Nokia E73 Mode

“It's been nearly two years since Wired called the Nokia E71 a legit iPhone killer, and now Nokia has updated the much-lauded device — almost bringing it into the '10s — with the E73 Mode. Though it's now clad in a gunmetal gray instead of shiny silver, only a little of the E71's DNA has been altered with this release. Renowned for its ultra-slim profile, the E73 Mode is still extremely thin (about 10mm thick) and light (4.6 ounces), despite offering the full panoply of smartphone features, courtesy of the Symbian S60 3.2 operating system. That OS is now looking laughably dated, but if you're a Nokia veteran or are still comfortable navigating with a five-way pad and a QWERTY keyboard instead of a touchscreen, you'll find it reasonably easy to get around.”

“T-Mobile's acceptance of Nokia smartphones could be the opportunity that the renowned handset maker needs to capitalize its presence in the US market. Adorning an extremely attractive on-contract price of $69.99, the Nokia E73 Mode has everything going for it to make the competition look with weary eyes. Not only will business professionals gravitate towards the device thanks to its depth of features attuned to their needs, but it still presents itself as a stylish and eye-catching smartphone that anyone wouldn't mind using. With its distinct styling differences compared to other devices available out there, the Nokia E73 Mode nonchalantly cruises into the US market with plenty of fanfare behind it that not only showcases its pristine exterior, but can also be regarded as one of the best non-touchscreen smartphones to hit the market in a while.”

“Unlike T-Mobile's other recent Symbian offering -- the forgettable Nuron -- we're inclined to think that the E73 has earned its keep, and there are people out there for whom this phone legitimately makes sense. Don't get us wrong, anyone coming from a G1, myTouch 3G, iPhone, Pre, or the like is going to be troubled by S60's aged, tired feel, but at the end of the day, this is still a very capable, versatile platform that can do pretty much anything you need it to -- as long as you know how to coax it, you can figure out what software to download, and you've got enough patience to let that geriatric silicon plod along.”

“The Nokia E73 Mode is Nokia's latest smartphone for the U.S. market. Aimed at business users, it's essentially the E72 rebranded for T-Mobile USA with a few hardware tweaks on the front of the phone. The E72 Mode offers an attractive and thin industrial design that will blend in just fine in the hallways of American business. A follow-up to the E71 in America, the E73 Mode offers a higher resolution 5 megapixel camera as well as a new optical-pad, two features shared with the E72.”