I should say that the idea of the same interview series started with the man himself only. It was our last 
tweepup (in fact, the first ever tweepup of mine) with me, Pankaj and Krishna, where this idea came in my mind. It was his extreme care of his own handset and knowledge over various services and functions that challenged me to think that its not only we blogger, who try to keep eyes over the things going around, but the ‘common’ people too. Its just that the time that blogging may ask from you sometimes, is not everyone’s cake.
We didn’t got time for the second tweepup (Sigh!!! the professional lives of us are too tough to find time for even self and family), but was wishing to spend much time with Pankaj for asking about things he used to do with his mobiles and due to crunch of time for both of us, I thought about this way.
Anyway, why to bore you all, let’s talk about Pankaj only here.
Pankaj, Can you tell us something about you? like your profession,background etc..blogging\ social life
Hello Guys. My Name is Pankaj Kapoor. I am a married guy with one Son, working as Chief Technical Manager in Cowi India Pvt Ltd. We deal in 3D digital maps, something which you see in Ovi Maps and Google Earth etc.
On Personal Front, I am very much a family guy and my hobbies include mobiles, movies, technology in general and hanging out with family on weekends.
On social front, the guys on web and various mobile forums know me as freak4mobiles. Was long time member on sites like Zedge and was Moderating wonderful forum symbian-freak.com. Now I am active on twitter and people know me as @pannkaz.
Me: Whoa… didn’t knew that you had moderated symbian-freak.com in past. Secret secret… hmm
Which was your first phone and the journey of the freak started?
My first Nokia was 8310 and I instantly fell in love with the phone and company. It was one of the best and sexiest phone of its time. Then came Nokia 6600. The first symbian phone I used and what an experience it was.
It seems you are a big fan for Nokia, if yes then since when?
Yes thats true. I am big fan of Nokia as company and using Nokia phones since 2001. So its almost a love of 10 years.
can you list out the phones you have used for last few years?
Since my first phone which was incidentally a Ericsson T28, I have used a lots of phone. Here is a list of the phones I have used in 10 years.
Ericsson – A3618, T28,
Nokia – 1100, 1200, 1650, 2100, 2300, 2600, 3310, 3510, 3610, 6230, 6233, 6270, 6600, 6610, 7610, 8210, 8250, 8310, E61, E72, E75, N73, N82, N86
SE – M600, P990, T610, W800, Z600
Samsung – N620, C100, R220
And few more.. So its almost 35 phones in 10 years. That’s why got this nick freak4mobiles.
Me: Whoa .. that’s some crazy, some real crazy. I noted that you missed N70/ N72/N73, otherwise, it’s huge
When did you plan to go for Nokia E72, was it planned or accident?
Since I have earlier used E71 and other qwerty phones, so I was waiting for some nice upgrade for them. So the day E72 was announced, I knew its a phone for me. So you can say it was a well thought decision.
What’s your views on touch screens? Have you tried them yet, if yes then which one?
Yes I have tried few touch screen phones but incidentally no Nokia. I have used SE M600 and P990 touch screen phones.
you must have read about Nokia E7-00, what’s your views on it?
Yes But honestly speaking I am not too excited about this. For me a phone should be able to last me one full day on single charge, but I fear E7 with 4 inch screen and 1200mAH will not fulfill my needs. Otherwise its a great phone and is going to sure shot hit.
E72 Special Questions
How is the keypad response of Nokia E72 and have you tried other qwerty variants like BB?
The keyboard response on E72 is very good and there are very few mis hits. Before this I have tried other qwerty phones like E61, M600 and P990, but honestly speaking, Till date I like the keyboard of P990 most. The keys were tiny but raised and have gaps between them.The typing on it with combination of touch screen was great.
What you say about the S60 3rd Edition? Have you found any other non-touch OS better than this on mobiles? Like Windows Mobile etc.
S60 3rd Edition is un-doubtedly World’s most stable and widely used smart phone OS. New entrants like Android and iOS are developed with touch screens in mind. For non-touch smart phones, there is no competition to Symbian. Regarding Windows phones, lesser I say is better.
What are the applications you have installed so far, please list it? how many give trouble to you (any compatible error etc..)
X-plore, ScreenSnap, Google, mPaper, JbakTaskmanager, Nimbuzz, Worldmate, Gmail, Google Maps, Facebook Mobile, Skype, Divx Player, BookMyShow, ngPay, MidDay, Profimail, Gravity, Qik. eBuddy, Y!Cricket, Foursquare, Socially and Opera Mini.
Quite a big list and happy with all of them.
What do you say about the speed of E72?
The overall speed of E72 is very good and the phone is real snappy and fast. There is no lag in menu transitions and moving from one folder to another. It doesn’t matter if it has only 600Mhz processor. I will like to say here that Symbian is still most resource efficient OS among all other mobile OS.
