White Nokia E71 arrives in America... on Cincinnati Bell

Whoa, wait up, what's this? On the very same day that Nokia's white E71 invaded North America via Rogers Wireless, one of America's least known carriers is following suit for those in and around the great state of Ohio. For reasons unknown, Cincinnati Bell (of all carriers) has managed to pick up the suddenly hot color of this here QWERTY-packin' smartphone, and best of all, it's available for free on a two-year agreement. What's next? Mexico getting this for -$100 after rebate?

[Thanks, Jordan]

Update: You can also get this bad boy unlocked, if you're so inclined. Still, though, seriously -- much love, Cincinnati Bell. You're a prince among carriers for launching this for free on contract. Thanks, Chris!

[ran @ Mar 18th 2009 2:51PM]

Free? That makes it a killer deal.

[Jake Paul @ Mar 18th 2009 2:54PM]

Whew, I had almost reached Canada's border. Good thing for Mobile alerts.

[Paul Gibbs @ Mar 18th 2009 2:57PM]

You Sir, just won.

[JohnTitor @ Mar 18th 2009 6:45PM]

this isn't as much a good deal as the Rogers deal was bad, in fact, I don't know much about them, but anytime I see a Rogers deal on Engadget it's pretty shitty, like the same phone in the UK that's Free with a 18 month contract, will cost $300 with a 3 year contract from Rogers

[ZeRo @ Mar 18th 2009 2:57PM]

Is that suppose to be a Mexican joke?

[ran @ Mar 18th 2009 2:59PM]

Read the Roger's E71 post.

[Dead_Rebel @ Mar 18th 2009 3:48PM]

And if it was, you would do......... what?

[splattermonkeys @ Mar 18th 2009 3:00PM]

Not free. Fine print. Good deal, though. Cincy Bell not a bad carrier. Piggybacks AT&T when you leave the area. $15 bucks a month unlimited data.

[pcgecko85 @ Mar 18th 2009 3:00PM]

My friend has this phone. The keyboard is awesome.

[Nathan @ Mar 18th 2009 3:03PM]

Quick Clarification on the way Cincinnati Bell works (I'm a local). They don't do contracts. These phones are free outright (if you cancel within two months you either have to return the phone or pay full price, but no early termination fee or anything of the sort). Cincinnati Bell is usually a crazy good deal. Right now all their phones are free (including all the Nokia, Blackberry, etc.) If you are curious, they leverage at&t's network in most other parts of the US.

[Nathan @ Mar 18th 2009 3:47PM]

Oh - I forgot. All of Cincinnati Bell's phones are unlocked.

[bradleyawalker @ Mar 18th 2009 4:03PM]

I couldn't get them to unlock my Curve last summer, but that's awesome if they've changed policy since then.

[mrmostly @ Mar 18th 2009 3:11PM]

I have this phone in black. It can do damn near anything and is built like a tank. I love it to death.

[pika2000 @ Mar 18th 2009 3:19PM]

What's up with the recent "news" of the E71? Newegg has been selling this unlocked for quite a while.

[Matt @ Mar 18th 2009 3:46PM]

yeah, I bought mine through cincinnati bell back in november. The white version was the only one offered.

[Mitsu8 @ Mar 18th 2009 3:23PM]

What's with the mexican joke? In case your ignorance is much, Mexican carriers get some really great phones(maybe even better ones than the US does.

[L4M3 @ Mar 18th 2009 5:37PM]

true true. telcel in mexico was the first carrier in NA to get the N95 and got the Bold before AT&T. they even had the viewty and prada when they were recent devices back in 2007

[GetIt @ Mar 18th 2009 6:58PM]

@Mitsu8: Let me break this down. North America from North to South = Canada+United States+Mexico. Canada got it for $100. United States got it for 0$. What's next? Mexico getting this for -$100?

Your stupidity is much.

