The Vodafone Blue 555 phone is targeted at the millions of Facebook users who are addicted to the social networking site and would love to get and post updates on the go.

Design And Build Quality
The device is well-designed, with a silver-white plastic casing and rounded corners that fit in your palm comfortably. It’s definitely a tough competitor to the HTC ChaCha with its well laid-out QWERTY keyboard. And yes, it does have a Facebook button, which acts as a shortcut to your News Feed. It also has a shortcut button for the camera.

The phone weighs nearly 100 grammes, and with a dimension of 4.3″ (l) x 2.4″ (w) x 0.5″ (d), fits into your pocket quite easily. Other features include a 2 MP camera with LED flash, a 3.5 mm audio jack, and a microSD card slot that supports up to 16 GB.

A small button at the centre of the navigation pad acts as a trackpad for navigating through the interface. A volume control button on the right side and a charging port on the left are also present. The phone has a 2.4″ display with pixel dimensions of 320×240. The connectivity of the phone isn’t that great since it has only EDGE support, which isn’t sufficient for fast access to the internet. At least a 3G facility should have been made available for this price.

UI And Applications
The moment it’s switched on, the device prompts you to log into your FB account. After you get past that screen, you are greeted with the What’s on your mind? field, from where you can post updates directly to Facebook

The phone has a Java-based operating system, but with just a 200 MHz processor, it is not speedy enough to run even the installed applications smoothly, degrading the user experience. Navigating through the menus is easy, thanks to the responsive trackpad and keyboard shortcuts, such as [alt] + [B] for Bluetooth, [alt] + [F] for News Feed, and [alt] + [M] for the music app. One major complaint is that while the News Feed is supposed to be updated automatically, this never happens, forcing you to manually refresh the page for the latest updates.

The applications included with the phone fail to impress, with lacklustre examples that include a weather app, calculator, organiser, note taker, and some Java games such as Sims 3. The only bright spots are a Java-based Facebook chat application that allows communicating with multiple friends, as well as Palringo that supports multiple IM accounts.

Multimedia And Camera
Fortunately, the Blue 555 has a decent music player and FM radio with RDS for displaying the song and artiste information. The major audio formats supported include MP3, AAC, and WMA. Strangely enough, the phone doesn’t have a dedicated video player, but it supports video playback for MP4, 3GP, and H.263 files directly through the Gallery. The sound quality of the speaker is decent, but the bundled earphones seem to be inferior as the music tends to distort at higher sound levels.

The 2 MP camera isn’t good enough to capture detailed snaps, even though it includes an LED flash. I wish the manufacturer had added basic editing features, which could have made the images more viewable. On the bright side, the device surprisingly keeps colours true to life. There’s also an option to share images via e-mail, Bluetooth, MMS, or upload them straight to FB.

Capturing video on the Blue 555 also isn’t a good experience due to the lack of basic editing features. Moreover, videos cannot be shared online due to a lack of connectivity features, as they are too large to be uploaded through the EDGE connection.

Telephony And Messaging
One of the few impressive features is the ability to integrate your Facebook contacts with the local contacts list from the SIM card. Once you’ve logged in to your account, the phonebook integrates the list of your FB friends with SIM contacts that have the same name. Even if someone is left out, you can always choose the Merge To Facebook option.

Battery And Verdict
With a 1000 mAH Li-ion battery, the phone gives a talk time of 6 hours and a standby time of 60 hours, allowing me to use the phone for two complete days on a single charge.

The Vodafone Blue 555 is aimed at the young market. Making the phone attractive-looking, with a decent bit of features and Facebook integration is Vodafone’s USP. However, a generation obsessed with smartphones may not like this product due to the lack of connectivity features such as 3G and Wi-Fi. All said and done though, this is still a decent device available at a very competitive price.

Features: 3/5
Design And Build Quality: 3.5/5
Performance: 2.5/5
Value For Money: 3.5/5
Mojo: 3/5

Overall: 3/5

I have been priviledged to use this magnificient camera phone. It has been a pure joy to shoot pictures and videos with it.

