The Nokia E72 looks almost like a twin brother of the older and successful E71 series. With improved features and design, we’ve got a good hands-on with the E72 for a couple of weeks now.
The Nokia E72 has a more polished and elegant look with the faceplate made of aluminum in brushed-metal finish. From afar, you’d find it hard identify it apart from the E71 (the dimensions and weight are practically the same) but up close, you’d see some very fine differences.
I’d recommend reading my review of the Nokia E71 here first, then we go and enumerate a number of differences and improvements added to the Nokia E72:
- A shorter space bar that doubles as a flash light button.
- Two additional keys at the bottom row are added due to more space from the shrunk space bar.
- An optical trackpad in the center of the D-pad.
- A 3.5mm audio jack on the top end.
- The camera section at the back protrudes a bit more.
- Inclusion of an accelerometer.
- Faster 3G — HSDPA 10.2 Mbps and HSUPA 2 Mbps
- More internal storage — 250MB vs. 110MB
- Speakers are found beside the camera at the back.
Here’s my previous photo comparison of the Nokia E72 vs. the Nokia E71 for a better perspective.
The 5-megapixel autofocus camera has somewhat improved in terms of photo quality but not by much. The AF is also a true autofocus (unlike before where you need to press the letter “t” to activate autofocus).
The optical trackpad that’s integrated into the D-pad is a nice addition but sometimes could be frustrating whenever you accidentally touch it and missed a selection. Fortunately, there’s an option to disable it.
Aside from the physical enhancements, the OS on the Nokia E72 was also improved (Symbian 9.3 OS Series60 3rd Edition w/ Feature Pack 2). The UI feels more responsive because of the inclusion of subtle transitions and, of course, because of the faster processor (ARM 11 600 MHz). That’s way faster than the 434MHz of the Nokia N97.
You also get a full suite of connectivity features — GPS, Bluetooth, 3.5G/HSDPA up to 10.2Mbps and WiFi 802.11 b/g. Surfing the web on 3G and especially on WiFi is easy and the pages are rendered faster. The default browser is also full-featured and can display Flash on the page (Flash Lite v3.0). Another nice addition is the integration of keypad shortcuts for browser navigations.
Battery life (Li-Ion 1500mAh) is as impressive as ever and can last an average 3 days on casual use. Running 3G and WiFi continuously will drain the whole thing in 3 or 4 hours top (I use JoikuSpot for 3G sharing over WiFi). Good thing though is that the unit can now be charged via USB port so you’ll never worry about running out of juice when hooked up to your laptop.
Is the Nokia E72 a worthy upgrade to the Nokia E71? I’d say yes, but a conditional yes. The Nokia E72 retails for about Php19,000 to Php22,000 in stores. It’s introduction brought the E71 down to just Php15,000. If you have the budget, I’d say go for the Nokia E72 because of the 62% faster CPU, UI improvements and additional features — all worth the ~Php5k price difference. The elegant design is just icing on the cake.
If you’re on a tight budget, the Nokia E71 will do. If you already own an E71 for a year like me, you can sell the unit at Php9-11K and a lot of people will grab the deal. You can then use the extra dough to get yourself a brand new Nokia E72.
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nice upgrade from e71,but I wish nokia should change the design more..
Twitter: jerby129
replied on Dec 26th, 2009 at 2:40 pm (2)
how about the video capturing abulity? i think it only records video at 15fps?
Twitter: foodrecap
replied on Dec 26th, 2009 at 2:47 pm (3)
5 megapixels? ang digital camera ko ay 3.2 megapixel lang.
At this price, reso should have been 8mpx upwards.
@jerb – yeah, same as the E71 at 15fps.
@Edgar – can’t remember any 8MP smartphone priced at Php20k.
Shouldn’t they start dishing out 8mp smartphones now? Is it technologically impossible, or just wishful thinking from a non-techie?
At that price, I mean.
