Nokia E72 - Review
Fri 26 Feb 2010Filed Under: Mobile Phone Reviews | Leave a Comment
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Welcome to our review of the Nokia E72. The E72 is the successor to the very popular E71. Strange that Nokia released a replacement just 12 months after the last release but we’re not complaining! We loved the previous model and one of use still uses it. Simply put it does everything very well and the E72 although still too early to tell looks like it will be just as good as the older model.
The E72 has been refined with updated hardware and software. It faster, has more features and honestly a better package. The E72 is marketed as a ‘for business’ mobile phone but it has all the other features that make it equally at home as a multi-media do it all personal phone as well. It also runs the FLASH based free screensavers apps that we make!
The first thing you’ll notice is the new menu structure. It’s basically 2 layered with the Apps on the first main menu then followed by the normal S60 based or traditional menu system. Its is much like the N97’s update menu system The default graphics have been updated with animated icons which adds eye candy. A widget capable home screen would have been nice instead of the usual messaging and calender etc… notifications. The new CPU makes the E72 noticable fast than the already fast E71 and smoother - works really well.
As for the hardware the new body feels thinner than prior models and the keypad feels better. Not sure about the smaller space bar but it overall the feel of the keys is very good albeit still a tad small. The major change is the touch sensitive center navigation button. The screen is still very good but not as nice as Blackberry’s Bold series. All the other featured attributes like weight and construction quality are up there with the best mobile phones on the market in 2010. The battery life is also amazing for this sort of device it should last for over a week under normal usage. Overall a worth while update.
There is so much technology and features packed into the phone it would take pages to details them all to the most basic level. So we have reviewed the key features and did a simple rating.
Messaging - Has all the latest communication options including SMS, MMS, video calling, VOIP, SKYPE, Multiple Email (manual and Push), MS Exchange synchronizing, onboard message recording, voice response and command, Wi-Fi, 3G, EDGE, Bluetooth etc…. Easy enough to set up to have the one device handle all your usual stuff.
GPS navigation - the E72 has a excellent A-GPS navigation system. The latest version has OVI Maps which replaces the old Nokia Maps and has the bonus of free maps and trip navigation (point to point voice guided) as well. It is a proper car, walking, boating GPS navigator! Accuracy so far is superior to the iPhone and seemingly as good as stand alone units. (GPS comparison coming soon.) Since it has the map data stored on a memory card no data plan is needed and you can browse the maps even without mobile coverage. Excellent.
Let me entertain you - Multi-media features- the E72 has all the latest entertainment functions you can wish for. FM radio, internet radio, MP3, ACC, streaming TV, all common video formats including MP4 and FLV (aka Flash) AVI, etc.. Although not marketed as a multi-media phone this was a still a surprise. The updated camera and video functions are also appreciated.
The only thing missing is a touch screen but that’s covered for by the touch navigation button. The touch button does work well but a screen would probably work better.
Since this is an E series phone there are still a ton of work applications that are pre-loaded. Word, Excel, Powerpoint editors, dictionary, Notes, ZIP, PDF, wireless printer connectivity, clocks, calendar, unit convertors, VPN and of course Internet.
The web browser has been updated and together with the faster CPU allows one of the best mobile experiences on a moible phone we’ve seen. Together with in-built FLASH allows you see full internet websites if you want rather than cut down versions.
Conclusion: The E72 is a fantastic phone. It does everything you can possibly imagine for 2010. It looks good too which helps. We can definitely recommend it to anyone! If you’re tossing up between the E71 or E72 I would go for the E72 since its not that much more expensive and a relative bargain compared to other manufacturers.
If tossing up between the new N series phones have a long hard think because the E72 does 99% of what the N series in terms of entertainment but 110% of day to day functions in a simpler and more attractive fashion. If purchased outright you’ll find that it is relatively inexpensive.
