Nokia E71x Smartphone Now on ATandT 3G Network

Nokia rolls out the E71x smartphone on AT&T's 3G network, along with a new report on messaging trends. American adults, it reveals, would rather e-mail and text than have the option of placing a call - which the Nokia E71x is more than happy to accommodate.

Nokia's high-end E71x smartphone is now available in the United States on the AT&T 3G network.

Called "the thinnest QWERTY smartphone on the market" by Nokia, the E71x measures 0.04 inches deep and 4.4 by 2.2 inches long and wide.

The E71x runs Symbian's S60 3.2 operating system and offers Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth 2.0, GPS with turn-by-turn directions, XM radio, a 3.2-megapixel camera and Video Share technology for recording or sharing video during a call.

A device suited for professionals, it also features Mail for Exchange, for syncing with corporate e-mail, contacts and calendar; a full HTML Web browser with Flash; QuickOffice; and a PDF reader, which allows users to download, view and edit documents.

Xpress Mail connects to personal e-mail accounts, and also included, of course, are text and multimedia messaging, as well as mobile instant messaging through AOL, AIM, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger.

These latter applications are increasingly important to mobile device users, Nokia reports.

A study that Nokia commissioned from Braun Research found that 52 percent of adult Americans would prefer to go two weeks with only texting and e-mailing capabilities, versus the ability to make a phone call.

"The trend for messaging, whether e-mail, IM, texting or social networking, is stronger than ever-we are seeing a real shift in the way people prefer to communicate," David Petts, vice president and general manager of Nokia's AT&T account, said in a statement.

The shifts in Americans' communication preference may have Emily Post wrinkling her shroud: 11 percent of respondents said they had ended a relationship via text, and the same percentage of the study's 500 participants said they had interrupted a romantic dinner to respond to a social networking messaging.

Nearly one in three people responded that they found it acceptable to share news, with friends and family, of being laid off via text, and 13 reported "calling in" sick to work via text.

Happily, business benefits were also reported. Eleven percent of respondents said they had secured a business deal via text, and 6 percent reported acquiring new business through social networking.

The E71x includes 120MB of memory, with a microSD slot for adding 8GB more, and offers 4.5 hours of talk time-which may just be more than enough.

Pricing is set at $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and a two-year service agreement.