Symbian is just about to be knocked off the top-spot as the market-leading smartphone platform. Worse yet, while loyal users are still sitting on a fence about replacing their E71/E72s Nokia is deciding whether to euthanize Symbian. Question marks have been hanging over the platform’s approach to touchscreen since day one. And now it’s got WP7 at its very doorstep. It’s the worst of times for the Nokia E7. But it’s up to it to show that the Eseries are still open for business.
Key features
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
Penta-band 3G with 10.2 Mbps HSDPA and 2 Mbps HSUPA
Anodized aluminum unibody
4" 16M-color ClearBlack AMOLED capacitive touchscreen of 640 x 360 pixel resolution
Scratch resistant Gorilla glass display
8 megapixel fixed-focus camera with LED flash
720p video recording @ 25fps
Symbian^3 OS
680 MHz ARM 11 CPU and 256 MB RAM
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
microHDMI port 720p TV-out functionality
GPS receiver with A-GPS support and free lifetime voice-guided navigation
Digital compass
16GB of on-board storage
Active noise cancellation with a dedicated mic
DivX and XviD video support
Built-in accelerometer and proximity sensor
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
Stereo FM Radio with RDS, FM transmitter
microUSB port with USB On-the-go
Flash and Java support for the web browser
Stereo Bluetooth 3.0
Good quality audio
Smart and voice dialing
Office document editor preinstalled
Main disadvantages
Symbian^3 is still behind Android and iOS usability standards
Ovi store content is inferior to Android market and App Store
Fixed-focus on an 8 megapixel camera is just wrong
Camera interface is decidedly outdated
Battery is not user-replaceable
No microSD card slot
Now, Nokia reconfirmed their commitment to Symbian in the short-term, but that doesn’t mean much. If the platform is to be scrapped, users will learn it the hard way when regular updates stop coming in. Occasional bug-fixes is the best they can hope to get. And good software support is among of the main reasons why people still choose Nokia.
However, how much short-term can stretch depends on the success of the current Symbian^3 devices. So if the Nokia E7 does at least as well on the market as the N8, it might as well buy the platform a few extra years.
Nokia E7 at ours
As you can see from the lists above, the Nokia E7 is basically a larger N8, trading the camera bulk for a a larger and better display and a full QWERTY keyboard. To be honest though, when we reviewed the N8 it was mostly the camera we were delighted with. Then, that was five months ago and the bar is set higher now.
The Nokia E7 certainly won’t have an easy ride throughout this review. Let’s see how it handles the pressure.
Sony S2: The Sony S2 Android tablet has a clamshell design with dual 5.5in touchscreens
review by shimunny
Android tablets are flying thick and fast as the platform continues to evolve, but most of them look similar. Sony has attempted to distinguish itself with the S2: a clamshell Android tablet with dual-screens.
Check out our guide to the best upcoming tablets in 2011and the best Android tablets on the market.
The Sony S2 Android tablet has two 5.5in capacitive touch screens with a resolution of 1024x480. The S2 tablet utilises a clamshell or flip design, so the screens fold onto each other when the tablet is closed. Sony says the S2 Android tablet is designed for "mobile communication and entertainment".
The Sony S2 Android tablet runs the Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb platform that is specifically designed for tablet devices, but Sony has tweaked the user interface to take advantage of the dual-screen form factor. Amongst the Sony additions are an e-reader app with split screen UI, and an e-mail app that shows the keyboard on one screen and e-mails on the other. The split screen design also seems ideal for gaming, with the controls displayed on the bottom screen and the game on the top. Like Sony's other Android tablet, the S1, the S2 is PlayStation certified, meaning it will be compatible with PlayStation games available through the Android Market.
The Sony S2 Android tablet has a rear-facing camera, Wi-Fi, DLNA, Bluetooth and GPS connectivity, and will also be offered in a 3G version. The Sony S2 Android tablet is powered by a 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, but full specifications have yet to be revealed.
The Sony S2 will also be renamed closer to its launch date — the S2 is merely a codename.
Australian consumers should expect the Sony S2 Android tablet to hit the shelves towards the end of the year, though pricing and concrete availability details have yet to be revealed.
The N900 is the first phone from Nokia based on the Maemo Platform. Nokia has expressed their intentions to use Maemo in high-end phones. The Nokia N900 is a Touchscreen, full QWERTY slider phone and one of most talked about members of the N-Series recently.
Does the first phone built on the top of this relatively new phone platform live up to it’s expectations ? Find out in our N900 review.
N900 Specs
The phone boasts of some pretty impressive specs including powerful ARM Cortex-A8 600MHz Processor with 256 MB of RAM and a 3.5 inch 800x480 pixel resistive touchscreen display.
TI OMAP 3430: ARM Cortex-A8 600 MHz CPU , OpenGL ES 2.0 support
Maemo 5 OS with Multiple Homescreens
800x480 pixel touchscreen display supporting upto 16 million colors
32GB inbuilt memory plus microSD slot.
