I’ve had the Nokia E7 for about two weeks so I feel comfortable giving you my opinion of the device. Keep in mind that I’ve been a N8 user for about 5 months now so most of my thoughts will probably be in comparison to that device. I have a full review already started for the Nokia E7 that covers mostly the hardware aspects of it including my likes and dislikes. That is still about a week out so for now I’ll just give you my initial thoughts on the E7 along with some photos and a video quality sample. For those wondering about availability you can now buy the Nokia E7 at Amazon.com or Nokia.com in most countries.

Looking to buy? Click here to shop for the Nokia E7

I first got my hands on the Nokia E7 back in September while attending Nokia World. I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with it mainly because there was so much going on but one thing that stood out to me was the hardware. When you first hold the device and open the keyboard you really are amazed and how nice the keys are and how firm the hinge is. It feels like the device is expensive and not a cheap design. I think the weight of the E7, heavier than most other phones out right, helps make it feel expensive and solid. It’s not until you use it on a consistent basis for days on end that you really begin to appreciate the design as a whole.

Keyboard & Typing on the E7

One of the main selling points of the Nokia E7 is the physical keyboard and angled screen when the keyboard is revealed. It’s not hard to argue that this form factor is one of the best out there. The keys are spread out enough so that the keyboard doesn’t feel cramped and raised just enough to have nice tactile feedback. They are not raised so high that the buttons are hard to push, the firmness of the keys is just right. If you’ve used the Nokia N97 expect a similar feel. The spacebar is placed nicely and big enough to easily reach without much effort. The navigation keys work in almost all areas of the software so that you don’t need to touch the screen if you don’t want to. To get the secondary keys you can either push the yellow arrow or hold down any key for a few seconds.

Despite having a physical keyboard I sometimes prefer to punch out a quick sms or tweet with the onscreen touch keyboard. This is especially the case when you’re on the go and don’t want to fumble with opening the device. The large 4 inch screen and Symbian’s REALLY GOOD predictive/auto-correct text entry makes using the onscreen keyboard a joy to use. Not to mention that you have three levels of haptic feedback to choose from that gives the phone a slight vibration when your finger touches the screen each time. A few people have asked me on Twitter, “why use the touch keyboard when you have a real keyboard”. Again, sometimes it’s just more convenient to send a quick text or type a URL. I use the physical keyboard for long messages and emails, or if I already have it open.

Size and Screen of the E7

The phone is built nicely and feels much like the N8. A few differences are the menu key position and the camera on the back. The menu key is centered on the E7 and off to the left on the N8. I think Nokia has it backwards. I’d rather see the menu key centered on the N8 and off to the left on the E7, which actually makes it easier to press when the keyboard is open. On the back of the E7 it’s completely flat even where the camera is. A stark contrast to the raised camera block of the N8 which is a bit intrusive. This makes the E7 more sleek, but also more slippery. I almost want to put some kind of grip on the back so that it won’t fly out of my hands when I go to open the keyboard.

The screen on the E7 is beautiful. The ClearBlack Display makes it one of the best on the market right now, challenging Samsung’s Super AMOLED displays. The technology on both are very close but the E7 has an extra layer of black which makes blacks look even darker. The contrast of light and dark is stunning. You can especially notice the difference when ready text or looking at a colorful photo with lots of black in it.

I’ve been pretty vocal in the past about screens on a phone that are bigger than four inches. The E7 is a big phone and I don’t think I’d want to go any bigger. When I hold the HTC Evo in one hand, which has a larger screen than E7, it’s not very comfortable. I feel like it will pop out of my hand if I reach my thumb to the far side of the screen. I picked up my N8 today and honestly it’s the perfect size device. So I would say the E7’s four inch screen is a good size and wouldn’t want to go any bigger.

You shouldn’t be too worried about scratching the E7 screen since it has gorilla glass strength. I have been using my N8 without a screen protector for about 5 months and only have a few hairline scratches that you won’t notice with the screen is turned on. I normally keep the phone in my pants pocket without anything else in it so that does help keep it looking nice.

Nokia E7 Photo Samples

I’m not even 80% happy with the photos that the Nokia E7 is taking mainly because it doesn’t have autofocus. Instead it relies on EDOF technology which Mobile Fanatics writer Alvin just talked about with you guys in his article “Thoughts on EDOF camera technology instead of autofocus“. He made some great points and it is a great read if you’re on the fence about the E7. Check the comments for a few people that defend Nokia’s decision in using EDOF technology.

For now take a look at some of the good pictures that I’ve taken below…

Not bad, right? Some come out great, but I do have a few others that look washed out and lacking focus. Like this one…

I’ll be sharing more “bad” ones with you in another article. The E7 takes some great pictures compared to other 8MP cameraphones I’ve seen but doesn’t stack up well against previous Nokia devices that are years older.

Nokia E7 Video Sample

I recorded and edited this video completely with my E7. I’m extremely happy with the way it came out. The only negative I noticed is the volume limiting software is too sensitive. Each time there is a goal or a save in the hockey game the crowd erupts in cheer. You’ll notice that you can see people jump up but you don’t hear the cheers until a few seconds later. You really have to be there to know what I mean, but it is something I’ve noticed. I’m glad there is a volume spike limiter here but wish it wasn’t so sensitive. Take a look at the video and let me know what you think. You can view it in HD if you have a fast connection…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5HAgzPJCfo

Conclusion after 2 weeks

Overall I’m very happy with the Nokia E7 but there are a few glaring mistakes. The lack of expanded memory and a microSD slot is terrible. I’m stuck with 16GB on the E7 while I have 32GB on my N8. Also the camera is weak in comparison to previous devices Nokia released. The N97, N95, and I would even say the E72 takes better pictures because those have autofocus and the E7 doesn’t. As I mentioned earlier I’ll go into this more in my final E7 review. Be sure to read Alvin’s article over at Symbian Fanatics about EDOF cameras and the problem we’re having with them. Besides those two mistakes it’s hard to find flaws in the E7 especially if you’re already accustomed to Symbian. The software side of things is another issue if you’re an Android or iOS user.

Let me know if you have any questions by replying in the comments below or asking me on Twitter twitter.com/mikemacias.

Be sure to visit “My Nokia E7″ photo gallery here at Mobile Fanatics with some great closeup photos of the device in my hands.

You can buy the Nokia E7 at Amazon.com in the USA or Nokia.com in most countries.

Mike Macias has written 297 articles for The Mobile Fanatics.

Mike is the editor-in-chief of The Mobile Fanatics. Contact him via email or at his twitter page.

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