61. The screen is a wide 320 x 240 pixels supporting 16 millions colors. What this means is superb viewing in all kinds of lighting including bright sunlight.

The Blackberry Connect software installation was done in about ten minutes flat. Downloading the sis file from the Airtel Blackberry Connect page took a few minutes after which the Blackberry software took over the installation. Setup of the Blackberry account was taken care of in advance over the phone and a nice user login later I had setup my email accounts on my phone. Emails popped in within minutes although the service message said it would take about twenty.

The best part about the Nokia E61i is the price – a very comfortable Rs 16,450 with bill. The addon 1GB SD card was Rs 850. I am told you can do about Rs 2, 000 better on this price depending on where you buy the phone. Do not pay the ERP of approx Rs 18,000 on the box. Most dealers are happy to part with a good discount. This phone, it must be said, is not for everyone. The wide shape and odd size may be too big for some. But if its business features you are looking out for this one has got the package for the job.