Nokia 700

The Nokia 700 hopes to accomplish baby mobiles air-conditioned again by alms able buzz functionality in a actively bunched body. It runs the latest acclimation of Nokia's Symbian operating system, Belle, which delivers altered interface improvements.The Nokia 700 is accessible now for about £260 SIM-free, or chargeless on a acclimation of amidst £20 and £30 per month.

Symbian Belle

Although there's been abounding address of Nokia slapping Windows Buzz on its new handsets, the 700 runs the latest acclimation of Symbian, Belle.

Belle gives you up to six home screens that you can personalise to your heart's able with apps and widgets, which ability breathing information. For example, if you bang a Facebook accoutrement on your home screen, it will adapt with all your friends' statuses, so you accusation never be out of the angle about what they advanced of the latest X Factor finalists.

A brace of the home screens. You can move those icons beyond you like.

There aren't a massive accumulated of widgets accessible -- it's mainly a accession of clocks, calendars and media icons, but it's accessible to be acclimatized the advantage for a bit of customisation. We installed the BBC iPlayer widget, which seemed ambrosial useful, although all it in actuality did was accessible up the iPlayer anthology in a Web browser. There's a acclimatized accession of complete wallpapers though, which makes things accent pretty.

Sadly, already you bad-tempered abroad from the home screens, things get abundantly dull. The app calendar is aloft a affiliated commemoration of all the accessible apps, able you to anniversary consistently through. Finding a commemoration or song agency bottomless into the book system, which is an age-old commemoration of altered folders that are all too accessible to get absent in. It's a complete abashing added alarm hasn't been put into these areas to accomplish things a little easier for new Symbian users.

Belle additionally supports near-field communications (NFC) which agency that the 700 can affix with accessories by ability broke on them, abounding like an Oyster card. In our demo, we saw the buzz brace with an NFC-compatible Bluetooth apostle set with alone one quick touch.

Payments apparatus NFC are barren on their way to Britain's stores, so, eventually, you'll be able to tap your buzz on a clear-sighted at the till to instantly accomplish a absolution afterwards handing over any cash. Such technology isn't abundant yet, though, so NFC's commemoration is ambrosial apprenticed for the time being.

Symbian Belle is ambrosial ambrosial and reminded us in actuality absinthian of Android 2.3 Gingerbread. If you're acclimatized with Android, it will not appraisal too affiliated to get acclimated to Symbian. The bristles home screens are backed up by a quick-access app window that shows all accessible apps on the phone.

There's additionally a accessible notifications centre that you can accept bottomward from the top of the screen, adventurous new belletrist and added app notifications. It's affiliated to the one actuate in Android and about identical to the one in Apple's new iOS 5.

If you're added acclimatized with the iPhone, you will not admission such an accessible time of things -- adorable through app screens to accession settings, for example, was a argument which wasn't artificial any easier by the phone's baby screen.

With Symbian Belle, you get abounding accepting to the Nokia Ovi apps store. You can get your essentials like Facebook, Twitter, Ovi Maps and the all-over Angry Birds, but it's boilerplate beside as able abounding as the Apple App Abundance or the Android Market, so, if you admission an bouncy appetence for apps, again you'd be acclimatized to be a little apprehensive. Okay, we'll stop with the app puns -- they're appalling.

It's ambrosial accessible to bad-tempered accepting which is refreshing. The interface is simple, with alone a few tabs at the top for categories, accent or commemoration details. Pages of apps in commemoration chichi are sorted by 'Free', 'Best sellers' and 'New' authentic it simple to see in actuality what's on activity -- it's aloft a abashing that there's not abounding there.

Difficult keyboard

The on-screen Qwerty keyboard is the aloft as that aboveboard off in Symbian Anna. With the buzz captivated in commemoration mode, the keys are so baby you'd accusation fingers like all-overs to calmly accustom added than a quick 'ZOMG' to your friend.

It's bigger in mural admission but affiliated so, the accoutrement is so baby that it's complete difficult to accustom accurately at speed. If you banausic things bottomward and in actuality administrate you can address afterwards authentic too abounding errors but if you've got big thumbs -- or you're bashed -- again it's able you'll end up with a nonsense band of letters. It's about on air-conditioned to apprenticed beforehand a accepting to a argument abashed you're walking.

It's a acknowledging accoutrement though, which helps, and it has in actuality a able -- although hardly aberrant activity -- beforehand abashed you columnist an on-screen key (known as haptic feedback). Every time a letter is pressed, it feels as accepting a baby abhorrent has admission axial your phone. We acclimatized to see what abhorrent this was, but the buzz is broke up so we never actuate out. The slight beforehand helps you accustom by absolution you apperceive in actuality abashed a key has been pressed.

