Nokia E7 (Unlocked)
Editor Rating: Good (3.0)
Windows phones are running the NT kernel (the same kernel used by desktop Windows), however it uses a special UEFI bootloader to enable it to boot from ARM. Nokia Lumia phones essentially use the same CPU architecture as an Android phone would, however the software placed by Microsoft makes it tricky to rewrite the bootloader.
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$659.00
Pros
Beautiful hardware all around. Terrific camera and camcorder. Plenty of business connectivity.Cons
Frustrating UI. No microSD card slot. Short battery life. Very expensive. OS is doomed.Bottom Line
For die-hard Symbian fans, the Nokia E7 is a beautiful farewell as the company shifts to Microsoft's mobile OS; all others should stick with Android or iOS devices.
Buying a high-end, unlocked Symbian cell phone like the $659 Nokia E7 is a dicey proposition, as Nokia has already announced it's switching to Windows Phone 7 for its future devices. But if you like Symbian, the E7 is a classy, beautiful piece of hardware. It's a step up from the Nokia N8 ($549, 2.5 stars), with one exception (which I'll get to below). It's also one of The Best Unlocked Phones . That said, while E7's larger screen and hardware keyboard solve two of the N8's major issues, all of the software-related ones remain. And the E7 is even more expensive.
Design, Connectivity, and Voice Quality
Nokia has never had a problem designing impressive hardware. The E7's sleek aluminum and glass body feels expensive to the touch. It measures 4.9 by 2.5 by 0.5 inches (HWD) and weighs a heavy but solid-feeling 6.2 ounces. It's one of the classiest designs I've seen in a while. The 4-inch, AMOLED glass capacitive touch screen looks bright and vibrant, and touch response is well-calibrated. But the screen offers just 640-by-360-pixel resolution, which doesn't match higher-end Android and iPhone 4 devices in sharpness.
Nokia has never had a problem designing impressive hardware. The E7's sleek aluminum and glass body feels expensive to the touch. It measures 4.9 by 2.5 by 0.5 inches (HWD) and weighs a heavy but solid-feeling 6.2 ounces. It's one of the classiest designs I've seen in a while. The 4-inch, AMOLED glass capacitive touch screen looks bright and vibrant, and touch response is well-calibrated. But the screen offers just 640-by-360-pixel resolution, which doesn't match higher-end Android and iPhone 4 devices in sharpness.
There's an on-board accelerometer, compass, proximity sensor, and ambient light detector. The front panel slides up and at an angle to reveal a roomy, four-row QWERTY keyboard. It requires a somewhat tricky maneuver to pull this off, but I got used to it quickly. The flat, rectangular rubber keys are raised just enough for fast, comfortable typing. The E7 also offers on-screen keyboards, but they're a mess; predictive text is turned off by default, and the portrait mode keyboard is T9-style, which is ridiculous.
The E7 is a quad-band EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) and penta-band HSDPA 10.2 (850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz) device, meaning that it hits 3G data speeds on AT&T and T-Mobile networks both here and overseas. There's no 4G connectivity. You can swap SIM cards surprisingly easily by using the side-mounted slot; each time you do, the handset reboots and reconfigures itself automatically. This is awesome for frequent international travelers. The E7 also connects to 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi networks.
Reception was a bit below average; I heard some dropouts and computer-sounding syllables in an area with strong AT&T 3G signal. But with good reception, voice quality was quite good overall. I tested the phone with an AT&T SIM card; calls sounded reasonably clear, if slightly hollow, through the earpiece. Callers said I sounded about as good as I do on other AT&T phones.
Calls sounded clear through an Aliph Jawbone Icon Bluetooth headset ($99, 4 stars). Voice dialing didn't work well in general; the E7 had trouble understanding my commands. The speakerphone sounded clear but didn't go loud enough for outdoor use. Battery life was short at just 4 hours and 11 minutes of talk time. That used to be a typical 3G smartphone result three years ago, but no longer.
Apps, Business Connectivity, and Music Playback
The E7 runs Symbian^3, which sounds more advanced than Symbian Series 60, but really isn't. It includes just three home screens you can swipe between. Customizing them is possible, but difficult. The 680MHz ARM 11 CPU kept things moving at a decent clip, although the E7 never really felt fast in day-to-day operation. Other leading smartphones have much faster processors nowadays.
The E7 runs Symbian^3, which sounds more advanced than Symbian Series 60, but really isn't. It includes just three home screens you can swipe between. Customizing them is possible, but difficult. The 680MHz ARM 11 CPU kept things moving at a decent clip, although the E7 never really felt fast in day-to-day operation. Other leading smartphones have much faster processors nowadays.