All videos shot using only Nokia 808 and tripod. NO macro lenses or other lenses used.
All video samples in this video are straight from the camera. I have not done any processing to the video but only pasted them together using Sony Vegas video editor. The audio is also separately recorded with Nokia 808 phone. I wanted to switch the original audio tracks because they were so noisy because of the wind.

Additional Info:
Shooting with Nokia 808 when capturing starts the CAF (Continuous AutoFocus) is on but it can be overridden simply by tapping the screen at point where one wants the focus to be. Most of the scenes I tapped the sceen in the beginning of capturing in order to master the focus where I wanted it to be. (Naturally I edited this part away at editor)

I used automatic mode at the scenes where I switched the focus from near to far away or wise versa. Even with automatic mode it is possible to shoot quite close. The flower scenes were shot at macro mode along with the snail clips. At automatic mode it is not possible to focus far away or to infinity.

Someone commented somewhere that it is possible to rule out those focus transitions since it does not look artistic. Well, I wanted to leave them to the video so that people will get right impression who the focus works. Naturally these transitions can be eliminated at video editor.

]]> http://mobilegumti.com/review/nokia-808-pureview-sample-glimpses-of-a-finnish-spring.html/feed 0 http://mobilegumti.com/review/picture-of-samsung-sph-l300-leaks-out.html http://mobilegumti.com/review/picture-of-samsung-sph-l300-leaks-out.html#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 11:59:50 +0000 Jay Pathak http://mobilegumti.com/?p=3871 Yesterday, PocketNow got their hands on a screenshot of a UAprofile for the SPH-L300. This device has the product code for Sprint and will naturally be launching on the network in the near future. We also got our hands on the RDF and decided to do our own investigating. Our source gave us a photo of the SPH-L300. The device is pegged to have the same MSM8960 processor as the EVO 4G LTE and the now speculated SPH-L710.

As seen above, the device looks very similar to the HTC Nexus One. The buttons at the bottom of the device appear to be etched into the frame. This appears to be fake “metal” outer casing which looks amazing. The top bezel of the device seems extremely huge, and excessive. As well, we can see on the battery below the Samsung logo that “Near Field Communications” is listed, confirming that the device will launch with NFC capabilities.

Our source has also provided us with us very specific details of the device. The physical dimensions of the device are 12.19cm x 6.38cm x 1.204cm (HxWxD). Its chipset is the Qualcomm (MSM8960), memory size (ROM/RAM) is 4GB and 1GB respectively, main display is 800×480 (WVGA), main camera is 5MP, 4G LTE, and Bluetooth 4.0 are included. Our source also confirmed the device will indeed be running Android 4.0.4 at launch. Unfortunately, we are unsure of the exact size of the screen.

While the device was originally shaping up to possibly be a Samsung Galaxy S III variant, with many crossing their fingers for a QWERTY keyboard version, it doesn’t seem to be the case. Instead, it seems to be a suped-up Galaxy S II device.

MRP: Rs 18,000
Street Price (As On 1-Feb-2012): Rs 14,800 (Adexmart.com); Rs 15,500 (Saholic.com; Letsbuy.com)

While the Lumia 800 battles it out for the top spot, its younger sibling the Lumia 710 is up against a horde of budgetAndroids. Despite the price difference between these two Lumias, the 710′s specs are nothing short of impressive. But does it have what it takes to attract the masses?

Design And Build Quality
The retail package contains the phone, a charger, USB cable, and a pair of earphones. The handset measures 4.7″ (l) x 2.5″ (w) x 0.5″ (d) and weighs 126 grammes. The device looks similar to its distant cousin from the Symbian family,the Nokia 603. The gadget’s front is covered by glass, while the back sports a matte finish. Unlike most Windows Phone handsets though, the keys are tactile rather than capacitive.

Thanks to its Gorilla Glass and good quality plastic, the phone can withstand a lot of abuse. I know this for a fact since I actually tried scratching it with keys and other metallic objects. Overall, Nokia has done a great job in the design and build quality department.

he phone’s 3.7″ screen has pixel dimensions of 480×800. Being a ClearBlack display, its sunlight legibility is good. However, the screen is no match for AMOLEDs, and the uninspiring blacks are evidence of that fact. Overall, it’s not bad for the price, but the Lumia 800′s brilliant display has forced me to raise my expectations.

