Nokia E73 Mode brings a familiar form factor to T-Mobile US on the cheap
By Paul Miller 
posted June 3rd 2010 9:15AM
posted June 3rd 2010 9:15AM
Nokia E73 Mode smartphone from T-Mobile USA helps customers balance work and life
June 03, 2010
Sleek and stylish productivity solution provides access to thousands of apps via Ovi Store and turn-by-turn navigation
White Plains, NY and Bellevue, WA USA - Nokia and T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced the upcoming availability of the Nokia E73 Mode, exclusively for T-Mobile customers, designed to help balance the need to stay connected with one's work and personal life at home or on the go. The Nokia E73 Mode, a Wi-Fi calling enabled QWERTY smartphone operating on T-Mobile's blazing-fast 3G network, includes Nokia's unique Switch Mode feature, which allows consumers to switch between fully customizable home screens that help promote a work-life balance. The Nokia E73 Mode is expected to be available beginning June 16.
"The Nokia E73 Mode brings style and function in an affordable device without compromise," said Mark Slater, vice president, Sales, Nokia. "Working together with T-Mobile, the Nokia E73 Mode enables us to bring our customers a 'Work & Life' solution that allows consumers and businesses to be as productive as possible, while still providing an exceptional consumer value and performance."
The thinnest full QWERTY keyboard smartphone available from T-Mobile, the Nokia E73 Mode is the perfect device for business customers and consumers who appreciate both form and function. T-Mobile customers also continue to get great mobile coverage with the device's Wi-Fi calling capabilities, which allow consumers to use both cellular and Wi-Fi networks for voice calling. With Mail for Exchange, based on Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, consumers can receive their corporate e-mail, contacts and calendar pushed directly to their device.
"T-Mobile is committed to providing a variety of devices that serve our customers' needs to stay connected to the central people in their lives including family, friends and even colleagues from the office," said Travis Warren, director, product marketing, T-Mobile USA. "With the Nokia E73 Mode, we're excited to offer a premium device at an attractive price that helps Mom and Dad put work aside and make their family the top priority."
The Nokia E73 Mode comes pre-loaded with services and applications to make life easier, more fun and more efficient. With Ovi Maps, a turn-by-turn navigation solution from Nokia using the device's built-in GPS at no additional cost, consumers can get from point A to B with voice-guided directions - even when walking. Also pre-loaded on the device is the Ovi Store by Nokia, which provides access to thousands of compelling applications and games including "Shazam" and "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare." In addition, Ovi Store enables a simplified purchasing experience for consumers by allowing payment for content billed to their monthly T-Mobile bill or via credit card.
The Nokia E73 Mode includes support for services such as IBM Lotus Traveler, support for and access to Salesforce.com, Bloomberg and more to help business customers bring their office with them while on the go. The Nokia E73 Mode also comes pre-loaded with many business productivity tools allowing employees to take their office with them wherever they may be. With applications such as Ovi Files, QuickOffice, Adobe PDF Manager and ZIP Manager, files can be easily accessed, sent, viewed and edited right from the device, allowing customers to be more productive from nearly anywhere.
The Nokia E73 Mode comes with a full QWERTY keyboard, 5 megapixel camera with flash and autofocus, Wi-Fi for voice and data, long battery life, personal and corporate e-mail access, a full HTML Web browser with support for Adobe Flash, media player and more. With a full portfolio of multimedia functionality combined with Ovi Services, the Nokia E73 Mode provides consumers with everything they need to get the most out of their personal life.
Availability
The Nokia E73 Mode is expected to be available on June 16 through T-Mobile retail stores, select authorized dealers, and online at http://www.t-mobile.com. For more information, please visit http://www.nokiausa.com/mode or http://www.t-mobile.com.
Use of some features or services may incur separate, additional charges and/or require a qualifying data plan. 3G coverage is available in locations nationwide, but may not be available everywhere. For more details on where T-Mobile network coverage is available, please visit http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage.