[Jacob Lima @ Mar 18th 2009 3:32PM]

I live in Cincinnati and had Cincinnati bell for many years in the past and finally switched to Verizon because they really are not a good cell service. They constantly had billing errors and I would have to speak to customer service for hours before everything got sorted out and on top of that their coverage of Cincinnati wasn't all that great. They need deals like this to convince people to use them because they get beat in every other department.

[JR @ Mar 18th 2009 5:00PM]

Well, I've had the reverse experience. I was with Verizon for six years and endured every sort of billing problem and customer disservice tactic imaginable. I switched to Cincinnati Bell a few years ago and I couldn't be happier. The service is great, and I've got unlimited voice minutes (in SW Ohio) and unlimited data (nationwide) for a monthly rate the other carriers can't touch. AND most importantly, if they were to piss me off I could cancel my account instantly since they don't have contracts. They have an incentive to keep me happy.

[jpa914 @ Mar 18th 2009 3:44PM]

Great phone/messaging device. It can be used one handed!
The only issue with the white is the little rubbery/silcone cover over the cardslot and usb port discolors from nice clean white to kind of yellowy/gray, pretty quickly. How is that for a minor gripe?
I've been using mine for 4½ month now and I still love it and except for that little piece it still looks brand new.

[ZachiusMaximus @ Mar 18th 2009 3:46PM]

I live in the nasty nati, all my friends with bad credit that can't get a two year contract use cincinnati bell because they have a good no contract based service.

[Ian @ Mar 18th 2009 3:56PM]

Cincinnati Bell is the best. Hands down, this just proves it.
No contracts on just about every handset...I dropped verizon and walked in to my local Cincinnati Bell store and asked for an account and a SIM. They were happy to sell me a SIM without buying a device...

needless to say I drove home and threw it into my unlocked iphone. $50 bucks a month, unlimited data, unlimited text....no contract.

[VedicHymn @ Mar 18th 2009 4:05PM]

My local best buy has these selling them for use on Tmobile. Is this unusual or something?

[bachviet @ Mar 18th 2009 4:12PM]

Yes since it's free, unlocked (and probably unbranded), and it doesn't come with a 2-year contract.

[ynp @ Mar 18th 2009 5:42PM]

Cincinnati Bell is really a great phone company. It was very sad for me when I had to switch to AT&T after a move. They actually went over my bill and knocked down the number of minutes on my plan (I was using, on average, 150 anytime minutes, but originally was a 1000 minutes plan) They grandfathered me in with a 200 minute/free nights/weekend/unlimited data/messaging/roaming for less than $40. When you call for support you leave your number and they call you back when an operator is available instead of waiting on hold. As an option, voice mail was converted into a text message that was sent to you.

The phones are free without contract but not unlocked. You still have to wait the ninety days til you can ask them to unlock them.

[trogdor9000 @ Mar 18th 2009 4:24PM]

I have Cincinnati Bell with an unlocked iPhone 3G
I love the service but I cannot get 3G to work while roaming even though it piggy backs off of AT&T.
Anyone else get it to work?

[MMS @ Mar 18th 2009 4:33PM]

I'm doing the same thing. It doesn't piggyback off AT&T everywhere. In Michigan, where I go to school, it runs on the Centennial network. It depends on where you are and whether CBW's contract with your particular roaming partner includes anything more than EDGE data.

[trogdor9000 @ Mar 18th 2009 4:42PM]

Here in chicago it piggy backs off of AT&T

Use the feild test app (go to the dial screen and type "*3001#123456#*")
Under some areas there is a number the specifies what tower you are getting signal from, mine shows its an AT&T tower

[Adam Bosken @ Mar 18th 2009 5:26PM]

I'm also in Cincy...

For those that have Cincy Bell, how's the service in the Downtown area? I have TMO now and I couldn't drop a signal if I wanted to ... great service in the Cincinnati area!

Also, is 3G available on Cincy Bell? I've got an iPhone 3G now on TMO, but I'm looking to switch to Nokia. Does this have UMTS?

