| GENERAL | 2G Network | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
|---|---|---|
| 3G Network | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 | |
| Announced | 2010, September | |
| Status | Available. Released 2011, February |
| SIZE | Dimensions | 123.7 x 62.4 x 13.6 mm, 104.9 cc |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 176 g |
| DISPLAY | Type | AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 360 x 640 pixels, 4.0 inches | |
| - QWERTY keyboard - Nokia ClearBlack display - Multi-touch input method - Proximity sensor for auto turn-off - Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate - Scratch resistant Gorilla glass display |
| SOUND | Alert types | Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones |
|---|---|---|
| Loudspeaker | Yes | |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes, check quality |
| MEMORY | Phonebook | Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall |
|---|---|---|
| Call records | Detailed, max 30 days | |
| Internal | 16 GB storage, 256 MB RAM, 1 GB ROM | |
| Card slot | No |
| DATA | GPRS | Class 32 |
|---|---|---|
| EDGE | Class 32 | |
| 3G | HSDPA, 10.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 2 Mbps | |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n | |
| Bluetooth | Yes, v3.0 with A2DP | |
| Infrared port | No | |
| USB | Yes, microUSB v2.0, USB On-the-go support |
| CAMERA | Primary | 8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, fixed focus, dual-LED flash,check quality |
|---|---|---|
| Features | Geo-tagging, face detection | |
| Video | Yes, 720p@25fps, video stabilization, check quality | |
| Secondary | Yes, VGA |
| FEATURES | OS | Symbian^3 OS, upgradable to Symbian Anna OS |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 680 MHz ARM 11 processor, Broadcom BCM2727 GPU | |
| Messaging | SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM | |
| Browser | WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, RSS feeds | |
| Radio | Stereo FM radio with RDS | |
| Games | Yes + downloadable | |
| Colors | Dark Grey, Silver White, Green, Blue, Orange | |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS support; Ovi Maps 3.0 | |
| Java | Yes, MIDP 2.1 | |
| - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - Digital compass - TV-out (720p video) via HDMI and composite - Dolby Digital Plus via HDMI - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA player - MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player - Voice command/dial - Document editor (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF) - Video/photo editor - Flash Lite 4.0 - Voice memo/dial - Predictive text input |
| BATTERY | Standard battery, Li-Ion 1200 mAh (BL-4D) | |
|---|---|---|
| Stand-by | Up to 432 h (2G) / Up to 480 h (3G) | |
| Talk time | Up to 9 h (2G) / Up to 5 h (3G) |
| MISC | SAR US | 0.93 W/kg (head) 1.23 W/kg (body) |
|---|---|---|
| SAR EU | 0.56 W/kg (head) | |
| Price group |  |
INTRODUCTION :
Nokia's Communicator series has come a long way since its inception back in 1996. The Nokia N9000 Communicator was the first of the lot and incidentally also happened to be the very first smartphone. What made it "smart" was its ability to be used as a PDA, a big deal back then. Since then, the Communicators became more powerful and also smaller along the way. The last time Nokia used the Communicator brand name was with the 9500. The E90 that came after that did not have the Communicator name associated with it but it was unmistakably a Communicator.
Times were changing though and people no longer needed such large devices. They wanted something more compact but at the same time with a full QWERTY keyboard to type their messages on and a large screen for reading their mails and browsing the Internet. This was exactly the kind of usage the Communicators were built for but with their old design, they would find only a few takers in today's day and age. So, to meet the demands of these new age business users, Nokia completely redesigned the Communicator and thus the E7 was born.
Just like its predecessor, the E7 may not have the Communicator name attached to it, but that doesn't prevent it from being just like one. It has the same large display, a large QWERTY keypad and all the features that a business user would appreciate. If only N9000 would have been around, he would have been proud of this little fella (little in comparison to the N9000. The E7 is not small by any means). Today, we have the opportunity to review this latest and greatest business phone from Nokia. Let us find out how well it performs.
Bundle
- Nokia E7 handset
- Battery BL-4D embedded
- Nokia Connectivity Cable CA-179
- CA-156 HDMI
- CA-157 USB OTG
- Nokia Stereo Headset WH 701
- Nokia Charger AC-10n
- Quick Guide
Design and Build
The Nokia E7 takes design cues from the N8 and the N97. The basic shape reminds us of the N8 whereas the slider mechanism is similar to the one on the N97 and N97 mini. The overall design of the E7 is really handsome and the phone has an impressive, expensive look to it thanks to the premium finish and large display.
