Nokia unveils E72 QWERTY smartphone for business
Nokia unveiled today its E72 full-QWERTY smartphone, packing e-mail, instant messaging, a 5-megapixel camera and a standard 3.5mm audio jack into a slim shell.
"Swift, slim and resourceful" are the words Nokia is using to market the E72, which is the successor to its popular E71 smartphone, the company's best-selling QWERTY device to date.
The company is aiming for professionals on- and off-the-clock, and offers a "desktop-like e-mail experience" like that of the Nokia E75. The E72 also has a new optical navigation key for more intuitive scrolling through menus, emails and images.
For the first time, users will be able to set up instant messaging accounts provided by Nokia Messaging direct from the homescreen, allowing connection to Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk and Ovi, among others.
On the professional side, the E72 has onboard clients for Mail for Exchange and IBM Lotus Notes Traveler, and there's an improved on-device e-mail setup, which should make connecting to Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, Windows Live Hotmail, Ovi Mail and other services a bit easier, the company says. It's also got Quickoffice.
Nokia also says it's made "performance improvements," most notably faster internet up- and downlink speeds. The device also features A-GPS and compass with integrated maps, active noise cancellation and a one-button flashlight/torch feature.
The Nokia E72 is expected to begin shipping late in the third quarter of 2009 at an estimated retail price of €350 (or approx. $485) before taxes and subsidies.