By Standard Reporter

The Nokia E71 was one of the favourite business smartphones, thanks to its attractive design and full range of high-end utility features.

It’s little surprise therefore that its E72 successor reprises much of what was good about that QWERTY keyboard-packing Symbian S60 smartphone, while updating it with extra power and performance.

The E72 features a sleek business-like design, sporting a BlackBerry-style full QWERTY keyboard across its wide body.

Some eye-catching chrome trim complements the classically understated bodywork. Like the E71, the E72 has a solid metallic feel and is almost the same size and weight.

tactile feedback

Although the shape of the keys takes after the runaway E71, its tactile feedback is different. Less force is required to depress a button, and consequently, the ‘springiness’ of the keys is reduced.

This takes some time getting used to E72 if you are switching from an E71.

While the directional pad shares the same square design with a large selector in the middle, E72’s centre button also doubles as an optical navigational pad. So, aside from pressing one of the four direction buttons, it is possible to move cursors by stroking your finger over the selector.

One of the best changes in the E72 is the inclusion of a 3.5mm audio port on the top of the device. The E71 had a 2.5mm version which required an adapter if you were using your own pair of headphones.

But the strongest point of E72 is its convenient features such as transition animations, Ovi Store for downloading third-party applications and built-in support for Microsoft Exchange synchronization.

What makes E72 a practical mobile office is the fact that the handset is equipped with document editor (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF), making it a good bargain for business phone.

The Nokia E72 is optimised for messaging thanks to its QWERTY keyboard, WLAN, and 3.5 G functions.

It supports IMAP4, Nokia Messaging, Microsoft Active Sync, POP3, and SMTP email protocols as well as support for the Lotus Notes Traveller and Mail for Exchange applications.

This gives the device the ability to download corporate emails and Web-based email accounts to your mobile.

—Additional reporting from Internet