Slide-out QWERTY keyboard.
5 MP Camera with Dual LED Flash ,16:9 video recording
Media player , FM transmitter
Kickstand
Wi-Fi , Bluetooth v2.1 , GPS
3.5 mm jack for Audio /TV-Out
MicroB Browser powered by Mozilla technology with full Flash 9.4 support
Skype , Google Talk IM Integration
Internet calling
Email : Mail for Exchange, IMAP, POP3, SMTP
OVI Maps with geotagging
BL-5J 1320mAh with USB Charging
Maemo has been around since 2005
Maemo has been around since 2005 in the name of the Internet Tablet OS. The Nokia 770 pictured below was one of the first internet tablets from Nokia. Sadly, the internet tablets 700, N800,N810 never went mainstream and was sold only in limited countries. It was popular amongst the linux and hacker community but not amongst consumers.Some of the main drawbacks about these devices was that they were generally slow and lacked GSM / phone capabilities.
Linux meets Phone
The N900 is the first linux-based Phone from Nokia. The operating system on the Nokia N900 is Maemo 5 (Fremantle). Maemo is based on the popular Debian linux distribution. The N900 can be seen as an internet tablet with phone capabilities.
Package Contents
The phone comes in a black package with an image of the phone embossed on the top. This is pretty similar to the N97/ N97 Mini’s Box
Nokia N900 with a stylus
Nokia Battery (BL-5J)
Nokia High Efficiency Charger (AC-10)
Nokia Stereo Headset (WH-205)
Video out cable (CA-75U)
Nokia charger adaptor (CA-146C)
Cleaning cloth
User Guide
In addition to the above we also got a converter plug for old nokia chargers . There’s no memory card / extra stylus / carry case in the retail package.
Design
This is a touchscreen phone with a slide-out QWERTY keypad and it’s certainly big when you compare the N900 to other devices such as Nokia E72 or the iPhone . But We’ve had no issues holding the phone. It felt comfortable to grip. We have no complaints about the placement of controls on the phone except for the weird placement of the hardware-unlock key on the right. Its not the most pocketable phone out there but it still fits in your pocket.
In the front the screen is surrounded by a glossy bezel which bears the letters nokia on the left and n900 on the right. There are no physical buttons in the front, not even call and hangup keys.
Although the phone is designed to be used in the landscape mode for the most part , the phone functionality needs to be used in portrait mode as the earpiece , proximity sensor and video calling camera are present on the top when the phone is used in portrait mode.
You will also find a notification light which can toggle between white , blue and yellow.The is a speaker on either side of the phone which justifies the entertainment capability of the device.
On the left you would find the microUSB port which is used for both charging and PC connectivity .
On the right is the hardware unlock key , 3.5 mm audio jack which also serves as a TV-out.
The stylus finds a place at the bottom.
On the top sits the volume rocker keys , power button and the camera key.
On the rear sits the 5 Megapixel Camera surrounded by a kick stand. The camera shutter encloses the lens and the dual LED flash.
The microSD card slot is beneath the real panel which houses the battery and SIM card.
Display
The phone is designed to be used mainly in landscape mode and widescreen display is a proof of that. The 800x480 display is crisp and colors are reproduced quite well. Although the phone uses a resistive touchscreen, it’s very responsive and finger friendly.
Keyboard
The keyboard is made up of 3 rows and the keys provide good feedback. But since the long press for numbers was not there at the time of this review , it’s bit hard to use. But the keyboard is powerful as there are tons of a keyboard shortcuts available out of the box
Build Quality
Although the build quality of the phone is good , the plastic material used makes it feel a tad cheap considering the price of the phone. The phone does not make any noise when gripped and will certainly survive a fall or two. Wish Nokia uses some metal on Maemo phones in future. You would notice this especially when you put the N900 next to the N97 Mini which uses a lot of metal on the exterior. Sadly a huge percentage of users give a lot of importance to looks and the N900 might not win the Beauty Pageant for Mobile Phones if at all there was one. The N900 is a beast when it comes to multitasking and web browsing, but the looks are too soft.
UI Maemo 5
The Maemo UI is just lovely and there is lot of eye candy out of the box. The notifications system esp for incoming messages is super cool. The interface certainly has a learning curve but any sensible user will pick it up easily. The multitasking is just fabulous and demonstrates the power of Maemo
This is what you call multitasking
Phone
Call quality was pretty good and the phone functionality is pretty simple and easy to use. One cool feature is the integration of contacts with Google Talk / Skype contacts. One downside of the phone app is a lack of DTMF support out of the box. Signal strength was never an issue on GSM or 3G. And the best part is Skype calling right from your phonebook.
Connectivity
Since this device evolved from an internet tablet , connectivity is flawless. You can choose to automatically switch to Wi-Fi from 3G / GPRS when you are near a hotspot. The only issue is many phone networks don’t support automatic configuration of access points on the phone. So you might have to go the manually route.
