The Nokia C7 is the second device from Nokia coming with Symbian^3 operating system. The original name of the model used to be the Nokia C7-00, which was then officially cut to the Nokia C7. The handset is also known as the Nokia Astound. This device and the Nokia N8 simply have almost the same software package. The basic difference here is the camera and the design. In both cases the winner is the Nokia N8, coming with a 12 megapixel camera and a buttonless touch display. The customers will be required to pay way less for the Nokia C7 and this is where the situation will shift in favor of the Nokia C7.
For the first time Nokia is trying to show the camera emphasize is not the most important criterion for a smartphone. Interestingly, with the introduction of the Nokia Astound the manufacturer also decided to introduce its luxury version called the Nokia Oro. This handset comes at the price of $1635. It’s made of 18 carat gold, sapphire crystals and hand wrapped leather featuring the same specs as the original device.
The Specs of the Nokia C7 include:
Network: GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz
Operating system: Symbian^3, upgradable to Symbian Anna OS
CPU: 680 MHz ARM 11 processor, Broadcom BCM2727 GPU
Screen: 3.5 inch, 640 x 360 pixel, AMOLED, capacitive
Camera: 8 megapixels, dual LED flash, face detection and geo-tagging features
Memory: 8 GB storage, 256 MB RAM, 1 GB ROM, expandable through memory card Micro SD
Connectivity: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, A-GPS, NFC, compass
Battery: 1200 mAh, BL-5K
Size: 117.3 x 56.8 x 10.5 mm
Weight: 130 gram
Operating system: Symbian^3, upgradable to Symbian Anna OS
CPU: 680 MHz ARM 11 processor, Broadcom BCM2727 GPU
Screen: 3.5 inch, 640 x 360 pixel, AMOLED, capacitive
Camera: 8 megapixels, dual LED flash, face detection and geo-tagging features
Memory: 8 GB storage, 256 MB RAM, 1 GB ROM, expandable through memory card Micro SD
Connectivity: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, A-GPS, NFC, compass
Battery: 1200 mAh, BL-5K
Size: 117.3 x 56.8 x 10.5 mm
Weight: 130 gram
Design
Externally, the model looks like a typical Nokia device, but with some sort of innovative touch. The handset comes with a plastic casing similar to those of the Nokia C6 and the Nokia N97. But luckily the back cover of the battery is made of metal. But to call the sense of the device the same as those of metal bars will not be true. It’s mostly plastic, and it’s obvious when you hold the phone.
The handset turns out to be slightly sleeker than the rest of smartphones using 3.5 inch displays. While still an older model the handset comes with 10.1 mm thickness, which is pretty slim for the devices of its kind.
Display
The screen is similar to other models from Nokia, e.g. the Nokia X6. Its resolution is 640×360 pixels and 3.5 inches. It’s covered with special plastic glass, displaying up to 16 million colors. The screen Type is AMOLED, but it cannot be compared with the Super AMOLED from Samsung, this technology is of a different generation. The screen is comparable to the Nokia N8 and the Nexus One. Under direct sunlight it comes with a good picture quality, and it’s here that it triumphs over other handsets.
The display accommodates up to 16 lines of text (not in all modes), supports three font sizes chosen by your phone. It somewhat fades in the sun, but it is typical of this type of screens (exception — all the same Super AMOLED).
This is one of the first products from Nokia, supporting multitouch, you just have to make moves with your fingers (pinch-to-zoom), so that the image gets separated. The screen is capacitive, similar in execution to that of the Nokia X6 and behaves exactly the same way. Sensitivity of the display in most cases is satisfactory, but sometimes it does not react to clicks (software flaw, just like that of the X6).
Connectivity
This is the second version of the Nokia with Bluetooth 3.0, which is also called High Speed. When transferring files to other devices with this technology it activates Wi-Fi 802.11 n, a theoretical transfer rate is about 24 Mbit/sec.
The model supports various profiles, particularly, Headset, Hands free, Serial Port, Dial Up Networking, File Transfer, Object Push, Basic Printing, SIM Access and A2DP. Working with the headset does not cause any difficulties. It also supports standard Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g n. It’s not the first device on the market with such a set of connectivity, still it’s kind of nice to see all of the features available on a single device. And everything works like a clock, without causing any problems.
Camera
The Nokia C7 comes with an awesome 8 megapixel camera with an autofocus, which is great. It just walks behind the 12 megapixel camera of the Nokia N8, but I don’t think it’s a big deal. Originally these two cameras cannot be compared due to the difference in megapixels, still both of them are capable of using f/2.8 aperture rating for low-light shooting. The Nokia C7′s camera is using a dual-LED flash and an EDoF focusing system, but the Nokia N8′s camera is using Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus and Xenon flash.
With the Symbian Anna update the Nokia C7′s camera got much improved.
Memory Capacities
The device comes with 8GB of built-in memory, plus there’s a chance of microSD expansion for up to 32GB. The RAM of the device is 256 MB (in contrast, the Nokia N97 Mini has only 128 MB of RAM). For Nokia this is a giant leap forward, which means an increase in the stability of the system and speed.
Battery
The capacity of the device battery is 1200 mAh. The phone can work up to 390 hours in standby mode and from 5.5 to 12 hours in talk time mode (UMTS/GSM).
On the downside is that the battery will require charging in two days. Against the background of many competitors, who do not live more than one day, this is a good indicator. The main energy eater is the desktop with widgets. The total time for recharging is about 2 hours.
Software
Unfortunately, in all its glory this model shows that Nokia’s efforts to create social applications for its Symbian^3 smartphones were futile. In contrast to previous trend of different apps for different series, Nokia’s now decided to have identical apps for all Symbian^3 devices.
The manufacturer has created a separate application, which brings together all the accounts of social networking websites, while the authentication occurs via Ovi. This is an attempt to artificially increase the number of Ovi users.
The handset comes with three different homescreens. The shift to another homescreen can be obtained with the use of Swype technology. This time the homescreens are more widgetized, thus you get a chance to optimize widgets for each of the homescreens.
Ovi Store
The handset comes with Ovi Store allowing to have a large list of free applications and games for download. Due to the fact that at the moment Angry Birds is also available for Symbian^3 devices, the Nokia C7 gives you the chance to experience this Apple-designed game on your device.
The Nokia C7 comes with pre-installed Adobe Reader and QuickOffice, but for the editing of the documents you will be required to get a paid update from Ovi Stores. The smartphone also supports Flash Lite 4.0 allowing to watch videos with the YouTube app (also coming as one of the pre-installed apps).
Conclusion
Describing my impressions of the Nokia C7 I should mention it’s among the top smartphones on Symbian^3. Judge yourself, it does not support HDMI-output, and a 12-megapixel camera, but there are other features of the Nokia N8 available on this device.
At this point in the C line there is the Nokia C6, which has a QWERTY-keyboard, is expensive and is not very attractive. Thus this model comes to fill the gap. It’s a nice device for those accustomed to Symbian. Coming with a small number of interesting games and an old interface, the device features several high-end specs. It can be called a great device running Symbian S^3 in terms of price/quality ratio.