Twitter: surforeo
replied on Dec 26th, 2009 at 4:09 pm (8)
nice review, which is better iphone 3gs or e72?Hope someone will give me E72
I hope the E72 has solved the issue of the the E71′s “Menu” button not working. I sometimes have to switch the unit off then on after the Menu button hangs.
the phone’s keypad is too small for my fingers to press. i think i this is not the right upgrade for my unit
Twitter: jhayrocas
replied on Dec 27th, 2009 at 9:59 am (11)
I’d still go for a BlackBerry given that it’s in the same price range.
The fact that Nokia still releasing this type of smartphone is a good thing because still lots of people are not yet adapting to touch screens. I wish nokia will concentrate more on higher hardware specs like better cam (at least 8MP), AMOLED screen, better video capture, better music player because that’s the only thing they can do to stay competitive since Symbian OS is becoming an artifact from the past.
@MannyV
maybe a firmware update is in order.. Consider this, my E71 doesn’t hang anymore from making unintentional drop calls.
@Edgar
8MP on a mobile phone isn’t really practical since the use of the camera from mobile phones is for casual shooting only. Also camera sensors for mobile phones are so small to be able to produce fine detail we look for in 8MP photos. I would be happy with 5MP across the board if only they would improve on sensor tech.
looks like a very viable upgrade from E71. Hopefully for the next iteration, they would include a high res AMOLED screen; even with just the same resolution as BB’s. Hopefully Maemo 5? It’s doable even with just an optical trackpad
@ryan: Thanks for the info, bro. I have also read something from:
http://www.phonearena.com/htmls/GSM-Cameraphone-Comparison-Q4-2008-review-r_2039.html
“..the resolution does not necessarily determine the quality of the pictures, only their size. In a crowded market place of 8 megapixel shooters things can get complicated because, at least in theory, the results should not be much different. Nevertheless, specs are nothing but numbers on a piece of paper and a camera’s true quality is only shown in results.”
Which is true, even if we translate this to dedicated digital cameras. Some of my friends have 8mp point-and-shooters of one brand, while I have a 6mp Sony DSC-T9.When we print the pictures using EPSON RX-630 photo printer using the same settings, my pictures definitely looked better.
Maybe not much on the technical side of observations, but there was really a difference in the printed pictures.
I take your word on the 8mp phones. Regards.
We are offering the Nokia E72 for sale at a very cheap and affordable price.The phone is unlocked and SIM-Free to be used with any sim-card insterted in it.
For inquiry,email us on: davidelectronicworld@yahoo.com
Sino ba kasi nagpauso ng mga jologs na TS phones?
I am getting the E72 in Topaz Brown. Glad I only bought the E63 which means I can justify the upgrade to this for my Christmas gift to myself.
is this good for students, what smartphone can you recommend students? i really need advice from the experts.
Yeah, bump the cam to 8MP and the price would go up too… think about the manufacturing costs. It’ll be great if it had the 8MP sensor but you get what you pay for.
@yo_chinbo
It depends on what the students needs are. I thing the Nokia E63 would be more than sufficient for students who need to text and e mail a lot. The wifi and PDA function is there as well. If you have bigger hands perhaps the blackberry?
yeah.. astig tong phone na to umabot ng 3days yun factory charge ng battery nito. nabagsak ko agad 5days plng 4 feet pero ok na ok pa din.. hehe… mabilis yun wifi unlike my nokia 5800 mbagal.. un lng
What’s the recent price of e72?
18500 cmk mobile
i just bought my e71 the other day, im quite disappointed with its pic quality.. how i wish i just bought a nokia e72..
nice review! where is the best place to hunt for a e72 for the lowest value? thanks in advance
Hi. I’m planning on switching to e72. I currently own a SE C905. The phone’s good in theory I guess… I mean, who wouldn’t want an 8mp cam right? That’s the ONLY good thing about the damn c905. Within 4 months of use, the earpiece stopped working and the keypad became crappy. Now it’s in the repair shop for more than a month now.