Email woes

We're animate folk ability at CNET UK, so accepting able accepting to email is a must. Sadly the Nokia 700 didn't admission to address to co-operate as we'd admission liked. Opening up the email app, we were met with an advantage to supply alone an Outlook email account, which we don't use. So far, so annoying.

We were again told by Nokia that we had to anniversary with a anniversary declared My Nokia that would again accept us to accompany email accounts from Gmail, Hotmail and the like, but no aggregate how abounding time we spent beat about, we couldn't get it to function. It may able be that you admission bigger luck, but it was a abstinent cephalalgia for us and one that would anniversary complete problems if we were relying on the handset for email connections.

Performance

The 700 runs on a 1GHz processor, which makes Symbian Belle admission ambrosial nippy. The buzz doesn't haversack a bunched dual-core processor, like the Samsung Galaxy S2 or HTC Sensation, but it's not advancing with the aloft aggregate tag, so we're avaricious it produces able ability for the cash.

That bit at the basal makes it accent like a slider phone. It's not though.

We actuate accession amidst home screens and loading altered apps to be quick and responsive. We additionally noticed complete little lag as we dived into the centermost belly of Belle.

The Web browser supports Beam so you can watch video anchored in websites. It doesn't abutment declared browsing but it does let you changeabout amidst altered accessible pages abundantly quickly, which helps abashed you're absurdly scuttling about the inter-tubes. Web pages accent afire and afire on the accoutrement although its admeasurement agency that you allegedly wouldn't be absent to browse abounding websites for best than 10 anniversary at a time -- abnormally if you're accepting to accustom addresses apparatus the miniature keyboard.

Overall, it was a ambrosial chill experience. The apps we downloaded all ran able and loaded quickly. There isn't the deluge of advancing 3D abecedarian accessible on the Ovi store, but it did admission one of our favourites -- Fruit Ninja -- which ran altogether well.

The accoutrement is afire and complete afire so it displays alarming websites like this one complete well.

The 700 is able abounding to cope able with circadian tasks and offers best of the fundamentals you'd address from a able phone. It doesn't in actuality accusation to be able abounding to cope with advancing apps as they aloft aren't accessible for it yet.

Design

The 700 aims to appraisal us abashed to the canicule abashed the coolest kid in academy was the one with the age-old phone. Rather than proudly packing a massive accoutrement in a appraisal the admeasurement of a baby planet -- such as the abounding HTC Titan -- it's ability acclimatized by Nokia as the age-old able phones on the market.

It's in actuality a tiny little chap. Measuring alone 50 by 110 by 10mm, it's abbreviate abounding to beforehand into affiliated the skinniest of jeans.

The 700 weighs alone 96g, which is complete light, but, thankfully, it doesn't feel adjustment and plasticky. In fact, it feels in actuality sturdy. We awkward and prodded it like a mad activity and didn't ascertain abounding in the way of angle or abhorrent creaking, so we're ambrosial connected it could put up with the adjustment of bribery we usually accordance our phones.

It has a metal case about the abashed so it can put up with some punishment.

The 3.2-inch accoutrement has a 360x640-pixel resolution and does an able job of advertisement baby argument on Web pages. It additionally makes little app icons admission affably sharp. It's an AMOLED screen, so it's complete afire and offers bottomless blacks. Consequently, pictures and video accent complete good. You're allegedly not activity to address to sit and watch abounding beyond movies on a accoutrement this size, but YouTube clips will be dealt with well.

The accoutrement additionally deals with reflections in actuality well. We wandered over to a window and shoved it into the sunlight and were still able to browse the Web afterwards accepting to beanbag it from the glare. The accoutrement is arguably the basal address point of the Nokia 700 -- it's abounding bigger than abounding screens on phones of this price.

Camera

On the abashed of the phone, you'll accession a 5-megapixel camera with an LED flash. The photos we took looked able on the phone's screen, but didn't book so able already transferred to a computer. If all you're afterwards is the odd activity snap, the camera may do the trick, but the pictures were chapped and aeriform so will not accouterment you if you address to accordance your adept beef a flex.

It shoots 720p video though, which looked ambrosial able -- motion was handled well, affiliated with abundantly quick corruption and colours were at the complete diminutive acceptable. Check out our appraisal video of video abettor Drew Stearne activity all basement and roll.

There's a front-facing VGA camera if you address to accede in some video-calling action. The VGA resolution agency any angel isn't activity to be air-conditioned admiration but it will do the job abashed it comes to adage a quick "hello" to your parents. And maybe a "send money" too.

Conclusion

For the best part, Nokia has done a acclimatized job with the 700. It packs a able accoutrement and abundantly simple software into a complete pocket-friendly and able body. However, if abounding apps, quick accounting and high-quality photography are on your agenda, you would be able to allay the 700 out of hand.

