Nokia N73 review: Pole position

Good secretary

The organizer functions were good enough even at the older Symbian mobiles. Their base is the calendar, which content could be displayed in active stand-by mode, too. The calendar has monthly, weekly and daily view. When in the monthly view you come upon a day with a note, it is displayed in a bubble.

 
Calendar: monthly view • weekly • details of a selected day

The tasks (To-do notes) are now a component of the calendar, they were separated before. Personally, I think that this is more-practical - in one day preview I can see all my tasks and meetings gathered. The tasks may be ordered by the due date note or priority. Maybe it's a good idea to add the alarms and notes to the calendar too? I would award a Gold Raspberry to Nokia for its smartphones alarm function - such a long negligence of the repetitive function is shameful. In addition to this, there is no stopwatch again - it has to be installed separately.

Shameful non-repetitive alarm-clock

PC Suite

One of the preset programs in Nokia N73 is QuickOffice - a browser designed to read Microsoft Office formats. Quickword opens text documents DOC, Quicksheet reads tables in Excel, while Quickpoint visualizes PowerPoint presentations.

In the phone you will also find an Infrared port, which seems to be reviving in Nokia smartphones after years of oblivion. It is supplemented by an entire scale of data transfer capabilities: from Bluetooth or USB (phone's battery cannot be charged straight from a PC) to GPRS, EDGE, and UMTS networks.

Bluetooth settings

Enclosed USB cable

All current Nokia handsets communicate with PC using the software package PC Suite included as a part of the CD delivered with Nokia N73. Its updated version could also be downloaded straight from Nokia website.

PC Suit offers:

• Data back-up
• Synchronization with phonebook, calendar, task manager and notes
• Simpler setup of Internet connection
• A tool for installing applications from a PC into the phone
• File manager providing access to phone memory from a PC
• A program managing contacts
• An application for sending SMS from a PC
• Multimedia player
• A program for photo and video downloads from the phone onto a PC's hard disk
• A program called Music Manager for work with music

Conclusion

If you see Nokia N73 like a mobile tool for work, then you will probably not show any interest in the Carl Zeiss logo placed on the camera lens on the rear cover of the phone. Nevertheless, you will certainly appreciate the possibility to take pictures of documents and tables, read their electronic images in QuickOffice or check and manage your email box. All time organizing applications in Nokia N73, except the alarm clock, are brilliantly elaborated. The phonebook offers a virtually unlimited space plus plenty of fields for each contact, and an exceptional Web browser. Synchronization is seamless. Satisfied?

You should be. But I know and expect your response: "Where's Wi-Fi?"... Well, nowhere...The absence of Wi-Fi damns the phone... gives it a black point...and may easily be a decisive matter at the moment of purchase.

If - on the contrary - Nokia N73 is more of a "multimedia computer" for you, you will be fascinated by its camera abilities. The phone makes some of the best photos a mobile phone has ever been able to make; macro is superb, flash is powerful. Nokia N73 does not lack a music player (an additional memory card to be bought separately is a must), nor earphones (adapter required). It plays movies and manages video calls.

And finally, if you need a work phone during the day and a multimedia device at night, then Nokia N73 is ideal for you.