Do you guys think it’s a wise decision to switch to e72? I want a phone that just works. I figured, I’m willing to give up the top-notch camera of the c905 if that means having a phone that… well, a phone that just works.
Imagine this, everytime I make a phone call, I have to use the loudspeaker or the headphones. It’s very frustrating.
Can you guys help me out? Thanks!
One more thing… If you can please let me know if the phone has UDP (User Data Preservation)? If you update the firmware, will you loose your saved data and apps? Will the quick office and other stuff be lost in the update? Thanks!
@mark
whenever I update firmware, I always backup my phone first. I guess it’s how UDP works in Nokia handsets hehe. The software will prompt you to backup data first before updating the firmware.
So far with my E71, everything just works. It is as responsive as I want it to be. E72 experience should be better. Camera will disappoint you of course since you are coming from a cybershot phone. but who uses a camera phone for crucial shots anyway
@ ryan ang
I guess that settles it then. I’ll switch back to Nokia. =) I used to own an N82. Unluckily for me, I got mugged. So i decided to try SE. It’s one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made.
I’m an Nseries fan actually… It’s good to know that the Eseries “just works” as well.
Thanks dude!
@Mark
No problem..
It’s me again. To all e72 users out there…
Can you tell me if the problems regarding the spacebar true?
Some say that the spacebar malfunctions from time to time and that it causes the phone to freeze. The only solution is to take out the battery and restart the phone.
Can anyone enlighten me regarding this matter? thanks!
Also, if you can tell me all problems that you encountered? No matter how insignificant that may seem. I just want to be absolutely sure that this phone won’t easily fail me. I’ve experienced that with the c905 already. thanks!
i’m currently using a blackberry bold 9700 but would want to get the e72. Is switching worth it?
@tmg
if you’re after the camera and FM radio (and I guess GPS) then GO..
I’ve been using the Nokia E72 for a month. besides the buggy software, sometimes it slows down while opening the program. but the Series 60 3rd edition is truly eyecatching, maybe an update version of the software will fix the problem. about the Spacebar problem, I haven’t encountered it yet.
camera – for a 5 mpx shooter, I can snap a decent picture with this one.
digital trackpad – amazing. I can surf the web easily.
battery strength is also amazing, I’ve been using it for 5 days, every night using it as my wifi. heavy usage down to 3 days KUDOS NOKIA I love this phone!!
downside : buggy software,especially the Nokia Messaging. so sloooow!!
don’t use the leather case supplied by Nokia. it will scratch your phone. instead buy the capdase
Remarks : I’m very satisfied and happy with this
@ Marvin Lee tang:
Thanks!
I guess I can live with the buggy software. Most if not all Symbian phones suffer from it. But they do get better in time. Just like in the N95. I used to regret buying it but after about 2 firmware updates, I started to appreciate it. =)
Hope Nokia would fix the bugs soon with the firmware updates.
im a blackberry bold 9000 user,would this phone be a worthy upgrade?
@ travisthetruth:
Based on the reviews I read so far, I think the e72 would be a worthy upgrade.
I got the chance to use the phone for a few hours and I’m amazed by the build quality and responsiveness of the phone. Since you are used to a QWERTY keyboard, you’ll feel right at home with the e72.
You’ll also get and FM radio, a better camera and a variety of media functions.
If a bug LCD is important to you, you might not be too happy with this. Its screen size is smaller and has fewer pixels. But it produces up to 16M colors so… that is an upgrade I guess…
Also, knowing Nokia and Symbian, their firmware gets better in time through firmware updates.
I’ve had my E72 for a month now and downside to it is the casual delay in button response which I haven’t really quite figured out when it happens. It’s really random… Configuring 2 emails is not an option… It really slows down everything… The message button or just going into the messaging menu will be a problem when you do it at the same time when the email is doing its send/receive.
Other than that, I’m very happy with the 3.5mm jack (a big deal for me), the 5MP camera…
Games? well.. hmmm… you get different versions of solitaire… ^_^;
BTW, Blackberry users beware… Emails come in text versions, not HTML, you won’t be able to read some emails without clicking on “View HTML” which will mean paying your mobile phone service provider for internet usage…
I don’t remember having that kind of problem with the BB.