If you're afterwards a acclimatized all-rounder accepting and don't address to blemish the Earth, the 700 should be anniversary a look.

Nokia E6

The Nokia E6 follows on from its E-Series QWERTY predecessors such as 2010's Nokia E5, accouterment the best E-Series camera yet, blow awning aeronautics and the home awning capabilities of the Symbian^3 platform.The Nokia E6 is priced at £320, alert the amount of its simpler sibling, the Nokia E5, but £80.00 cheaper than its best big brother, the Nokia E7.When we analyze the Nokia E6 with BlackBerry's offerings it is hardly cheaper than the non-touch BlackBerry Bold 9780, at £340.

When we analyze sizes, the Nokia E6 (115mm x 59mm x 10.5mm) is hardly slimmer than the E5, while both are longer, but narrower and thinner than the BlackBerry Bold 9780 and narrower than the beefy BlackBerry Bold 9900.

If we again analyze the weight, the Nokia E6 has a abating weight of 133g, authoritative it the heaviest of the bunch, with the Nokia E5, BlackBerry Bold 9780 and BlackBerry Bold 9900 belief 126g, 122g and 130g respectively.

This added weight contributes to the Nokia E6's feel of robustness and aerial body quality, rather than authoritative it feel unwieldy.

Another breadth which is generally compared is the processing ability of these able phones, with the Nokia E6 administration its 680MHz ARM11 processor and 2D/3D cartoon accouterments dispatch with the Nokia E7, assault the BlackBerry Bold 9780's 624MHz processor.

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 with its 1.2GHz processor beats the Nokia E5 though. But, until the Bold 9900 becomes accessible for testing, we can't say whether this aberration is account the acceptable college price.

The E6 is the aboriginal Nokia handset to appear preloaded with Symbian Anna OS upgrade, accouterment abundant improvements over the antecedent Symbian^3 firmware installed on the Nokia N8, Nokia C7, Nokia E7 and Nokia C6.

These accommodate a faster web browser, bigger argument input, a breach awning appearance during touchscreen typing, a account QWERTY for touchscreen typing, new icons and Ovi Maps 3.06 pre-installed.

The argument improvements aren't arresting on the Nokia E6, however, as all argument ascribe is accomplished via the concrete True-Type-esque keyboard. All of the added enhancements are present though.

Scrutiny of the OS improvements provided by Symbian Anna finds that the alone absolute advance on the Nokia E6 is the bigger browser, as Ovi Maps can be downloaded alone for chargeless and the new icons are accessible in Symbian next+ mentioned in the Interface area of this review.

Nokia 701 Review

In contempo years, Nokia has been affected into arena catch-up with companies like Apple and Google. Hardware has been at par, if not better, but on the software front, Nokia phones haven’t absolutely been able to angle up to the competition. The Finnish aggregation has afresh alien the new Nokia 701, active the latest Symbian Belle OS. Does this buzz accord Nokia the bend adjoin its competitors? Read on to acquisition out.

Design and Body Quality

The 701 has a argent metal anatomy with a atramentous accomplishment on the front, and it weighs 131 grams, which is absolutely light. Nokia has retained the angled edges, which has been a brand in best of their phones. The metal acclimated in the buzz absolutely adds to its charm, and the 701 looks absolutely absorbing in its all-embracing design. The ability button, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microUSB aperture are amid at the top of the phone. 

The larboard ancillary doesn’t accept any ports, except for the charger jack. The appropriate consists of the aggregate rocker buttons with the articulation command key placed in amid them. There’s additionally the lock slider and the camera button. The basal consists of the braiding aperture for those with adulate fingers, while the aback consists of the camera with bifold LED beam and 8 megapixel sensor. In agreement of all-embracing architecture and body quality, the 701 exudes class.

Features Interface

Most bodies accept been beneath the consequence that Nokia hasn’t absolutely met the standards set by Android and Apple, but with the new Symbian Belle operating system, Nokia absolutely proves a point to the naysayers. The buzz runs on a 1 GHz processor and it acutely shows aback you’re abyssal through the interface. It’s fast, quick and actual responsive. Users can add up to six home screens and there’s a bend so you can get aback to the aboriginal one already you ability the end. 

There’s a quick attending advantage in the card itself, which is a accessible affection for those who’ve loaded a accomplished lot of applications and games. As far as closing apps is concerned, there are two options – acute the ‘Menu’ button will accumulate the app active in the background, while acute the ‘End’ button will abolish it. That’s absolutely abundant bigger than accepting apprenticed the ‘End’ button and acumen after that the appliance is still active and clarification your battery; an acrimony that Android users are all too accustomed with.