Nokia has been pretty generous in throwing in a 1.4 GHz CPU and Adreno 205 GPU. Other bells and whistles include a 5 MP camera, 512 MB of RAM, 8 GB of internal storage, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and a 1300 mAh battery. For no clear reason though, the phone has a micro-SIM slot.

UI And Applications
The phone runs WP 7.5 (Mango), and I can never tire of praising its beauty. The UI is fluid and innovative, while the attention to detail is unbelievable. The Live Tile homescreen can be swiped to the left to access the list of apps and settings. Additionally, the task switcher can be brought up with a long press of the Back button.

Since the phone packs in the same chipset and software as that of its elder sibling, there’s almost no difference between the performance of the two.

Battery And Verdict
The 1300 mAh battery managed to keep the device up for about 7 hours. with all connectivity options turned on. The performance is not good for a Nokia phone, but still better than most Androids.

The Lumia 710 has a beautiful and fluid UI. Its specs are better than those of competing Androids. The phone excels in the music playback and camera departments. What’s more, Nokia Drive gives it an edge over the competition.

On the other hand, despite the handset’s great performance, its average display is a letdown. The 710 would have been a killer gadget had Nokia shipped it with an AMOLED screen. Overall though, at the price tag of Rs 15,500, it’s still better than most Androids. For those willing to spend an additional two grand, I recommend

Features: 3.5/5
Design And Build Quality: 4/5
Performance: 4.5/5
Value For Money: 4/5
Mojo: 4/5

Overall Rating: 4/5

]]> http://mobilegumti.com/review/nokia-lumia-710.html/feed 0 http://mobilegumti.com/review/the-launch-of-nokias-best-mobile-series.html http://mobilegumti.com/review/the-launch-of-nokias-best-mobile-series.html#comments Sat, 28 Apr 2012 11:27:27 +0000 Jay Pathak http://mobilegumti.com/?p=3593

Nokia’s new phone series
of Nokia phones in the market is going to launch a new series. The company that called Lumia 800 and 710 phones will be launched. These phones will be based on Microsoft Windows. CPU of 1.4 GHz at 800 Hartz has been Lumia.

512 MB ​​RAM as well. 3.7-inch screen with 8 MP autofocus camera with dual LED flash which is applied to the system. The Wi – Fi, Bluetooth and GPS are also given. The 3.5 mm jack is also fitted.logitech wireless – board computer accessories company known for its wireless logitech – board and mouse are launched.

Sit away from the PC as well as its support will also be used to operate it. MK 260 has been lowered by the name of it.’s – 2 AAA batteries installed on the board while the mouse is placed in the 1 AA battery.The company hopes it will help her market. brought Street -2 Bluetooth zebra zebra music lovers who have launched the Bluetooth pendant.Street names of these pendants -2 AM 2.0 3-D technology has been used. This increase in capacity as well as his voice became clear and strong.

This point can be eight hours, eight hours of music can be heard and more than nine days of standby time. The 3.5 mm audio jack is also fitted. It works in the range of 10 meters.

Samsung Metro C3752 is a dual SIM mobile phone which has been added into the dual SIM bucket of Samsung mobiles. Both the SIM cards run on the GSM network and this is a slider form factor phone.

This mobile phone comes equipped with a 2.4 inch TFT display screen which is capable of providing a pixel count of 240×320 pixels. This screen can be slided upwards to reveal the alphanumeric keypad which consists of well spaced and large keys for easy and convenient texting. The size as well as pixel count of the screen is pretty good and superior to that of Spice C6600.The microSD card slot which comes along with Metro C3752 lets users expand the external memory space by up to 16GB.The connectivity options offered with mobile phone are Bluetooth, USB port and internet options such as GPRS and WAP browser. This phone proves to be useful for social networking lovers as it comes preinstalled with a number of websites. The audio options provided by Samsung Metro C3750 are FM radio and multi format music player which supports formats such as MIDI, WAV, AAC and AMR.

