Nokia Mobility Conference 2005
The N71 is the least feature-laden of the new trio. There is no Wi-Fi or DVB-H, for example. But it's certainly no slouch. This is still an Nseries phone, which means you can expect a true flagship phone with S60, 3G, and all the standard trimmings like Bluetooth, EDGE, and a 2 megapixel main camera. It also sports a miniSD memory card slot and a high-resolution QVGA display.
Like the other two phones announced this week, the N71 has a hot-swappable memory card slot that is easily accessible via a small door on the side.
Also like the N92 and N80, it includes USB 2.0 with mass storage mode. This means you can connect the phone to your PC via USB, and the phone's memory will simply show up on your desktop like a drive, similar to the way a USB "key" flash drive works. This makes it extremely easy to copy files to and from your phone's memory, since no special software is required.
The N71 also includes a "media key", a new dedicated button that you'll also find on the N80 and N92, as well as the N70 and N91. On the N71, it's located at the top of the main keypad.
When you press the media key, you get a customizable shortcut menu like the one shown above.
The N71 also includes another special key that may soon become a Nokia staple, at least on clamshell-style phones like the N71. Specifically, the N71 has a prominent key located right under the outer display called a "cover key". The purpose of this key changes depending on the situation. When the phone is ringing, pressing the cover key once will silence the ringer. Pressing it again will reject the incoming call. If you have music playing, the cover key acts as a pause/play button. And finally, when idle, pressing and holding the cover key will display the time and date full-screen in bold black-and-white on the outer display (handy for those who use their phone like a watch.)
The N71 is not the smallest clamshell smartphone out there, but at least it's not nearly as large as the bulky N90. It's a bit larger than Motorola's MPx220, but then again it also includes a larger displays, 3G, dual camera, and a 2 megapixel main camera. Considering the extra features, the size seems reasonably competitive.