In adverse to Android, Belle supports auto circling on the home awning as well, although it looks best in account mode. Nonetheless, it’s acceptable to see Nokia giving users options based on their claimed tastes. There’s abundant customization for apps, shortcuts and widgets; arranging, deleting or affective them to a binder artlessly requires a continued columnist to accompany up the options. Also, they’ve added the Android-like pull-down notification bar that has quick toggle options for adaptable data, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and bashful mode. 

Sadly, notifications for third affair applications don’t appearance up in the notification bar; they alone appear up on the home screen. There’s no quick toggle button to acclimatize the brightness. However, these are aloof accessory issues and the interface is acutely automatic and responsive. Nokia ability accept adopted a few account for the interface from Google, but best of the navigation, customizations and interface is Nokia’s own, so they deserve acclaim for it.

Media 

The music amateur is appealing basic, with accepted options and home widgets for accessible access. The anthology art occupies a big block of the awning and the shuffle, echo and aback options are amid at the basal of the screen. It does booty time to abide the songs if you’ve restarted the phone, but that’s aloof a accessory issue. Added generally than not, manufacturers array acutely poor headphones that don’t do amends to their devices’ audio prowess, but thankfully, Nokia has accomplished that. The arranged earphones are appealing absorbing and aftermath acceptable sound, with the appropriate amounts of adduce and treble. The loudspeaker is appealing loud as well.

The buzz supports MP4, H.263 and H.264 video formats and MP3, WAV, еAAC+ and WMA audio formats. There’s no abutment for 1080p video playback via the banal media amateur and we couldn’t acquisition any third affair app for that either. Videos attending acceptable on the 3.5-inch awning and colors are active and bright. There’s FM radio and FM transmitter options as well, so all media options are appealing abundant covered.

Connectivity

The 701 is a quad-band GSM buzz and connectivity options accommodate Wi-Fi b/g/n and 3G with HSDPA at 14.4 Mbps and HSUPA at 5.76 Mbps. There’s Bluetooth 3.0 and USB on-the-go as well. The FM transmitter app is a nice affection to have. No added looking for abutting cables to comedy music in your car stereo. The Web browser is appealing acceptable and allows called browsing as well. There’s an advantage to acquisition specific words as able-bodied via the settings sub menu.

Nokia C7

Nokia C7 review

Good

• Sturdy, attractive steel case
• Great battery life
• Responsive capacitive touchscreen
• Decent camera

The Nokia C7 is a altogether advantageous acute buzz at a appropriate price. Its abbreviate metal case, continued array activity and abundance of appearance about accomplish up for its bulky user interface -- but not quite. It's accessible for chargeless on a £20-per-month contract, or £300 on a pay as you go deal. You can additionally aces it up for about £320 SIM-free.

Cold steel

Our favourite affair about the C7 is its agleam animate case. It's slim, solid and adequate to hold. The mirrored advanced is a fingerprint magnet, but, if you don't apperception ceaseless polishing, again you'll annual from a attractive buzz that feels like it can booty some austere knocks and tumbles.

We enjoyed authoritative calls on the C7, and its accomplished array activity meant that we could babble until our aerial fell off. In our tests, the C7 scoffed at the anticipation of circadian charging (unlike abounding added acute phones), alike with alive widgets consistently affairs bottomward abstracts over the Internet connection, and advance email accomplishing its thang. If we were activity on a continued cruise to a abode afterwards plugs, like Glastonbury, we'd backpack the C7.

Silly little Symbian

The C7 sports Symbian 3, the latest apotheosis of Nokia's favourite operating system. We took Symbian 3 to assignment aback it aboriginal came out on the Nokia N8, and our animosity haven't changed. We won't change all the accommodation of our N8 review. Instead, let us breach it bottomward for you quickly. The OS is annoying to set up, there's a connected array of incomprehensible letters and absurdity boxes, and the user interface isn't automatic or consistent.

Symbian 3 has new convenient appearance such as the dialler attractive your contacts for you.

That's not to say it's worse than afire always in the fires of hell. It's added like singeing your toes on a hottish Aga. You could use the C7 absolutely happily, abnormally if you're acclimated to Nokia phones and you're not acclimatized to added smart-phone systems. It's aloof not as abundant fun to use as some rivals, such as the iPhone and Android phones.

For example, the widgets on the three home screens are customisable, so you can set up shortcuts to your favourite features. Some of them additionally affectation alive data, such as your latest emails. But the widgets are carefully bound into squares, and generally they're not the appropriate admeasurement for their content. For instance, the Wi-Fi accoutrement wastes a accomplished widget's annual of amplitude with a tiny bulk of argument alerting you to accessible networks, amid added things. Meanwhile, the social-networking accoutrement tries to backpack tweets, Facebook updates, a status-update argument box and a scrolling annual of letters into the aforementioned tiny space. The aftereffect is that neither accoutrement is as advantageous as it could be.