Specifications
- Nokia E72
- Network
Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900
Dual-band 3G 850/900/1900/2100 (Dependent on country)
HSDPA 7.2 Mbits data speed (download)
HSDPA 2 Mbits data speed (upload) - Design
QWERTY based - L114 x W58.3 x D10.1 mm
Weight 128 grams - Display/s
External TFT 320 x 240 - Camera
5MP
Auto-focus
LED Flash - Video Camera
640 x 480 pixel main video camera 15FPS
480 x 640 video call 15FPS - Connectivity
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth V2
Micro-USB - CPU
600Mhz - Memory
Up to 250MB available to user
MicroSD up to 16Gig - Ring tones
MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others - Features
A-GPS free Maps and navigation
Touch screen
Accelerometer
Compass (Magnetometer)
JAVA Apps
Music and Media player
Remote security
Word/Excel/Powerpoint/PDF reader
Organiser/Calender
SMS, MMS, IM, Email
JAVA MIDP 2.0
FM radio with RDS and recording
Speaker Phone/Hands free
3.5mm headset
BP-4L 3.7V 1500mAh
Up to 22 days Standby
Up to 13 hours Talk Time - Price history
From $549 AUS 2010 (Ouright)
Nokia 6300 Review
Thu 25 Feb 2010Filed Under: Mobile Phone Reviews | Leave a Comment
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Welcome to the Nokia 6300 review. The 6300 has been around for over 2 years now and we didn’t get one initially because it didn’t have 3G capabilities. We understand that most people still don’t need 3G but since it does had EDGE data capabilities it can still be used for basic internet messaging.
It is our opinion that the 6300 is Nokia’s best GSM handset - it has everything that you need in a GSM only mobile. It can do SWF wallpapers and clocks that we’re giving away, JAVA games, some web browsing, music, video, radio, camera and so forth. It is not a surprise that its one of the most popular models available.
The conservative design is made of stainless steel and feels nice, solid and thin. The keypad has a nice feel, but not as nice as the 6233. Overall we liked the look, better in real life than pictures. Although it has a mere 7 Mb of internal memory it does have a a micro-SD slot for more memory and a 2.5 mm headphone socket.
Applications on the phone is the S40 series so you won’t be missing out anything. It even has a massive 2MB JAVA heap! The interface customisation features are truly the industry best - no manufacturer does it like Nokia. That said the only thing missing is a backlight time out! The system works as fast so you won;t be dissapointed.
The most outstanding feature of the phone is the display. It’s very bright and diamond sharp. This is our new bench mark for screen quality. It’s lovely to look a - especially with some quality SWF wallpapers out there, including our own. Of note also was a notification light - which warns if you have a message, call and so forth.
Call quality, reception is standard Nokia, so no complaints. Battery life was again good lasting 5-7 days on left on standby most of the time. Sound quality from the speaker was average. We haven’t tried the video yet but the camera was standard Nokia 2MP so only acceptable.
So as we said before if you want a GSM only mobile phone then the Nokia 6300 is truly the top of the heap unit. It’s not a multi-media phone but can do the most common formats to some point, it is more focused on calls and txt with a ton of customisation and top spec screen. We like it and recommend it to anyone wanting a very good GSM phone.
Manufacturer : Nokia
Model : 6300
Network : Tri-band GSM (900/1800/1900 MHz)
Design : Standard Phone
L107 x W44 x D13 mm
Weight 91 grams
Black/Silver
Display/s : 24-bit colour TFT - 240 x 320 pixels
Camera : Dual :Single 2MP Camera
Video capable MP4, WMV, 3GP
Connectivity : Bluetooth, USB
Memory : 7 MB internal memory
MicroSD memory Hot Swap
Ring tones : Video, ACC, MP4, MP3, MIDI (64), WAV, Vibration, AMR
Features : SMS, MMS, IM, EMAIL
Animated themes only via Theme
JAVA MIDP 2.0
Modem for PC
Web browser (WAP 2.0 + xHTML)
Speaker Phone/Hands free
Media player
FM Radio
Speed : Vs Nokia 6230
Navigation 10/10
Battery Life : 890mAh Li Ion BL-5B
Claimed operating times:
Standby 250 hours
Voice 3 hours
Price outright for 2008 A$350
Price outright for 2010 A$199