One of the major drawbacks associated with C3752 is the fact that it comes with a 900mAh battery which doesnt really take care of the talk time that it offers. Even the sound quality may not prove to be as good as one would expect from a phone at this price. The 3.2 MP camera is fine but doesnt really record high quality videos. With all these negative features, Samsung Metro C3752 seems like an okay model.

Samsung Corby Pop C3510 is the latest mobile by the company having outstanding features available in India at affordable price. Samsung is overtly concerned with the down turn of the economy and is determined to ensure that people without enormous resources have access to quality phones. Having witnessed the popularity and the successes of the Samsung 3650 the company decided to do a cheaper model which will integrate the good qualities of Samsung S3650. This is what led to the manufacture of Samsung Corby pop C3510. The phone is very popular among the Indian phone users and there is a rush demand for the product at India coupled with the cheap rate of Rs.7, 000 which it is offered at the Indian markets.

The phone is fitted with lots of capabilities which include an elaborate communication and entertainment features. It has support for MP3 programme and FM radio. The multi instant messaging feature is also enabled in that handset equally, it has support for the media social networking sites such as the Facebook and twitter and MySpace as well. However the phone did not have the features for elaborate internet browsing such as the features for 3G and Wi-Fi. The users in India will not be bothered over the lack of 3G because this feature is not strong in the country, what will perturb them most is the lack of Wi-Fi support by the handset for the country.  Although a later version of the same brand has corrected this deficiency by enabling features for Wi-Fi; users in India will definitely like this development. The brand is therefore a very good brand and it is available in most mobile shops in the country. Let’s talk about the Samsung Corby Pop C3510 price in India, features and specifications in details.

Samsung Corby Pop C3510 Features
- Dimensions:103.9 x 55.4 x 12.9 mm
- Weight:92.2 grams
-  2.8 inches TFT touchscreen with 240 x 320 pixels and 256K colors
- Cartoon UI
- 3.5mm audio jack
- Vibration and MP3 ringtones Alert
- Smart unlock
- EDGE:Class 10 internet speed upto 236.8 kbps
- 1000 contacts phonebook entries
- Call recording
- 30 MB Internal memory
- GPRS:Class 10 internet speed upto 32 – 48 kbps
- up to 8GB microSD expandable memory
- USB v2.0
- No 3G
- Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP
- No Wireless LAN
- Colors option:Black and Pink
- 1.3 MegaPixel primary camera with 1280 x 1024 pixels
- WAP 2.0/xHTML and HTML Browser
- SMS, MMS and Email
- Stereo FM radio with RDS
- Games downloadable
- QCIF@15fps video
- MP4 video player
- No GPS
- MIDP 2.0 JAVA
- MP3 music player
- Social networking integration
- Standard battery with Li-Ion 960 mAh with Stand-by backup Upto 720 hours and Talk time backup Up to 10 hours and Music playback Up to 25 hours

In fact, the dual SIM phones are becoming more popular and there is big demand proportionate to the market  in this part of the world. As people want different networks for their different needs and call usage, dual SIM phones become more relevant in light of the fluctuating tariff plans offered by the leading mobile operators in India. The companies have already begun to produce and push Triple SIM handsets in the recent times to lure the avid mobile phone users in India.

Although, its too difficult to sort out the best dual SIM cellphones in India, as the volume of devices being too big to handle, we have tried to list the new released handsets with some unique features and pricing other than the dual SIM capabilities. Feel free to suggest other devices which could have found their way within this listing.

Samsung Star Duos

Samsung Star Duos (GT-B7722), the first dual SIM device offering 3G and 2G dual-active standby support, is now available in India. The new Samusng Star Duos dual SIM (GSM + CDMA) is a 3G-ready bar phone. The device comes with the options of two SIM cards, running 3G on one and GPRS/EDGE network on the other. The key features of this new Star Duos device include a 3.2 inch TFT touchscreen display, 5 megapixel camera with 4X digital zoom and LED flash support, QVGA video recording @ 30 fps and secondary camera for video calling. The handset introduces a 3 page extended menu with TouchWiz 2.0 UI. The Samsung Star Duos (GT-B7722) is priced at Rs. 12,300 in the Indian market.

