The C7 does not quite match the specification list of the Nokia N8, but it comes close. Compared to the higher end device, it misses out on the HMDI port, has less internal memory and a lower specification camera. However, crucially, it costs significantly less. If you're looking for maximum value, while maintaining a top-end specification, the C7 is going to be a very attractive device.
Key hardware points
- 117.3 x 56.8 x 10.5 mm in dimensions, 130g in weight; monoblock touch form-factor, combination of plastic and metal materials
- 3.5 inch, OLED, capacitive screen with scratch resistant glass; 640x 360 pixels resolution
- 8 megapixel EDoF camera; video recording at 720p resolution (1280×720) and 25 frames per second.
- Camera aperture of F2.8, focal length 5.4.
- Integrated A-GPS with location support for GPS, A-GPS, WLAN and Cell-ID
- 3.5 mm Nokia AV connector for audio in/out and TV-out
- FM transmitter and FM Radio (with RDS)
- microUSB port for PC connectivity, charging and USB on-the-go functionality
- BL-5K (1200mAh) Li-Ion battery
- WCDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100 and GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
- WiFi; WLAN IEEE802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0
- Upto 350 MB of internal memory, 8GB mass memory and microSD card slot (supports sizes up to 32GB)
- 256 MB RAM
Key software points
- Runs Symbian^3. This includes multi-page homescreen with fully customisable widgets (three pages, six widgets per page), renewed music experience with cover flow albums, visual task switcher (see contents of application from the task switcher), streamlined menu structure with fewer prompts (e.g. no connectivity prompts), and single tap 'Direct UI' paradigm (a change from the 'double tap' Symbian^1).
Symbian^3 also contains very significant underlying changes including features such as writeable demand paging, which will greatly improve RAM memory usage.
- Social networking and sharing software is at the heart of this device, with homescreen widgets (Twitter, Facebook) and sharing software.
- Flash Lite 4; with compatibility of Flash 10 for video codec and format support
- Ships with Ovi Maps (free car and pedestrian navigation in 70 countries and free premium travel guides), Nokia Messaging (both email and instant messaging), Ovi Music (music store) and Ovi Store (content store).
Ewan says
If the Nokia World-launched phones were a pop group, this would be "stylish phone". The Nokia C7 is a tactile wonder, with lots of glinting metal, silver and black highlights. Assuming that this stays competitively priced when it gets onto the networks, it should be the phone you reach for when you don't want the masculine efforts of previous S60 5th Edition and beefier Symbian^3 devices.
Hopefully someone in the PR department is looking back at the Razr and Sidekick campaigns - because if the C7 can get picked up and used by some of the more recognisable celebs around town (I'm thinking Katy Perry or Lady Gaga), then that's only going to cement its reputation as a phone that begs to be left on the table to be looked at before it's actually used.
While Nokia have invoked a design language over the N8 and E7, the C7 goes in a slightly different direction, and it's all the better for it. Yes, it's still running the improved Symbian^3, yes it's going to have the same functionality as devices like the C6, but it's going to be wrapped up in a very attractive package.
Here's the launch video.