Nokia E73 Mode

Nokia’s E73 Mode is essentially a spruced up version of the E72, repackaged and sold through T-Mobile. Given the uncanny similarities, large parts of this review borrow directly from our earlier E72 review, but with pains taken to point out the differences between the two.

Size and Weight :

The dimensions & weight of this handset are 113.8 x 58.4 x 10.2 mm & 127.6 g.

Network and connectivity:

Although it can’t quite compete with the likes of the do-it-all N97, Nokia’s E73 includes an enviable feature set tailored for the business professional. That means 3.5G HSDPA modem that can push up to 10.2Mbps, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, A-GPS, FM tuner, voice-command capability. Like most of Nokia’s late-model smartphones, the E72 uses Symbian OS 9.3, with Nokia’s S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 (also known as S60 3.2.3), as a user interface.

Camera and Video:

The E73 has a 5-megapixel camera, but it's almost perfunctory. This just isn't a great camera phone. The camera has serious focus problems, especially at short/macro distances. Outdoor shots looked notably soft when zoomed in. The video camera takes 640-by-480 videos, but at a somewhat jerky 15 frames per second.

Memory and Display:

The 218MB of free memory can be enhanced with a MicroSD card slipped into a side slot; a 4GB card came with our unit, but a Kingston 16GB card also worked fine in my tests. The E73 Mode looks a lot like its predecessors the E72 and E71 to wit: it's what the latest BlackBerrys should look like, a sleek metal slab with a small, but comfortable keyboard and an almost perfectly well balanced heft (4.48 by 2.3 by 0.4 inches—HWD; 4.5 ounces). As a regular E72 user, I can tell you it fits more comfortably in a pocket than a BlackBerry Bold.

Entertainment Features:

The E73 is a very good music player, and not quite as good a video player. The 3.5-mm headset jack lets you plug in your favorite headphones, and the phone also worked with our Altec Lansing Backbeat stereo Bluetooth headset. You can sync your music using Nokia's own, free syncing software or the free download doubleTwist (Free, ), which will sync unprotected iTunes playlists. The phone plays unprotected MP3, AAC, or WMA music files. If you don't have a major music collection, there's an FM radio and a somewhat spotty podcast client on board. The podcast client found some of my favorite podcasts, but not PCMag Radio. Streaming services are mostly out, though: there's no Pandora, Slacker, MOG, Rhapsody or Nutsie in the Ovi Store. Videos looked a bit cramped and dim on the small screen, more a function of its size than anything else. WMV and MP4 videos in 320-by-240 resolution played smoothly, but the phone couldn't handle H.264 or XVID videos.