Amazon sells Nokia E71x smartphone for 1 cent

— -- You can't even get chewing gum for a penny anymore. But you can get a smartphone.

One cent is what Amazon.com is charging for the Nokia E71x smartphone I've been testing.

You're probably thinking a penny phone must be a discontinued model, or a device lacking state-of-the-art features. But the Nokia E71x only went on sale this month. And this sleek-looking world phone has a full qwerty keyboard, Web browser, Wi-Fi, GPS, access to corporate e-mail through Exchange, a 3.2-megapixel camera (with video, no less) and other multimedia features.

Granted, there's the usual catch with a subsidized handset: You have to sign up for a two-year contract with AT&T or otherwise pay $300. If you buy the phone in an AT&T store instead of Amazon, the price with contract climbs to $100 after a $50 mail-in rebate. That's still an attractive deal. Data users will have to sign up for a $30 monthly plan on top of monthly voice plans that start at $40; messaging plans start at $5.

Truth is Amazon sells other phones for a penny (including a BlackBerry Curve model). Amazon's pricing could be a boost for Nokia. The company sells a boatload of phones around the world, but has barely made a splash in the USA, where smartphones are dominated by iPhones and BlackBerrys.

The phone has shortcomings. Nokia doesn't supply a memory card to bolster the paltry 120 megabytes of internal memory, though there's a slot on the phone for adding one. Nor is a stereo headset included for listening to music or watching video — and good luck using your own, since most people have headphones that are too large to fit the phone's 2.5mm jack. The device is compatible with wireless Bluetooth stereo headsets, though.

Moreover, I didn't find the E71x the easiest phone to use in my tests — its keyboard is too cramped, and the interface lacks the polish or pizazz of better-known rivals.

But considering the economic climate, you could do a lot worse.

Here's a closer look.

The basics.

The phone is attractive and svelte; AT&T and Nokia claim you won't find a slimmer smartphone. It's under half an inch thick and weighs a little more than 4 ounces. The trade-off comes in that cramped keyboard. Just above the keyboard are convenient dedicated one-touch keys for the calendar, address book, e-mail and home screen, plus a thumb navigation key for moving around and scrolling.

The 2.36-inch screen does a nice job displaying video. You can remove the back cover and replace the battery. Nokia claims nearly two weeks of standby time and just over five hours of talk time, depending on the network you're using.

The telephone.

Voice quality — including on the speakerphone — was very good. The phone, which is made of steel, feels sturdy in your hand and held up to your ear. But I found dialing a chore on the numerical keypad embedded in the keyboard. I fumbled with the keys as I tried punching in a remote voice mail code.

Camera.

On the positive side, there's a built-in flash, tiny self-portrait mirror and video camera, features sometimes missing on smartphones. But the message that popped up each time I opened the camera application — "Card is not accessible. Phone memory will be used instead" — only reminded me of the device's stingy memory. There's a little tool bar that appears on the display for changing various camera settings (selecting scene modes, turning on a self-timer, etc.). I too often inadvertently hit the wrong key, making the toolbar disappear.

GPS.

The GPS was accurate in determining my location, as I rode in a bus, train or car. You can get audible turn-by-turn directions (and traffic), and select a destination by saying it aloud. But the audible instructions weren't always clear or timely. The service comes as part of AT&T Navigator ($10 a month after a 30-day free trial).

Needs to be more intuitive.

In general, it wasn't always obvious how to do stuff. Without a touch-screen, you have to dig through menus to find a way to increase the browser's font size. Labels are also confusing. Setting up e-mail accounts required me to click on a "Messages" icon, then click on another icon called "XM Settings" (as opposed to another related icon right next to it) and only then choose the e-mail account I wanted to set up.

Penny for my thoughts: The E71x is a decent device with a few too many nits for my taste. But you can't beat the price.

E-mail: ebaig@usatoday.com