Nokia N73 review: Pole position

Being the best equipped handset ever Nokia N73 has managed to overrun the king of all mobiles - the slider Nokia N80. It features Symbian OS, 3 megapixels backed up by the label of Carl Zeiss, USB Mass Storage, and works with office documents. Nokia N73 has a brilliant phonebook and a good time organizer as well as an exceptional Internet browser. The interest in this new Nokia phone is overwhelming worldwide.

   
Official pictures of Nokia N73

Key Features:

• High-class display
• Very good functional keys
• Symbian S60 3rd edition
• Active stand-by mode
• 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics
• A second VGA camera for video calls
• UMTS support
• Infrared
• Bluetooth
• USB Mass Storage
• Great web browser

Main Disadvantages:

• Loose camera cover
• Uncomfortable and cheap-looking numeric keypad
• No memory card included
• Slippery joystick
• No Wi-Fi
• Web browser does not work in landscape mode
• Alarm clock is not repeated

The time has come

Nokia N73 is a smartphone. It features the latest version of the OS many used to blame for lack of applications, namely, Symbian S60 3rd Edition. Well, there is no need to worry about its compatibility anymore as there are already a sufficient number of new or adjusted programs for the above mentioned Symbian version on the mobile market. If you appreciate constructional extravagances, you'd rather turn your attention to the slider Nokia N80. The new Nokia N73 is rigorously classical: its dimensions are 110 x 49 x 19 mm; weight is 116 g.

   
Nokia N73 live

Nokia N70 has been on the market for about a year now - a period considered necessary in the mobile world for the replacement of one mobile generation with another. For some people the successor of Nokia N70 is Nokia N80, but according to me it is rather Nokia N73. N73 looks like a standard square, but looked from aside it has the shape of a trapezoid. I like its color variants as well as the design of its body: its front side is thin, while both lateral sides together with the rear cover are always elaborated in a different color. The model we were delivered for the tests has a silver front plate and violet-brown back and sides. Another possible color combination is white & red (emanates young and sport spirit).

All-side view

According to our evaluation Nokia N73 is the best mobile phone on the market; it won the competition with the queen Nokia N80 with a result of 93 %. It is clear that no evaluation could be absolutely objective as one always implies their own preferences, but there is no doubt that Nokia N73 has the best equipment among all 200 mobile models that have been tested in our office. It is simply the new mobile king. What's more, it is by 130 euro cheaper than the former winner Nokia N80. (Please note, that Mobilmania.cz takes different approach in evaluating the mobile devices compared to GSMArena.com, their rates are set by the editorial staff, not by the visitors)

Nokia Company speaks about this phone as of a "multimedia computer" because of its extensive functions: photo camera, simple video calls camera, Web browser, primitive game console, MP3 player etc. I myself prefer to stick to the standard denomination "mobile phone" or possibly "smartphone". Any cons?

The front plastic cover is not made of stunning material. On the other hand, it does not look as cheap as the material used for the numeric part of the keypad (comment still to come). The only elements on the left side of the phone are the Infrared port and the eyelet, in which a wrist or a neck strip can be inserted. The original package includes a wrist strip only.

The phone held in palm • comparison with a credit card

 
Infrared port • eye-let for strip

On the right side you will see three buttons: a volume control button in the top and a camera release button together with a key for instant access to the image and video gallery beneath. A longer press on the release button activates the camera interface.

 
Camera release button and access to Gallery • volume control

A smartphone of a conservative look, Nokia N73 has also been given a sport touch thanks to the original color combinations applied on its covers and the perforated plates on its top and bottom, whose material imitates metal. On the top you will find two stereo speakers, between which is located the Switch On/Off button. A fine grid covering the microphone is located on the bottom side of the device.

 
Nice imitation of perforated metal plates

Above the grid you will find the Pop-Port connector and the charger slot. The type of charger Nokia uses in its recent models is very easy to break due to its small diameter. Along with the handset, in the original package you will also find a USB cable for connection to a PC and a pair of stereo earphones with a remote control, which can also serve as handsfree. An adapter for a standard charger is present, of course. The package also contains a cleaning cloth with a Nokia logo and slogan, and a CD with PC Suite and drivers.

 
Accessories from the original box of Nokia N73

Nokia phones have rarely been spoken as of devices of ideal body construction or perfect part hold. Yet, Nokia N73 appears to be an exception to this rule; its construction is very good; all parts stick together the way they should but one - the sliding cover of the camera, whose looseness reminds me of Nokia 6681. More details about this problem can be found in the chapter devoted to the camera.

 
Battery and SIM card bed. Common use requires charging every second day; during the tests I had to charge the phone every night

Camera cover is naughty as usual