Reports suggest that AT&T is nearly ready to begin offering the Nokia E71 smartphone. The E71 has been on sale since last summer in other markets. With the E55 and E75 on deck, why bother with the E71 at all?It looks as though Nokia's superstar smartphone is finally ready to hit U.S. shores officially. Too bad it's too little too late.

AT&T is set to offer the E71 as early as next week for a contract price of about $200. I've fawned over the E71 before. There's no doubt it is a fantastic smartphone. It was first announced in June 2008, and hit European markets by late summer time. It's been available unlocked via online retailers since the fall.

I have two questions for AT&T: What took so long, and why bother? This phone has been available for over six months. With so many new phones already announced, it's too late.

Nokia recently announced the E55 and E75 smartphones, which have better spec lists and similar functionality. The E75 will be available later this month, and offers S60 Feature Pack 2 (the E71 uses FP1) and has a 3.5mm headset jack (the E71 has a 2.5mm headset jack). It has a larger dialing pad and a larger QWERTY keyboard, yet remains a slim and attractive device.

The E75 has been reasonably priced even without carrier subsidies. AT&T could easily carry this device at the same price point it is going to offer the E71 at.

Handset strategy aside, if you're in the market for a cheap(er) Nokia S60 smartphone, the E71 is a powerful device that is worth your attention. Looks like it should be available starting March 26.