I'm not going to try to rehash what other great reviews on this product have said so well, I just wanted to add a few specifics:
(1) For people who plan on using T-Mobile:
(a) At least in my case, this phone works with the grandfathered tzones plan (for those who don't know what it is you get unlimited internet access for $4.99-$5.99 a month).
(b) It works with T-Mobile's strange 3.5G bands, which is used only by T-Mobile and, I believe, a few Canadian carriers. While I was visiting the Atlanta area I was getting download speeds of over 12.
(2) For people who have not purchased an unlocked phone before:
(a) This phone is not sold in the US so it will be a phone intended for another country (in my case, Colombia). This means that you do not get a warranty in the US so it is essential that you try it out when you get it to make sure that it is working well. I purchased mine from HassleFreeCells and based on some conversations with the seller I have no doubt that if there is a problem when you get it they'll take care of you even if they charge a few extra bucks it's worth the peace of mind.
(b) The fact that it is a foreign phone doesn't make too much of a difference EXCEPT for the fact that Nokia sets up updates based on your phones country code. For example, Microsoft is making some of their programs available on Belle. It is already available for the UK and some other countries, but not Latin America so I can't get those programs yet.
(c) Even though this is a phone intended for Colombia you can select multiple European languages including US English, so that isn't an issue.
(3) For people who own other Nokia phones:
(a) Besides this phone I also have a C6-01 which has a clear black screen whereas this phone uses an ips screen. The screen on the C6-01 is brighter and has better colors, contrast and blacks, but the screen on the 701 is much more viewable outside.
(b) This phone comes with Belle from the start (although as soon as you start it it requires an update). Compared to running Belle on the C6-01 (which was updated to Anna from Symbian3 and finally to Belle) this phone is faster and more "fluid". I'm assuming that is because this phone has a faster processor and double the ram, so if that's the case the same should be true for other older pre Belle Nokia phones such as the E7 and N8. Belle is a mixed bag. It has more eye-candy and is more up to date in the sense that it resembles Android and iOS5, but it gives up tons of features such as folders, etc. that made Symbian seem much more like a real operating system. Also be aware that as always in Nokia land the switch to Belle has created tons of problems. Lots of older apps such as QuickOffice (one of the few Office compatible programs) no longer work with Belle and some newer apps such as Moodagent are having issues. Since Symbian is a dead operating system walking the incentive for programmers to update their programs to solve this issue is lessened.
In sum, I gave this phone a five because the price is great, I will be able to use it in 98% of the world with local sim cards and have local maps and 3g coverage, it is easy to use and has all the functionality I need. If those are your needs this is a near perfect phone. However, if you have never used an unlocked phone or a Nokia think carefully before buying it. In terms of support you are basically on your own, you have no factory warranty, and the app selection for common apps on other smart phones such as Netflix, Pandora, etc. is non-existant. Although Nokia has stated that they will support Symbian until at least 2016 you can't expect much interest in an operating system that has been thrown to the curb and given that Nokia's market share is in free-fall at the moment there is even a real possibility that they won't be in any position to offer even limited support in the near future.
Here's an update on my 701. My daughter needed to borrow the phone so as recommended in the manual I attempted to do a factory restore from the menu setting huge mistake. The phone got stuck in a loop and 2.5 hours later it was still in a loop, even after removing the battery and reinstalling, trying to connect to the pc, etc. My only option was to do a hard reset which besides loosing a bunch of the factory installed software (no big deal) did not allow active exchange or the Nokia store to work anymore. I tried reinstalling my backup (as suggested by Nokia support) did not work. A quick look at the internet forums showed that the 701 needs to be reflashed if you do a hard reset and since this is not a US phone you're basically on your own. Nokia did offer to "downgrade" it to a 700 or C6-01 which is actually quite nice since this is a non-US phone, but I sent it to a third party Palco Cell Phone Repair where they say they can reflash it for $42 (we'll see). What it all boils down to is that I went ahead and purchased a Samsung Galaxy Nexus for just a bit more which is unlocked, pentaband GSM, 4.65" screen and so forth for just a few bucks more with a US warranty. It really is absurd to sell a phone that can not be restored to factory in an age when tons of your private info (including cc numbers, etc.) is stored on the phone. Although I still like the phone, and will keep it as a backup if it gets fixed, it's time to leave Nokia behind. Unless you're willing to settle for a WIndows phone Nokia has nothing left worth buying in the US anymore.
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