The stock WebKit browser rendered desktop HTML pages well; pinch-zoom and scrolling were fast, and fonts looked sharp. But the browser's UI was exceedingly clumsy and required extra taps even just to navigate to a URL. The preloaded Ovi Maps navigation offers free, voice-enabled GPS directions for drivers and pedestrians in 80 countries; Lonely Planet and Via Michelin travel guides are also on board. Ovi Maps isn't as easy to use as other navigation apps, but it's free and powerful. Nokia's Ovi Store lets you browse, buy, and download thousands of apps. But it's sluggish, difficult to use, and is missing many major US apps available for Android and iOS devices. You get the picture.
The E7 is packed with software for business users, including Mail for Exchange, Microsoft Communicator Mobile, and support for Microsoft SharePoint Server. It also hooks into Lotus Notes Traveler and Lotus Sametime; Nokia is promising Cisco AnyConnect SSL VPN and Lotus Mobile Connect VPN support for mid-2011, though I'd check in on that before plunking down over $650 given Symbian's shaky future. The E7 can connect with up to 10 e-mail accounts, and it syncs Outlook contacts, calendars, e-mail, and tasks, although it can't sync more than one address book at a time. You also get F-Secure Anti-Theft, QuickOffice, and World Traveler, and the Ovi Store includes Salesforce CRM among other apps. The E7 supports remote device lock and wipe, and IT managers can provision the device and manage intranet access remotely.
The E7 handles multimedia well. There's 16GB of internal storage. That's enough memory for most folks, but the lack of a memory card slot limits your media transfer options. Still, Nokia Ovi Suite offers plenty of power, is easy to set up and install, and worked fine on my test Windows 7 machine. The standard-size 3.5mm headphone jack lets you plug in aftermarket third-party earbuds, but you may not need them; Nokia throws in an excellent sounding pair in the box. Music tracks also sounded full and clear over Samsung Modus HM6450 stereo Bluetooth headphones ($99, 4 stars). The stock music player app is easy to use, offers a smooth jukebox view of album covers, and sounds great.
Video Playback, Camera, Conclusions
This is an ideal phone for watching movies. High-definition 720p, standard definition VGA, and QVGA MP4 videos all played smoothly in full screen mode, and looked sharp and vibrant. The aforementioned tilting display makes the E7 a neat, portable video viewer. But the built-in mono speaker didn't go quite loud enough; you'll want to use headphones. An HDMI port lets you send video and photos to a HDTV or HDMI-equipped LCD monitor, though I've yet to meet anyone who actually does this.
This is an ideal phone for watching movies. High-definition 720p, standard definition VGA, and QVGA MP4 videos all played smoothly in full screen mode, and looked sharp and vibrant. The aforementioned tilting display makes the E7 a neat, portable video viewer. But the built-in mono speaker didn't go quite loud enough; you'll want to use headphones. An HDMI port lets you send video and photos to a HDTV or HDMI-equipped LCD monitor, though I've yet to meet anyone who actually does this.
The 8-megapixel auto-focus camera features a bright, dual-LED flash. This is all a step down from the N8, believe it or not, but it's still an excellent camera. Test photos looked natural, balanced, and detailed, both indoors and out, with slightly faded color and a whitish haze over some shots. Shutter speeds were slightly below average, but the phone snapped and saved shots quickly, even with the flash enabled. Recorded 720p (1280-by-720-pixel) high-definition video played back smoothly at 25 frames per second, and looked suitably vibrant and well-lit.
There aren't many customers for unlocked smartphones in the U.S. But those few tend to know exactly what they want, and the Nokia E7 should serve many of them quite well. It's a slightly less frustrating proposition than the N8, thanks to the large screen and QWERTY keyboard. If you need an unlocked smartphone but want to pay much less, the Nokia E5 ($225, 3 stars) offers much of the same e-mail power and is smaller and easier to carry, although it lacks the E7's high-end touch screen, resolution, and multimedia features.
Benchmarks
Continuous talk time: 4 hours 11 minutes
Continuous talk time: 4 hours 11 minutes
More Cell Phone reviews:
All-in-one business smartphone
Nokia E7 - The latest business mobile phone from Nokia. Symbian(^3) is still Alive and has been updated with a new and better User Interface. The Device itself is having a beautiful and innovative design and is loaded with a cool application market you'll need for work and personal cases.
Overview
For The Most Demanding User
The Nokia E7 is well suited for the demanding smartphone user who is searching for professional and personal device. The beautiful design is like the Nokia N8 made out of anodized aluminium including a 4-inch AMOLED touchscreen, a 8-megapixel camera with HD option and the option to choose from the full qwerty keyboard or a touch screen control. Wifi and 3G Internet, Mail for Exchange, Outlook sync, and even VPN also keep you connected anywhere.