June 03, 2010
Sleek and stylish productivity solution provides access to thousands of apps via Ovi Store and turn-by-turn navigation
White Plains, NY and Bellevue, WA USA - Nokia and T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced the upcoming availability of the Nokia E73 Mode, exclusively for T-Mobile customers, designed to help balance the need to stay connected with one's work and personal life at home or on the go. The Nokia E73 Mode, a Wi-Fi calling enabled QWERTY smartphone operating on T-Mobile's blazing-fast 3G network, includes Nokia's unique Switch Mode feature, which allows consumers to switch between fully customizable home screens that help promote a work-life balance. The Nokia E73 Mode is expected to be available beginning June 16.
"The Nokia E73 Mode brings style and function in an affordable device without compromise," said Mark Slater, vice president, Sales, Nokia. "Working together with T-Mobile, the Nokia E73 Mode enables us to bring our customers a 'Work & Life' solution that allows consumers and businesses to be as productive as possible, while still providing an exceptional consumer value and performance."
The thinnest full QWERTY keyboard smartphone available from T-Mobile, the Nokia E73 Mode is the perfect device for business customers and consumers who appreciate both form and function. T-Mobile customers also continue to get great mobile coverage with the device's Wi-Fi calling capabilities, which allow consumers to use both cellular and Wi-Fi networks for voice calling. With Mail for Exchange, based on Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, consumers can receive their corporate e-mail, contacts and calendar pushed directly to their device.
"T-Mobile is committed to providing a variety of devices that serve our customers' needs to stay connected to the central people in their lives including family, friends and even colleagues from the office," said Travis Warren, director, product marketing, T-Mobile USA. "With the Nokia E73 Mode, we're excited to offer a premium device at an attractive price that helps Mom and Dad put work aside and make their family the top priority."
The Nokia E73 Mode comes pre-loaded with services and applications to make life easier, more fun and more efficient. With Ovi Maps, a turn-by-turn navigation solution from Nokia using the device's built-in GPS at no additional cost, consumers can get from point A to B with voice-guided directions - even when walking. Also pre-loaded on the device is the Ovi Store by Nokia, which provides access to thousands of compelling applications and games including "Shazam" and "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare." In addition, Ovi Store enables a simplified purchasing experience for consumers by allowing payment for content billed to their monthly T-Mobile bill or via credit card.
The Nokia E73 Mode includes support for services such as IBM Lotus Traveler, support for and access to Salesforce.com, Bloomberg and more to help business customers bring their office with them while on the go. The Nokia E73 Mode also comes pre-loaded with many business productivity tools allowing employees to take their office with them wherever they may be. With applications such as Ovi Files, QuickOffice, Adobe PDF Manager and ZIP Manager, files can be easily accessed, sent, viewed and edited right from the device, allowing customers to be more productive from nearly anywhere.
The Nokia E73 Mode comes with a full QWERTY keyboard, 5 megapixel camera with flash and autofocus, Wi-Fi for voice and data, long battery life, personal and corporate e-mail access, a full HTML Web browser with support for Adobe Flash, media player and more. With a full portfolio of multimedia functionality combined with Ovi Services, the Nokia E73 Mode provides consumers with everything they need to get the most out of their personal life.
Availability
The Nokia E73 Mode is expected to be available on June 16 through T-Mobile retail stores, select authorized dealers, and online at http://www.t-mobile.com. For more information, please visit http://www.nokiausa.com/mode or http://www.t-mobile.com.
Use of some features or services may incur separate, additional charges and/or require a qualifying data plan. 3G coverage is available in locations nationwide, but may not be available everywhere. For more details on where T-Mobile network coverage is available, please visit http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage.
So, it's the E72, without the expensive metal additions, but with a whole lot of carrier branding.
You US mobile phone customers really are blessed by your networks.
