Nokia E72 smartphone

The E72 is the latest in Nokia’s line of Qwerty handsets, beefing up the popular E71 with a slightly sleeker look, improved software and some interface tweaks. It’s very slim – only just over 1cm thick, 58.3mm wide, and 114 tall, weighing 128g. The 2.36in screen is only QVGA, though arguably on a unit this size, a higher …

[fireman sam]

Nokia Fail

Nice phone and I'm a fan of Nokia. They've gotten a bit lost recently but I've always liked their phones for being good at phone-type stuff.

Unfortunately, Nokia have lost me as a customer because their series 60 phones won't pair properly with my car kit. Their series 40 phones pair and share contacts fine but Nokia broke something (or stopped supporting something) in their series 60 bluetooth stack which means that their phones no longer fully work with some of the biggest car manufacturers in the world.

Nokia's refusal to fix this has meant that I've been tempted by the serpent's round, tree-dwelling fruit.

[Bod]

car pairing

Is it Nokia or is it your car?

My S60 pairs fine with my Civic. Does it automatically when I get in the car.

However I understand iPhones have a lot of problems ;)

[Craig Mulvaney]

Screen size

"The 2.23in screen is only QVGA..."

I thought it was 2.36 inches.....makes all the difference, according to SWMBO...

[Nigel Whitfield.]

Yes, sorry

My typo; must pay more attention when reaching for the number pad.

[Nick Woodruffe]

Huge Nokia Fail

Another good phone buggered by crap software.

Just like the E75, you are stuck with the built-in Nokia Messaging suite which must have been written by a complete idiot. It has to be one of the most useless suites for integrating with your MS Exchange system.

With the E71 you install Mail-for-Exchange as a free download and everything just works.

Mail-for-Exchange will not even install on the E72 and the Nokia Messaging suite will crash, fail to connect or even slow your phone down to a crawl.

Stupid Nokia.

Thank god my company bought loads of E71s before they were discontinued otherwise we would be forced back to a Microsoft OS phone to get good email connectivity.

[Nigel Whitfield.]

Mail for Exchange

Mail for Exchange is built in to the Messaging client on the E72, so you don't need to install it separately. Just choose the 'Setup email' option on the main menu, or add a new account in Messaging, and it's one of the options for the account type, alongside Lotus Notes Traveller.

[Nick Woodruffe]

have you actually tried it

I am aware that the messaging client built into the firmware has mail for exchange capability. Just try and use it in anger and tell me that it works for you. In my experience of using the firmware version, it's a dog.

Yes you could by Profimail like the review has mentioned but what company is going to shell out more cash because the messaging client is not up to the job. If Blackberry and Iphone can get it right then surely Nokia can.

[Anonymous Coward]

Brilliant phone

The best phone just got better. This is a brilliant phone. Been using it for a week now with zero issues. Thought the E71 was quick? This is even quicker.

[Nexox Enigma]

Awesome looking phone...

I've been seriously considering the E71, and now I have to wait a year or so before this beauty wanders over to my side of the pond. Looks quite slick.

[DrewHew]

Podcast

I've been soooo looking forward to this phone - I can't think of a more worthy upgrade from my E71 (certainly not a BB). However, the podcast software is one of my favourite and most-used applications. I really hope Nokia is/will be offering a download for this app.

I am in love with all the improvements on this phone, but the lack of podcasting software will be a heart-breaker (though, perhaps NOT a deal-breaker)

[Llanfair]

Benq Siemens have E72

From the advert on the right:

BenQ E72 Windows Mobile 6 Smartphone

Ooops

[imacoder.net]

contacts

'For instance, you can find a contact by starting to enter the name on the keypad. A list of matches appears, which you can scroll through to select.'

Ooooo, a ferature that has been in Windows Mobile for at least the last 4 and a half years!

Are Nokia going to be the new Firefox? (taking all the best ideas and claiming that its their feature)

[Anonymous Coward]

Best phone

The E71 was arguably the best phone ever made, and the E72 improves over it substantially. Who needs touchscreen and 'fancy' icons when you can have this - a phone for people who has proper jobs rather than just dicking about.

[Anonymous Coward]

Nice writeup, but..

..did I blink and miss the bit where you said whether you could plug in normal headphones, or needed a special headset or adaptor? I

[Malcolm 1]

Multimedia

Just add a copy of Kinoma Play and you're sorted for multimedia:

http://blog.kinoma.com/2009/11/see-kinoma-play-on-nokias-just-launched-e72/

[Marc Spillman]

First hand experience

I've been using this for over a week now and am suitably impressed. Having clung onto my N95 8GB for dear life, it was hard to wean myself off it, but the jump from 'N' to 'E' certainly wasn't an issue - they're basically the same to use, things are just jigged around a bit.

