New as I was to Windows Mobile I was intrigued by the BenQ E72 a fully functioning smart phone operating using windows mobile 6.0 and all for a price tag of just over £100? So could the days of paying not such smart prices for a smart phone be over? Well the BenQ E72 certainly hopes to achieve just that.
The 10 second review:
Device: BenQ E72
Cost: SIM free only: £101.99 (£91.99 with our discount voucher!)
Available from: eXpansys (Go and buy one from here)
Summary: A great introduction to Windows Mobile for new users and a neat, well designed Smartphone for WM veterans.
Best of: price, size and looks
Worst of: MicroSD limited to 2GB
The BenQ E72 Smartphone
At around £100 the BenQ E72 entry level Windows Mobile phone offering many features that you would expect to find on higher priced handsets at a fraction of the cost. This device could well entice new users away from the likes of Nokia and Samsung. I’m totally new to Windows Mobile myself and so perhaps well placed to review the E72 on that basis.
BenQ E72 Specification:
- 240 x 320 pixels, 2 inches TFT, 65K colours Display
- 2 MP Camera, 1600×1200 pixels, video
- 108 x 46 x 13 mm (90 g)
- Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
- 64MB DDR RAM (24MB user memory)
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
- Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0
- WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Email, MSN
- microSD (TransFlash) Slot. (Supports up to 2GB)
- MPEG4/WMV/3GP player
- MP3/AAC/AAC+/WAV/WMA player
General
The phone is easy on the eye with sleek styling that is very similar to previous BenQ phones, it feels small in the hand similar to a standard candy bar phone rather than a Windows Mobile Smartphone, however feels substantial and fairly weighty for a phone of its size.
The front of the phone is fairly not eventful with not great design features that particularly stand out. The screen is a decent size with the 2 menu buttons located just below and the call buttons bellow that. There is a 4 directional button for navigation and in the middle of this is the select button. Housed on the red bar are the return & home buttons and sitting below this is the numerical keypad, no QWERTY keyboard for this smartphone.
BenQ E72 front view
The back of the phone as you would expect fairly plain however does house a 2.0 MP camera. The phone is home to a Li-Ion 900 mAh and also located under the battery cover is the MicroSD slot which will support up to 2GB and of course the SIM card holder just above this.
BenQ E72 back views
The left side of the E72 is simplistic and surprisingly lacking button wise compared to other smart phones. There are two thin buttons one which is used for quick access to messages and the other will initialise the phones voice recorder for memos etc.
BenQ E72 Left side
Again just the two buttons on the right hand side used to control headset volume, the right side is also home to a mini USB connector used for charging and also as a headphone connection.
BenQ E72 right side
Nothing to be found on either the top or the bottom of the E72.
BenQ E72 top and bottom view
Highlights & Lowlights
+ Low Price
+ WiFi
+ Windows Mobile 6.0
-Slow Processor
-Low Memory support
Review
The BenQ E72 dares to be different by offering all the benefits of windows mobile without the large price tag and having to carry a brick around in your pocket. At first view the E72 looks pleasant with simplistic styling and a minimalist feel especially when it comes to buttons. The Screen is a decent size for a phone of this size and is certainly adequate for viewing emails and messages however feels a little on the small side when it comes to watching videos & clips. The phone is certainly small for a smart phone and even small for a standard Candy Bar phone however as I said it feels substantial and solid enough with some weight to it and certainly feels like a good quality handset. The addition of a QWERTY keypad would have been simply for using it for email and browsing IE. However with the phone the size it is a full size keypad would simply not be practical so there has to be some compromise. The 2MP Camera and video functionality is a nice addiction and to find this teamed with windows mobile all for around £100 is fantastic value.
Using windows mobile the phone has all of the features associated with this including Internet Explorer and windows media player which allows you to view videos and listen to your favourite music however with all the available options it would have been nice if the phone were to support a larger MicroSD card than the 2GB support it offers which in many phones is perfectly acceptable however in the scale of things within this smart phone it feels small picture like having a desktop PC at home with only a 50GB Memory, however that said I didn’t find myself using this phone for listening to music or watching large video files anyway.
Windows Mobile offers fantastic features which are fantastic to use however due to the phones small processor obviously related to its price applications were often slow and the phone often felt clumsy when loading certain files and folders, however it was certainly not an unbearable amount of time but while these applications were loading I had time to remember that this is a smart phone with full Windows Functionality, WiFi and all for a shade over £100 which soon makes you forget the few seconds extra you have to wait.
The E72 also has a built in voice recorder which is always helpful when recoding memos or notes and with the quick start button on the side of the phone is very easy to get started using this feature, although the E72 is a smart phone and is likely to be used as such for checking emails and wireless connectivity due to its low price tag it is likely to attract other customers and they are catered for with games, ringtone creator, video features as well as the obviously playback of music and videos.
Browsing the internet using the E72 was easy with built in WiFi and Internet explorer. Often mobile internet is considered as a tedious business however has to be done however I found it enjoyable and very easy. IE. On the E72 is very similar to a desktop PC in fact is almost identical however obviously due to the screen size more navigation is required but that is an easy compromise to make.
Conclusion
Overall the E72 is a good phone with its minimalist style and simplistic layout with regards to buttons etc. It is very easy to use and windows mobile 6.0 plays a big part in this as it allows for easy navigation of the handset, however due to the phones small processor you will often be reminded that this is a budget smart phone but that said considering it is a budget smart phone it is a very good budget smart phone with great connectivity and ease of use. The E72 would be perfect for the enterprising university graduate just starting out in the rat race with its great blend of work and pleasure the E72 with windows mobile an enjoyable phone to use and all for a fantastic price. The E72 is what is it is and fantastic for it.
Review by: Nick
If your looking to get a bit of protection for your iPhone you should check out Mobility Today’s review of the Bodyguardz Screen Protector. Dave last night decided to take the plunge and apply a BodyGuardz screen protector for his iPhone 3G. As you can see by the photos after the break these have no orange peel effect and they are as clear as glass. I am currently using the Invisible Shield on my iPhone 3G and have to admit when I use other people iPhone’s I am rather jealous of the smoothness of their screen compared with mine so this looks like a good compromise.
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