The Nokia E7 takes design cues from the N8 and the N97. The basic shape reminds us of the N8 whereas the slider mechanism is similar to the one on the N97 and N97 mini. The overall design of the E7 is really handsome and the phone has an impressive, expensive look to it thanks to the premium finish and large display.
Compared to the N8, the E7 has a simpler, cleaner design and a more matured look to it. Nokia has done away with the glossy rim around the display, the screws around the sides and the pronounced covers on the left of the N8, which makes E7's design look less fussy. The front is now much cleaner; even the camera above the display is now hard to spot and the microphone has been placed at the bottom and the microUSB port is on the top. The menu button is now in the middle, which would be easier to use for left handed people.
On the right side is the SIM card tray, which is impossible to remove without some kind of a sharp tool and Nokia does not seem kind enough to provide one, unlike Apple. Below it, you will see that Nokia has replaced the traditional volume control buttons with a spring-loaded slider. Although this button feels nice to use, it isn't convenient when you quickly want to reduce or increase volume as it is not simple to move it as easily as pressing a button repeatedly. Near the bottom is the camera shutter button, which is almost impossible to see from the front when taking a picture. It's easier to press the shutter button on the screen.
On the left side is the sliding screen lock switch. It is now softer than the way it was on the N8 and requires lesser effort to make it work. You can press and hold the slider to activate the LED lights at the back, which you can then use as a flashlight. If you've noticed, this is something of an E series exclusive, as almost every Eseries phone lets you use the LED lights as flashlight.
The top side of the phone houses the 3.5mm headphone jack on the left, the power button, the mini HDMI port and the microUSB port on the right. There is also a small light next to it that turns on when the phone is charging but it is placed so close to the port it gets almost completely covered when you plug in a cable. The E7 only charges over USB, unlike the N8 which also has a standard Nokia charging port.
On the bottom is the model name, type and the FCC ID, along with the microphone. The IMEI number, unlike on the N8, is placed underneath the display and is visible when you open the slider.
After the bulging camera module on the N8, the back of the E7 looks almost barren. It's mostly blank, with just the loudspeaker and the 8 megapixel camera lens with dual LED flash next to it. The lens is covered by the same Corning Gorilla Glass which is used in the display and is highly durable. You will also notice a second microphone on the back that records audio during video recording.
Now coming to the slider, it's not realty much of a slider as the display actually lifts and falls into its place. The mechanism is beautifully done and it has a great feel to it. The angle of the display is a bit too steep for typing but that's not a problem as the viewing angles of the display are great. It is, however, perfect for watching videos on.
Nokia has made good use of the slider by letting you choose from a handful of functions that can be performed every time you open or close the phone. You can choose to transfer the audio from the earpiece to the loudspeaker during a call when you open the slider and back when you close it. You can also activate the keyguard when you close the slider. Another function lets you jump back to the homescreen from whichever screen you may be in when you close the phone. Lastly, whenever you open the slider in the homescreen, you can choose from the following actions to happen - a new note, new text message, new email, open the menu, launch an application or open a bookmark in the default browser.
The build quality of the E7 is fantastic. When you hold the phone, it feels like you are holding a slab of aluminum in your hand. Everything feels built to last, with no cheap or flimsy parts to spoil the feel good factor. Indeed, when it comes to feel good factor, the E7 scores very high. Our only problems with the design are that it feels bit too long and slightly bulky and also that some people may find it difficult to open the slider. Most people might expect it to slide, which it does not. You need to apply force in the right direction for the base to lift off and this will take some practice to master.
Display
The Nokia E7 has a 4.0-inch, 360 x 640 resolution, AMOLED ClearBlack Display. The ClearBlack Display is actually not a display technology; in fact, the display is not any different from the one on the N8. Phones with CBD use a special glass which acts as a polarizing filter, which cuts the unnecessary reflections that you see when you are using the phone outdoors under the sun so that you only see the light coming from under the glass from the display instead of the reflections. The glass is also said to improve the contrast of the display, make the colors more vibrant and the blacks blacker.
There is no doubt about the fact the display looks great. The CBD tech works and the sunlight legibility is astonishing for an AMOLED display. We compared the display to the one on the N8 and to be honest, we didn't notice much of a difference. The display on the E7 is a tad bit brighter and the whites have a reddish tint to them compared to those on the N8, which are slightly greyish but closer to actual white.
We expected the resolution to be an issue on the E7. It was just right on the N8 with its 3.5-inch display but 360 x 640 on a 4.0-inch display felt like stretching it too far. But we could not see too much deterioration in the image quality. In fact, there was hardly any at all, even if you decided to go look at it. Sure, put the Galaxy S beside it and then compare it with its 480 x 800 resolution display and the N8's display looks immediately less impressive but when you are not comparing the display to those of other phones, it looks pretty good. A higher resolution display would have been welcome but the display on the E7 hardly ever makes you feel the need for one.
