Features
The N73 is one of Nokia's most feature-packed handsets, though it lacks the WiFi connectivity offered by the
N80,
N91, and
N93. Still, the Series 60 platform offers a variety of multimedia applications. Nokia also recently released a special Music Edition N73 with an upgraded music player.
A dedicated multimedia button provides quick access to five user-configurable applications, including Nokia's music player, Web browser, FM Radio, and slideshow. The music player can handle mp3, AAC/eAAC+, and WMA files, though it suffers from an oddly cumbersome interface. The N73 Music Edition is said to remedy this issue, though, and current N73 owners can actually upgrade their phones with a little Googling and some basic technical know-how.
Real Player handles playback of video and Flash animations, and photos and videos alike look absolutely gorgeous in landscape orientation on the QVGA screen. What you give up in bulk on the N73, you get back in the way of a brilliant screen that's suitable for on the go viewing of short video clips.
My qualms with its interface aside, the music player performed excellently, and the included Pop Port adapter lets you connect standard 3.5mm stereo headphones to the N73 (a decent stereo headset with in-line microphone is also included). Music quality was on par with Sony Walkman phones - and rivaled that of my iPod - when quality earphones are used and the built-in graphic equalizer is adjusted to suit. Built-in dual speakers are capable of playing music aloud in stereo, though the audio quality is better suited for impromptu sharing than serious listening.
The N73 includes Nokia's standard install of productivity tools, which is easily extended by downloading and installing any number of Symbian applications from the Web. Personal Information Management (PIM) features on the N73 are extensive, and the Calendar and Messaging apps particularly benefit from the Series 60 UI's Active Standby feature. A row of application shortcut icons is displayed on the standby screen above a list of timely alerts (appointments, new messages, etc.). Both sets of information are, of course, customizable.
I was surprised, however, that the N73 was a bit sluggish when switching applications. Multimedia apps in particular had a tendency to boot up a bit more slowly than I would have expected. This wasn't at all a deal breaker for me, but did detract some from that initial feeling of "Oooh, this is one sexy beast" that I had when I first turned the handset on.
Megapixels do not tell the entire story when it comes to the quality of a digital camera. Sure, a five megapixel camera is going yield larger photo prints than a two megapixel shooter, but I'd rather have a sharp, vibrant 3x5" photo than a fuzzy, oddly tinted 8x10" any day. As such, a camera with a quality 1.3 or 2MP camera may be more useful in the long run than a poorly built 3MP model.
The Nokia N73 does away with any worries about megapixels or quality with it's 3.2 MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics. This autofocus shooter is on par with SE's K790/800 series - and Nokia's own N93 - when it comes to image quality. Photos taken in good lighting conditions came out crisp, clear, and with a high degree of color accuracy. The auto-focus system works well, shutter lag is kept to a reasonable minimum, and the camera software offers myriad settings in one of the best designed, most user-friendly menus I've see on a cameraphone to date.
Photos look spectacular on the N73's display, and can be saved to internal or removable memory, transferred to a computer via USB or Bluetooth, or attached to Email or MMS messages. Pictbridge support also allows for computer-less printing with compatible printers. And the Series 60/Symbian OS platform supports multiple applications for mobile photo blogging.
The one negative with the N73's camera is that the built-in LED photo light is not a true flash, and as such pictures taken indoors or at night do suffer from some of the graininess still associated with cameraphone pics. Sony Ericsson's Cyber-Shot line gets a slight nod here by virtue of building a Xenon flash into the K790/800 handsets.
The N73 also features a second, front-mounted camera. This sensor maxes out at VGA resolution, and while it can be used for self-portraits and other photos, it was intended for video calling on European 3G networks
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4.7
