AT A LONDON LAUNCH that The INQUIRER wasn’t invited to, Nokia officially revealed to the world the E71 and E66. Both of these hail from the long-drawn-out E series range and are the latest email-driven handsets to appear on the horizon.

The soon-to-be-sued-by-RIM-looking Nokia E71, with its full Qwerty keyboard, and the very-much-HTC-Dual-looking slide-to-open Nokia E66 both offer a plethora of personal and professional messaging needs.

Nokia E71

These include Microsoft Exchange – the world's most widely adopted corporate emailer, according to the former wood-pulp millers.

"The Nokia E71 and Nokia E66 were designed for people who lead a mobile lifestyle and want quick and easy access to their personal and work email. With both of these devices, we have responded to consumer feedback by making calendar and contacts available at the touch of a button," blathered Søren Petersen, Senior Vice President, Devices, Nokia.

Nokia E66

Mail for Exchange mobile email client is aimed at those who use MS Exchange at work for accessing their real-time email, calendar, contacts and tasks. This is in addition to downloading attachments such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint or PDF files directly to their devices.

But the devices also boast email account access from more than a thousand internet service providers (ISPs) around the world, as well as Gmail, Yahoo! mail and even Hotmail.

The Nokia E71 tips up in a stainless steel case, etched graphics and is available within two colours - grey steel or white steel. Its metallic finish is backed by the bright colour display, supposedly showcasing the device's simple user interface.

The Nokia E66 has a bit more of a professional touch to it with its stainless steel accents and smooth sliding design. It also shares the same key features as its partner in crime, with an enhanced calendar, contacts and customisable home screen modes. Both models support the latest Ovi services including maps, music and media sharing. They arrive fully equipped with HSDPA, wireless LAN and 3G connectivity, plus Assisted GPS (A-GPS) and Nokia Maps for navigation.

Bundled onboard is a music player with support for up to 8GB expandable memory and a 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera, all bound to keep even the most hapless business exec amused.

Integrated mobile VPN support gives professional-types access to their company intranet, included just to hammer home the idea the business world is the focus for these two. Just in case that wasn’t enough, encryption for both device memory and memory card has also been built in. The devices are expected to begin shipping in July.

The Nokia E71 and the E66 are expected to retail for EUR 350, before applicable taxes and subsidies are thrown in for good measure. µ