Nokia E7

Nokia E7

The Nokia E7 is getting a lot of positive press for, basically, being a slightly cheaper Nokia N8 with a QWERTY keyboard. Ostensibly aimed at the business sector (hence the 'E' prefix), the Nokia E7 surprised many by being a truly desirable consumer phone, as well.

Design - 9/10

The Nokia E7 is very clearly designed to around the same aesthetic as the N8, and this is not a bad thing. The Nokia E7 is very attractive, and features the same kick-out mechanism for opening the QWERTY as seen on phones such as the N97. In an era where some smartphones can look a little too similar, the Nokia E7 is a refreshing change of pace; however, more importantly, it looks and feels gorgeous.

Operating System - 8/10

The Nokia E7 uses Symbian^3, which may lead some people to criticise its OS as being long in the tooth. And while it is true that Symbian is not as slick or as flashy as some other operating systems out there, it is still very powerful, and easy to use, and that makes the Nokia E7 a sensible, if not a particularly flashy, purchase. Having said that the latest version of the OS supports multi-touch, flick scrolling and pinch and zoom gestures.

Hardware - 9/10

It is clear that Nokia have pulled out all the stops to make the Nokia E7 a solid, and impressive phone. The high point is probably the QWERTY keyboard, with that folding kick-out mechanism, sets the Nokia E7 apart from its peers. Internally, the Nokia E7 also impresses with a 680MHz processor (Symbian is a more optimised OS, and so, doesn't need a 1GHz processor) and dedicated 3D graphics hardware. Again, the Nokia E7 is solid without being overly flashy.

Camera and media - 8/10

The camera is one of the few areas where the Nokia E7 is a significant downgrade from the N8, as it has an 8MP camera, instead of 12MP. This does mean, of course, that the Nokia E7 cannot capture images of the same quality as the N8, but since the Nokia E7 is designed to be a cheaper alternative, this is not an issue; and, of course, an 8MP camera is not exactly low-end. Yet again, this falls under the heading of solid, but not flashy.

Screen - 8/10

The Nokia E7 impresses with its 4 inch screen, although the screen resolution could do to be higher, to fully do the phone justice. However, because it is a Super-AMOLED screen, with Nokia's ClearBlack technology, the Nokia E7 manages to get past the perceived limitations of that lower resolution, to offer a truly great experience. Once again, and it is becoming a theme throughout this review, the Nokia E7 is solid without being flashy. It does, however, also feature HDMI output, which is a definite plus.

Social - 7/10

Social networking is de rigeur in modern smartphones, and the Nokia E7 does feature things such as instant messaging. However, it is fair to say that, out of the box, the Nokia E7 is not as accomplished at social networking as something like the range of Android phones on the market. However, third party apps are ten-a-penny for Symbian, so it is not hard to add these features in to the Nokia E7.

Overall - 8/10

The overriding feeling, when using the Nokia E7, is that it is a solid, impressive phone, without being flashy just for the sake of grabbing headlines. Where other phones might trumpet how good they are, the Nokia E7 insinuates it, and quietly gets on with doing its thing. It isn't as powerful as the N8 it is clearly based on, but it is a remarkably impressive phone, given that Nokia see it as a mid-range device. The Nokia E7 therefore comes recommended.