Micromax X600Micromax X600 is another dual SIM GSM mobile phone that allows users to change the SIM just by rotating the phone upside down. This feature is enabled with Gravity Sensor technology incorporated on the handset. Micromax X600 is a 3.2 inch full touchscreen phone with 2 sets of hangup and call keys – one at top and the other at the bottom. It features a 2 megapixel camera and comes preloaded with the Opera mini browser, Nimbuzz and Facebook. Micromax X600 mobile phone is approximately priced at about Rs. 4,900 in India.

Karbonn K25Karbonn Mobile has launched Karbonn K25, an attractively priced dual SIM QWERTY phone featuring an optical trackpad. The new Karbonn K25 mobile phone comes with eye-catching features coupled with a stylish design. The Karbonn K25 phone is a dual SIM (GSM), multimedia phone and comes preloaded with social networking apps like Facebook,twitter, Opera Mini, Yahoo Messenger and MSN. The phone is equipped with rich multimedia features, with hi-fidelity sound and different equaliser effects. It offers FM Radio, video recording, torch, expandable memory upto 8 GB, 2 megapixel camera and A2DP  Bluetooth. The Karbonn K25 mobile phone is available at a price of Rs. 4,400 in the Indian market.

LG KS660 The LG KS660 Dual-SIM mobile phone is a Touchscreen triband GSM network ready phone which features a large 3.0-inch 262K colors color display, 5.0 MP digital camera, powerful MP3 and media player, integrated FM Radio with recording facility, memory expansion card slot and option for Hindi language in SMS and system menu. The LG KS660 mobile phone also features a unique scratch-proof display screen and it boasts of capacity of continuous 15 hours of music playback.

Nokia C1Nokia has also made its debut in the dual SIM segment with the launch of Nokia C1 mobile phone in the Indian market. All domestic brands such as Zen, Karbonn, Spice and Micromax are giving immense competition to global giants such as LG, Samsung and Nokia with their pocket-friendly and feature-rich dual SIM phones. Nokia has launched C1 handset that offers multiple SIM capabilities with a balanced feature set and relevant innovations at affordable price points. It sports FM radio and flashlight as well as a call divert feature, ensuring that the user does not misses a call from either of the SIMs. The Nokia C1 (C1-00) is priced at about Rs. 1,999 in India.

Motorola EX115

The Dual SIM market in India is getting more competitive with
the launch of new handsets by the global mobile phone makers. By far, the local
handset makers were dominating the dual SIM market in India. Now the mobile
phone giants have joint this league too to offer a stiff competition to the
“desi dual SIM devices”. Now Motorola  has recently
introduced a new dual SIM phone Motorola EX115 in India. The Motorola EX115 is
a stylish messaging phone equipped with QWERTY keypad. It sports a 3 megapixel
camera and a 2.3 inch QVGA screen. The Motorola EX115 mobile phone is priced at
Rs. 5,990 in the Indian market. Motorola game is another newly launched phone
by Motorola in India.

Spice D-1100The Spice D-1100 Candybar style India’s first Dual SIM Mobile Phone PDA is powered by windows mobile  6.0 and it features 256K colors TFT color dislay, 2.0 Megapixel Digital Camera with 6x Zoom, integrated MP3 media player, GPRS and Bluetooth connection.Dual SIM (GSM+GSM) Spice D-1100 mobile phone allows in SIM-1 Tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz and in SIM-2 Dual-band 900 / 1800 MHz network connection. The phone enables user to carry two distinct phone numbers at the same time.

Intex IN 6633

intex Technologies has recently launched Intex IN 6633 dual SIM (GSM+GSM), QWERTY mobile phone in India. The feature-rich Intex device scores well on its appearance, tech specs and push mail features. Intex IN 6633 mobile phone sports a 2.3 inch TFT screen display, 2 megapixel VGA camera and video player with video recorder. The device is equipped with FM radio with scheduler, audio player with equalizer and games. Preloaded with 1300 mAh battery, Intex IN 6633 provides up to 4 hours of talk time and up to 260 hours of standby time. The Java-enabled Intex IN 6633 device comes with answer machine and push mail support up to 10 accounts. The device is currently priced at Rs. 4,500 in India.

