Which E70 should I buy, E70-1 or E70-2?

S

Somewhere Tropical

New member
My question, in short, is which E70 should I buy, the E70-1 or E70-2, for use on T-Mobile USA?

I want to replace my unbranded, unlocked Nokia 6230 (LOVE the phone) with a new Nokia E70. I went and checked out the N80 at a Nokia Experience Centre here in Las Vegas, and I really liked what it had to offer. And, I like that the E-70 seems to have about the same features but with a full QWERTY keyboard.

From my research online and searching through past E-70 threads here, these are some factors I'm considering:

1) I'm primarily using T-Mobile USA, so I don't THINK that 850 vs 900 is going to make any difference to me, right?

2) Plus, the 3G on the E70-1 won't work on T-Mobile's future 3G or Cingular/AT&T's current 3G network, so that shouldn't sway my decision, either, right?

3) I can't find the E70-2 in stock anywhere. SOME web sites say it's discontinued. But, it's a fairly new phone, right? I mean...Nokia's web sites list it as a "new" or "latest" phone. So, it's not really discontinued?

4) Others say that stock will be arriving soon. Mobileplanet.com (where I purchased my 6230) lists an expected date of 11 May, and Amazon.com says they're taking pre-orders for their next shipment. However, given that NokiaUSA isn't selling them unlocked anymore, how realistic is it that either site is going to get any additional stock??

5) Warranty and support - I know I get nothing from Nokia for grey market E70-1's. But, it seems like people are getting about the same from NokiaUSA for their warranty-covered E70-2's.

6) Firmware updates - looks like some people have had problems with firmware updates bricking their phones. Should this be a factor for me when considering warranty/support?

7) I like the E70-2 black colour better, but if I'm never going to be able to find it in stock, then maybe I should just order the E70-1 silver version?

8) Am I missing any other differences between the E70-1 and E70-2? Reliability? Software? RF? Availability of updates? Etc?

8) Where should I buy it? Mobileplanet.com says "Usually 3 business days" for an E70-1. I can't find anywhere that actually has an E70-2 instock. Any other good sources I should be aware of? Will mobileplanet.com put the latest firmware on the phone before shipping?
 
If you are in the USA, get the e70-2...to my knowledge, tmobile still makes use of the 850 band and I personally think you will be doing yourself a favor to get a phone that has it.

Get it from Nokiausa.com if they still have it. I think I got mine for 449.99 when it came out. I also recall hearing from people that they were able to get the US version from buy.com -
 
I agree, if you are in the US, why not get the E70-2? You'll get a warranty (at least on paper) and better coverage.

That said, I have an E70-1 in SoCal and have had zero coverage problems, so at least in this part of the country its not really a big deal. One advantage of an E70-1 is that is will likely get firmware upgrades several months ahead of the E70-2.
 
It all has to do with what area of the country you are in. Where I am at on T-Mobile and Cingular 850 is a must. Have you ever owned a 1900 only phone? If not I wouldn't count on it working without 850.

Plus the firmware is already pretty solid on it already.
 
1. Yes, 850 at least might be usable versus 900 which isn't used in the States at all.

2. You're absolutely right, 3G is of no use to you either way. (The E70-2 doesn't have 2100 3G, btw)

3. It's going to be hard to find one now. There was a thread posted about the E70-1/2 and users and potential buyers reported that it was "discontinued" because it was going to be used exclusively by a carrier called Edge Wireless. I've never heard of them, but that makes locating an E70-2 much harder.

4. You might want to call to see if any of those websites are in fact getting stock to secure one. It's possible there was one last batch sent out. The E70-2 and E70-1 for that matter haven't sold as well as it's big brother, the E61, and even moreso now that the bigger N-series have started to come out.

5. Ideally, it'd be great to get the US warranty, but, as it's been said, that won't be possible through nokiausa.com. You might want to check the stores you were looking to purchase from because I believe some of them offer Nokia's warranty included, versus an online importer who would provide no warranty, or have you pay for one that's through them instead of Nokia.

6. Firmware problems are exactly why the warranty comes in handy. Sure, you can send your phone off to iunlock.com if you don't have a warranty, but if you want your phone back within a week, it'll cost around $60 after shipping. US warranty is always a plus when it comes to that. I don't know if the problems still exist with the E70-2 and updating the firmware, but I do remember how bad it was in the past.

7. Search for the E70-2 as best you can first, especially if you like the color. With so many possibilities to get the US variant, getting the Euro model should be a last resort.

8. I'm pretty sure both have had the same amount of firmware updates, but I can't be positive. RF was always just okay with the E70-1 when I used it, and it wasn't because I needed 850. Overall, it didn't have as good reception on either version, but it still held a decent signal, nonetheless. The E70-2 comes without UMTS, which won't matter if you don't travel out of the country and the software is about the same. There may be one or two applications missing on one from the other, but the OS and UI are exactly the same.

8b? You've named all the best places to find them. If you can't find the E70-2 and settle for the E70-1, check phonesource-usa.com, plemix.com, hi-mobile.net, and there may be a few more reliable sellers on eBay.

You can check out my review of the E70-1 in my signature and PM me to ask me questions directly. Hope all that helps.
 
Cool...thanks everyone. I ordered an E70-2 from eBay for about $350, new in box. Hopefully, it will be here on Monday or Tuesday.
 
Back
Top