I sent my Nokia E7 loaner back to WOMWorld\/Nokia <\/a>last week and I was sad to see it go. The E7 is not perfect but my overall experience with it was very good.<\/p>\n
The E7 is the successor to Nokia’s successful Communicator series<\/a> (image of 1998 9110 Comunicator below) which were clam-shell devices featuring a large screen and spacious QWERTY keyboard.\u00a0\u00a0 The Communicators were pocket-able devices that provided a near-laptop experience and were popular with professionals who wanted to be able to write, create content and handle a large volume of email on the go. They were also rather bulky, heavy and expensive devices. The first Communicator, the 9000 from 1996, weighed 397g and the last, the 2007 E90 was 210g.<\/p>\n
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\nImage by Oldmobil (Saj\u00e1t fot\u00f3) CC-BY-SA-3.0<\/a> via Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n
Keyboard<\/strong>: This is by far the best keyboard I’ve ever used on mobile phone.\u00a0 The key shape, travel and spacing seem nearly perfect. As is the way you can enter numbers and symbols with a long press rather than having to use the Alt key. \u00a0 I wrote most of the The T-Mobile Astound’s (Nokia C7) PR 2.0 Browser and Email App review<\/a> on the E7 at CTIA and I rate the E7 keyboard even higher than one on the larger, heavier Zaurus C860 Linux PDA that I used to use for live event blogging.<\/p>\n
As good as the keyboard is I do have a minor quibble with it. It works best when you can set the phone down on a flat surface surface and use it like a laptop. The angle between screen and keyboard is perfect for typing while seated at a table.\u00a0 The same angle is less than perfect for handheld use.\u00a0 When I’m not able to set the phone on something I prefer to keep the slider closed and use the touchscreen keyboard.\u00a0 I’d like to see Nokia implement a dual mode slider similar to the one that HTC used on the Touch Pro2<\/a> which can either be slid out parallel to the screen for handheld\u00a0 use or flipped up into an angled position for typing at a desk.<\/p>\n
Camera:<\/strong> I found the E7’s EdoF<\/a> camera better than I expected.\u00a0 I actually got a much higher percentage of decent photos with the E7 than I do with the N8. That’s not because the E7’s camera is better though.\u00a0 I’m a point and shoot photographer at best and tend to rush things and not focus properly. With the E7 there’s no focusing which suits my lousy technique well. There’s also almost no shutter lag, which I think everyone can appreciate. E7 camera comes into its own with video. EdoF keeps everything from about three feet to infinity in focus and low light performance is pretty good too.\u00a0 Here’s an indoor video<\/a> I shot of the T-Mobile Astound announcement\u00a0 at CTIA.<\/p>\n
Conclusions:<\/strong> Is the E7 a good phone? I think it is provided it meets your needs.\u00a0 I believe that Nokia’s goal was to recreate the Communicator in a thin, stylish and modern form and at that they succeeded.\u00a0 Every device’s design is a series of compromises.\u00a0 To combine a great screen and keyboard with thinness and a sleek look, the E7 gave up a removable battery, memory card slot and auto-focus camera. These aren’t necessarily show stoppers.\u00a0 For many the E7’s battery life and 16 GB internal Flash drive will be enough and there are ways around the limitations. External battery packs<\/a> are quite light and compact\u00a0 and can double run time. The E7 comes with a USB On-The-Go cable that lets you use a thumb-drive as external memory. The iPhone doesn’t have a removable battery or storage either and I don’t hear a lot of complaints about either from the legions of iPhone users. The E7’s camera takes great pictures in most situations but if you need to take closeups you will need to carry a real camera or a second phone.<\/p>\n
The E7 is now available in most countries. In the US the best price seems to be at Amazon where it’s currently $599.00 with free shipping<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Related posts: <\/em>
\nNokia E7 Unboxing Gallery<\/a>
\nNokia E7 First Impressions<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I sent my Nokia E7 loaner back to WOMWorld\/Nokia last week and I was sad to see it go. The E7 is not perfect but my overall experience with it was very good. The E7 is the successor to Nokia’s successful Communicator series (image of 1998 9110 Comunicator below) which were clam-shell devices featuring a large screen and spacious QWERTY keyboard.\u00a0\u00a0 The Communicators were pocket-able devices that provided a near-laptop experience and were popular with professionals who wanted to be … Continue reading