I have an E71. It's the best phone I've ever owned. The hardware is superb, and the OS is pretty solid, but Nokia's apps department has repeatedly shown that it can't code its way out of a wet paper bag, so the preinstalled apps are indeed pretty crappy. I use a third-party mail client (ProfiMail) and browser (Opera Mobile 10).
The majority of my interaction with the E71 is via third-party apps, and I'm fine with that, because they're far better than anything I've seen on iPhone or Android (and yes, I have tried both at length). I was using most of those same apps before the iPhone was released (also, get off my lawn, you darn kids).
Hardware wise, I suppose I can't fault the build quality. But the form factor and controls - a tiny screen and a NSEW joystick were very limiting. The keyboard was tiny but worked pretty well. But it was definitely the software that ruined it for me. Opera mobile wasn't terrible but it was really hobbled by the navigation hardware.
The screen and joystick are certainly inferior to a touch screen for web browsing. However, I love the keyboard, and can't see how you could have a keyboard that good with a large touch screen. (QWERTY sliders are all right, but you can't use them one-handed, and the form factor just seems less natural.)
So I would agree that if web browsing is more important to you than typing, the E71 is not an ideal device. I do a lot of both, and find it's a great balance.
The majority of my interaction with the E71 is via third-party apps, and I'm fine with that, because they're far better than anything I've seen on iPhone or Android (and yes, I have tried both at length). I was using most of those same apps before the iPhone was released (also, get off my lawn, you darn kids).