Nokia E72: First Impression: I'm converted!

Under normal circumstances I'd distance myself from any handsets belonging to the e-series. I used to think of them as a phone that got about with conservative looks and an even more conservative feature list. This must be why Nokia/WOM World decided to send in the Nokia E72 to me for trialling hidden inside a box that was part of their "Unboxing Experience". They must've realized I wouldn't want anything to do with it if i knew it was an Eseries beforehand. But guess what, after I got to use it I'm really grateful to them for opening up the Eseries world to me. Infact I think I've just been converted from a guy who swears by the nseries into an Eseries fan!

The things about it that got me hooked instantly:

• 600 MHz ARM 11 CPU and 128 MB of SDRAM  hot!
• Mode Swap Switch for swapping two home-screens.
• Great audio output quality (even though the loudspeaker was a tad disappointing)
• Full Flash support
• The back panel made of cold cold Steel

 
Shooting pictures on the e72 is slicker than on other phones. The camera interface of the e72 has autofocus activated the moment the optical sensor senses my finger tip. It's really cool, and taking a photo couldn't have got quicker. Though I'm accustomed to the tactile feel of a partially depressed shutter button while autofocusing this was more..uhm.. Modern.

Another thing i learned while typing this post is the ability to copy text. Copying whole paragraphs of text is easily done on the e72 by using the 'shift' (you use this to select upper-case) key in conjunction with the 5-way key. Just like on a PC. I was searching for this function when My Nokia sent me a SMS about a feature to "Save Time Now!". Nice timing Nokia.

The availability of a Business mode and a Personal mode is a really neat idea. Obviously i didn't need the business mode so i use it as my school mode. The shortcuts are set to the 2 inbuilt games, chat and a bookmark for blogging =). And then there's one to a calendar for marking exam days.

The display of this nokia phone is stunning. The bland theme that comes with the phone didn't show it off, but when i visited the gallery it was a different experience alltogether. The phone also handles the transition effects reallly smoothly. Be it when you change modes or zoom in to an image - the flow is never lost or cut up like a slide show as on the n95. Must be due to that uber CPU inside the phone.

Honestly I didn't realize these phones came packed with so much power, i blame it on my ignorance. I mean the E72 has a processor that outclocks the N97 while still running on the Symbian platform ! If they hadn't released the N900 in time, all us geeks out here would've had to bear the shame of an office phone out-teching a tech flagship phone. Jeezus!