Operating the E72 almost feels foreign after having spent so much time with the N900; it's as if I am fully integrated into the internet tablet format with Maemo5. To my immediate surprise, holding this qwerty bar brings back the convenience of one-handed use in portrait orientation. There are many tasks that can be addressed on the run without having to slide open a qwerty, and I do miss this capability every now and then. Being able to unlock that screen and instantly type a contact's name for any kind of correspondence is genius! There are only so many contact shortcuts that a touch homescreen can accomodate, whether it is on the N97 or N900. I cannot say what a relief it is to have a bona-fide document editor via Quickoffice on the E72, and it boggles my mind as to how the N900 still only has DataViz viewer at this time! With slimmer dimensions and lack of moving parts, this E72 also adds portability in the best sense for pocket storage. When compared to the E71, the camera on this phone is a WINNER in every sense of the word!! I can recall plenty of times when I simply avoided the video feature of that model, especially after comparing it to the E75 in a previous TRENT SENSE episode. The E72 makes shooting video an absolute joy, and I wouldn't mind using its camcorder in daily tasks. The image quality of E72 footage looks very much clearer than the E71, and still pictures have this same benefit.
However, I was surprised to see some of the unfortunate down sides to features on the E72. Design cues are one example: matte plastics instead of glossy simply rob the device of a portion of its elegance. While still paired with hints of metallic silver, this new plastic being used seems to make this ESeries device feel much cheaper than its E71 predecessor. Since I am on the subject of cheapness, the directional key is an utter disappointment from the version I remember on the E71. Instead of a metallic ring, there is a plastic ring that looks absolutely generic and hardly gives an aura of high-end quality. I understand potential reasons for the addition of the optical mouse on the central selection key, but I do not believe it is a necessary one at all. For me, it feels much faster to turn this off and continue using the tactile ring keys. When I see the brushed metal and silver accents on the button layout for app shortcuts, soft commands and the send/end keys, I understand the omission of the metallic d-ring. Even though it gives the phone a facelift, I still somehow prefer the layout of the E71. The curved plastic keys of the shortcut commands feel too flush with the E72 surface, but this does not really hamper the receipt of tactile feedback in use. Why the one speaker was placed at the back and not kept at the top could possibly be a product of including the 3.5mm jack and moving the power key to the center. Nonetheless, I believe this comes at the price of less impressive sound when the phone is on a flat surface. In a strange way, music played aloud on the E72 seems muffled to a certain degree in comparison to how I remember the E71.
The arrival of the E72 from WomWorld was really an unexpected surprise just when I was getting used to the N900. A while back I did acknowledge a transition in personal preference to the touch/qwerty slider form factor along with a minimum screen size of 3.5 inches. As a result of this, the E71 I had relied on in the past was immediately rendered obsolete and was sold within a short time period. From that point on, I wouldn't even consider a smartphone if it didn't meet my criteria. I wouldn't say that this is a matter of being picky, but a matter of learning what common fundamental provided the best usage experience for me. While the N900 of course feels like the best fit for me so far, the E72 sadly seems like a downgrade.
To make things even more interesting, this E72 runs Symbian 3rd edition on a non-touch interface that still seems to get under my skin. It's not that the OS is that bad for my own personal usage, it's just that boring. After being exposed to the nuances of touch on a mobile device from the iPhone to the Touch Pro 2 to the N97 to the HD2 to the N900, I really cannot see myself going back to a device like the ESeries qwerty bar models...at least not now. However, as much as my personal feelings may not fall in line to favor this E72, I still felt an urge to at least use it for a short time to at least experience it. At the end of the day, a new device is still a new device! One day had passed with the E72, and I switched my SIM card back to the N900 with a quickness.
TRENT
Sent from my N900 via MaStory
