Nokia E71x Now Official at $99

nokiae71x_frontviewIt’s not like we didn’t know the Nokia E71x was coming to AT&T. Some folks had the release pegged for last week, but that still seems up in the air: The official press release indicates the handset will be “available in the coming weeks.” That wishy-washy news is offset by some specific positive info though. The S60 handset with full QWERTY keyboard will only cost consumers $99 out of pocket, making the phone far more attractive than at $199 or greater. The actual price is $149, but there’s a $50 gift card offer. For a hundred bucks with contract, you’re getting some quality hardware with GPS, HSDPA 3G support, 3.2-megapixel camera, WiFi and more.

The device is a step up from the E63 I’ve been using for two weeks; aside from a few more bells and whistles, the device is a little smaller and sleeker, plus it uses a metal case in lieu of the plastic on the E63. Kudos to AT&T and Nokia. We’ve been way overdue for a subsidized Nokia smartphone at this price point.

Before any of you ask: I’ll tell you up front that for my CTIA trip (I’m at the airport this very moment) I didn’t take the E63. Long story short: I started grabbing my SIM-less iPhone to use for e-mail, Twitter and the web over WiFi this past week. Without realizing what I was doing, I noticed that I was simply carrying the E63 for use as a phone. That was very telling to me. I found that I could get more done in less time on my iPhone than with the E63. That’s not to say it’s a bad phone by any means, and I’ll have more thoughts to share about the experience when I return. It means that my needs are currently better served by my iPhone; yours might be handled great by the E63… or the new E71x, for that matter!

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