The large size of the display is impressive. Nokia has made good use of it by keeping the menu icons the same size as they are on the N8 and instead putting more space between them so that the menu doesn't look crowded.
The display on the E7 is covered by Corning's Gorilla Glass, known for its toughness. It is highly scratch resistant, as we found out repeatedly by rubbing all sorts of sharp objects against and the display showed no signs of visible damage. Mind you, it's not infallible but it is strong enough to withstand whatever damage a phone faces on a daily basis without looking worse for wear.
Now we noticed a slight problem with the display on the E7 that the N8 did not have. When you tilt the display slightly from the straight position, the display takes a distinct greenish tint. It is very faint and only noticeable on a light background so it is nothing to worry about. Strangely, it gets rid of the reddish tint that the whites have when you look at the display head-on. We feel this phenomenon occurs because of the glass Nokia is using for the CBD. We also feel that Nokia should have placed the display closer to the glass, which would have enhanced the viewing angles even further.
Keypad
The piece de resistance of the E7 is the keypad. It is indeed one of the best keypads we've seen on any mobile phone till date. Thanks to the large dimensions of the phone, the keypad had plenty of space to spread out. Nokia not only managed to have a pretty large keypad but also fit in keys for special characters and other functions that may have had to be skimped otherwise.
The keys feel very nice to use. They have a short travel but feel precise when you press them with a soft but prominent click. The keys don't require a lot of force to operate so your thumbs don't end up dawdling on one key for long, making you type faster. Each key has two functions, the alternate one marked in yellow and accessed by the Alt button. The Sym button gives you access to the symbols and the Ctrl button in conjugation with 'A', 'C', 'X', and 'V' works to perform actions which we are sure you may have guessed. The space bar is nice and long and has a uniform feel no matter where you press it. There are also arrow buttons, which when typing help you guide the cursor and in menu work as the D-pad as they would on a Symbian phone with no touchscreen, Enter acting as the select button.
The Nokia E7 has a 4.0-inch, 360 x 640 resolution, AMOLED ClearBlack Display. The ClearBlack Display is actually not a display technology; in fact, the display is not any different from the one on the N8. Phones with CBD use a special glass which acts as a polarizing filter, which cuts the unnecessary reflections that you see when you are using the phone outdoors under the sun so that you only see the light coming from under the glass from the display instead of the reflections. The glass is also said to improve the contrast of the display, make the colors more vibrant and the blacks blacker.
There is no doubt about the fact the display looks great. The CBD tech works and the sunlight legibility is astonishing for an AMOLED display. We compared the display to the one on the N8 and to be honest, we didn't notice much of a difference. The display on the E7 is a tad bit brighter and the whites have a reddish tint to them compared to those on the N8, which are slightly greyish but closer to actual white.
We expected the resolution to be an issue on the E7. It was just right on the N8 with its 3.5-inch display but 360 x 640 on a 4.0-inch display felt like stretching it too far. But we could not see too much deterioration in the image quality. In fact, there was hardly any at all, even if you decided to go look at it. Sure, put the Galaxy S beside it and then compare it with its 480 x 800 resolution display and the N8's display looks immediately less impressive but when you are not comparing the display to those of other phones, it looks pretty good. A higher resolution display would have been welcome but the display on the E7 hardly ever makes you feel the need for one.
The large size of the display is impressive. Nokia has made good use of it by keeping the menu icons the same size as they are on the N8 and instead putting more space between them so that the menu doesn't look crowded.
The display on the E7 is covered by Corning's Gorilla Glass, known for its toughness. It is highly scratch resistant, as we found out repeatedly by rubbing all sorts of sharp objects against and the display showed no signs of visible damage. Mind you, it's not infallible but it is strong enough to withstand whatever damage a phone faces on a daily basis without looking worse for wear.
Now we noticed a slight problem with the display on the E7 that the N8 did not have. When you tilt the display slightly from the straight position, the display takes a distinct greenish tint. It is very faint and only noticeable on a light background so it is nothing to worry about. Strangely, it gets rid of the reddish tint that the whites have when you look at the display head-on. We feel this phenomenon occurs because of the glass Nokia is using for the CBD. We also feel that Nokia should have placed the display closer to the glass, which would have enhanced the viewing angles even further.