@sockatume
Amazon sells the E72 for $330. With T-Mobile's subsidized plan, it's $70 + $10/month for 24-months, giving you a total of $310 for the phone. This is the first time I've seen the phone cheaper with a subsidized plan.
@sockatume How many smartphones does Nokia Have. What the difference between the various series anyway.
@MySchizoBuddy
http://europe.nokia.com/find-products/devices
@PiCASSO Where do you get the $10 per month from?
@PiCASSO Except the one amazon sells is Unocked and made of metal , quality, and isnt plastic junk
E73 is pretty much the E72. Metal and all....
Nokia CentroBerry
@whySoSerious That actually is not a bad combination.
I'm a huge fan of Nokia's E series devices. Not so much of their other models ( there are a few low end feature phones that I really love from them-high quality stuff).
@ounkeo
Can u dial 1800-flowers or 1800-mattress from your E-series phone....
@narensr
No, but you can dial 1-800-FLOWERS or 1-800-MATTRESS. You just need to use uppercase. I dial 1-800-COMCAST all the time (not by choice....)
Say what you will about Nokia's software…
Ok, I will. 2010 but apparently text antialiasing is still a dark art.
@(Unverified)
Seems to be doing fine on Maemo though.
@(Unverified)
Well, fonts are really fully anti aliased on my N80. But then again it has 416x352 2.1" screen... Antialiasing on QVGA display might make the texts look worse.
where the hell was this 3 years ago when i wanted to buy one?
@SteveyAyo Perhaps not available as a carrier option in the US, but in the rest of the world, this nice form factor was available as metal bodied E70 (and E63 in a cheaper with plastic body design). My wife has been using one for more than a year, one with a nice red coloured plastic parts and shiny metal backplane and sides. It cost us around $350 without any carrier lock-in.
@cartes yeah my australian friend brought one over and i got insanely jealous
@SteveyAyo
Been using the blue e63 for about a year now. It works incredibly well and the form factor is perfect. I drop it all the time and it still looks and runs reasonably well. s60 v9.3 is feeling pretty old though. It needs s^3.
Nokia must have in infinite supply of 240X320 screens.
@nastro They're actually cultivated in a very similar manner to cabbage.
Ah, some Finnish blackberries, is it?
@HikaKao
BlackBerry doesn't even come close to the capability of a Symbian 60 phone. Its a sad joke in comparison.
Very Good alternative to a Blackberry...
Does this ship with that car cradle? Nokia's "free navigation" handsets tend to come with them these days.
People need to know that I hate my E71:
***
> @bergwitz Wait, are you telling me that the e-mail
> options SUCK?!
Exactly.
> You mean the same phone that is almost the
> default business phone across Europe and Asia?
> Oh poor business men... :(
Mistaking business people for email power users
says a lot about how clueless you are.
All right, I'll explain it to you. I'm subscribed
to +/- 30 technical mailing lists and there are
at least four things that make the default email
app on the e71 useless:
1. slow on large mailboxes
2. does not set the `replied' flag
3. does not set the In-Reply-To header
4. no threaded view
nr. 2 alone will also terribly suck for people
with moderate needs while nr. 3 makes an archive
with threaded discussions impossible. It also
pisses off *many* people who receive your mail
through a mailing list and cannot figure out why
the hell they always have to fix your mails
manually in order to make their mailboxes
readable again.
> USB1.1 fine you caught me on that but the E72
> has USB2.0...
Its nice that we can agree on the rather
disturbing fact that Nokia gave their flagship
device USB 1.1 during a time where every crappy
30$ mp3-player had USB 2.0.
> Besides the USB1.1, which didnt do much for you,
> or the 2-second freeze how come this is a horrible
> device?
Continued:
- Menu
You cannot customize your Menu. Oh, yes, you
can, but it will reset itself for some reason
every two or three weeks.
