Nokia N73 Review - Organizer
Synchronization Ease of Use (6.67)
Synchronization on the Nokia N73 is handled by the included PC Suite. Setting up a partnership is as easy as installing the software, connecting the device and initiating a sync. We ran into no serious problems when using PC Suite. You can also synchronize the N73 with a Mac using iSync. It is easy to create a partnership from within iSync (make sure to set Bluetooth on the N73 to visible). You can then easily initiate a sync from within iSync.
PC Suite, which the Nokia N73 ships with, allows you to synchronize with PC via USB or Bluetooth. You can synchronize your calendar, contacts, notes and tasks with Outlook. Contact photos are also synchronized. On a Mac only Bluetooth synchronization is supported via iSync. Nokia's PC Suite allows you to synchronize your PIM information with a PC. You can synchronize with Outlook on a PC, however not with Eudora or the built in PIM applications. You can also synchronize with a Mac using iSync, although only Bluetooth syncing is supported on the Mac.
Alerts (5.0)
The Nokia N73 allows you to create alerts for both calendar appointments and tasks. We were pleased to see that you can enter any date or time you wish for when the alert will go off. You cannot choose the sound that will go off when the alert sounds, instead it uses the assigned task from the profile in use. When an alert goes off you will see an indicator on the screen with the item name and time and the screen will flash. You can choose to dismiss the item or snooze it for five minutes. If you miss the alert (it stops after 1 minute) there is no indication that you have done so, however it will sound again in five minutes just as if you had snoozed it.
Over the Air PIM Sync (0.0)
The Nokia N73 does not support synchronization of your PIM information over the network. You may be able to add this functionality in with software that Nokia provides for its E-Series phones, however we did not test this as we only review handsets as they arrive out of the box.
Address Book
Adding Contacts (4.33)
To test how easy it is to add a contact to the Nokia N73 we time how long it takes to go from the home screen to adding five different contact names and their phone numbers. We take the average time for our score. The Nokia N73 took an average of 23.1 seconds to add a new contact. This is a below average time for a phone, for example the Sanyo M1 took 20.6 seconds to add a new contact while the Sprint Upstage took 21.3 seconds. Compared to smart phones its an even worse time, the Treo 750 took 17.7 seconds to add a new contact while the T-Mobile Dash took only 13.44 seconds. The Nokia N73 is hurt in this test by the fact that the create new contact command is buried in the menu and actually launching the dialogue took quite awhile.
Looking/Sorting/Search (3.5)
The Nokia N73 allows you to sort your contacts by last name first name or by groups. You can search through your contacts by using multi tap to type out a first or last name. There is no support for predictive search, which is a shame as this has been a feature on many Windows Mobile smart phones for quite awhile.
Fields (10.6)
When creating a new contact the Nokia N73 gives you a good selection of fields, as we've come to expect from Series 60 devices. You are initially presented with 10 basic fields for name, email address various phone numbers, etc. You can then add any one of 32 additional fields via the left soft key menu. You can also add a photo to the contact using the left soft key menu. We also liked the feature that allows you to rename any of the basic fields, allowing you to create your own custom field, as well as the ability to add a note to a contact with whatever additional information you require. The Nokia N73 compares well to other smart phones in this area and is head and shoulders above regular phones.
Speed Dial/Voice tags/Voice command (3.67)
The Nokia N73 supports speed dial, as you would expect from any phone today. You can assign speed dials through the speed dial application found in the tools menu or by opening the contact and choosing the appropriate option from the left soft key menu. Unfortunately only 8 speed dials are available unlike many phones that can support up to 99 different numbers. There was no support for voice tags, which is a shame as the voice command software on the Nokia N73 did not impress us.
We test voice command by trying to make a call to each of our five sample contacts with diverse names. The Nokia N73's voice command only recognized two of the five contacts. This means that many people will find the voice command software of limited use. In addition to dialing contacts voice command on the Nokia N73 also allows you to do things like change profiles and turn on Bluetooth. You can also add any application from the phone to this list and record your own voice tag if the voice command software doesn't do a good job. Too bad this option isn't available for contacts as well.
Calendar
Adding Calendar Items (5.27)
To test how easy it is to add a calendar item to the phone we time how long it takes to go from the home screen and add a simple lunch appointment for the next day. We repeat this test five times and take the average time for our score. The Nokia N73 took an average of 18.96 seconds to complete this process. This is about average for a regular phone, but compares very badly to smart phones. For example the T-Mobile Dash took only 7.38 seconds to add a new calendar item while the Treo 750 took only 6.76 seconds. As you can see we expect more from smart phones like the N73 and were disappointed by its score in this test. The N73 was hurt in this test by a slow to launch interface.
Calendar Views (4.22)
The Nokia N73's calendar provides users with three different views: monthly, weekly and daily. The default view is the monthly view, which displays the current month. The current date is indicated with an underline while days that have appointments are indicated by a small green indicator in the lower left hand corner. You move around the calendar dates using the joystick. When you select a day that has appointments a small indicator that looks like a tool tip appears at the top of the screen with a list of that day's appointments. Selecting a day by pressing in on the joystick allows takes you to the daily view for that day.
