nokia n73: 2009

Back in portrait/smartphone mode, there are less innovations, though this is still a very solid multimedia smartphone. It's S60 3rd Edition, of course, and Nokia have continued the trend of fiddling with the placement of application icons in every single device. Whether this is simply because they believe different devices need different application emphasis or whether they simply aren't happy with the 'mix' yet, I couldn't say. But at least some thought is going into the initial user experience, with the first six icons being Contacts, Messaging, Calendar, Music, Gallery and Games - pretty much what the newcomer would want to try first. Below these are three Internet shortcuts (Search, Services and Download!), with three folders endnig out the '12' and providing homes for the majority of the S60 mini-apps. All pretty logical, though I really hope Nokia standardise on a layout sometime soon. Maybe this one is 'it'.

N73 screenshot

n73 camera option

least all three buttons light up when the camera slide is opened, a nice touch. Indentations on the slide help you open it one-handed, after which you're well and truly in landscape mode, with the N73 held like a traditional digital camera. Held in two hands like this, the top buttons are in just the right places and the new Camera application, as debuted on the N93, is now streamlined and well implemented. Switching between image/video modes is now the default action on the navigator and shown on the strip of pop-up icons overlaid on your camera image.

N73 screenshot

n73 vs n80

Design and Ergonomics

The N73 is one of Nokia's more normal looking smartphones. It has a straightforward candy bar design and an absolutely standard keypad. It looks more at home with recent MS Smartphones like the T-Mobile SDA and Cingular 2125 than the Nokia N80, N91 or N93. Like the SDA and 2125, a large QVGA display dominates the front face, and while the phone may lack the sexy looks of the N80 or the stainless steel machismo of the N91, the display itself is so eye-catching it gives the entire phone a turn to the stunning. Since normalcy abounds, the phone has a standard keypad with roomy blue backlit keys, a perfectly conformist 5 way joystick that's surrounded by the usual smartphone cluster of 2 softkeys and the call send and end keys. The application launcher, pencil, clear and multimedia applications launcher keys wrap around the keypad in the bright silver surround. All are easy to access and we're thankful the ever-important application launcher wasn't relegated to a side location as with the Nokia N91.

Nokia N80 and N73

The Nokia N73 and N80

n73 white old version

You know something is up when you receive a powerful smartphone and you don't rip open the box to make a phone call or try out an Excel spreadsheet. Instead you slide open the camera lens cover and madly take photos of anything remotely attractive or interesting. That's the Nokia N73: a camera that just happens to have a smartphone attached. If great photos aren't your thing, Nokia offers a wide variety of Symbian OS S60 phones with lesser cameras and other strong points such as the Nokia E61's QWERTY keyboard and the Nokia N91's 4 gig hard drive for MP3s aplenty. If quality photos are important, the N73 and its bulkier sibling the N93 (which lacks the 850MHz band used by Cingular in the US) are Nokia's top offerings. The Nokia N80 has a 3MP camera that's quite good (once you adjust to the shutter lag), and you'd likely be pretty impressed if you saw the photos it takes. That is, until you see the N73's photos. The N73 has a 3.2 megapixel camera and adds a Carl Zeiss autofocus lens which makes for sharper photos.

Nokia N73