Are you a game player? if yes what are the games do you play on E72? If no, then what is your favourite time pass with Nokia E72?
I am an occasional game player and do play few games on my E72 whenever I get time after work and twitter. Here are some of games installed on my phone: Block Cascade, Solitaires. Snowboard, Asphalt 4, Prince of Persia, Street Marbles, HighSpeed 3D, Archery, Splinter Cell, Bubble Bash2,
Assassins Creed, Block Breaker 2.
Me: Surprised to see Cricket T20 not in the list. You must try that one.
What you expect from the next E-Series successor? It has to be touch based like we seen E7 or something else (May be E6)
My next dream E-series Phone has to be a combination of touchscreen and qwerty like P990. Here is what I like it to.
3.5 inch screen, full qwerty keyboard, 8MP camera with dual LED, Symbian^3, 512MB RAM, 32GB memory with memory card slot, and if possible 1GHz proccessor.
I will also like it to have full social web integrations like direct IM, twitter, facebook access from Contacts itself and Calendar to have sync with facebook and twitter.
How is the connectivity options on Nokia E72 and what’s missing ones mean to you like FM transmitter?
The connectivity options on E72 are really great and this is the phone which can keep you connected most of the time. Since I travel around 3-4 hours daily, I do miss the FM transmitter on it. I have used the same on N86 and its a great add on to have. I fail to understand, Why Nokia has different software suites for different phones. For mid range its OK, but for high end phones, they shall give all the options whether its a N-series or E-series phone.
What about the camera part? How you find Nokia E72 camera? Specially if you would have tried others like N82 or N86.
The E72 camera is really the best among business phones, though you cant compare it with camera-centric phones and its not meant to compete with them. But still the day pics from this phone are one of the best I have seen from 5MP snappers. What I will really love to have on next E-series is Dual LED. That shall be made standard on all phones with camera now. For night shots, its like any other normal camera phone and cant compete with powerhouses like N82 or N86.
Any great pics which you might have snapped with your E72? Specially macro shots or scenery shots?
I will say let the pictures speak themselves
1. The sunny outdoor pics
2. Little easy on light
3. The amazing macro shots
4. A shot in complete darkness.. the flash rules
What about the build quality and what you think that could go more better? Like Anodized aluminum etc
The build quality of E72 is spectacular. I have used it for more than an year and it still looks like new. No moving parts, no loose battery cover, nothing. Perfect. Using Anodized aluminum will add entirely another dimension to already wonderful build of E72.
Me: Really wanted to show all readers the spectacular and still new Nokia E72 looks. Pankaj will share soon
Is it loud on calls? What about the music performance?
Its good for a business phone, but not too loud. You may miss a call or two when you are in a very noisy environment. But for most of day to day conditions its loud enough. The Music performance through ear phones is very good and best till date in E-series, but not through phone speakers as its only a mono one. But its not meant to be a music phone, so that doesn’t bother me that much.
Which next phone, you are planning to buy after Nokia E72? Is there anything already out, which you are eyeing on or something that is about to come later?
I am very Happy and contend with my E72 and not planning to replace it in near future. I will wait till someone comes with Candy bar form factor with touch screen and top of the line specification. In the meantime I may get N8 for imaging to compliment my E72.
Do you think that E72 still stands as best reliable partner for business persons like you? If yes then why so?
E72 is a phone which has already blurred the line between business phone and social phone. I have seen many youngsters using E72 and keeping in touch with their friends through social networking. Its the form factor and ease of typing, which has made this phone hit with business people as well as young.
what you don’t like about E72?
There is nothing major to dislike about E72. The only thing I wish is that it should have come with at least 256MB RAM.
Battery life of E72? We already heard a lot on it, but wish to hear some specific experience of yours which might have happened in past?
Battery Life on E72 is really amazing. As my personal experience, it lasts me easily 1.5 day with Gravity, Profimail (Always connected mode), lots of calling, some imaging, videos and messages.
Few months back I went to holiday and there I used my phone without any internet connection and only did calls, some photos and videos and the battery lasted me full 3.5 days. That’s really awesome. I really wish Nokia shall use same battery in all there flagship phones, not like one they are using N8 and upcoming E7.
Me: I would like to tell readers that Pankaj love to Qik streams and when he says videos then you know a part of it is Qik. Think battery now.
Your score points to the E72 (rating if any..)
8.5 out of 10.
I understand the limitations of time and pages I could write on it, but its always feels less when we talk about something that we really love and with a person, whom we wanted to talk more and more. Feel just like that when finishing this interview for now. Really want Pankaj to write for me sometimes 😉 though I know how tough this gonna be for him.
Drop me your comments or to the man himself @pannkaz on twitter. There will always be something remained that you can learn from his.
Nitish Kumar
Nitish Kumar's Blog 