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"Thinnest QWERTY" smartphone claim as Nokia announces E71

When Nokia first started its wide-format (Blackberry-like) business smartphones, like the E61, they sternly eschewed cameras. "This is a business device!" they said. Not any more: the E71 has a 3.2 megapixel camera. And a £330 including VAT price tag.

Most "business" users will focus on Microsoft Exchange compatibility.

The feature that I want to see is "Switch between two customisable ‘Home Screen’ views at the touch of a button, allowing easy transfer from work life to personal life to access personal emails and entertainment options."

Colour options; grey (stainless steel) or white - but white version not available to anybody else at launch, says Stuart Miles. US users, check out Despercia

Main features: WiFi, HSDPA and maps (see picture, bottom).

Email (and messaging on the go) "supporting all leading corporate email solutions, including Microsoft Exchange, the Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email, System Seven and Visto Mobile email solutions," says the initial blurb.

Nobody is expecting pro-quality picture taking, of course; but it's never a great sign when the camera shows no sign of a lens cover. Normally, this is a way of admitting that the picture quality won't be vastly worse if you smudge the lens.

Review it yourself! - click here. Or read Steve Lichfield in AllAbout Symbian.

In some ways the E71 is the iPhone's nemesis - using almost the identical dimensions in a totally different way, for a totally different set of users. The iPhone excels at media consumption (Music/photos/video/web), while the E71's strengths are in media creation (typing documents, Office work, camera, camcorder, and so on - the usual Nokia/S60 strengths). Both devices can do most of what the other does, just not as well.

So why's the E71 so brilliant? For a start, there's its physicality. Compared to the BlackBerry 8820 or the Nokia E61, its predecessor, the E71 makes Twiggy look a bit podgy. Less than 1cm thick, Nokia correctly lauds it as the slimmest qwerty keyboard smartphone. It's also narrower than rivals: 57mm may not sound much less than the 8820's 66mm, but place the E71 next to the 8820 on a desk and the difference is noticeable