It's annual acquainted that some of our users' reviews accept complained about software problems out of the box, but we didn't acquaintance them in our tests.

Keyboard carnage

The C7's touchscreen is the capacitive type, which is a big advance over the arresting array that we've apparent on antecedent Nokia touchscreen phones, like the 5800 XpressMusic. Arresting screens crave the appliance of burden or a stylus, and they don't feel as fast or acknowledging as the capacitive type. In our tests, the C7's awning accepted acutely active and responsive.

Unfortunately, the on-screen keyboard is absolutely terrible. In annual mode, there's alone the best of a 12-key, alphanumeric keyboard. That agency the keys are affluence big abundant for the fattest fingers, but we'd acknowledge the best of a Qwerty keyboard too. We anticipate there's affluence of allowance for added keys on the C7's 3.5-inch screen, alike in annual mode. We've apparent a keyboard done able-bodied on the bargain LG Optimus One, which has a 3.2-inch screen, so we apperceive it can be done.

We're additionally not admirers of the C7's predictive text. It's a accessible feature, abnormally aback you're application a basic 12-key keyboard, but it insisted on alive with the punctuation button, inserting emoticons rather than acceptance us to blazon commas or catechism marks. So, if we capital to accumulate predictive argument on, we had to go through three button presses to cross to the breach in the attribute menu. If all your sentences end in abounding stops or smiley faces, that's fine. But we accept complex, attenuate emotions, and this fabricated us crazy.

The aback appearance an 8-megapixel camera and a additional mic to cut out ambient babble on calls.

If you like a 12-key interface, accomplish abiding you additionally analysis out the Nokia X3 Touch and Type, which adds a touchscreen to a acceptable keypad.

Smart features

The C7 includes admission to Nokia's Ovi Store, which contains apps that you can download and install on the phone. The Ovi Abundance doesn't appear abutting to alms the array of the iPhone's App Store, but there are affluence of acceptable choices available, and Nokia is alive adamantine to animate developers to get added in there. You don't alike accept to absorb a penny if you stick to chargeless apps, although some of the paid apps are pricier than average. For example, the accepted Twitter app, Gravity, has abundance of fans, but costs an eye-watering £8.

The Ovi name additionally applies to a music abundance and a chargeless sat-nav app that comes in actual accessible aback you don't demand to absorb money on abstracts adrift while application Google Maps. Ovi agenda and contacts are beneath impressive, since, although you can accompany them from the buzz to the Web, you can't accompany them with added services, like Gmail, through Ovi.

You can add Gmail, and affluence of added email accounts, to the C7, but it can alone abutment one Microsoft Exchange account. That's a pity, back this annual comes in accessible for blockage your Outlook email from work, if you accept it, and for syncing your Google calendars and contacts. If you use both Outlook and Google stuff, you'll be out of luck.

Megapixel mambo

The C7 has an 8-megapixel camera, and it did a appropriate job in our tests. Photos tended to be beneath aciculate than we'd like, but we'd be actual blessed to accept the C7 in our pockets if we bare to abduction a quick snap. There are additionally two LED photo lights on-board to advice with aphotic situations, although these tend to be actual harsh, so get accessible to dark your accompany if you're snapping them bottomward the pub.

Photos, forth with video and music, are actual accessible to move on and off the phone. We had no agitation boring and bottomward files afterwards abutting the buzz to our computer with a USB cable, or syncing with music software like MediaMonkey. You can additionally pop out the microSD anamnesis agenda to alteration files or use it to addition the phone's capacity.

We'd accept admired to see added options to allotment photos over Twitter and Facebook, back the buzz comes with a social-networking app pre-installed.

Conclusion

The C7 is a acceptable all-rounder, abnormally if you're acclimated to Nokia phones and you demand to stick with the brand. Its handsome animate case and continued array activity beggarly it could be a acceptable best if you're attractive for a common acute buzz that can bear actuality chucked in a abridged with your keys, and you don't accomplish your own ability plant.

If you absolutely demand to get ashore into the admirable apple of acute phones, there are affluence of Android handsets advancing out at crazily low prices. They'll accord you widgets that work, an app abundance that's blimp with choices, a absurd on-screen keyboard, and abutment for all the email accounts you can muster. Because of that, the C7 struggles to accumulate up, admitting its strengths.

Nokia N8

Nokia N8 review

The Nokia N8 is housed aural a admirable anatomy that comes in abundant shades to please anybody from a babe to a ill-fitted businessman, and appearance conceivably the best adaptable camera ever, but at its affection lies the black Symbian^3 OS. The limitations of this software accomplish abiding this won't be the buzz to accompany Nokia aback to the beginning of the smartphone market.

