US$ 414 US$ 305.00

I have always been a fan of Nokia E Series. It is always a perfect equilibrium of sophistication, functionality and style. No wonder E71 can win over customer’s heart, solidly-built, user-friendly and looking great. It seems that the successor will have a notch far too high to live up to. It is E72’s burden to do the acrobatic moves to knock us out, can it?

You have got three colors to choose form for E72. Zodium Black, Topaz Brown and Metal Grey. All are looking fantastic and hip. You will get the phone, a battery, a charger, a data cable, a handsfree, a strap, a leather case (I have always liked one) and a user’s guide.

The Topaz Brown would be the apple of my eyes. It adds the sense of regality to the modern looking phone. When compared to E71, E72 is a gram heavier (or I should say less light!) and a millimeter thicker (or I should say less slim!). However, the one unit is well compensated for. It has 600MHz CPU vs E71's 369 MHz. The HSDPA of E72 is 10.2Mbps and the HSUPA is 2Mbps while E71 has no HSDUA and its HSDPA only matches up to 3.6Mbps.

 Zodium Black                                                                    Metal Grey

The keypad is made protruding enough to facilitate fast typing. The last row of keys has extended by two items more. (adopting the atavistic E63-lookalike pad). The surprise lies on the Optical Navi Key (the black centre of the D-Pad) which works like the one from Blackberry Curve 8520. It assists smooth scrolling and also doubles as the AF key for camera.

Another step ahead for E72 is the 3.5mm jack which is absent in E71.

Here on the left you’ll find the portals of the MicroUSB and MicroSD. E72 has upgraded the compatible maximum extended memory to 16GB vs the 8GB max for E71.

Volume rockers on the right.

Here is the cave for strap.

The camera is also upgraded to 5MP with larger resolution (2592×1944) versus the 3MP camera of E71. Benefitted from the energy efficiency, the battery can last longer (from 410 hours of talk time of E71 to 480 hours and you get 12 hours of talk time when compared to 10 hours of E71) although it is the same battery model. A lot has improved eh?

The menu of E71 is still very easy to navigate. You have got real time mail exchange, GPS, WiFi, IM services, Lotus Notes and other supports on borad. What an irresistible juggernaut it is!

Yes, E72 is still a winner. It has retained the best bits of best-selling E71 which are the Blackberry-smashing which is the slimmer and more youthful design, a more vibrant and quality display and a friendlier price tag. E72 has not stopped there; it has equipped itself with a faster CPU, a bigger storage and a faster speed. If there is one phone that I want right now, that would be it.