Me, I am a Sony Ericsson fan. Not that I haven’t used any Nokia phones - I have, as also Samsung and Motorola. I think this fact is pretty well known by now - at least among my friends on MS. So, A Nokia review from my side must come as a trememdous suprprise!
And that brings me to my usual line. As usual, the title of my review says it all!
I have a Sony Ericsson K510i - superb model, by the way - and was NOT on the lookout for a new phone. But, as fate would have it, I was bullied into it by a conspiracy encompassing the e-n-t-i-r-e regional team at my workplace by their constant nagging: Get a better phone! Get a better phone! Look at us: use one that fits in, yaar. And so on and so forth. Then my wife joined in the chorus. Yup - you guessed it. She HATES SE phones! Need I say more?
SO it was that bechaare bhole-bhaale kale miyan pahunch gaye Jaishree Novelty Stores Lalganga shopping mall Raipur.{Parnil: Not the city mall outlet: the older one. I do all mobile purchasing at the parent outlet}
Options considered:
Sony Ericsson K530i
Sony Ericsson K750i
Sony Ericsson Z550
Sony Ercisson Z530
Motorazor
HTC
O2 Stealth
As you can see, Nokia was not even on my radar for a purchase. Then why did I purchase it? Well, I will upgrade to a high-end Sony or HTC Phone in a few months{as can be seen by the last 2 choices}, and needed a phone that I could use and sell off fast for the maximum rate. The phone in question should have one and ONLY one charectaristic: silencing one and all over my favourite phone.{Even my subordinates use costlier phones - everyone said etc etc etc etc. So let me be clear: I love the Sony K510i and shall KEEP it! So there!}
But this review is not about Sony Ercisson, so let us move on.
I just noticed the phone lying forlorn all by its lonesome on the glittering shelf of the shop - and asked its rate out of sheer habit. Pat came the repy: 7800. Then, I remembered ALL of my colleagues have N72 - ALL purchased at a rate range of between 15000 - 12000. Well, it is now my turn to brag, boast and nag them. hehehehehehe
Moral of the story above: when purchasing mobiles, always go in for models that have been launched more than a year ago. You get 2 benefits: firstly, a decent rate. Secondly, bugs that crop up will have been sorted out in the later phones.
So it was that yours truly came into possesion of a Nokia N72.{Quite a saga isnt it? Hey, maybe it can be turned into a soap opera: Sony, Nokia aur woh!}
Whats’ good about this? Let us forget subjective matter here: I mean the design. I may like the K510i: you may not. I may dislike N72 on that score, you may not. That is an individual thing. Take a gander at the photographs and decide! As it happens, I am neutral on this one.
THE GOOD PART
The overall ease of use: I must say - with considerable chagrin, being a Nokia hater- that this phone is stupendously easy to use. No doubt about it. Be it configuring emails on your phone, setting up GPRS settings, The menu interface, calling, etc etc - all are very easy to use and get used to.
The memory card slot is very accessible and comfy
It fits in your hand, and that makes it very comfortable to hold while you are jabbering away with the phone stuck to your ear
Connecting the device to the PC is the simplest I have encountered so far
Camera: Excellent, with 2 MP, flash as well as a complete range of options on board in terms of Flash modes, Colour / BW / Sepia etc provided as options, option of switching between manual mode and auto mode for snapping pictures, Light settings etc. In short, most of the functions present in a basic digital cam are there. Not the advanced gimmicks: but the simple options
Software provided: Adobe Reader, Office Reader, Image printer, Wireless Keyboard, PTT, Albums and catalogs.
Sound reception: excellent
The screen colours: absolutely fantastic.
THE BAD PART
The battery life: worst in the phones I have seen till date, except perhaps Motorola L6
The phone takes a hell of a lot of time to boot up. This is if the Memory card has been inserted. without the card, it is quite a bit faster
Switching between applications is very slow, and applications load demonstratly slower than on Sony phones
In conclusion, this is a multimedia device, aimed at the low end of the VAS cusomer. In other words, this is for those people who have to or like to use one or more of the features listed above regularly - the net, camera etc. Yes, the availability of software is a decided advantage. That was a determining factor in opting for this model.
Buy it by all means if you are in the market for a phone in the region of 8k. At that price mark, it is best in class. And, when you do decide to upgrade, you will also get as good rate for it in the second hand market!