Keypad
The piece de resistance of the E7 is the keypad. It is indeed one of the best keypads we've seen on any mobile phone till date. Thanks to the large dimensions of the phone, the keypad had plenty of space to spread out. Nokia not only managed to have a pretty large keypad but also fit in keys for special characters and other functions that may have had to be skimped otherwise.
The keys feel very nice to use. They have a short travel but feel precise when you press them with a soft but prominent click. The keys don't require a lot of force to operate so your thumbs don't end up dawdling on one key for long, making you type faster. Each key has two functions, the alternate one marked in yellow and accessed by the Alt button. The Sym button gives you access to the symbols and the Ctrl button in conjugation with 'A', 'C', 'X', and 'V' works to perform actions which we are sure you may have guessed. The space bar is nice and long and has a uniform feel no matter where you press it. There are also arrow buttons, which when typing help you guide the cursor and in menu work as the D-pad as they would on a Symbian phone with no touchscreen, Enter acting as the select button.
The keypad is lit uniformly by a soft white light that is well visible in the dark. The light does tend to remain on though when you are watching videos on the phone with the screen open, which is quite unnecessary and wastes precious battery power.
Hardware
The Nokia E7 has a 680MHz ARM11 processor and a Broadcom BCM2727 GPU. While on paper it may not look very impressive in an age with dual CPU smartphones, in real life usage, the phone is perfectly usable. What's more, it can record as well as playback a 720p video smoothly, on the phone's display as well as on an external display connected via HDMI. Symbian is a highly optimized OS and hence can work well even on less than spectacular hardware, a feat none of the other operating systems can manage. The phone also has 256MB of RAM, which is more than enough for having several applications running simultaneously in the background. And this is true multitasking we are talking about, where the applications are actually running and not just in a power saving state.
Software
We have talked about Symbian ^3 on several occasions before so we won't spend too much time on it now. In short, it is a stable, well performing operating system with plenty of built-in features. Now it also has a decent number of applications, but still nowhere near what Android or iOS has. Another area it lags behind the big two is in terms of usability and user friendliness. The UI is a bit cluttered and applications are scattered around in folders everywhere, which takes bit getting used to. It doesn't have the simplified feel of iOS or Windows Phone 7, which some people term as being 'dumbed down' but in reality, it is what makes them so user friendly, especially to the non-geeky population. In contrast, Symbian does come across as a bit nerdy and would only appeal to those who are comfortable with technology.
The Nokia E7 has a 680MHz ARM11 processor and a Broadcom BCM2727 GPU. While on paper it may not look very impressive in an age with dual CPU smartphones, in real life usage, the phone is perfectly usable. What's more, it can record as well as playback a 720p video smoothly, on the phone's display as well as on an external display connected via HDMI. Symbian is a highly optimized OS and hence can work well even on less than spectacular hardware, a feat none of the other operating systems can manage. The phone also has 256MB of RAM, which is more than enough for having several applications running simultaneously in the background. And this is true multitasking we are talking about, where the applications are actually running and not just in a power saving state.
Software
We have talked about Symbian ^3 on several occasions before so we won't spend too much time on it now. In short, it is a stable, well performing operating system with plenty of built-in features. Now it also has a decent number of applications, but still nowhere near what Android or iOS has. Another area it lags behind the big two is in terms of usability and user friendliness. The UI is a bit cluttered and applications are scattered around in folders everywhere, which takes bit getting used to. It doesn't have the simplified feel of iOS or Windows Phone 7, which some people term as being 'dumbed down' but in reality, it is what makes them so user friendly, especially to the non-geeky population. In contrast, Symbian does come across as a bit nerdy and would only appeal to those who are comfortable with technology.
Connectivity
The Nokia E7 is a penta-band GSM 3G handset, supporting HSDPA 10.2Mbps, HSUPA 2Mbps, EDGE Class 32, GPRS Class 32, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v3.0 and A-GPS. The connectivity features and performance were top-notch as is usually the case with Nokia phones. The A-GPS performance was startlingly quick, getting a solid lock in less than fifteen seconds from starting the Maps application. The USB On-The-Go feature was really handy at quickly transferring files to and from the phone. Unfortunately, you are required to carry the adaptor around with you, which Nokia provides with the phone.
Nokia bundles the Ovi Maps application with its Symbian phones. After Google Maps, it is one of the better maps application out there with well detailed maps. Best thing about it is the turn by turn voice navigation, which is completely free for a change compared to other services. Overall, it works pretty well but if you want more accurate and detailed maps, we would still suggest downloading the free Google maps application.