Lava B5

Lava B5 is another innovative dual SIM device that deserves
attention. It’s the first dual SIM device with Alpha keypad with rupee symbol
incorporated. This innovative keypad is neither traditional Multi-tap nor
QWERTY; instead the keys are arranged in ABCD order to provide convenience for
the users. The tech specs of Lava B5 include an A B C D keypads with QWERTY
looks, a 2.2 inch QVGA TFT screen display and a 2 megapixel camera. The device
comes with E-mail support, multi format video and audio player, FM, MP3 and MP4
features. Lava B5 mobile phone is available at a price tag of 4,399 in the
Indian market.

Zen M25
Zen M25 mobile phones is a dual SIM device with standby time of 72 days or 1,728 hours. Zen M25 is the first dual SIM device with 72-day standby time, which is the maximum backup time for any device available in India to date. Targeted at rural areas where people face frequent electricity problems, Zen M25 comes powered with a 2500 mAh battery that allows users up to 16 hours of talk time and 72 days or 1,728 hours of battery back up time on the standby mode. Zen M25 handset supports two GSM connections. It comes with a 2.4 inch QVGA screen display, 1.3 megapixel camera and FM radio. Offering English and Hindi language support, Zen M25 mobile phone is available at a price of Rs 3,400 in India.

Over the years, we’ve seen a steady stream of business
and messaging-centric landscape QWERTY smartphones come and go, with HTC
arguably leading the pack via its collection of Windows Mobile, Android, and
WP7 devices featuring sliding keyboards and tilt-out displays. But few of HTC’s
offerings are as iconic or memorable as Nokia’s line of Communicator clamshell
phones — starting with the Nokia 9000 in 1996, continuing with Symbian S80
models, and culminating with the Nokia E90 atop S60v3. The Nokia E7 is the
latest Communicator in this distinguished series and the manufacturer’s current
flagship device, dethroning the Nokia N8 which continues
on as the company’s media mogul. A lot has changed in the six months since the
N8 was introduced, including Nokia’s recent partnership with Microsoft
and the stunning announcement that it will be adopting Windows Phone for future
high-end smartphones. So, is the E7 — which is finally shipping in the US — the
greatest Communicator to date? Can it carry the torch for Symbian in the
immediate future? And more importantly, how does it fare in today’s
shark-infested Android and iOS waters? Jump past the break for our full review.

Hardware

Let’s make one thing abundantly clear: black or silver, the Nokia E7 is one
gorgeous piece of hardware. It might not have the proportions of the Dieter
Rams-inspired iPhone 4, but it’s a
handsome and refined phone that can definitely compete in terms of materials
and build quality. The E7 design language mimics its N8 sibling, and consists
of a flattened aluminum cylinder that features a 4-inch glass-capacitive
touchscreen on one side, a glass window protecting the 8 megapixel camera and
dual-LED flash on the other side, and tapered plastic covers hiding antennas
and connectors at each end. From the front the E7 looks like a larger N8, but
in order to accommodate the physical keyboard, the body is sliced
longitudinally into two sections. The thinner “half” houses the
tilt-out display and the menu key (centered below the touchscreen), the other
“half” contains the keyboard, the camera, and most of the
electronics. Without a camera pod sticking out the back, the E7 ends up being
thinner than the N8 overall, and one of the slimmest landscape QWERTY devices
we’ve come across.

The tilt-out display and physical keyboard are the
stars of the show. Nokia chose a hinge mechanism similar to the one it
implemented on the N97 and N97 mini. Unfortunately, on the E7 this
mechanism is universally difficult to open — almost everyone fails the first
time, and risks slipping and dropping the phone in the process. We eventually
figured out a sure way to operate the hinge, but it’s not intuitive, and requires
the (preferably symmetric) application of the right amount of force in the
right spot and at the right angle. Assuming you overcome this initial hurdle,
the mechanism is spring-loaded in both directions and opens / closes with a
satisfying “clunk”. Once open, the touchscreen rests at a 30-degree
angle from the keyboard, which is equally suited for typing as it is for
watching videos. The hinge, back of the display, and base of the keyboard are
all cast from a suitably light, strong alloy. We didn’t detect any play in the
mechanism even after using the E7 for a month, but we did notice that our older
review unit was easier to open than the newer one. It’s worth noting that the
silver model features black accents, including the touchscreen, back of the display,
hinge mechanism, keyboard, camera window and flat edges of the end covers.

