I have just received the Nokia E7 for trial and I am excited to get a hands on with the device. After having the Nokia N8 trial back in December I have been waiting to see what the E7 had to offer that set it apart from the N8 and I knew I was about to find out.
First thing I noticed was the box size has been reduced considerably compared to the N8, but opening reveals the device packs all the cables you would need to take full advantage of your E7 experience.
Soon as you pick the E7 up you see the resemblance to the N8 but almost immediately notice the bigger display and the missing bump on the back which houses the camera on the N8.
The SIM tray is located on the right side of the device along with a volume rocker and dedicated camera button. I generally make it a point to play around with a device and try to figure out most of it for myself before looking at the manual. This turned out to quite a mistake, because I couldn't figure out what the volume rocker was for the longest time. Nokia has built what feels like a mini joystick to control the volume on the E7 nothing like I have seen before on a device.
The left side of the device now features the screen lock, which kind of felt out of place to me. I think I was getting used having the screen lock on the right side instead of the left but I found it difficult to lock my screen.
The front houses nothing but the home button on the large display. The home button is located in the center instead of on the left side like on the N8. I like this placement as it feels comfortable in both landscape on portrait modes.
The bottom has the microphone, and the top side has the microUSB port, HDMI port, 3.5 mm audio jack and the power button. A short press on the power button left you lock the screen or change audio profile while a long press would switch off your device.
Holding the device in its landscape mode with the lock-screen button facing you and the home button on your right and placing two fingers on the device display and pushing it back reveals the QWERTY keyboard, which itself is quite large. The QWERTY on the Nokia E7 has to be one of the best I have seen so far. The keys are well placed with the arrow keys on the right and quick access to numbers and capital letters. The slide mechanism feels very solid. What I really like about Nokia is that they evolve their devices and always make them better. I can see the lessons learned from the Nokia N97 and Nokia N900 all play a part in the E7 keyboard.
Turn the device around and you will see the 8MP camera with dual LED flash and the speaker grill at the bottom. The camera button requires a long press to start the camera application, which looks quite similar to other Symbian^3 devices. The device takes some nice scenic photos and high quality HD video. I do have some complaints about the camera which I will address in my review of the device.
The Nokia E7 is primarily a business device. It will go hand in hand with the Nokia N8 but cannot replace it in any way as an entertainment device or a camera phone. The E7's display and QWERTY keyboard are phenomenal and the best I have yet seen on a Nokia device (I can't wait to see the display on the X7 for comparison).
My first impressions on Nokia devices are generally quite good because Nokia knows how to design good smartphones. But now it is time for an extensive review as we dig deeper into the hardware and the software stay tuned for the unboxing and review of the Nokia E7.