Hands-on impressions of the Nokia E7

January 12, 2011 By Jeffrey Van Camp

Nokia tried to avoid CES, but we caught the company at a small booth in a side-show. Here is an out-of-focus run through of the Nokia E7, which has a full slide-out keyboard.

Nokia did its best to avoid CES this year, but we caught it at a small booth at the Digital Experience event. Nothing unreleased was on display, but we did get a chance to play with Nokia’s E7, which is a lot like the N8, but with a nice slide-out, bump-up keyboard. When I reviewed the N8, one of the odd things about it was how much it seemed like it should have a slide-out keyboard. All of the design cues pointed toward one, but it remained a touch-only phone. The E7 is what I wanted the N8 to be (minus a new OS).

Representatives constantly told me that the E7 is only for business and the N8 is only for consumers, but aside from the keyboard, this would work well as a consumer device. It has secure VPN and some other business features, but nothing that would hamper personal use. Both devices run Symbian v3.0, have AMOLED screens, and a smooth brushed metal look. However, the E7′s screen is a bit larger at 4 inches and the device just looks slicker, overall. It also has a better grip to it and feels more solid than the N8. Both have 16GB of internal storage, but the E7 lacks a MicroSD slot for expandable memory. The E7 also lacks an FM Transmitter. The camera’s differ, says a reader of ours. I didn’t get a chance to use the E7 camera, but it is 8MP and has a dual LED flash, while the N8 has a 12MP Carl Zeiss lens with a Xenon flash. There are many more small differences between the two units.

I’d love to see more of this kind of design from Nokia. From a hardware standpoint, this is a fantastic device. I just wish it wasn’t stuck running Symbian v3.0. I look forward to when they unveil their much-needed new MeeGo operating system. Nokia does not yet have a carrier contract to sell the E7 in the United States.

(Update: Made some changes to clarify differences between the N8 and E7.)

CES Demo

Here is a walk-through of the device by a Nokia representative. I apologize for the horrid lack of focus! I had a setting on the camera wrong.

Showing 8 comments

ani at 6:52am 13th January 2011 Epic fail, indeed. It is a 3.5mm headphone (and TV-Out) connector. There is no 2mm charging in E7, only microUSB charging.
1. @JeffreyVC at 8:19am 15th January 2011 I made it clear that there were other differences between them. This is merely an article of light impressions. Also, does anyone use those 2mm chargers anymore?
  1. kitewaver at 10:00pm 4th February 2011 Nobody will use a 2mm charger anymore. According to an EU regulation, all handset manufacturer agreed on one standard charger with micro USB plug. One charger for any mobile phone
edwinonair at 6:21am 13th January 2011 Epic fail: 1.25 minutes: standard 2,5 charging mechanism?!!!! I BET its a headphone plug-in!
ralphie02 at 6:45pm 12th January 2011 @jeffrey the author, not sure why you said that you dont see any difference between N8 and E7 but as far as I am concerned they have obvious differences and the 2 people above mentioned it (CBD vs standard AMOLED, 8mp vs 12mp camera, micro sd). in your comment, i can understand that you might have meant differences to distinguish the E7 as a business phone not a consumer phone. if so, then the video says it all - features such as vpn, secure vpn, etc....(from my understanding N8 doesnt have these....i could be wrong though :S) dont take it the wrong way, but the article seems like it was either rushed or just plain half-assed. would be nice if you clearly stated these in your article.
1. @JeffreyVC at 6:56pm 12th January 2011 The article has already been updated. Unfortunately, due to the hectic nature of CES, impressions in general are rushed. I apologize for the discrepencies on the camera. The screens, however, are both AMOLED according to Nokia's specifications. The E7 has an added ClearBlack display for better outdoor visibility.
Giorgos at 5:52pm 12th January 2011 Nokia N8 has 12Mp camera not 8!
Carman58 at 4:18pm 12th January 2011 AFAIK the camera system in the E7 is entirely different to the N8, being an EDOF camera with fixed focus and an LED flash as apposed to a 12 megapixel auto focus camera with xenon flash. The N8 supports micro sd card the E7 doesn't, and the E7 has CBD display instead of the standard AMOLED. Other than the slide out qwerty and screen size the OS is the same. Only what I've read, I own neither !!