Nokia X7-00 Review: Nokia catches up

Introduction

Slowly but surely, Nokia catches up in the smartphone race with the new Nokia X7-00. Sleek, solid, and stylish, the high-end model is one of the first phones to carry the Symbian Anna - a step up for Nokia’s proprietary software which is lagging behind Android and iOS. Nokia has been struggling to keep up with the times and the competitors as it made a number of drastic business changes for the past few months. Whether or not it will succeed with its software and regain its former stature, it’s too early to tell. But with the X7-00, it’s clear that Symbian is still alive and will at least not give up without a fight.

Specifications

DISPLAY	AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors; 360 x 640 pixels, 4.0 inches
DESIGN	Bar form
DIMENSIONS	119.7 x 62.8 x 11.9 mm, 85 cc
WEIGHT	146 g
MEMORY	256 MB RAM, 1 GB ROM
CONNECTIVITY	3G, Bluetooth, EDGE, GPRS, USB, Wi-Fi
OS	Symbian Anna
CPU	680 MHz ARM 11 processor, Broadcom BCM2727 GPU
FEATURES	Player:	Music: eAAC+/MP3/WAV/WMV player Video: DivX/XviD/H.264/H.263/MP4/WMV player
	Radio:	Stereo FM radio with RDS
	Camera:	8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels, dual LED flash, fixed focus
	Video:	720p@25fps
	Others:	Digital compass, Flash Lite, Office Document reader, Voice Memo
BATTERY	Standard battery, Li-Ion 1200 mAh (BL-5K)
COLORS	Dark Steel, Silver Steel

Form

Front: Earpiece, Light sensor, Touchscreen display, Menu button. Back: Camera, LED flash. Top: Micro USB/charging port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, Power/Screen lock button. Bottom: Mouthpiece. Left: Memory card slot, SIM card slot. Right: Volume rocker and Camera button.

With AMOLED touchscreen behind Gorilla glass display, stainless steel panels, and a truly edgy design, the Nokia X7-00 is a stand-out among its simple, all-plastic XpressMusic predecessors and Xseries brothers. It does look like what it is: a portable media player. And, not including that of the low-end models, Nokia phones’ hardware durability has never been doubted. We absolutely adore the phone’s build and design. We just have to point out that the SIM card and MicroSD card ports are uncomfortable to operate, the camera is exposed to damage, and there are only two loudspeakers, although the phone looks like it has four.

Functionality

The Nokia X7-00 could have been under the Nseries instead because it’s just great not just for music but entertainment in general. Great visuals, great audio, great touchscreen response – it’s a great multimedia device. Anyone would love using this all-around device for media playback, gaming, and, up to some extent, content creation.

Features

As expected from a high-end device, the Nokia X7-00 is feature-rich with plenty of media playback support and connectivity options, comfortable messaging and text input, and excellent hardware to enhance its multimedia features. Even if it is not a business-oriented phone, we’re happy to see that there’s at least a Quick Office reader. Office editor is available but it’s not for free.

Anyone will find it easy to appreciate what the Nokia X7-00 can offer, but of course we need to point out a few misses. The camera produces great images but it’s a fixed focus one instead of an autofocus.Video recording can go up to 720p, but it’s hardly the HD you can truly appreciate. The battery life may feel insufficient for some especially because other phones in its category and price range have much better. All in all the features are very attractive and useful, and also well worth the price.

Focus on: Symbian Anna OS

Although it’s not the first or the only smartphone in the market that runs on Symbian Anna, the attention regarding the software is focused on this phone because it’s a high-end model and the screen size makes it easier to see the beauty and test the usability of its user interface. After our experience with the Nokia X7-00, we can say there’s a significant amount of improvement with Symbian, especially with the interface. We’re not really wowed, but it is worth noting.

Considering the competitors and the context of the smartphone race, we must say, however, that Symbian isn’t picking up enough pace. Users of course want a big software ecosystem for them to get the third party applications they need, but Symbian is still struggling. Except for Symbian fans, most consumers are also left confused with Nokia’s future: with the branding of the Ovi, partnership with Windows Mobile, and changes with its corporate strategies.

The future of Symbian is a big question mark right now, but whether we’re talking about the present or the future, one thing’s certain:  other operating systems are still ahead. Nokia’s hardware and durability is of course established and trusted by many, including us. We are just not sure if it’s enough to convince consumers to stay loyal and to keep rooting for them.

The Verdict

Although everyone’s focus, including ours, is on its operating system and the context of the market, the Nokia X7-00 is still a highly desirable high-end smartphone. The form, functionality, and the features are superb albeit still imperfect. The Nokia X7-00 is also most likely the best Symbian smartphone out in the market to date. Even if its reign will inevitably be short-lived, its user would still be glad to own a great device which can outlive those disposable droids that are merely depending on its software’s popularity.

MODEL	X7-00
MANUFACTURER	Nokia
PROS	Fixed focus camera, No document or video/image editors, uncomfortable-to-operate SIM card and MicroSD slots
CONS	Symbian OS is still behind in terms of usability and software ecosystem
PRICE	Nokia X7-00 Philippine Price
CATEGORY	High-end
RATING*	5.0	Form	4.8 out of 5.0
	4.5	Functionality
	5.0	Features
RECOMMENDATION	An excellent choice.

*5 Excellent. 4 Very Good. 3 Average. 2 Fair. 1 Poor.

Posted in: Gadget Review