Nokia C7 And C6 Hands-On [Video]

We've just ducked out of the final stages of the Nokia World 2010 opening keynote and grabbed some hands-on time with the new C6 and C7. The C6 certainly feels every inch of its mid-range intentions, with a blocky plastic chassis that feels chunky in the hand, though the C7's stainless steel casing is far more impressive (and slim).

Nokia isn't talking core hardware specifications, Anssi Vanjoki only saying that the new models were fast enough to whip through the menus and open apps without delay. Perhaps it's unfinished software – neither smartphone is due to reach the market until Q4 2010, after all – but our experience wasn't quite so slick. There was some lag in opening the app menu, and apps themselves could prove troublesome too.

Nokia C7 and C6 hands-on:

[vms 28b65688f14b84d61c61]

Still, if Nokia can price both handsets competitively – and, let's fact it, that's something they're usually pretty good at – then the Symbian^3 OS is a significant improvement on its predecessors. We'll have to spend more time with them to figure out whether that's enough to make for competitive smartphones, however.

Update: The  C6 will be €260 ($334) while the C7 will be €335 ($431) when they arrive later in the year.