[trogdor9000 @ Mar 18th 2009 5:34PM]

Cincy bell does have 3G but they use the weird freq, same as T-Mobile

I live around UC and i have great service there, rarely ever drop a call unless its in the depths of some of the basements on campus

The iPhone 3G internet will be edge only while in the area but its supposed to be 3G while roaming on AT&T but as my post above shows I cannot get that to happen while in Chicago.

I call Cincinnati Bell almost every week trying to get it to work and still no avail

[ethicsg @ Mar 19th 2009 1:42PM]

I have this phone and it is the best phone in the whole world bar none. It is the same size as the iPhone but runs applications in the background. Let me tell you WiFi and Fring make for no cell phone fees most of the time. This is why T-Mobile, AT7T, and Verizon will never carry this. They know there business model is totally based on crippled hardware and ignorant users.

This thing is fast enough to play Quake believe it or not. It has every form of communication known to man, two cameras, and is based on a soon to be open source OS. The battery lasts for days even using Wifi and Fring in the background at work and home. It is very well made and as dense as consumer hardware I have ever picked up.

If I could run a USB to video adapter out of its USB port with a keyboard and mouse I would use it as a laptop.

[digitallysick @ Mar 18th 2009 6:59PM]

I own this phone (i got it unlocked from amazon when it first came out) and i love it (except the camera quality is not that great) but it should be fixed in a firmware update soon (they already have the fw update for the European versions)

But i love the phone, the agps is a bit slow , i went from the usa to SE asia, and it would take up to 20 min to work (in the usa it works fast) but its an over all wonderful phone,

Predictive text ftw!

[Jme2712 @ Mar 18th 2009 8:57PM]

Cincy Bell CBW has been selling this phone since November!!! Not big news there, but the fact that every phone is free sans contract is really sweet.

[aaroninky @ Mar 18th 2009 9:44PM]

I have been with Cincy Bell and can attest to their prices and service. Where I live in the Northern KY area I haven't had any problems with their signal and they could care less about what phone is on their network. When I travel outside of the states I pay $60 for unlimited data usage and wherever I go I never pay a thing for incoming or outgoing international text messages. The only bad thing is that for the last few years they have been behind the curve with new phones, but as of late I heard they are trying to get better phones quicker than they used to.

[©3$@L™ @ Mar 18th 2009 10:27PM]

I wish i could've got mine for free, instead i paid ~$360 for it a few months ago :P Anyways, amazing phone, unbeatable price, good on you Cincinnati Bell!

[E71 @ Mar 19th 2009 12:31AM]

*Murmurs* Stupid name-stealing douche bags...

[pbase @ Mar 19th 2009 1:29AM]

Dell has this RIGHT NOW at $320, unlocked. It was on sale last week at $300. Got mine, loving it.

[Chaosteil @ Mar 19th 2009 3:18AM]

Absolutely the best phone I've ever had. And I was originally disappointed with Nokia handsets. This device surely changed my mind, and I recommend it to absolute everyone. Absolutely smooth and fast interface, gets the work done it was made for.

[David @ Mar 19th 2009 5:24AM]

cripes.. had this white/silver version for months here in the UK.

Love it with push mail, although it in white and silver is a bit bling. Would prefer it in black - but can't complain for what I paid for it ;-)

Camera is shite even tho it is allegedly 3.2MP. Keyboard is excellent. Stops me wanting the other features on the iPhone for instance.

[maxpower @ Mar 20th 2009 11:30AM]

HOLY CRAP! I just got this phone, NO CONTRACT, UNLOCKED, and FREE (after rebate)! Oh, and I pay $29.99 a month for service along with $15.00 for data.

So any smug Apple fan please feel free to comment on how this phone is lacking some feature or another, and I will just enjoy making Skype calls on wifi for free.

This is the future of the phone (data) companies! So make your voice heard and leave those contracts and insane ideas that "voice" and "text" are not just data flowing over an IP network. I for one welcome our new open and free technological overlords.