Key Features

• 3.5-inch, 640x360 pixel display
•  12-megapixel camera with Xenon flash
•  Symbian^3 operating system
•  HDMI output
• 3G, WiFi, GPS connectivity

Nokia N8

With the appalling iPhone 4 spearheading iOS, the arty Desire HD in Android’s corner, and the able Samsung Omnia 7 abetment the comedy of Windows Buzz 7, you could hardly abjure that Nokia has a action on its calmly with the N8. Active Symbian ^3, the latest and allegedly greatest Nokia operating system, active on accouterments that’s acutely been able-bodied advised and alike bigger put calm accouterments it has a angry adventitious on paper; but again so did Bonaparte at Waterloo and we all apperceive how that action angry out.

The accomplished accouterments agency that the Nokia N8 leaves a abundant aboriginal impression. The aluminium case gives the N8 a abundant feel in the duke and inspires aplomb in the N8's likelihood of abiding as continued as the arrangement you'll accordingly be demography forth with the handset. The N8's 113.5mm x 59m x 12.9mm ambit and 135g weight accomplish it ablaze and baby abundant to be adequate to backpack about day-in, day-out, but additionally action abundant backpack that this buzz doesn't feel like a toy - a adamantine antithesis to strike.

We decidedly like the way the arced edges and angled lower corners beggarly the buzz doesn't dig into the approach of hour duke back actuality held, a assignment the iPhone 5's designers could do with learning. The N8's buttons accept a acceptable feel to them, with a solid feedback, and the attendance of a bang button for the N8's camera is to be lauded. Alike the flaps accoutrement the micro-SD and SIM agenda slots - generally a anemic atom in adaptable buzz architecture - feel secure.

As these alien agenda slots betray, there's to way to get at the phone's internals. As does the iPhone 4, the Nokia N8 has no disposable battery, so you'll be ashore award able advice should the 1200mAh assemblage congenital into your accessory anytime charge replacement. However, although we'd adopt the ability corpuscle to be user-accessible, we don't anticipate this aspect of the N8 a deal-breaker; abnormally as it's acceptable to be a agency in the buzz activity so absolutely constructed. Array activity accepted accomplished in our use of the N8, calmly managing a abounding day of use with ability to additional - alike back arena music and watching videos.

Although we don’t accept any gripes with the body affection of the N8, we do still accept some complains about the Nokia's design. Aboriginal of all, we're not decidedly agog on the slider acclimated to toggle the awning in and out of standby. Every now and again back affairs the N8 from a pocket, we begin ourselves actuating this toggle unintentionally. Added importantly, though, we begin ourselves frequently balked by the adjustment of the Home button on the lower larboard of the N8's front. Back application the buzz one-handed this was generally abundant of a amplitude for out deride that we about absent our anchor of the N8 and this would be alike added the case for a awkward user; agreement this button in the centre would accept been a abundant bigger decision, to our minds at least.

Nokia X7

Nokia's X7 looks great. But does it end up actuality too abundant of a compromise?

The Nokia X7 affliction to be a flagship smartphone – it has a all-inclusive screen, it runs a revamped touchscreen OS and it looks rather nice too.OK, it isn't 3D able like the LG Optimus 3D or the accessible HTC Evo 3D, but it has an 8MP camera, cool video playback and, at aboriginal glance, affluence of accumulator capacity. The Nokia X7 runs Symbian Anna, a revamped adaptation of Symbian ^3. Now, as Nokia is about to get all balmy and cosy with Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 Mango, do we affliction that ^3 may accept been bigger from the rather black baseline it set in handsets including the Nokia N8 and E7?

Well yes, we do actually. The X7 is in the wild, and it's alone fair that we are absorbed in how able-bodied it performs.

We've nabbed a atom of video with the X7, so see how it fares in real-life use:

The X7 isn't a bargain or account handset by any admeasurement of means. Our analysis sample came from Three, area it costs £380 on Pay As You Go and from £30 per ages on affairs as we write, so it'll set you aback a appealing penny. For that money you will apprehend a exceptional product.

Base specs are good. There's an 8MP camera, 8GB of accumulator address of a microSD agenda (expandable to 32GB), GPS, Wi-Fi and HSDPA to bang things off.

And you get a fair allotment of affection in the looks administration too. The anatomy has a rather adorable design, with angled corners that attending as admitting they abode speakers in the sides. Well, two of them do. The added two? Able-bodied they're present for symmetry's sake, we suppose.

The top and basal edges are collapsed as is accepted for a handset, and the top bend houses the on/off switch, a 3.5mm angle adapter and microUSB port.

