Nokia E72

The Nokia E72 is a Symbian smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard, 3.5G support, WiFi and GPS. It follows on from last year's E71, and it occupies a slightly higher position in Nokia's range from the budget E63 model.

There are few surprises here, the E72 is an incremental upgrade to the previous handset featuring a better camera, improved software and some other useful improvements.

Most people will buy the E72 for messaging, and it integrates with standard email clients, business systems such as Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes and even webmail applications like Hotmail and Gmail. Support for popular instant messaging clients is also included.

The 2.4" 320 x 240 pixel display on the E72 isn't particularly large, but it is certainly good enough for messaging applications. User control has been enhanced with something called the "Optical Navi Key" which makes scrolling much easier, and Nokia have reworked the interface to make it simpler to use and more responsive.

Of course, there's a web browser and because this is an S60 device then there are a lot of productivity applications too. One new feature is an updated version of Quickoffice 5.3 which can read Office 2007 documents. VPN support is included, and there's also a useful remote wipe feature in case the handset gets lost or stolen.

This is a 3.5G device with support for HSDPA and HSUPA high-speed downloads and uploads. The maximum download speed is an impressive 10.2 Mbps with up to 2 Mbps for uploads. WiFi is included too, and local connectivity is via stereo Bluetooth or USB.

The camera on the Nokia E72 is probably a secondary consideration for most users, but this is a 5 megapixel unit with autofocus and a flash. Video capture is up to 640 x 480 pixels at 15 frames per second, which is pretty decent for a device of this type, but not really up with the class leaders.

Other useful new features include a 3.5mm audio socket and a compass integrated into the E72's GPS system. There's an FM radio and a capable multimedia player as well.

The large 1500 mAh battery provides up to 6 hours talktime on 3G and 12.5 hours on GSM. Standby time is up to 24 days. The E72 weighs 128 grams and measures a slightly broad 114 x 58 x 10mm.

Nokia say that the E72 should be available towards the end of Q3 2009 for an estimated price of around €350 before tax and subsidy. Available device colours are a fairly sober choise of Zodium Black, Metal Grey and Topaz Brown.

The old E71 was surprisingly popular, and the cut-down E63 model has also sold well to consumers. We expect this latest incarnation of the "Nokiaberry" to also be quite a popular device when it hits the streets.