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Nokia E7 Review

The Communicator is alive and has transformed into what is now the Nokia E7. It has gone a long way — slimmer, lighter and faster while retaining that signature form factor. Check out our full review of the Nokia E7 after the jump.

Yugatech 728x90 Reno7 Series

If you’re familiar with the popular Nokia N8, the Nokia E7 looks very similar — a solid, metallic unibody design with a large 4-inch touch screen — but when you flip it sideways and open up the sliding keyboard, the handset transforms into something totally different and reminiscent of the N900 or the decades-old Nokia Communicator. It’s basically an N8 with a physical keypad.

The body is relatively thin (just a few millimeter away from the slimmer N8) and has a somewhat rounded edges with the top and bottom corners a chopped off to make room for ports and buttons — a USB port, HDMI, power button and 3.5mm audio jack is positioned on top while a slender Home/Menu button is placed at the very bottom of the front panel.

Since the Nokia E7 comes in a unibody casing, the battery is built into the device and is not user-replaceable. Likewise, the SIM card slot is accessible from the outside via a small cradle that slides out from the top right side of the unit. Beside it is a slider for controlling the zoom of the camera and on the far end, a dedicated button for the 8MP camera.

On the left side is a single switch that’s easily accessible by the middle finger or index finger that controls the screen lock. At the back is a non-descript 8-megapixel fix-focus camera with dual-LED flash (more on that later).

The slider mechanism is similar to that of the Nokia N97 as it is positioned in a titled angle once fully opened. Nokia was able to make this handset a bit thinner but carving out a few millimeters off the unibody which somewhat buries the display panel into the body.

The full qwerty keyboard is large and spacious although the individual keys are a bit buried into the surface and comfortably typing with both hands could get a little bit time to get used to (the review unit given to me has a different language setting so I’m still groping around with the keyboard ).

When closed, the touch screen has a virtual keyboard you can use to navigate and make calls or send text messages. Sliding out the full keyboard allows you to type longer messages at a much faster rate — like composing mails or even mobile blogging.

The large 4-inch screen is among the largest I’ve seen on a Nokia handset — it’s clear, bright and crisp, thanks to the AMOLED screen and Nokia’s ClearBlack display. The 360×640 pixel resolution seemed a bit low but that’s not noticeable most of the time.

The E7 is among the few Nokia handsets that have move on to using capacitive screen and the performance on this unit is pleasantly surprising. There are 3 home screens you can flip across with widgets and shortcuts you can customize.

Probably the biggest debate among smartphone users is the Symbian^3 OS that’s installed in the handset. It’s been a long while since I’ve extensively used Symbian so I’m not very familiar with the improvements. The last time I’ve really owned one was with the Nokia 5800XM (which was like 3 years ago) so when I’m force to compare it with this unit, I’d say there’s been very significant improvements. For Nokia N8 users, this is practically the same. In any case, if you’re very familiar with Symbian phones, this handset will not disappoint.

IMO, I’d wish they’d consider running Meego/Maemo on this unit like what they did with the N900 (which was on Maemo). If you’re into apps though, there’s the Nokia Ovi Store you can browse thru to download games and other apps. I like Ovi’s integration with 3rd-party email accounts and social networking sites like Facebook & Twitter though (of course, you’ll need to sign up for an Ovi account in order to set that up). The built-in browser isn’t the best we’ve tried but it’s simple and works just fine. Fortunately, you can just hope on to Ovi and download Opera Mobile.

Moving back to the camera — I was initially excited about the camera of the E7 and knowing that they have a similar genetic make-up as the N8, I was hoping to get almost the same photo quality. Unfortunately, they are miles apart — the 8-megapixel camera is fixed-focus and uses dual-LED flash instead of Xenon.

Photos take with the Nokia E7 are decent but not exceptional. General scenes, large and wide subjects are pretty easy to shoot at but once you come closer, macro shots are almost impossible. Here are some sample photos taken using the E7.

The HD video quality is pretty good though which is a bit of a redeeming factor for the unit that’s supposedly geared towards executives and the business sector.

Here’s a sample video taken with the Nokia E7.

Understandably, this is Nokia’s way of drawing the line between their business class E-series phones and the multimedia class N-series phones. That and probably cost savings on expensive camera parts which they can pass on to consumers.

Nokia E7 specs:
4″ polarized AMOLED display @ @ 640×360 pixels
Gorilla glass display & capacitive touch screen
680MHz ARM 11 processor
Broadcom BCM2727 GPU
16GB mass memory
350 MB internal memory
256MB RAM
1024MB ROM
8MP fixed-focus camera with dual LED flash
720p HD video recording @ 25fps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
HSDPA 10.2MBps, HSUPA 2.0Mbps
Bluetooth 3.0
FM Radio Tuner
GPS w/ aGPS support
1200mAH battery

What’s a bit disappointing is the lack of microSD slot and the 1200mAh internal battery isn’t at par with the earlier E-series Nokia smartphones like the E72. You’ll have to contend with the 16GB built-in storage for music, video and photo storage.

Really liked the USB-on-the-Go support and the TV-out via HDMI. The review unit did not include the entire box so I’m not sure what accessories come with the unit (will update this once they send me the entire box and all its contents so I can show them too).

Over-all performance of the handset is pretty good despite the processor being rated at only 680MHz (when other smartphones come in at a minimum of 1GHz). The dedicated mobile GPU also helped in video processing so that’s a huge plus. Video playback is good as well as the audio quality.

Here’s another shot of the Nokia E7 showing the hardware and user interface.

The Nokia E7 is supposed to arrive in the Philippines later this month but we’re not told how much the suggested retail price would be. I reckon it will be a bit more expensive than the N8’s SRP and lower than the N900’s SRP so that would put it somewhere between Php25k to Php28k. That’s just my guesstimate though.