We’re really impressed with the keyboard on the E7. It’s one of the best we’ve
used in recent memory — on par with the keyboard on the HTC Arrive, but with an
aligned 4-row layout instead of a staggered 5-row design. Tactile feedback is
fantastic despite the short key travel and, unlike the N97 and N97 mini, the
space bar is centered properly.

The E7 features almost the exact same internals as the
N8: a somewhat lackluster 680MHz ARM 11 CPU, a Broadcom
BCM2727 GPU, 256MB of RAM, about 350MB of phone storage, and 16GB of internal
mass storage. You’ll also find a complete set of radios with support for UMTS /
HSPA (pentaband, including AWS), GSM / EDGE
(quadband), WiFi b / g / n, Bluetooth 3.0, and AGPS –
there’s even an FM receiver. Unlike the N8, there’s no MicroSD card slot for
additional mass storage, no Nokia 2mm charging port for legacy power sources,
and no FM transmitter to annoy your friends with on roadtrips. The E7 also
shares USB On-The-Go with its
sibling, which allows it to host a number of common USB devices such as flash
drives, self-powered hard drives, keyboards, and even optional accessories such
as Nokia’s own Digital Radio Headset.
Both the European and US variants ship with a USB On-The-Go adapter, HDMI
adapter, stereo headset, micro-USB cable, and micro-USB charger.

The E7 and N8 come with the same 1200mAh BL-4D battery which is not
user-replaceable, and without any visible Torx screws we’re not even sure how
to access the battery in a pinch. In our tests, call and reception quality
lived up to Nokia’s usual high standards and battery life was excellent for a
fully specced smartphone. The E7 handily beat our Android handsets with almost
three days of light duty — usually about 30 minutes worth of calls, a dozen
text messages, three email accounts and one Twitter account being monitored and
tended to (that’s hundreds of messages), plus the occasional photography (with
upload) and music playback each day. Note that during our battery tests we
enabled WiFi, turned off Bluetooth, and powered our devices down at night.
Needless to say, this is exactly the kind of endurance you’d expect from a
business-centric phone like the E7.

The E7 is equipped with an 8 megapixel EDoF
(Extended Depth of Field) camera and dual-LED flash. In typical Nokia fashion
the optics and sensor are top notch. This, together with superior image
processing results in beautiful shots. As you can see in our sample pictures,
color balance and exposure are excellent, and noise is kept under control
without obliterating detail. While it’s no match for the phenomenal N8, the E7
camera stands out amongst today’s smartphones. There’s however one massive,
glaring problem — the elephant in the room, if you will — and that’s the EDoF
lens. Depth of field becomes meaningless with this camera. Sure, everything
from 60cm (two feet) to infinity is perfectly in focus, but just like with a
fixed-focus lens it’s impossible to take closeup shots. Nokia waxes poetic
about how EDoF means no moving parts, allows for a thinner device, improves
shooting speed, and makes it easier for the average person to use the camera.
We’re reminded how the 8 megapixel sensor captures enough information that
images can be enlarged and cropped without a huge impact on quality. This is
all true, but we feel EDoF is too much of a compromise especially when it’s
combined with a decent sensor and optics. It just takes away an entire layer of
creativity from the picture taking experience when compared to an autofocus
lens.