The Menu is laggy. You go into it, move right
two times and exactly when you press OK that
goddamn system resets the position of the cursor
and you end up waiting because you just started a
fancy game that doesn't give away its captured
keys until you're in the main menu
- Internet Radio
There is no equalizer so you end up running the
music player in the background because the latter
has an equalizer and its settings, oh wonder,
affect all outputs. But as soon as the system
plays a warning tone this instantly resets all
equalizer settings and you get a proper ear-rape
if you abused the equalizer to quiet down the
radio station.
That brings me to another point: There are too
few volume levels. Sometimes the Station is
heavily amped and you suddenly have the choice
between silence and ear-damage.
The Internet Radio App loses connection way too
often. And doesn't try very hard to reconnect.
The old `open-source' internet radio works much
better in this regard but is PITA too because of
other serious shortcomings.
- Headphone Jack
The position sucks (left side), the dimension too
(2.5mm).
- 3rd party software
Why do I have to mess with the system time just
because I want to install a perfectly safe
software package?
Why are Java-Apps permanently asking for
permissions for everything? Why is the system
unable to remember my choice?
- Browser
Why am I not allowed to delete certain bookmark
folders?
- Others
Why am I not allowed to delete certain profiles?
When charging the device and the device is off:
Why the hell does it need to turn on the display
and play a shitty warning tone when the battery
is full? I really don't care otherwise I would
have turned that damned thing on..
A perfect way to scare the crap out of people
while they are trying to get some sleep.
***
Just sayin'..
@bergwitz
btw, its possible that the E73 is much better. i just doubt that the people who built the E71 are generally capable of doing sane things..
@bergwitz That is the most I have ever had to scroll down to read a comment on Engadget....and yes, I am running a high res monitor...
@bergwitz - a lot of your complains aren't even valid anymore. This has faster hardware, a newer software version, a much evolved eMail app etc etc...
It's like when people come up with a list of the iPhone 2G's initial limitations to prove that today's iPhone is still total crap...
@bergwitz Yes, a business phone that predates the iPhone 3G is not actually all that great any more. It's a shock, but there you go.
@bergwitz
So, you are basing your opinion of this yet to be launched product on a product that is over 2 years old? Or are you just two years late complaining about the old product? Either way, why don't you go to the website and read the specs before you start assuming it's the same device? I know that several of your complaints have been addressed and fixed.
@bergwitz
Half of the stuff you wrote is irrelvant now, the other half subjective. The new E72 really flies, so that should not be an issue either. Added to that, the phone you hate so much was dubbed best phone of the year by Stuff Magazine, even over the IPhone. Exactly because most people apparently do not have the issues you have.
In this formfactor, there is not a single blackberry that can beat the E72. We will have to wait and see, but if this E73 is similar to the E72, its a winner.
And, free navigation for life!
@NewL
no matter how fast your hardware is---if it runs symbian you're screwed. I'd never buy a symbian phone again.
And why are people downranking my OP? I'm just trying to warn those poor souls who are seriously considering buying Nokia Hardware.. also its not that i'm not backing my claims.. bah, anyway.
@bergwitz Totally agree.
It's so annoying how the apps asks you EVERY f*cking time if you want to connect to the internet. Yes I really do! Are you sure? Yes, damn it!
@joshl Set a default access point.
@sockatume
sorry, thats the wrong advice. he's not talking about the AP-menu.. he's talking about java apps constantly asking for permission-this, permission-that..
@JFH
Why should i care about mag-ratings? actually i did care back then and it got me into buying a ridiculous phone.. and btw, while i hate the iPhone... i really f*ing hate the E71. Saying that the E71 is better is just brain-dead opinion from people that never had to use said device.
@bergwitz
Used both, just don't share your opinion. Which is what it is, nothing more, which hardly warrants an entire chapter of subjective reasoning, eh?
@bergwitz
Dude, I used both of them, I just completely disagree, and added that apparently I am not the only disagreeing with you, which is why I linked the article. Even so, you wrote an entire chapter on why you personally do not like the device, thanks for sharing. You dont like it, dont buy another one, but dont pretend to know whats good for others.
