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Truth be told, there has been no real competitor to the BlackBerry line of handsets as far as the working and business professional segment goes. Over the last four odd years, Canada-based Research in Motion has almost devoured this segment worldwide on the back of its fantastic e-mail service. And it looks like that domination will continue for some time .

Nokia, on the other hand, has been steadily losing grip on the same segment as it has taken a beating smartphone-wise by RIM, HTC and, to a lesser extent, Apple. Even in its traditional loyalist base of South Asia, customers have been slowly slipping away.

The only arresting barrier has been the Eseries line of handsets. The latest in this line is the Nokia E72, a next generation version of perhaps the last mass popular Nokia smartphone in India, the E71.

After the N95, only the Nokia E71 had solved the smartphone puzzle for Nokia. Packing very efficient messaging and communication features into a very slim, metal casing had made it a sought-after phone for those didn’t want to join the Berry Brigade. Improving on the E71 would be a task, but Nokia has made a good fight of it.

Form-wise, the E72 follows the E71 in almost all departments, including the screen. It carries forward the E71’s good looks, being slim and metallic. At the same time, it feels solid enough to withstand a two-storey fall. I’m a little concerned about the buttons, though. They look and feel more like the E63 than the E71—somehow they don’t gel with the rest of the form.

One glaring improvement has been the addition of an optical trackpad à la the BlackBerry 8520. This makes navigation a breeze, compared to the earlier, traditional trackpad. However, since I have used the 8520 as well, I can safely say that Nokia could have done a better job with it. It is a little annoying, as there is an insufficient level of control—it tends to either overshoot or undershoot.

Also, I am beginning to think that the Symbian S60 platform that the Eseries uses has run its lifecycle. Nokia should seriously consider going towards the Maemo platform seen on the recently launched Nokia N900. The social networking and communication features on the E72 pale in front of its peers; the improvement on that front is nil.

But then, you may wonder, why am I recommending the E72? Well, for a business user like you, there is one great ace up Nokia’s sleeve: push e-mail.

You see, messaging on the E72 continues to be killer. The E72 also has full support for Microsoft Mail for Exchange and IBM Lotus Notes Traveler, as well as your regular mail services like Gmail. As a bonus, there’s the message reader that can read out your messages to you while you’re busy doing more important chores or while driving. And all that comes at a paltry cost when compared to the uber expensive BlackBerry data plans.

Picture this. I use an advanced GPRS plan for my e-mails on the E72; it costs me Rs. 299 for unlimited data. The same on a BlackBerry would cost Rs. 999 or Rs. 1,199. It’s a no-brainer! Also, the E72—priced at Rs. 17,999—costs much less than comparable BlackBerrys. The E72, like the E71, takes the crown for the most cost-efficient business phone going around.

Nokia E72
Display: 2.36”, 320×240 pixels (QVGA)
Camera: 5 megapixel
Dimensions: 114×58.3×10.1 mm
Weight: 128 g
Phone OS: Symbian S60
Battery Life:  12 hours talktime

©Entrepreneur March 2010

Tags:
e-mail, E72, Nokia, smartphone