Nokia C7 Unboxing & First-Impressions [Video]
Whether or not 28 days between its announcement and it shipping sets a new record for the company, the Nokia C7 is a welcome addition to the Finn's smartphone line-up. Slotting into the company's mainstream range, it's the second Symbian^3 device after the Nokia N8 we reviewed a few days ago. More first-impressions, plus hands-on photos and video after the cut.
Unlike the N8's well-stocked box, the C7 makes do with a somewhat sparser selection of accessories. There's a compact 2.5mm charger (rather than a microUSB charger, though you can rejuice the C7 via its microUSB port) and a basic wired stereo headset with an in-line call answer button and microphone, together with a very short – as in only a couple of inches – USB cable, getting-started guide and the phone itself. Unlike the N8 there's no HDMI output, but the C7 does support USB On The Go; you'll have to buy the required cable yourself, though, since Nokia don't bundle one.
Nokia C7 unboxing & hands-on:
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The C7 itself feels sturdy and expensive, with lashings of metal around the bezel and the battery cover, and a glass front panel covering the 3.5-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen. As on the N8 that runs at 640 x 360 resolution, and in fact our first impression is that both devices run pretty much identically. Nokia's usual suite of apps – Ovi Maps, a shortcut to the Ovi Store, the video editing software – are all loaded, and you have three homescreens to customize, each with up to six widgets.
On the back there's an 8-megapixel camera with autofocus and a dual-LED flash; no Xenon or 12-megapixels as on the N8, but it does make the C7 slimmer and less likely to catch on a pocket or bag. It'll record 720p HD 25fps video clips, too. The C7 also shares the N8's superlative connectivity: as well as WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0 there's quadband GSM/EDGE and five-band WCDMA, making the handset suitable for both AT&T and T-Mobile in the US, and use across Europe.
At a casual glance, then, the C7 arguably offers the best of the N8 at a considerable saving: it's €335 pre-tax and subsidies, but we'd imagine carrier deals will bring that down to a free device and a relatively cheap monthly agreement. Whether it's worth the money is still to be seen, however; we'll be working that out for the full SlashGear review.