Update: I’ve been told that pre-order for the Nokia E7 will be opened from March 14 – 22, 2011 and they’re giving away a free DC11-K charger. The suggested retail price of the Nokia E7 is Php32,000 (a bit off from my previous guesstimate).

Disclosure: Nokia Philippines is an advertiser on this blog and this handset was lent to me for review purposes.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

72 Responses

  1. Avatar for mayor mayor says:

    I will promise to have this phone sooner or later…Gonna save a lot more money on it.

    James | vaccuum

  2. Avatar for gadgetaddict gadgetaddict says:

    28,200 to sa binibilan ko ng gadgets.

  3. Avatar for Fireice2 Fireice2 says:

    After a long time choosing between the N8 and the E7, I finally took the plunge and got one for myself.

    I absolutely love the device. Metal over plastic anytime baby!

    Plus, it integrates well with my work, I love the battery life and the free offline GPS nav. Very handy for out of town trips, which I do frequently.

    These are features that may be found on the N8 but, the E7 strikes my fancy more than the N8. Don’t get me wrong, I have used the N8 on several occasions but I really do not need the extra features.

    The bigger screen is a big plus for me since I don’t have perfect eyesight.

    Most of all I got this a bargain bin price with 6 months to pay zero interest to boot. :)

  4. Avatar for red red says:

    i dunno why you guys are focusin and comparin nokia products to android phones,
    listen, android phones are great but you cannot use the whole apps and features in philippines!.
    unless if you got a fast wifi connections.
    know why?. carriers in the philippines sucks coz they dont provide great postpaid plans like what any other country do, unlike here in japan, they got fast internet connections and great postpaid plans and so they can make a good android phones services.

    all nokia phones are GSM, and for now NOKIA phones are the only suitable for GLOBE and SMART services.

    and if you use the whole apps in those android phones PLUS you`re using prepaid loads, you`ll just gonna spend LOTS OF MONEY!.

    BUT there are GSM version of those android phones so not really a big deal if you really know how to use it.
    ;)

  5. Avatar for flaviafelix flaviafelix says:

    It’s funny how a device like this can be so pricey. If this was available 3 yrs ago then this price tag might be considered. On the positive note this might be a ‘keeper’ since it may be Nokia’s last Symbian based phone.

  6. Avatar for Lezuric Lezuric says:

    ew… Nokia Phones good… Android Phones BETTER! UI is terrible lol.

  7. Avatar for Jam. Jam. says:

    Got a chance to play with it for sometime. Symbian^3 was a great upgrade from Symbian^1 but Android and iOS are way better. The things that I like about it are the design, F-secure and Ovi Maps.

  8. Avatar for RJ RJ says:

    Nokia still sells but not with high end models. My eyes are still on the soon-to-be launched Sony Ericsson Experia Arc!

  9. Avatar for gambit gambit says:

    i’d rather prefer xperia arc…considering that their prices are almost the same.

  10. Avatar for xcu xcu says:

    I have one problem with android OS: they keep on updating the version but generally wont allow you to update from newer version. You have to buy a new one.

  11. Avatar for Robin Robin says:

    CMK Cellphones has the Nokia E7 listed at coming soon at 28.8K.

  12. Avatar for Robin Robin says:

    Went from a Nokia N8 to a HTC Desire HD. Symbian S^3 looks okay (except for the browser which is best replaced by Opera Mobile or Mini), until you try a a Android. For what it offers, if you really like Symbian an N8 is a much better value for money proposition (now less than 20K). If you really just want a physical keyboard a HTC Desire Z.

  13. Avatar for 21 21 says:

    the specs are nothing but common at midrange smartphones. not a reasonable price.

    • Avatar for Pinoy Androd News Pinoy Androd News says:

      I couldn’t agree for more…its very expensive and you can get good Android Phone with its price. I dunno why Pinoy’s still like Nokia…

    • Avatar for Miklos Miklos says:

      Because the build quality of the E7 is far better than any similar prices phones with keyboards.

      Also you don’t have to charge it all the time :P

      On top of that Android is breaking both Oracle’s patents and GPLv2 with Android – and it’s fragmented beyond belief.

  14. Avatar for dre dre says:

    I’ve pre-ordered the phone because I like it and there are classic Nokia features that I am familiar of using. I am just worried that I might be spending too much for my whistle with–EEHEM–P32,000…now I’m confused. Besides, this phone might get me held up or sumthing… so If ever I buy this phone, it will be stuck at home for a long while… ahahahaha!!!

  15. Avatar for oyo oyo says:

    Ang ganda talaga. Pero Nokia hmmm…
    Mahal ngayon mura na yan bukas…

  16. Avatar for pabs pabs says:

    I’d still go for Nokia anytime, what’s important is it helps me make my job done.

  17. Avatar for Fireice2 Fireice2 says:

    SRP at 32k is quite expensive for the device. It would seem the DC-11K is being sold as a bundle instead of being free.

    Given the E7’s price here in the Philippines, is quite steep considering how it’s priced in other parts of the world, I think I would be contented with the N8 instead. It may lack the 4″ display and physical keyboard, but it definitely has more features than the E7.

    I was also quite disappointed with the fact that the E7 for the Philippines will not be sold with a USB on the go adapter as well as the mini-HDMI to HDMI adapter.

  18. Avatar for wilson wilson says:

    Very very beautiful mobile available in reasonable price and equipped with modern technology.

    wilson

  19. Avatar for JKisaragi JKisaragi says:

    I love the hardware (well, looking at it that is). Hope they make a WP7 version (with a 1500 mAh battery or higher). :)

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