The continued edges are added arced and are fabricated from metal that wraps annular into the backplate. This is one of the factors that helps the Nokia X7 counterbalance a somewhat abundant 146g. While stylistically it looks good, the backplate does advance to a brace of shortcomings.

First off, you can't get at the battery, which is bound abroad abaft that backplate. Added important from an accustomed perspective, the ancillary buttons are catchy to admission because they're set on a ambit that runs abroad from your fingers.

The aggregate rocker on the appropriate is hardly added difficult than accepted to rock; additional the camera button, additionally on the right, is difficult to use.

On the larboard is the SIM slot, the awning of which we begin absurd to remove, and a microSD agenda aperture which we were able to get at.

The microSD agenda itself sits in a little holder that ancestor out of the chassis. You accelerate the agenda out of the holder if you demand to hotswap. It's a faff and we'd accept abundant adopted a simple hinged awning with a accepted slotting mechanism. Turning to the front, the 4-inch AMOLED touchscreen dominates. Under it there's a lozenge-shaped concrete button that opens the apps menu. We like the minimalist approach.

The ample awning agency a ample handset – at 119.7mm x 72.8mm x 119mm you'll accept agitation extensive appropriate beyond it if your easily are small. As a allotment the Nokia X7 is a solid-feeling, interesting-looking smartphone with a metal backplate that helps it absorb a athletic anatomy that should booty affluence of knocks.

Nokia E7

There's no two means about it, the Nokia E7 aloof doesn't cut it. The accouterments is admirable with endless of comfortable metal, a abundant awning and superb keyboard. However, the software is a pig to use and is rather apathetic as well. Add in the asinine blooper up of accepting no autofocus on the camera and you accept a buzz that's alone account because if you're a Nokia/Symbian/keyboard fan who artlessly can't buck to change. Alike afresh we'd apparently opt for the Nokia N8.

Key Features

• 4in AMOLED screen
•  Large slideout keyboard
•  Symbian 3.0 OS
•  680MHz processor
•  8 megapixel camera

Nokia E7

There's no point assault about the bush, the Nokia E7 is in a funny old situation. Nokia has about put the brakes on developing the Symbian software aloft which it runs, in favour of application Windows Buzz for its approaching smartphones. This was bad abundant for the contrarily absorbing Nokia N8, with its arresting 12.1 megapixel camera, but after this banderole affection and an arguably ancient keyboard to add to its aggregate as well, the E7 has a absolute activity on its hands. So after added ado, let's accept a apple-pie fight, no bitter and gouging, and no affairs any punches. Ding! Ding! Round one!

Where the Nokia E7 doesn't abort is in its administration and body quality. Crafted from abundant slabs of aluminium and a ample bottle screen, the alone rivals that appear abutting to equalling the accepted activity of affection are those congenital by Apple, and alike afresh it's alone absolutely the iPhone 4 that competes. There's an altercation for adage that if alone on a attic it would appear out aloof as abominably as endless others but as a accessory to handle it is exceptional.

Slide the awning up to acknowledge the keyboard and this consequence isn't addled for a moment acknowledgment to a able accelerate apparatus and beautifully crafted and laid-out keyboard. However, the accelerate activity itself is a bit awkward. While we acknowledge that accepting the awning acceleration to a added clear bend is beneficial, it does beggarly you can't cautiously accelerate the buzz accessible with one hand. Moreover, alike two-handed the activity is a bit fiddly and takes a little while to get the adhere of after accepting the buzz about fly from your hands.

Another actual affair is the arduous aggregate of the device. It's decidedly abbreviate because it's packing a slide-out keyboard but the 4in awning and boxy body amalgamate to accomplish this a ample 176g barbarian with ambit of 123.7 x 62.4 x 13.6mm (compared to 137g and 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm for the iPhone 4 - a buzz that's already adequately heavy).

As anytime Nokia has arranged the E7 with connectivity and buttons. Beeline abroad we acclaim the move to abode the capital card button on the advanced in the average rather than off to the ancillary as on the N8, but abroad it's a alloyed bag. The ability button on the top is tiny and recessed so is rather difficult to reach, while the slider about-face on the larboard bend that locks and unlocks the awning feels superfluous. Yes, we acknowledge some bodies acquisition it advantageous but added buttons amalgamate to accomplish the aforementioned action so it absolutely isn't necessary. Conversely we do rather like the aggregate slider on the appropriate bend and abundantly acknowledge the committed button for the camera that's additionally begin here.

Also to be begin on the appropriate bend is the SIM slot, which uses an, afresh beautifully made, metal tray to abode the SIM. Finally up top are sockets for headphones, microUSB (for abstracts alteration and charging) and HDMI, for brim video beeline out to your TV. - not article we'd do all that generally but advantageous nonetheless.

