Nokia E71 was one of the best devices to come out of Nokia’s stable and with E72 – successor of E71 – it was no surprise that consumers wanted more than what a year-old model had to offer. Needless to say Nokia did their best to up the ante with E72. But were they able to capitalize? Well, let’s see.
The E72 shouts business from its looks. The E72 supports Microsoft Exchange e-mail systems and the Lotus Notes traveler. Besides this is also supports POP3 and IMAP based e-mail networks. The phone is pretty similar in looks to E71 like a nicely spaced-out QWERTY keypad, a big screen, premium looks. The distinction however between both the devices comes from the inclusion of an optical navi pad and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Optical Navigation pad may seem as a fad but mind you, it grows on you. The more you use, the more you’ll like it. You can also adjust the sensitivity of the optical navigation or completely switch it off. The standard headphone jack on the other hand, makes it easy for users to hook up their favorite pair of headsets.
Under the hood, Nokia upgraded the processor to an ARM 600MHz CPU, runs Symbian S60 v3 with FP2 and few other tweaks. The phone’s speedy 600MHz CPU does make the phone feel faster and responsive. In terms of size and weight, E72 is still the same as E71 with a millimeter here and there.
Nokia E72 features a 2.36in display, it’s the same here as with the E71 and the E63. The screen supports resolution of up to 320×240 pixels and has 16.7m color support. Overall, the picture quality is good and has a high readability rate when read under direct sunlight.
Moving onto its camera, Nokia has also upgraded the camera to 5 megapixel from E71’s 3.2 megapixel. The camera support auto focus, self-timer, red eye reduction and features an LED flash. Considering its business-centric nature, we would say the picture quality was at par with other 5MP phones but a considerable leap from the predecessor. It can get your work done in emergency. However, Nokia’s decision to keep out a dedicated camera button makes the phone somewhat incomplete.
The E72 also features A-GPS and comes pre-installed with Nokia’s Ovi Maps app. Nokia’s most high-end devices carry A-GPS but the fact that GPS inclusion in E72 makes it special is because of the Ovi Maps which supports free navigation. Users can get driving or walking navigation instructions at no cost for almost any part of the world.
Other features you’d find in the E72 is Ovi services support, 3G, Wi-Fi, flashlight – a nifty feature that can have the phone camera’s LED backlight work as a torch.
E72 is powered by 1500 mAh BP-4L battery and we think it needs a special mention. E72 boasts excellent battery life with the battery lasting almost 4 days on a single charge. That’s with some decent amount of calls, surfing on Wi-Fi, camera and FM Radio.
One might argue that there are lots of other devices that can handle messaging; however, Nokia like always with the E-series marries the messaging and phone experience to the best. Besides this, the other functions like office productivity suite, applications from the Ovi store and more, makes is more attractive as a smartphone. Agreed, that the S60 UI looks dated as compared to the evolving Android OS and the iPhone OS but with a price tag of Rs.19,000, this one seems a good buy for people looking for a new smartphone.
Rating: 
Pros: Excellent battery life, build quality, good keyboard, Ovi Maps with free navigation
Cons: No dedicated camera key
Rae you kidding, did you see the slow response on email and calendar that can take more than 30 seconds, and phone getting stuck on a daily basis
i dont quite understand how this was missed?