The Nokia E71

The Nokia E71 is a great looking smart phone with excellent business features. It's set up to be a rival to the famed Blackberry, and it certainly shares some physical features with it. While not as large, it has a full QWERT keyboard and a screen that is proportionate to the size of the Blackberry.


While I'm never a very big fan of smart phones, I must say that the Nokia E71 is good buy. I can understand that business users have more requirements than a non-business user. Specifically the keyboard is very important, as most of them don't have the time to learn how to type using a stylus. The Nokia E71 has a very good keyboard set that has great buttons.

Let's start off with Email. The Nokia E71 has any number of features to help it connect with a variety of email standards including push email, Microsoft Exchange, and SMTP accounts. It also has a feature where you can have your messages read out to you in case you're unable to use your hands at any given moment.

The Nokia E71 also tries to serve you well at home. It has an interesting feature called the "Personal" and the "Business" mode. In the business mode, you have quick access to your email and other productivity suites, and in Personal mode you can access all your music and videos.

It has almost every feature that a phone can have including GPS, wifi, and bluetooth. But that's to be expected with such an expensive piece. One of the factors contributing to the price is that it's currenty unlocked. This means that you can dump the SIM of any carrier into it. That's quite a bonus actually. However, once it does get tied up, the prices will drop significantly. You might want to consider buying it while it is still unlocked, as it will be a one of a kind phone after that.

It doesn't run Windows Mobile. Instead it runs the Symbian OS. There's plenty of support and software that is developed for this OS, and so you won't have trouble finding packages that do what you want. Also, it's Quickoffice suite enables you to open and use all word and excel documents, so you don't really miss not having a Windows OS.

Pick it up at www.pricealerter.com

The HTC Touch Cruise Pocket PC

HTC is really going top of the line now that they're manufacturing their own cellphones. The The HTC Touch Cruise Pocket PC comes with a feature packed GPS that is really neat. This means that there is a better navigation system that is fully integrated into this compact Pocket PC.


It also comes bundled with the latest Tom Tom navigation software, which is one of the de facto standards in GPS navigation. Unfortunately, the phone has been widely criticized for the inclusion of only one free map. That means that you have to pay for more. But if you're willing to shell out $700 for it, you can probably spend a few more dollars on getting the maps you need.

Like most Pocket PC's, it comes with Windows Mobile 6, which has rapidly become heralded as the best OS to use on top of the line phones. The reason why I like it, is because of the navigation button. Unlike most navigation tools, it doesn't just utilize the forward, back, left and right functions. You can turn it around to bring up and select menus. Sort of like an Applie iPod feel, and that's pretty cool. Picture that along with the TouchFlo technology, and you've got yourself a phone that is pretty easy to use.

For the business user, this phone has all the tools you will need to carry your office with you, and that includes the office suite that comes bundled with Windows Mobile. Of course, it goes without saying that MP3 songs and videos are a cinch on the HTC Touch Cruise Pocket PC.

The camera at the back is pretty good, being 3 megapixels, and coming with a 4x zoom. The 400 Mhz processor does nicely in standard tests, and is very responsive. The battery is another amazing feature of this phone. It has a talk time of 7 hrs, and can be on standby for 16 days. All in all, a well rounded phone, and one that you should definitely pick up if you can afford it. Find it at www.pricealerter.com