When it comes to video recording, the E7 captures
smooth 720p HD content at 25fps with great results. EDoF actually helps here
since most phones don’t support continuous autofocus during video recording,
and instead rely on a sub-optimal preset focus, user-controlled initial focus,
or touch-to-focus during capture (like on the iPhone 4). While EDoF precludes
closeups, a digital zoom is available with little (if any) effect on video
quality. As a bonus, audio is recorded in stereo and sounds very clear. Our
sample video was recorded on the E7 and then edited with the bundled video
editor. Sadly, this caused the audio to get out of sync, which is a known bug.
The camera interface on the E7 is pretty much identical to the one on the N8
and is reasonably easy to use. Most controls are easily accessible, and
additional settings are nestled within menus. There’s no built-in panorama
mode, but a separate app with that functionality is available to download for
free from the Ovi Store (see sample here). We only have a
couple minor usability complaints: the shutter key is hard to find by feel, and
the camera window is flush with the body of the E7 making the glass prone to
scratches when the device is resting face up on a flat surface. Overall, the E7
camera delivers strong performance, but we really hope Nokia ditches EDoF and
reverts to using autofocus on future flagship products.

Software

We’re going to be frank here: Symbian breaks what is otherwise great hardware.
Most of what we mentioned about the software in our N8 review applies to
the E7 — it’s the same tired routine, a frustrating user experience that
quickly becomes a burden day-to-day. Now, before you get up in arms, you have
to remember that we’ve been Symbian users for a very long time, so we’re well
aware of the strengths and weaknesses of this once-glorious OS. The sad reality
is that when measured against the other major platforms Symbian is no longer
competitive, especially at the high-end of the market, and that’s even more
true today than it was six months ago after the launch of the N8. With that
disclaimer out of the way, let’s look at some specifics. Our European review
unit was running what was formerly known as) Symbian^3 PR1.1 while our US model was one
release behind at PR1.0, and both devices were using browser version 7.2. Other
than the firmware, the most obvious difference between the two appears to be
the bundled apps. Beyond the standard set of Nokia apps, which includes the Ovi
Store, our US phone came preloaded with Quickoffice, F-Secure, National
Geographic, Paramount Movie Teasers, OviMapsChallenge, Climate Mission, Psiloc
World Traveler, Vlingo, and topApps. The European variant also included CNN
Video and E!, but lost topApps.

Wrap-up

After spending several weeks with the Nokia E7,
there’s absolutely no doubt that the it’s one of the sexiest pieces of hardware
we’ve played with in recent months. Perhaps it’s not the greatest Communicator
Espoo has ever bestowed upon us, but it comes close and offers the most
balanced set of features of any Symbian device to date. This makes it Nokia’s de
facto flagship smartphone and Symbian’s ambassador for the foreseeable
future. Devoted Symbian fans will likely be unfazed by the official $679 asking
price for the E7 (unlocked and unsubsidized) and will seriously consider
picking one up (or its N8 sibling), but for the rest of us the E7 misses the
mark. While providing excellent battery life, proper multitasking, and some
unique functionality that will please power users, Symbian remains an
unmitigated disaster, with a sluggish, frustrating, and cosmetically antiquated
user experience. We just can’t recommend the E7, especially in light of what
the Google and Apple ecosystems have to offer. Dear Nokia, please give us an E7
with a higher pixel-density display, an autofocus camera, a current-generation
processor, and a tasty serving of Windows Phone. Oh, and do it soon — the
sharks are starting to smell blood.

Motorola Droid X2

The Droid X2 is very similar in form factor to the predecessor Droid X from 2010. The Droid X2 gets it processing power from a 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor combined with 512MB of RAM. The internal memory is 8GB of which 4GB is accessible. Secondary memory comes from the 8GB microSD Card preinstalled which is expandable up to 32GB, giving a maximum of 40GB. The screen is a 4.3 inch qHD (540×960) LCD behind a glass capacitive multi-touch digitizer. Like the iPhone 4’s Retina display, the pixels of the Droid X2 are very small and nearly indistinguishable with the naked eye. Still photos are captured at a maximum 8.1MP resolution and video may be recorded up to 720p HD. The radios of the Droid X2 include CDMA 800/1900, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, FM, and aGPS. The sensors include a proximity, light, accelerometer, and digital compass. The battery is a 1500mAh lithium-ion that Verizon states should deliver up to 480 minutes of usage and 220 hours of standby time.