The flashlight on the 'Spacebar' is really handy when you're looking for your keys in the bottom of your bag after a night out on the lash. Internet browsing is easy, mail is easy and texting is simplicity in itself with the QWERTY keyboard.

The handset feels solid to hold, and looks a lot more 'classy' than the all black encased Blackberries. I do miss the Podcasting application (but in fairness there hasn't been a significant amount of development on that app for a while on S60 v3 phones) and I found an application called 'Escapod' which could do the job.

Internet radio installs itself under the 'Radio' folder in the menu. I expected it to install to the 'Music' or 'Apps' folder, so watch out for that as well.

[InglouriousB]

3.5mm Jack

Isnt that something that the reviewer forgot to include, or am i just being a spoon who has lost his reading capabilities today.

One thing which would make me consider upgrading from my E71(which fulfills all my needs apart from the crappy 2.5mm headphone jack,bought a 2.5mm to 3.5mm converter of the bay which failed to work) is the new 3.5mm headphone jack, as with a decent memory card this phone would also do away for the need for my ipod for the small selections of songs that i would want to upload to the phone. The headphones that come with the E71 were crap and lost their rubber surrounds meaning you had sharp bits of headphone metal poking your lug holes which wasn't the nicest feeling!

[Colin Critch]

FixTheE71First

After going from the E61 to the E71 I was shocked with the amount of memory leak in the calendar, are these fixed in the E72? ( I bet not )

The buttons are too small on the E71 and E72 so I'm sticking with the E61 a real phone that you can use in one hand.

[Anonymous Coward]

From the above responses......

Nokia really do get a lot of bad press. Not sure I'd want to upgrade from my E-71 (these aren't exactly phones you buy with upgrading every six months in mind) but it looks like a worthy successor to a great phone. The MfE issues sound a bit of a bother but hopefully just teething problems.

It's a pity Nokia doesn't have an OS strategy (yes, they're idiots who have a perfectly good platform but won't develop it while Apple, Palm and Blackberry eat their lunch).

[James Howell]

IMAP Access

In the article it mentions IMAP accounts not being synced / accessed properly with the new Nokia Messaging application.

Am I right in assuming from the wording of the article there is no good old fashioned straight IMAP connection to your email, without going via the Nokia Messaging servers (which is buggy according to the article) and the reason I bought the E71 over a BlackBerry - being tied in to a server side system to get my email?

This would be the only reason I would not upgrade my much loved and abused and still loved E71...

[The Original Steve]

@ Nick Woodruffe

Couldn't agree more.

Mail for Exchange is critical to us - yet Nokia have dropped it.

Which means we're going to have to go back to Windows Mobile handset - although to be honest with the recent reviews of the HTC stuff it looks like things have improved with WM recently.

With you on the E71's though - we've just brough a truck load more to ensure we keep Mail for Exchange support till we decide what to do..!

[Mayhem]

Headphone

Does it have a 2.5 or 3.5 mm headphone socket?

About the only complaint I have with the E71 is the headphone socket.

Well, that and I notice I'm slowly knocking chips off the navipad cause it was made of a cheaper plastic.

[James Howell]

@Mayhem (navipad)

"Well, that and I notice I'm slowly knocking chips off the navipad cause it was made of a cheaper plastic."

Tell me about it. Mine is chipped to the point it is sharp when running my finger from the right shortcut buttons to those on the left.

[Neill Mitchell]

Headphones

Has it finally got a 3.5mm jack?

[Marc Spillman]

Headphone jack

Yes, it's 3.5mm and it sits on the top left of the device - so you can have your headphones plugged in and still have the phone tucked inside the cutesy side loading leather look cover.

I mentioned Podcasting before with an app called Escapod - my apologies, the actual app is called Escarpod and can be downloaded from: code.google.com/p/bergamot/wiki/Escarpod

It only seems to be able to download full Podcasts over wireless though (but this makes sense as data costs would be high via 3G for those on limited data accounts).

[Nigel Whitfield.]

Headphone jack

Yes, it is 3.5mm; I was a little short on words (well, actually over what I was asked to write), so concentrated on other aspects, as we were linking to the full specs on the product page.

[Wolf Clostermann]

Is it as buggy as the E71 v1 firmware was?

Does the browser still randomly crash with no explanation? Is the browser still tortuously slow to render pages?