Symbian^3 and Business Confidence
The Nokia E7 runs on the Symbian^3 operating system. You can optimize your own environment with widgets that you insert on the three different home screens. The clear menu layout of Symbian^3 is also very ease to use. Only a few clicks are needed to access your programs and start functions. With the Nokia E7 you get more done in one day. View and edit PDF files using Adobe Reader and Quickoffice, navigate to important meetings with the free Nokia Maps, or use your Nokia E7 as an USB storage thanks to the USB on-the-go.
Music, photos, movies, games and much more
During your busy professional life or your free time, with opportunities for music, photos, movies and games, the Nokia E7 guarantees top entertainment for every occasion. Shoot sharp photos and HD video with the 8-megapixel camera, and watch those masterpieces on your TV via the HDMI Adapter Cable. For enjoying the music, the Nokia E7 contain a stereo FM radio and a comprehensive media player. You have the ability to send updates to your Twitter or Facebook account and the Ovi Store helps you to the best games and apps.
Web Support
Web Support
According the display of the Nokia E7 4' AMOLED display, we can say that the screen is amazing, it's sharp, bright and colourful feel of the object just the jump screen. With the large size screen to watch movies or surf the Internet would be very comfortable.
The big fuss about the Nokia smartphone is now their OS, Symbian. Symbian^3, the latest Symbian OS, tries to return to the top because it is now ruled by the two major OS, Apple and Android.
The Symbian Ovi^3 is having an integrated Store, so it's very easy to download apps, themes or other media. Unfortunately, the application stock of Symbian^3 is still thin.
Nokia E7 is armed with 680MHz processor, which is a bit slow to do engage complex situations. But it’s great for web browsing because the wide screen and the web browser support for Flash Lite 4, HTML, XHTML MP, WML and CSS. With this support pack, you can surf the Internet, as you browse the PC.
The big fuss about the Nokia smartphone is now their OS, Symbian. Symbian^3, the latest Symbian OS, tries to return to the top because it is now ruled by the two major OS, Apple and Android.
The Symbian Ovi^3 is having an integrated Store, so it's very easy to download apps, themes or other media. Unfortunately, the application stock of Symbian^3 is still thin.
Nokia E7 is armed with 680MHz processor, which is a bit slow to do engage complex situations. But it’s great for web browsing because the wide screen and the web browser support for Flash Lite 4, HTML, XHTML MP, WML and CSS. With this support pack, you can surf the Internet, as you browse the PC.
Dreamweaver Extensions
We have tested our Advanced HTML Editor 3, Ajax DataGrid, Ajax AutoComplete, DMXzone Calendar, HTML5 Slideshow, HTML5 MP3 Player, Sliding Billboard, and saw some extraordinary stuff.
Same as the Nokia N8 you see that Symbian^3 won't support the HTML5 MP3 Player'sSoundManager 2 with the needed Flash capabilities.
As you can see, Ajax AutoComplete doesn't show up, which is a pity.
http://www.dmxzone.com/demo/php/demoEditorAutocomplete/index.html
We tried the Advanced HTML Editor 3 demo, just for fun and it seems to be useful. You can remove some words or put a make it bold, but keep out from the rest of the customization tools.
Sliding Billboard is doing a perfect job! High animation quality and no Flash. You have various styles to fit your web site perfectly!
http://www.dmxzone.com/demo/php/Templates/EasterLandingPage/index.php
http://www.dmxzone.com/demo/php/Templates/EasterLandingPage/index.php
Fill in the calendar to book your room or use the DMXzone Calendar for other projects like birthdays, appointments and other events.
Conclusion
Finally, Nokia has made a great device and very decent. It's filled with enough great stuff to satisfy most people. The Nokia E7 offers many storage space, a well-integrated application store, and an intuitive new OS. The device is perfect for the business market. If the Symbian^3 will attract many new users is still doubtful. Perhaps it is better to wait for the arrival of Nokia's Windows Phone devices in the near future.
Specs
What is in the box?