@Anne : Future updates or FOTA (firmware over the air) by nokia will be provided to improve the slowness of E72, opening to multiple programs really crawls my phone. I had that problems with my E72 I had it for 2 months now.
is this a worth upgrade to BB = I say YES.
Yeah I agree…
Nokia phones are like investments… They get better in time.
That’s what I love about Nokia. Their firmware gets better in time through updates. I’ve had that experience with the n95 & n82. The firmwares on both phones were really crappy at first but after a few firmware updates, they became really stable and fun to use. Though I couldn’t say the same about the n96. Sure they had a firmware update and it fixed the volume problem, but I still find the phone really slow. But it still is a great phone… if only the lags could be fixed.
Anyway, going back to the discussion…
What can you say about the image quality produced by the e72? Is the panorama mode same as the one found on the n86?
I just realized… I already talked about the firmware getting better thing… haha. sorry…
@mark
here’s an example shot of from the E72
http://twitpic.com/y2b84
Low light condition
http://twitpic.com/wqdpb
good light coniditon
http://twitpic.com/x6zes
Thanks Marvin!
Wow, for a business phone, it’s quite good.
The picture you took at Tagaytay is nice. The colors are vivid and sharp.
On a different note… I’ll share a link with you that shows pictures I took from my C905, N82 & N95.
Hope ya’ll like them
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25563073@N02/
yup! ok talaga ang nokia e72. i was able to purchase last month. binigay ko sa brother ko. then bumili na naman ako ng isa. ijust want him to have the best fone so far in town.
AEROPHONE cell phone shop in sm cebu city sells it at Php16,480.00, i think its one of the cheapest in town. plus andami pa nilang freebies…
hindi ito advertisement, i just want everyone to know kun saan tayo makamura in case bibili din kayo ang E72..
try visiting the store…
I also brought it at Aerophone!
There’s a new firmware update available now… I’m installing it now, forgot the code, but I think it’s version 23 (version 21 yung una) … Hope this fixes the bugs (occasional freezes, spacebar prob, minsan walang optical pad)
does the unit use mp3s for ringing tone?
upgraded from v021 to v023.002
ok naman naayos na yun long press ng phonebook to create new contact
hi! You’re all talking about firmware updates. =) What does that mean? and How does it work?
you can download it at your SW update. for firmware updates mine is up to date!
it fixed the damn lag! thank you Nokia!
i’d rather go for bb bold 2..
Ill be looking for a store selling it at a cheaper price… will definitely buy one..thanks
Bought my E72 last week…
I also updated the firmware the same night…
Had no problems with updating…
The long press for the contacts key now works…
So far I’m very happy with the phone. The build quality is amazing. It feels very solid and it looks very elegant.
Battery life is superb… I only needed to recharge the phone once since i bought it…
Hi, I have had an E72 for 2 months now and I am very happy with the way the thing handles. It’s a very solid phone. The battery life lasts up to 5 days.
I just updated the firmware and so far so good. Wala pa yung trackpad/spacebar lag.
I juts have one question, when taking vids in high resolution mode, there seeems to be a glitch. It lags and freezes while taking the video. Has anyone else experienced this problem?
I am hoping for some feedback on how to solve this problem since I thought the firmware update will help.
Here’s another review of this device (link below). For more information just go to my website. =) Of course, the go-to guy for this is still Yuga himself. In my review, I discussed the different features of the device. I segregated them so that it’ll be easier to understand.
Here’s the link:
http://mrkjn2.multiply.com/reviews/item/2
I update that review regularly. I post the problems I encountered and how to troubleshoot them. Feel free to comment so that we can discuss the problems that most of us experience.