What's the reception like compared to another phone on the same network? (My E71 is a nightmare compared to the E61 - I have a feeling it has to do with the lovely metal body)

You know the feature mentioned where if you hold the centre button the screen lights up to tell you the time? Does this suffer from the same quirk as the E71, whereby if you hit any OTHER key beforehand, such as when, say, getting the phone out of your pocket or fumbling for it in the dark, then holding the centre button will do nothing?

This feature whereby turning it onto its front silences a call? Can this differentiate between you placing it face down on a table, or your phone just being in your back pocket?

Does the phone sometimes randomly stick on no signal, necessitating switching it into offline mode and then back into online mode again to get your signal back?

My E71 is certainly a looker, but MY GOD has it been a frustrating phone to own over the last year.

[Grozbat]

Dead end OS

For me a killer Symbian app - one I paid €30 for - was SymSMB, to browse and copy files on a networked PC.

Then Nokia forced it off the market, claiming copyright infringement, without offering their own alternative.

Result, Nokia shot themselves, and Symbian, in the foot.

Nokia deserve to go down the toilet, as they surely will eventually.

[Mick Stranahan]

Headphones jack

3.5mm according the the Nokia spec sheet.

[Anonymous Coward]

Is the jack....

All you geeks know fine well it's got 3.5mm jack. If you want to know whether or not it shaves it's tadger or not as well, go to gsmarena or the nokia website, instead of being moronic, and read specs.

Jesus Christ. Yes, it is he.

[Marc Spillman]

Facebook for E72

is FINALLY available (for E71) as well. Check out Ovi Store from your mobile (search for "Facebook for E71/E72")or via your desktop browser http://store.ovi.com/content/7935613C5E89247DE040050A85326153?clickSource=search

This is great news - I was contemplating forking out £23 for Kinoma Play, just to have a Facebook app, as opposed to the URL we're given out of the box on the E72.

[Tippis]

Upgrade?

The two key pieces of software on my E71 are Mail for Exchange and JoikuSpot, and with one of them being replaced with something that doesn't work properly, and no word on the compatibility of the other, the "upgrade" value of this handset just isn't there yet.

[Mayhem]

Headphones

@nigel Ahh, missed the link to the product page, to be honest I usually skip the rating in reviews

I have to say though that the key apps I've found on the E71 have been the GPS & ovi maps, which have been pretty damn reliable for 9 countries so far, and picodrive, for playing all my old megadrive games on the tube.

I like the new hold-down space for a light, reminds me of my old simple 3310 which had a similar feature. Surprisingly handy.

@Wolf

Never had reception issues with E71, Vodafone has been good to me.

Well, no signal in my datacentre, but thats a plus in my book.

"holding the centre button will do nothing?" Yeah, that can be irritating

"This feature whereby turning it onto its front silences a call? Can this differentiate between you placing it face down on a table, or your phone just being in your back pocket?"

This would be good to know.

[Nigel Whitfield.]

Turn to silence, centre button

I've not had the phone refuse to ring when in my pocket; it doesn't go into silent mode just because it's face down.

What happens is that it rings when a call comes in, whichever way it's facing. And then it stops when you turn it face down. So, if it's face down already, it rings, you can turn it over, see who it is calling and it will silence if you put it face down again.

Given that, I would imagine you've have to be performing some pretty energetic gyration for the sensors to imaging you've turned it over when it's in your back pocket.

As for the centre-button hold, I've tried pressing lots of buttons when they keypad is locked, and then the centre of the navpad, and yes, the display still lights up with the time, so you don't need to get it right first time when you're fumbling in the dark.

[Mikko Kaarela]

VoIP is nice, but VoWLAN better

More and more handset come with Wireless VoIP functionality, but the promise doesn't materialize unless the WLAN Service Level is properly guaranteed. To be effective, Wireless Quality Assurance requires more than just user complaint-driven reactive maintenance. Luckily some companies are thinking along these lines, some like Aruba adding WLAN QA into the Access Point, others like 7signal developing vendor-independent solutions for both continuous quality monitoring and WLAN commissioning and troubleshooting purposes.

[Anonymous Coward]

2.5mm socket solution is surprisingly simple

The one issue I had with my E71was the 2.5mm headphone socket. The phone adaptors I'd tried didn't work, and I didn't want to buy a chunky one with built-in microphone. Then in desperation I tried a plain old small and cheap 2.5 to 3.5 stereo adaptor with no phone accessory pretensions. The phone recognises it, and as a bonus lets you still use the phone microphone if you get an incoming call. I now no longer have an issue with the small socket - I just keep the small adaptor attached to the headphones.

[lovemye71]

Need that Adapter

Hello Anonymous Coward,

Where did you get this adapter.....been lookin' for ages an' ages, tried loads and none works!