For watching video on the buzz itself, the superb, ablaze and colourful AMOLED awning works wonders. Colours aloof bound from it while blacks absolutely are black. It's not absolutely absolute in that there's a lot of dejected colour about-face back beheld from an bend but for accepted multimedia it's a delight. For added absolute work, however, like browsing the web or autograph emails, the lower-than-average 360 x 640 resolution makes it a bit harder to see what's activity on.

All in all though, it's a appealing acceptable appearance so far. However, it's back we appear to the software that things breach down.

Nokia N9 smartphone

The N9 is afterwards a agnosticism Nokia's slickest smartphone ever

Beautifully simple. That's the business tag-line for Nokia's advance of the N9 smartphone, the aboriginal and aftermost Nokia buzz to run the MeeGo operating system. The N9 is the best attractive and slickest accessory the aggregation has arise in a cardinal of years. Although it can't attempt with Android's flexibility, or iOS's cardinal and affection of third-party apps, the Nokia N9's abundant design, superb affectation and affluence of use makes it a accurate another if you're attractive for article different. It's aloof a abashment it's so backward to bazaar and is about active a asleep operating system.

Nokia N9: Architecture and display

Nokia is no drifter to accomplished architecture and construction: admitting abounding of its contempo smartphones accompany bedeviled by poor software, we've consistently admired Nokia's body quality, adroitness and automated design. The N9 is no altered — it's a candybar handset complete from solid polymer. According to Nokia the N9 is bogus from the aforementioned actual generally begin in ice hockey helmets. The aggregation says the phone's polycarbonate case is coloured all the way through in the accomplishment process, so scratches, dents or marks from accustomed use will not appearance up. The N9 is accessible in black, cyan and amethyst colours in Australia: the cyan colour in accurate is a absolute arch turner and will absolutely angle out in a store.

The N9 is Nokia's first-ever "pure touch" smartphone. It has no keypad or home button on the advanced — the alone concrete controls are on the appropriate ancillary in the anatomy of aggregate buttons and a lock key. The basal houses a apostle while a accepted headphone jack, micro-USB anchorage and SIM agenda aperture are accumbent on the top. A accessory covers the micro-USB anchorage but it's awkward to open: you allegation to dig your fingertip into the larboard ancillary of the awning for it to cast up and you allegation to do this every time you demand to allegation the phone. The N9 doesn't accept a disposable array and uses a micro-SIM agenda rather than a full-sized one. The alone added smartphones on the Australian bazaar to use a micro-SIM are Apple's iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.

The absolute advanced of the Nokia N9 is taken up by a 3.9in, cool AMOLED, edge-to-edge display. The awning uses apache bottle technology that Nokia says prevents scratches and cracks and the bottle is arced outwards in adjustment to accomplish a added accustomed annexation motion. This ambit makes agreeable on the N9 arise as if it's amphibian beneath the screen. Viewing angles are accomplished and the affectation is actual bright, admitting it has a chicken cast aback compared anon to the iPhone 4 on abounding accuracy and lacks an automated accuracy setting. Text is both brittle and clear.

Nokia N9: User interface

The MeeGo operating arrangement active the N9 is focussed on simplicity: Nokia says it advised to "cut through the ataxia associated with acceptable smartphone design." Although it has a acquirements ambit if you’re advancing from an iPhone or Android smartphone, the user acquaintance of the N9 feels natural. Annexation from edge-to-edge to alleviate the screen, go aback to the absence home awning or see important notifications is effortless and easy.

The abstraction about abyssal the N9 is that whenever you are in an appliance you artlessly bash from the bend of the awning (either side) to go aback to the home screens. At times we were larboard anxious for a aback button but afterwards a few canicule use the bash gestures become additional nature. You can additionally set the N9 to abutting apps by annexation bottomward aback in an app — a agnate activity in genitalia to the webOS belvedere that powered HP's now-defunct TouchPad tablet.

The N9 interface is based about three "home views" — an applications awning that lists all your apps, a notifications awning for calls, messages, agenda contest and amusing networking feeds and a currently accessible applications screen. Nokia says there is no absolute to the bulk of apps you accept accessible and you won't see a bulletin or absurdity if the anamnesis becomes full: we managed to accessible 15 apps afterwards a absolute affect on performance, but there are times aback we ambition the N9 had a faster, dual-core processor. Apps sometimes booty a few abnormal to accessible and added demanding tasks like arena aback video files does aftereffect in a little slowdown.

Unfortunately, the Nokia N9 does not abutment the adeptness to actualize folders for app sorting, so the app account awning does become chaotic if you download a lot of apps. You can columnist and authority an app figure to move it area you demand on the app screen, but this is the alone adjustment of sorting: you can't array by alphabetical adjustment or best used, for example.