Nokia has the Nokia Mail application for handling your emails. It supports Mail for Exchange, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, Ovi Mail and any other email account you may want to add. Out of these, only Ovi Mail and Mail for Exchange support push mail, but you can configure other account in Mail for Exchange so that it supports push mail. We configured Gmail in Mail for Exchange and the push mail worked well.
The web browser in Symbian ^3 is really below par when it comes to functionality and usability. Thankfully, we have Opera Mobile, which does a much better job.
Multimedia
Camera
The Nokia E7 has an 8 megapixel camera with LED flash, capable of recording 720p videos. Due to some crazy reason Nokia has not included auto focus in the mix. This means close-up shots are out of question. Thankfully, the image sensor is pretty decent, so images taken in day light from a distance come out remarkably well. In fact, we have compared it against the N8 in one of the shots below and the images look nearly identical, save for the lower resolution and slight over sharpening in the E7 images. The over sharpening issue that we observed in the C7 was noticed to a lesser extent on the E7 and there was genuine detail instead of just sharpened lines. Still, autofocus would have made the camera even better and more usable. Then again, the phone is targeted towards business users, some of whom may not even use the camera at all.
Camera
The Nokia E7 has an 8 megapixel camera with LED flash, capable of recording 720p videos. Due to some crazy reason Nokia has not included auto focus in the mix. This means close-up shots are out of question. Thankfully, the image sensor is pretty decent, so images taken in day light from a distance come out remarkably well. In fact, we have compared it against the N8 in one of the shots below and the images look nearly identical, save for the lower resolution and slight over sharpening in the E7 images. The over sharpening issue that we observed in the C7 was noticed to a lesser extent on the E7 and there was genuine detail instead of just sharpened lines. Still, autofocus would have made the camera even better and more usable. Then again, the phone is targeted towards business users, some of whom may not even use the camera at all.
Captured with the E7
Battery Life
The Nokia E7 has a 1200mAh Li-Ion battery, same as the one on the N8. Like on the N8, the battery is non-user replaceable but while there was still some chance to remove the battery on the N8 by opening the screws that hold the bottom portion, the screws on the E7 are concealed below the slider and are nearly impossible to open.
Even with that large 4.0-inch display, the E7 managed to give us just over a day of battery life. The display was set at full brightness as the auto brightness is pretty strict. The phone was connected to a 3G network. The usage consisted of few calls, messages, couple of hours of music playback, mail client running in the background, couple of hours of web browsing and using other applications that use Internet connectivity, such as Gravity.
We also did some battery life tests to see how long the E7 lasts while playing videos, since it is so good at it. We got 7.5 hours of playback with standard definition files and 7 hours with high definition content with headphones at 80 percent volume. This was pretty good for a smartphone connected to a 3G network all the time.
Verdict
The Nokia E7 has a 1200mAh Li-Ion battery, same as the one on the N8. Like on the N8, the battery is non-user replaceable but while there was still some chance to remove the battery on the N8 by opening the screws that hold the bottom portion, the screws on the E7 are concealed below the slider and are nearly impossible to open.
Even with that large 4.0-inch display, the E7 managed to give us just over a day of battery life. The display was set at full brightness as the auto brightness is pretty strict. The phone was connected to a 3G network. The usage consisted of few calls, messages, couple of hours of music playback, mail client running in the background, couple of hours of web browsing and using other applications that use Internet connectivity, such as Gravity.
We also did some battery life tests to see how long the E7 lasts while playing videos, since it is so good at it. We got 7.5 hours of playback with standard definition files and 7 hours with high definition content with headphones at 80 percent volume. This was pretty good for a smartphone connected to a 3G network all the time.
Verdict
The Nokia E7 is an excellent smartphone. It is everything the Nokia N97 should have been two years ago. It looks good, it feels good, has a large touchscreen display, has one of the best keypads we've seen and despite being a business centric device, it is damn good at multimedia. But all this comes at a price.
At Rs. 29,999, we think that the E7 is a bit too expensive, especially when there are more accomplished smartphones available for a much lower price tag. We feel Nokia did not take the current smartphone pricing into consideration before deciding the price of the E7. As good as it is, we are finding it difficult to recommend it at that price. The Nokia N8 is available for about Rs. 7,000 less and is almost just as good. It may not have that large display or that awesome keypad but it has an excellent camera that excels at more than just landscape shots and is more compact and pocketable.
We firmly believe a drastic drop in price is in order for the E7. Currently, it is selling for around Rs. 28,000 in shops but anything beyond Rs. 24,000 feels excessive to us. Until we see that price revision, we will find it difficult to recommend the phone.
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