The three big upgrades from the Nokia C7-00 are the use of Symbian Belle, also announced today, the inclusion of a faster processor and the upgraded display. Symbian Belle will be available for the C7-00 itself in due course, but the Nokia 701 will be available first. Other smaller upgrades include faster 3G (cat 10 HSDPA - 14.4 Mbps and cat 6 HSUPA - 5.76 Mbps) and additional NFC functionality (remember that the C7-00 NFC chip was not activated until the Anna update).
The processor speed is bumped up from 680 MHz to 1 GHz, but the 701 also has a faster (upto four times) grahpics co-processor giving 2D/3D acceleration. RAM is increased from 256MB (C7) to 512MB (701).
The C7-00 had an AMOLED screen; the Nokia 701 changes technology to IPS LCD, which in our experience offers slightly better outdoor performance and wider viewing angles. However, the use of ClearBlack also indicates the layers making up the screen have been rearranged, to help cut down on reflections and refractions within screen elements, thus improving screen visibility further in all conditions.
Key hardware features
- 117.3 x 56.8 x 11mm, 131g in weight, 64cc by volume; monoblock touch form factor
- 3.5" capacitive IPS LCD ClearBlack touchscreen; 640x 360 pixels resolution (nHD). Nokia says this is the world's brightest mobile phone display in any smartphone.
- FM transmitter (Play via Radio) and FM receiver
- NFC (Near Field Communication) with Tap and share / Tap and connect
- Active Noise Cancellation, which delivers clear sound in noisy environments (second microphone is near battery cover catch)
- Processor: ARM 11 at 1GHz with 2D/3D Graphics HW Accelerator (OpenVG 1.1 and OpenGL ES 2.0), RAM: 512MB
- 8 megapixel full focus (EDoF) camera (with dual LED flash); video capture at 1280 x 720p (HD - 720p at 30 frames per second), 2nd front camera for video calling
- Integrated GPS with location support for A-GPS, WLAN and Cell-ID location techniques.
- Compass (magnetometer), accelerometer, proximity and ambient light sensors.
- microUSB (USB 2.0) for file transfers, charging and USB OTG.
- 2mm charging port
- 3.5mm Nokia audiovisual port (stereo audio out and composite TV-out)
- BL-5K (12001300mAh) battery with easy access battery cover (standby time of 23 days and talk time of 17 hours (GSM) and 6.8 hours (WCDMA).
- WCDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100 (pentaband 3G) and GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 (HSDPA Cat 10 - 14.4 MBps, HSUPA (Cat 6 - 5.76 Mbps)
- WiFi: WLAN IEEE 802.11 b/g and Bluetooth 3.0
- 8GB mass memory and microSD card slot (supports sizes up to 32GB)
- Available Q3 2011 in Steel dark, Silver light, Amethyst violet and White
- In box contents: Nokia 701, Nokia Battery BL-5K, Nokia Connectivity Cable CA-179, Nokia Headset WH-207, Nokia High Efficiency Charger AC-15 and NFC gift card linking to Ovi Store apps (selected markets).
Key software features
- Runs Symbian Belle (Symbian^3 with second major software update)
- Symbian Belle additions and updates include a new look UI and homescreen, a pull-down notification system, updated applications, simplified software update system and richer NFC functionality. More details are available in our separate Symbian Belle story.
- Belle also brings significant performance improvements, with faster and more intuitive interface and smoother multi-tasking.
- NFC versions of Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja (unlock additional content by tapping another NFC phone) pre-installed.
- Ships with Nokia Maps 3.6 (free lifetime car and pedestrian navigation).
- Ovi Store for downloading additional applications and personalising the device.