Nokia E7 - Is This the End of the Communicator?

The Communicator has been synonymous with the word “big” in the mobile business, ok I’m kidding. Jokes aside the size of these devices never really mattered what mattered was sheer communication functionality the series was able to deliver. We’ve been without a Communicator for quite some time now but Nokia’s not been at the top of their game for awhile so it’s no wonder. In my opinion, the E7 along with the Nokia N8, were supposed to mark Nokia’s big comeback into the smartphone domain. The N8 did fairly well, no thanks to the not-so-impressive Symbian ^3 OS and now here’s a closer look at the all new Communicator, the E7.

Form Factor
Taking its cue from the funky looking, anodized aluminium shelled N8, the E7 is however quite a bit larger and heavier (176g). The 4.0-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen should have featured a higher resolution (360 x 640 pixels existing res) but what it does have going for it is Nokia’ CBD or Clear Black Display technology. This tech makes the display absolutely phenomenal for viewing in virtually any lighting condition including bright daylight. It’s easy on the easy on the eyes and extremely responsive. Encased in Gorilla glass, you’re quite assured of scratch-free viewing.

More elegant than previous Communicators

The Home key has been moved to the bottom-centre of the handset under the display and a micro USB/charging port, mini HDMI (adapter cable provided) and 3.5mm handsfree socket are located on the top. I unable to use the E7 with any other handsfree other than the one Nokia provided, as comfortable and well designed as they were. The little slider on the right side is to control the volume while the larger one on the left is for locking or unlocking the display. Just like the Nokia N8, the E7 is also a completely sealed handset with a little tray that can be extracted to slip in your SIM card. This isn’t necessarily a drawback of any kind though but this iPhone-like design didn’t bode well with me. To make matters worse, it features 16GB of internal storage with no means to support more i.e. no microSD card slot.

Quite slim and sexy with a slot for the SIM card

Keeping with tradition, the E7 Communicator also comes with a large QWERTY keypad under the display. While I found the keypad to be extremely comfortable to use, accessing it will take quite a bit of getting used to. The ‘pop’ mechanism is an issue I’ve been disappointed with since the first time I got to use the device back in October of 2010. In fact, I’ve even seen a few Nokia execs struggle a little trying to get the keypad to show its face. It requires a very precise push to pop it up, but once it’s open, the viewing angle and keypad layout is every bit as good as the Nokia N97’sor the Mini’s. The keys are soft and easy on the fingers and the separated buttons are perfect for speedy typing.

Overall, I’d have to say the E7 is a stunning looking handset that, although slightly on the heavy side, is a far sleeker Communicator than we’ve ever seen. If only Nokia had perfected the slide out panel a little more, I’d have had absolutely no gripes about the design at all.
Features and Performance

Interface
Everyone who’s mobile savvy will be able to tell you that the Communicators were, at many points of time, considered to be the most powerful of mobile handsets, sadly the E7 cannot boast of the same. It’s loaded up with a disappointingly low 680 MHz ARM 11 processor and a Broadcom BCM2727 GPU and 1GB ROM. In this day and age of 1 GHz and now Dual Core processing speeds on mobiles, how is going to survive? Still, the E7 is in no way a sluggish piece of hardware. I was able to use over 10 apps, open at the same time, and still watch videos and access the net without too much of lag. While most functions and features run quite smoothly, a few UI quirks could really get to you especially if you’re switching over from another smartphone OS like Android.

Large but comfy

The world has moved on to QWERTY virtual keypads even in standard mode but Nokia is sticking to the alphanumeric num-pad style with no option to change. The onscreen QWERTY that shows up in landscape is a little too constricted as well and not as functional as some others. Symbian ^3 feels a bit outdated in some ways - the desktop ‘widgets and shortcuts seem a little too ridged and structured, then again so is WP7’s. Sending messages requires a couple extra key presses than it would on other OS’ but access to new messages, connectivity options and a few other settings are quite easily available from the desktop. The task manager option is also designed to be quite handy and easy for multitasking or even closing running apps.

Media
The Nokia Music player is better than average. The few presets, Stereo Widening and Loudness setting do help enhance the audio quality quite a bit. Tone quality is excellent with highs moderately divided so as to enhance vocals and higher frequencies and a bass line that resounds in your head (thanks mainly to the in-ear phones on the handsfree) with superb clarity. What’s still disappointing is that Nokia found it unnecessary to provision for a customizable setting in Symbian ^3. Older versions have 8 band graphics EQs for each preset and options to create your own; I don’t see why a new OS wouldn’t. The FM radio didn’t work out as well as I hoped. It was able to pick up 4 of the 9 stations that other handsets picked up in the same locations. You can access and download music via Nokia’s Ovi Music store.

Avilable in trendy colors

The E7 doesn’t share the Nokia N8’s penchant for video playback. While most H.264 and WMV files in DivX formats played without a hitch some coded in XviD didn’t. Another drawback is that the player can resume playback of only the file you’re currently viewing. Switch to another file and your space is a goner. Nokia has also added apps for streaming files from Paramount Movie Trailers, CNN Video, National Geographic and even E! Entertainment. Sadly it seemed like my 2G EDGE connection didn’t support video playback. Video and photo editing software are also on board. TV Out via HDMI supports Dolby Digital Plus. 

The E7 didn’t come with any preloaded games and the level of games designed for Symbian still have a ways to go before they can be compared to those for iOS.