E61i: billed as Nokia's communicator device

smartphone communicator segment. This is where QWERTY thumbboards, an emphasis on messaging, and all around usablity are the keys to success. Devices such as RIM's BlackBerry 8700/8800 and Palm's Treo 680/750/755p models head out this group as the benchmarks for usability and style.
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Nokia's initial forray into this arena was the E61. As its first QWERTY communicator device, it was received well by only a few. Problems with usability and an unclear product focus made it a hard peg for consumers to fit well. It didn't help that in bringing this smartphone to the U.S., Nokia stripped the E61 of Wi-Fi and a few other programs, making an essentially underspeced model in the E62.

The E61i was released in an effort to correct issues with the original E61, and also to give the world audience something not named Treo or BlackBerry to consider when looking for a solid smartphone communicator.

Here are a few other points about the E61i that I found cool/interesting:
When you put your SIM in and turn the E61i on, the Settings Wizard comes up guiding you through the process of setting up the data features of your phone. The only niggle here is that some carriers might be asked for gateway information that most users just do not know.
Microsoft Exchange integration comes through Nokia's Mail for Exchange. This is a free download, and will sync calendar, contacts, and email with your Exchange Server. It also supports direct push. I liked using this program, and it made it feel just like my Treo as soon as my calendar and contacts were synced over.
The E61i connects to your computer thru PC Suite. This is a complete device manager as you can even go as far as removing contacts from your phone or making a full backup of your contacts and other data. It will sync, install, connect to Nokia LifeBlog and update your E61i software if there is an update to be had.
Bluetooth (BT) functionality was simple and tenacious. Between my jawbone BT headset and my Moto BT headphones, the E61i would get a hold and not let go. Because it supported A2DP, it was just as simple as pairing the headset and then I could hear music over it.
The E61i takes microSD cards. I liked that it could take the cards, just not that I had to remove the battery cover to get access to the slot. Once the cover was off, I could remove the card without having to remove the battery (which is not the case for the SIM card). Much like the recent reports of the N95 supporting SDHC, I would hope that the E61i also gets this support, because having a number of fingernail-sized memory cards is not a good proposition.
Much of the E61i is made of a hard plastic, but the battery cover is made of metal and feels no differnt than the rest of the device. Compared to even the N95, the E61i feels like an expensive device, and a sturdy one.
As with many mobile devices, the E61i uses a propriteory interface connector for syncing, the Nokia pop-port. Much like Palm's multiconnector, this is a sure connection, but can make you uneasy when trying to take the cable from the device. A syncronized up and out motion seems to be best, but that didn't work all the time either.

Specifications

Symbian S60 Feature Pack 1
Quad band (850, 900, 1800, 1900), EU WCDMA (2100)
Display: 320-by-240 pixel (QVGA), 16 million colors
802.11b/g WLAN
Bluetooth 1.2
60 MB RAM
microSD card slot (up to 2GB)
2.0 Megapixel camera, with video capture
Battery: 1500 mAh