The GPS receiver gets a fix pretty soon and is pretty accurate.
Messaging
The Maemo 5 OS uses the concept of Conversations to group your SMS and IM such as Google Talk , Skype. This is good if you communicate a lot and don’t want to juggle between apps.
There is no native MMS support from there is a already a app from the community which brings MMS
Email works pretty well and there is support for all a lot of email providers such as gmail,yahoo,hotmail and exchange . There is support for multiple accounts and multiple attachments. it supports full HTML content within the email.
Web Browsing
This device deserves the title of the best internet device. Considering the fact that this device has it’s roots in an Internet tablet it does not disappoint. In fact it amazes.The N900 has one of the best browsers in the market and brings PC-like browsing to the palm of your hand.
The Flash 9.4 support means that you can view full flash content within a webpage. Youtube, Vimeo are work fine. You can even connect the phone to your TV and watch the action on the big screen.
Watch the speed test of the N900 over 3G and Wi-Fi which uses the Flash capability
The Browser does not support multiple tabs but you have to open multiple windows. Zooming into a webpage is accomplished by double tapping , circular motion or using volume keys.
There’s a special hover mode which lets you use select text using a cursor and interact with page elements. You can invoke this mode by swiping your finger from the left of the screen. Swiping from the right side shows your browsing history for that window in a visual manner.
You can also install the AdBlock Plus plugin so that you can disable ads and save some bandwidth. You can also save web pages and later view them offline.
Memory
The device comes with 32 GB of inbuilt memory and has a microSD slot which supports upto 16GB cards.
Multimedia
Camera
The Camera does take some great pictures and the fixed focus video recording which enables macro video recording is cool. But sadly the camera application is a bit slow. You might actually miss the moment in the process of capturing. The sharing plugins like pixelpipe make photo sharing and blogging a piece of cake. You can even email multiple photos and upload them in a jiffy
This is one area where we feel let down. The impressive hardware does not have apps which utilize the hardware like on other platforms.
Apps worth mentioning are Qik (video broadcasting), Angry Birds which is a cool game, Pixel Pipe which makes photo/video sharing a piece of cake. There is also Sketch which lets you draw on a canvas.
There is a Documents-To-Go viewer edition trial which lets you view office docs. The news from the maemo community is that KOffice is available.
Skype works flawlessly including SkypeOut calls.
There are some apps which have been developed by the community and the linux nature of the platform might bring a lot more apps to the platform. Nokia just needs to bring more developers on board the Maemo platform.
Baseball game developed by India Games for Maemo
We hope to see more applications in the coming months / years for the Maemo Platform as Nokia has grand plans for Maemo with a Maemo6 device expected to launch towards end of this year.
Battery Life
The 1320 mAh battery on the device practically lasts for a day and half of light use and just about a day for heavy use. As with all phones it lasts longer over Wi-Fi compared to 3G / EDGE. The spec sheets don’t indicate battery life .At Nokia World , we heard that battery life was linked to user behavior and the device was built to last a day for average use. We don’t complain about the battery life but a 1500 mAh battery would have given that extra run time ! And one tip , you don’t have wait for the battery to go empty before charging the device. Charge it when the the battery indicator is at about 50% and its charges faster.
What’s Hot
Maemo UI and Notifications
Crisp 800x480 pixel Display
Mutitasking
Multiple Homescreens and Widgets
Browser
Skype , IM
Email client with HTML support
5MP Camera with Fixed Focus Recording
Responsive touchscreen
Barely need to use stylus
Divx Movie playback.
Audio quality though headphones
USB Charging
OTA updates
GPS
PDF Reader , File Manager
What’s Not
Slow Camera app
No Long press for numbers / symbols.
Weird placement of Hardware unlock key
Lack of Portrait mode
Lack of Apps
Limited Settings and Configurations when compared to other Nokia phones
No Multitouch
Conclusion
If you are a person who loves to be online 24/7 , be it browsing the web, chatting with friends or checking email the N900 is a great option. It’s a must have gadget for Linux enthusiasts or hackers. This is not for the average consumer but a geeky crowd. If you are one of those geeks you won’t be disappointed. And if you are a fan of Open Source the N900 is for you ! Although the N900 lacks in a few areas , it’s pretty powerful in some areas. It’s the first phone based on the Maemo platform and it’s obviously not complete. Maemo is a new ray hope for Nokia and the N900 is a live example of that hope . You may want to experience it or wait for the next device
Maemo has been around since 2005 in the name of the Internet Tablet OS. The Nokia 770 pictured below was one of the first internet tablets from Nokia. Sadly, the internet tablets 700, N800,N810 never went mainstream and was sold only in limited countries. It was popular amongst the linux and hacker community but not amongst consumers.Some of the main drawbacks about these devices was that they were generally slow and lacked GSM / phone capabilities.