@JFH
I'm not trying to pretend anything.. its just my opinion and probably helpful if you're undecided. If somebody wrote that `entire chapter' back then when i was under the influence of shallow reviews my decision probably would have been better.
@JFH Still using Nokia?
What you using now?
@bergwitz Ah, in that case it's just a matter of setting the permissions in the Application Manager. For S60 apps you shouldn't have to tell it to connect, so long as you set it your access points to be automatically used and set a default.
@hello5800xm
The N900, got it 2 weeks ago, most impressed I have ever been with a phone. The multitasking is sweet, the OS is pretty, its quick, runs real programs, not just "apps" and the resistive screen almost as responsive as capacitive screens. Best of all, I do skype gtalk msn texting and then some, all threaded in 1 app. I go to my addres book and for every person I can see how I can reach them, their status, all of it.
It lets me write emails, adjust settings in a webbased cms, see flash, have 3 chats open and listen to music, and then switch between those concurrently running apps in the best multitasking I have seen so far, comparable to OSX expose.
I am really looking forward to the succesor of the N900, but after using the Blackberries for a while, and knowing the E72 well, I thought it justified to say I would prefer one greatly over the other.
@bergwitz
Conversely, myself would have been scared to purchase the device, and would have ended up with a BB. Of course, you can dislike the device, and try to explain to others why you didnt like it, I just feel you stated your opinion as fact and in my mind most of the things you mention are simply not true or relevant anymore, especially in the context of this device.
@bergwitz
Did you have an E71 or an E71x btw..?
@JFH Yes, see you are loyal to Nokia, but still moved away from Symbian... I was desperate to change my 5800, and really really wanted an E72 after playing with one for a good while. But I was scared of going near Symbian again. I read on the vodafone forums too many people with similar issues in E72 as I had on 5800.
In the end it was a tossup for me between n900 or motorola milestone (droid).
I got the milestone and phone- and camera wise- I think the n900 would've been better for me, but I was so frustrated suffering with Symbian that I was even scared of Maemo.
Nevertheless, I think there are decreasing numbers of people who had Symbian that would take Symbian again, and this I think is what users like bergwhitz and myself are feeling: Regardless of the superb hardware quality, Symbian is a gamble/risk.
@JFH
E71
@hello5800xm
Well, Symbian really was never the issue. It was the UI layer. For non touch devices, like the candybars & qwerty devices like the E72, symbian is hands down the best OS out there. That is not even up for debate.
Symbian for touch devices, like the 5800, only has gotten reasonable after the latest firmware updates that give it kinetic scrolling etc. Nokia did a quick and dirty touch adaptation of S60 and it showed. Even with that being true, the 5800 is still supported, and between 60 & 70 million have been sold, so it is hardly a failure.
I follow Symbian closely, and with their current technology, they have gotten Symbian as far as they can with S^3. It still uses AVKON for the UI, and I think they did a great job with that restriction. Under the hood, many performance improvements have been made and S^3 has been consistently maxing out benchmarks on the N8 (with an ARM11 CPU at that!)
S^3 will not disappoint, neither will the N8, but once burned... Go check one out when it comes out.
BTW, Maemo rocks!
@bergwitz That's because the US carriers are locking out all unsigned Java apps and they will only sign apps for internet use that they sell in their app store. One guess as to why they do this.
Thus, only their "approved" software (that you purchased from them through their app store) is allowed to automatically connect to the internet without user override/approval.
I know this because I have had the E71x from ATT for over a year now.
Best phone I've had, too. Although they preloaded it with a bunch of locked bloatware/trial apps that cannot be removed without the use of the X-plore app (free with a 3 second nag screen, pay to remove the nag).
@JFH
``I just feel you stated your opinion as fact''
``That is not even up for debate''
Don't you double-standard me, sir.