Following on from part 1 (hardware) and part 2 (software), here is the third part of our Nokia E6 review. It covers the E6's enterprise credentials, including email, office and other business related applications and settings. I also provide my concluding thoughts on this hybrid touch and keyboard form factor device, unique in the Symbian^3 range. But don't switch off afterwards, because Steve's going to provide a multimedia-themed E6 part four, plus his own concluding thoughts, in a few days time.
In part 1 of our review of the Nokia E6, we looked at its hardware and positioning in the smartphone world, along with a flavour of its tweaked (VGA) touch interface. In this second review part, we look in more detail at the implementation of Symbian Anna on the E6, the third party software scene, and Nokia's Ovi services on this new 'slab qwerty' device.
Here's part 1 of our comprehensive review of the Nokia E6, building in the best of the other Symbian^3 and Anna phones into the classic 'slab Qwerty' (E72/Blackberry) form factor, with the added benefit of a high resolution touchscreen as well. It's fair to say that the Nokia E6 has become a firm favourite here and in this review part I look at the hardware, with a special focus on the keyboard and its usability.
It's 7.00am, the X7 is fully charged, and the daily alarm that's smart enough to only ring Mondays to Fridays wakes up not just me, but also a look at the X7 in day to day use. We could sit and examine specs on the device and do pixel perfect comparisons of the new and old web browser. But today is going to be a normal day. No horrible stress testing, no loading the Engadget website in five different browser windows to see what happens. It's going to be the X7 vs the world. Who's going to win Ramona at the end of the day?
Last week Steve introduced the Nokia X7, the first Symbian Anna retail device, and as promised he's passed it over to me to take it into the real world and see what it can deliver away from his technically detailed eye. To be honest, being handed to Mr Spence in the height of a Scottish summer is probably going to leave the X7 wondering what it did wrong. First up for me is the multimedia angle.
More than perhaps any other smartphone manufacturer, Nokia spreads its OS around a number of subtly different form factors - along with specific claimed strengths (photography, music, and so on). In terms of pure form, the new X7 is perhaps the closest of the Symbian^3 generation to the current range of large screened Android touch-slabs - which means that it needs to bring something new to the table. This it does, in the form of decent loudspeakers, pentaband 3G and premium materials, not to mention Symbian Anna from day one, but there are compromises as well. We now have a retail Nokia X7 and here's my take on it, part 1 of the AAS multi-part review.
Nokia's C6-01 never seemed to catch the popular mood in the same way the E7 or the N8 has, but it has its dedicated fans. I'm one of them, and it's time to look back on the rise (and fall) of the C6 in my pocket, How did it get there, why did it stay there so long, and ultimately what pushed it out and into the “spare” pocket of my rucksack?
You've watched as I've taken the Nokia E7-00 from the box it was in, popped it in my sporran as I flew half way round the world to a conference to seewhat itcan do, and then get seriously delayed on the flight home. Now it's the moment of reckoning. What do I really think of the Nokia E7? First up, this isn't a full, in-depth detailed feature review of the E7. We've taken care of that already on All About Symbian (over multiple parts, #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6). This is still a review though, but of the Qwerty smartphone after two weeks of solid use in the real world – or at least as 'real' as my time at the South by Southwest Conference can be.
It's big, it's black, it knows where it is and it's surprisingly thin. Here's the sixth, and final, part in our in-depth review of the retail Nokia E7. I look at the built-in mapping and navigation, at additional applications, both preloaded and supplied via the on-device store, at its homescreens, plus I try to work out where the E7 fits into the smartphone world of 2011. Be sure to also check Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5 of our E7 review so far.
In this, part five of our in-depth E7 review, I’ll continue to look at the productivity and enterprise features of the E7. Given that the E7 isn’t even available to buy in many areas yet, we are of course reviewing a product release (PR) 1.0 device. Readers should note that its software version is 13.016, which puts it equal in many ways with the PR 1.1 firmware of the N8, C7 and C6-01. Be sure to check Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of our E7 review so far too.