To answer Polo, after the FW update, there doesn’t seem to be any problems with my unit. However, I did encounter the “lag” in capturing videos. But I guess that’s because it only takes videos @ 15fps. I haven’t experience freezing so far…
@ Mark Alcaraz
The problem with my unit is that after the FW update, It still lags.
I used the e72 of my friend w/o a FW update and there was no lag.
I used all the same settings. High, Same lighting, relatively same movement, same vidoe length.
I’m going to have it checked by Nokia. It just feels bad to have it fixed after only 2 months. Hopefully it’s not a lemon.
@ Polo
That must be quite frustrating… It is good that you’ll take it to a Nokia Care Center. Is your unit still under warranty? If it is, you shouldn’t have to pay for anything. =) If you encounter the same problem again, have them replace your unit. =)
yey! I bought my e72 yesterday! Impressive battery life! This is one of the best phones
I havent encountered even a single problem with it. 
Twitter: shalovesred
replied on Mar 24th, 2010 at 10:58 am (59)
I’m planning to buy this phone. Based on the reviews I’ve read, I’d rather buy this one than a blackberry storm or an iphone 3G. I’ve looked for the prices in ebay and they are not far from the prices of iphone 3g. I love both phones that’s why I’m having second thoughts on what to buy. Which one is a smart buy? Help!
how much this unit cost now?
Twitter: mobilepinas
replied on Mar 31st, 2010 at 12:38 am (61)
i think around 17k
Here’s the link for the price of E72: http://www.magkano.com/cellphone/nokia_E72_price.htm
New firmware upgrade for the E72:
http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/11424_Firmware_Tuesday_Nokia_E72_ver.php
Quite a big jump from the old version I must say
yeah, I got the new firmware update this morning. accidentally pushed the SW Update. OMG, it’s much worst! very buggy!
I think it crashed on me for about twice this day. I had to restart.
nokia e72 or blackberry 8520? thoughts? thanks!
@mark alcaraz
your review of the E72 is impressive. you’ve convinced the skeptical side of me to continue appreciating Symbian OS which I hope will not get extinct in the light of heavy competition from other mobile OS.
one thing though, has anyone used an E72 using Lotus Notes Traveller?
i just bought my e72 3 days ago. i should say that it works perfectly well with my mobile phone needs. it’s definitely better than blackberry.
@john b, appreciate it man. where’s the best deal for this phone? thanks!
Which is better? Nokia E72 or Nokia N97 mini?
I’m leaning towards the latter but maybe you can give your opinions.
Thanks!
Twitter: archerwin
replied on Jun 22nd, 2010 at 3:34 pm (70)
For those who are having problems in GPS start-up (long time to acquire satellites) follow these steps:
1. Go to Settings -> General -> Positioning -> Positioning methods
2. Make sure only the “Assisted GPS” and “Integrated GPS” are checked. Others should be un-check.
I read this in another site. I just want to share here
got my new e72 given to me by one of my satisfied client. At first it lags too much but after firmware upgrade bit faster now but not like my e63.
@ john b:
thanks for the time reading it. sorry it took such a long time for me to reply. it’s been really crazy at work… anyway, haven’t tried lotus with e72… =)
hey everyone… as soon as iPhone 4 comes out, i’ll be selling my e72… no idea how much yet but i’ll keep you posted… anyone interested?
it comes with a leather capdase smart case woth php990
=)
how much is E72 now?
I have asked many people before getting E72. I am quite disappointed. I have the latest firmware, and no unnecessary softwares installed, but still, it feeezes a lot. Slow as hell. With an exchange server mail it just responds like an old Pentium with Windows 95. It freezes appr. 3times a day. Video recording can take place only on internal memory, not the memory card, otherwise it lags and breaks and freezes. It also menas the longest video you can take is just a couple of minutes.
The native facebook client is ridiculously dumb. Native browser is fucking unable to do its duties.
Which means that Nokia’s promises in ads are just plain lies. A lot of money for A LOT of compromises.
oh my… are you sure of that?… cause im planning to buy E72 tom? what is better? E72 or samsung omnia B7320?