The weekly view is accessed via the left soft key menu. It is organized in a grid with hour long blocks indicated along the left and the day of the week along the top. Appointments are indicated at their appropriate time with a dark blue bar. We found this a little hard to see given that the default theme has a light blue background. As with the monthly view when you move to an appointment a tool tip appears with the name and time of that appointment. Pushing in on the joystick will take you to the currently selected day's daily view.
The daily view is a simple chronological list of appointment for the day. Each appointment has start and end times, title and indicators for items like alarm and recurrence. You move up and down the list using up/down on the joystick, while left/right will take you to the previous or next day. Pressing in on the currently selected appointment will take you to that appointment's interface.
Overall we found the calendar views on the Nokia N73 very useful. The presence of tool tips in the monthly and weekly view makes them much more useful, while the daily view is well organized and provides the most information of all the views. We were dissapointed by the fact that you are not able to filter appointments in any of the views.
Fields (6.0)
The Nokia N73 offers the basic range of fields for creating appointments, including title, start and end, location and recurrence. We were also pleased to see that alarms can be set to go off at any time that you choose. We were not as impressed with the recurrence options as it limits you to one of five different recurrence patters and these do not include basics such as weekdays and weekends. We were also dissapointed to find more advanced options like categories, importance, notes and invitations were not available on the Nokia N73. We found the fields available to be better than regular phones but lagging behind other smart phones like the Treo 750.
ToDo/Tasks
Adding ToDo/Task (7.6)
To test how easy it is to add a task to the Nokia N73 we time how long it takes to go from the home screen to adding a simple task instructing us to get groceries. We repeat this task 5 times and then take the average for our score. The Nokia N73 took an average of 13.16 seconds to complete this task. This is a solid time, beating out the Treo 750's 16.9 seconds and the Sanyo M1's 18 seconds. Tasks are managed in the calendar application of the Nokia N73, and we did find that creating a new task was somewhat buried in the menus.
ToDo/Task Sorting and Prioritizing (3.5)
Because tasks are integrated into the calendar on the Nokia N73 there is a separate view within the calendar program specifically for tasks. This view organizes tasks by due date, there are no options available to sort by any other field, such as priority. This is unfortunate as other smart phones such as the Treo 750 do allow you to sort tasks by category, priority and view all tasks or only active ones. We were however pleased to see that you can set priorities for your tasks, choosing from normal, high or low. When you choose high or low an appropriate indicator is placed next to the task in the task view.
Fields (5.0)
When creating a new task on the Nokia N73 your options are fairly limited. You can include a subject, due date, reminder and set priority for the task. More advanced fields like recurrence, categories and notes are not included. This is dissappointing as other smart phones such as the Treo 750 does include these more advanced fields, although it should be noted that phones running Windows Mobile Standard (formerly smartphone edition) like the T-Mobile Dash do not include even the basics found on the N73. We were happy to note that the reminder you set for a task is similar to calendar reminders in that it can be set for any time and date that you choose.
Notes
Adding Notes (3.31)
To test how easy it is to add a text note to the Nokia N73 we timed how long it took to add a simple note reminding us about a lunch appointment the next day. We start the timer at the home screen and repeat the test five times and take the average for our score. The Nokia N73 took an average of 15.12 seconds to add our sample note. This is slightly slower than the Treo 750, which took 11.65 seconds but also has the benefit of a QWERTY keyboard. It is however much faster than the Sprint Upstage, which took 29.72 seconds to add our sample note.
Note Interface (2.0)
The notes interface on the Nokia N73 is very basic, presenting a simple list of your notes in the order they were created. There are no options to filter, categorize or sort your view, nor can you search through notes to find the one you want. All the commands are available via the left soft key menu. From here you can delete or print notes and you can also send a note via SMS, MMS, e-mail, Bluetooth or infrared.
Note Formatting (0.0)
There are no options to format your notes by changing font type, size or color. You also cannot bold, underline or italicize text.
Voice Memo (3.0)
We were pleased to see a voice memo feature on the Nokia N73. It is buried in the Office menu however and there is no shortcut key that will launch it automatically. Voice notes are limited to one minute in length and we were somewhat dissappointed that you can only play back the latest note from within the voice note application. To access other notes you will need to access the gallery. You can do this from the voice notes application via the left soft key menu, but we would have preferred to see playback and recording integrated into a single application. You can send your latest note from the voice notes application via SMS, MMS, e-mail, Bluetooth or infrared. You can also rename your latest note from within the application. To do this with older voice notes you will need to go to the gallery. Although we found the interface a little limited it's no worse than the clunky interface found on Windows Mobile devices. We've found that in this area some regular phones like the Sanyo M1 actually have better applications than many smart phones like the N73. Of course with the N73 you can purchase third party software to add in better functionality, check out
handango.com for a good list of software for the N73.
