Digital camera features
Aspect ratio
16:9
Camera resolution (megapixels)
8
Digital zoom
2x
Geotagging
Yes
Video mode
Yes
Display
Screen resolution
640x360
Screen size
3.5in
Display technology
AMOLED
Display aspect ratio
16:9
Number of colours
16700000
Touch screen
Capacitive
Accelerometer
Yes
Expansion card slots
Flash
Flash type
Dual LED
General
GPS
GPS receiver
Yes
GPS software
Yes
Navigation options
Walking mode
Maps
Australia, Europe, New Zealand, Western Europe
Free map updates
Yes
Map view
2D, 3D
Night mode
Yes
Location capture
Yes
Voice commands
Yes
Input
Keyboard type
Touch screen
Mail / Messaging
Messaging capabilities
E-mail, MMS, SMS
Microsoft Exchange support
Yes
Attachment editing
Yes
Attachment viewing
Yes
Memory
Mobile phone features
Form factor
Candy bar
Video calling
Yes
Mobile phone networks
Data tethering
Yes
Network bands
1800MHz (2G), 1900MHz (2G), 2100MHz (3G), 850MHz (2G), 850MHz (3G), 900MHz (2G), 900MHz (3G)
Multimedia
Radio support
FM
Voice recorder
Yes
Video playback
Yes
Music playback
Yes
FM transmitter
Yes
Text-to-speech
Yes
Phone features
Sound profiles
Yes
Speakerphone
Yes
Speed dialling
Yes
Vibration alert
Yes
Voice dialling
Yes
PIM (Personal Information Management) features
PIM features
Alarm, Calculator, Calendar, Notes, Stopwatch
Power
Battery type
Rechargeable
Removable battery
Yes
Power supply
Battery
Talk time
318min
Standby time
656hours
Battery size (milliamp hours - mAh)
1200
Size and weight
Weight
130g
Height
117.3mm
Width
56.8mm
Depth
10.5mm
Software
Operating system
Symbian^3
Storage
Internal storage
8GB
Supported memory media
microSD
Supported file formats
Warranty
Warranty length (months)
12
Wired connections
Wired Terminals / Ports
3.5mm headphone jack
Wireless connections
A2DP Bluetooth
Yes
Wireless technology supported
3G, Bluetooth, Wireless 802.11b, Wireless 802.11g, Wireless 802.11n
*Specifications are subject to change without notice. While every attempt has been made by IDG Communications in the production of these specifications, possible errors or omissions may still occur. IDG Communications neither assumes legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any product specifications supplied.
Nokia C7: Design and hardware
Much like Nokia's flagship N8 smartphone, the C7's physical design is one of its best features. The aluminium body feels excellent in your hand and build quality is superb. We aren't a fan of the mirror-style bezel surrounding the display; it attracts far too many fingerprints, is too reflective and is tough to keep clean. The C7's black aluminium finish — including a battery cover that doesn't rattle — along with well positioned power and volume keys make it comfortable to use. We also liked the physical answer, end and menu keys; they are backlit, and responsive.
The Nokia C7 uses a 3.5in AMOLED touchscreen — the same size as the iPhone 4's display. While it has a lower resolution than the iPhone, the capacitive touchscreen is responsive. It has excellent viewing angles and produces vibrant colours. Its performance in sunlight is also pleasing, though smaller text can often be difficult to read because of the resolution.
The Nokia C7 lacks the multitude of features of the flagship N8 — there is no HDMI output, no USB On-The-Go connectivity and no 12-megapixel camera. The C7 instead has an 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash. Images produced lack the wow factor of those produced by the N8, which remains the best camera phone on the market, but they are respectable and possess good detail.
Nokia C7: Software
The Nokia C7 is just the second smartphone released in Australia to run the Symbian^3 mobile operating system. Symbian^3 improves on its predecessor in many respects; it is smoother, faster and easier to use than the software on previous generation phones like the Nokia N97 mini.
Unfortunately, the Nokia C7's interface still looks inferior to most of its competition and is clunky to use compared to the iPhone and Android phones. Performance is sluggish, especially when you have a few apps open simultaneously. Multitouch zooming, particularly on maps and in the browser, isn't as slick as with competitors. Swiping through home screens results in a noticeable delay, and transitions between menus aren't smooth. The included Web browser takes longer to load and renders pages poorly in comparison to competing phones. It does display Flash, and there are a few nice touches (such as browser history shown as separate thumbnails). But text doesn't automatically fit the screen when zoomed and basic tasks like refreshing the page take way too many touches on the screen.
Despite Symbian^3 being a clear improvement over its predecessors, it's still evident the OS hasn't been designed with a touchscreen in mind. A perfect example is the on-screen keyboard; there is no QWERTY keyboard in portrait mode. Instead, the C7 has a numeric keypad with T9 predictive text input. You do get a full QWERTY keyboard if you rotate the phone to landscape mode, but the keys are fairly small and there are no intuitive, context-sensitive buttons like .com. Symbian^3 also brings up a new screen when you have to enter text, meaning you can't see any messages you are replying to as you are typing.
Nokia C7: Live widgets and Ovi service
The Symbian^3 OS offers a number of live widgets across the C7's three home screens, but they can't be resized. One handy widget allows you to add your favourite contacts to the home screen, while the social-networking widget displays recent status updates from Facebook and Twitter. It should let you to update your Facebook and Twitter status from the home screen, but instead tapping on the widget simply opens the full client to update your status. Text is too small and can't be resized, the app is noticeably slower to load than clients on other smartphones, and the size restrictions imposed on widgets means that tapping the up and down arrow buttons to read status updates is awkward.
Extra widgets can be downloaded from Nokia's Ovi Store. Though the Ovi Store has steadily improved since its release, it has only about 13,000 apps — far fewer than its competitors. There are still no official Symbian apps for Twitter, eBay, PayPal or Dropbox (to name just a few). There is also a distinct lack of apps that have a 'wow' factor, such as 3D games, and the store itself isn't as easy to use as its competitors.