- Nokia E7
- USB-datacable
- Stereo Headset, microphone and ear buds
- Charger
- HDMI Adapter Cable
- USB Adapter Cable
- Manual
Design
- Dimensions: 123.7 x 62.4 x 13.6 mm
- Weight: 175 g
- Volume: 97.8 cc
- Full QWERTY-keyboard
- Keys: menu, power, lock, volume, camera
- Colors: Silver White, Dark Grey, Orange, Blue, Green
- Display: 4 inch
- Resolution: 16:9 nHD 640 x 360 pixels AMOLED
- 16 Million Colours
- Capacitive touch screen
- Orientation sensor (Accelerometer)
- Compass (Magnetometer)
- Proximity sensor
- Ambient light detector
- MicroSD memory card slot, hot swappable, up to 32 GB
Power Management
- BL-4D 1200 mAh Li-Ion battery
- Talk-time (maximum):
- GSM 549 mins
- WCDMA 300 mins
- Standby time (maximum):
- GSM 430 h
- WCDMA 470 h
Connectivity
- Bluetooth 3.0
- HDMI
- High-Speed USB 2.0(micro USB connector)
- Micro USB connector and charging
- USB On-the-Go
- Standard 3.5mm AV connector
- FM Radio
Software platform & UI
- Symbian^3 OS for Nokia
- Java MIDP 2.1
- Qt 4.6.2, Web Runtime 7.2
- HTML 4.1
- Software updates Over the Air (FOTA) and Over the internet (FOTI)
- Flash Lite 4.0
- OMA DM 1.2, OMA Client provisioning 1.1
Applications
- Preloaded applications
- Mail for Exchange
- Quickoffice dynamic premium
- Adobe PDF reader
- F-Secure Anti-theft for Mobile
- Ovi Maps with free GPS navigation
- PC Applications
- Nokia Ovi Suite
- Nokia Ovi Player
Internet
- Full web browsing of real web pages
- Web browsing with touch control
- Supported markup languages: HTML, XHTML MP, WML, CSS
- Supported protocols: HTTP v1.1, WAP
- TCP/IP support
- Visual history, HTML and JavaScript support
- Flash Lite 4 will support a majority of Flash Player 10.1 content
- Nokia Mobile Search
- RSS reader
- Support for streaming video
- Unified home screen access to Facebook and Twitter through Ovi by Nokia Social client
- Social networking profiles visible in phone contacts
- Upload and view photos and video and see locations via Ovi by Nokia Social client
- Social networking events visible in phone calendar
Navigation
- Integrated GPS, A-GPS receivers
- Ovi Maps with free car & pedestrian navigation
- Wi-Fi Positioning
- Compass and accelerometer for correct orientation of display
Photography
- 8 megapixel camera
- Fullscreen 16:9 viewfinder with easy-to-use touchscreen parameters
- Dual LED flash
- Face recognition software
- Still images file format: JPEG/EXIF
- Zoom up to 2x(digital) for still images
- Zoom up to 3x(digital) for video
- Secondary camera for video calls (VGA, 640 x 480pixels)
Video
- Main camera
- HD quality 720p resolution
- Shoot 16:9 videos in HD
- Video capture in 720p 25 fps with codecs H.264, MPEG-4
- Settings for scene, video light, white balance, colour tone
- Secondary camera VGA for video calls
- HD 720p Video playback on HD TV through HDMI cable
- Dolby Digital Plus surround sound when played with HDMI and a home theatre
- Support for download, streaming, and progressive download
- Video editing software
- Videos application: collection of stored videos
- On demand WebTV widgets to watch local and global internet streaming TV
- Support for Flash video
- YouTube browsing and streaming
- Video call support (WCDMA network services)
- H.264 (base profile, main profile, high profile), MPEG-4, VC-1, Sorenson Spark, Real video 10
- Streaming: H.264, Flash Lite 4 (Flash 10 compatibility for video), On2 VP6, Sorenson Spark
Entertainment
- Music
- MP3, WMA, AAC, eAAC, eAAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, E-AC-3, AC-3
- Bit rate up tp 320 kbps
- DRM support WM DRM, OMA DRM 2.0
- Stereo FM radio with RDS Support
- Games
- Use the touch UI to play games
- Dedicated processor with OpenGL 2.0 enables 3D graphics
- Native and Java Games
- Use the accelerometer to play games
Rob Nijkamp
Hi, I am Rob and proudly introduce myself as the Marketing manager of Dynamic Zones International BV.
That means that I am responsible for all sort of things like professional news articles, world leading premium content, the outraging Dreamweaver extensions & web components and helpful tutorials for the DMXzone community.
It's a honor to have the opportunity to participate and bring the DMXzone community to a whole new and stronger level with more high quality and superb DMXzone content for our loyal members.
That means that I am responsible for all sort of things like professional news articles, world leading premium content, the outraging Dreamweaver extensions & web components and helpful tutorials for the DMXzone community.
It's a honor to have the opportunity to participate and bring the DMXzone community to a whole new and stronger level with more high quality and superb DMXzone content for our loyal members.
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