ZTE E N72 InDepth Review Specs Pricing & More

Overview of ZTE E N72

The ZTE E N72, released in August 2010, is a device that reflects the era when smartphones began to expand beyond basic functionalities, embracing richer features that catered to productivity and connectivity. Known for its practical QWERTY keyboard and a user-oriented operating system, it was an appealing choice for those seeking a device that could support basic productivity tasks.

Design and Build

The ZTE E N72 features a compact design with dimensions of 114 x 66 x 11.9 mm and a weight of 130 grams. Its physical QWERTY keyboard grants users the familiarity of traditional typing, making it particularly useful for email and text communication. The device's black color gives it a professional look suitable for business environments, while the Mini-SIM design ensures that it remains usable with existing network setups.

Display

The device is equipped with a 2.5-inch TFT resistive touchscreen. With a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels and a density of approximately 160 ppi, the screen quality might not compete with today's high-resolution screens but was adequate for the tasks in 2010. The 256K color capacity allowed for basic multimedia viewing and navigation through the Windows Mobile Professional OS.

Performance

Under the hood, the ZTE E N72 runs on Microsoft Windows Mobile Professional. Despite the limitations of not specifying a particular processor or RAM, it managed basic multitasking and application usage effectively due to the optimized nature of the Windows Mobile OS during its time. The 100MB internal storage was modest, but the absence of specific RAM details suggests reliance on operating system efficiency and user constraints like app size and multitasking.

Camera Capabilities

The device comes with a 3.15 MP main camera featuring autofocus and an LED flash, making it capable of capturing photos in various environments. Video recording is supported, which adds to its multimedia capabilities, even though there is no front-facing camera for selfies or video calls which became standard later in the smartphone industry.

Network and Connectivity

The ZTE E N72 supports CDMA/EVDO technologies, featuring both 2G (CDMA 800 / 1900) and 3G (CDMA2000 1xEV-DO) bands. This allowed users reliable mobile connectivity and data speeds up to HSPA during its time. In terms of wireless connectivity, the device lacks WLAN support but compensates with Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP for wireless audio streaming and basic data transfer tasks. It does not have GPS or radio, which might limit its utility as a navigation or entertainment device.

Battery Life

The ZTE E N72 is powered by a removable 1300 mAh Li-Ion battery, allowing for relatively easy user-replacement. With a standby time of up to 200 hours and a talk time of around 4 hours, it provided the user with a reasonable range for mobile operation without frequent charging interruptions.

Memory and Storage

Internally, the device offers 100MB of storage, which was fairly adequate for storing essential apps and data back in 2010. For users needing additional storage, a dedicated microSDHC card slot was provided, offering the flexibility to expand storage capacity to meet personal requirements, be it for multimedia files or documents.

Additional Features

Several other features highlight the ZTE E N72’s capabilities. Its browser supports WAP 2.0/xHTML and HTML, facilitating browsing of basic mobile websites. Although it lacks a significant sensor array, it retained essential functionalities expected of smartphones at the time without overcomplicating the user experience with superfluous features.

Conclusion

Overall, the ZTE E N72 was a device engineered for users who valued a physical keyboard and basic smartphone functionalities. Although modern devices far surpass it in specs and capabilities, at the time of its release, the ZTE E N72 served as a competent tool for staying connected and handling simple productivity tasks. Its limitations highlight how far technology has come, but also reflect a time when functionality was more straightforward and less demanding.