Treo Nostalgia

After the experience with my first Atrix randomly erasing its own 16GB of internal storage, I had to next prepare my Nokia trial devices for DHL shipment. With the E7 and Astound being gone, I was left with a paltry backup selection: shattered Samsung Captivate, non-AT&T 3G Nokia 9300, and an old Treo 750. What was I to do? While the Nokia 9300 seemed tempting with its qwerty, it was not backbit and I couldn't bare to be stuck using its antiquated OS on a daily basis. Even if the Captivate was not hampered by a shattered screen, its lags TouchWiz UI and pitiful GPS reliability was enough to keep me far, far away. By process of elimination, the Treo 750 won out as a temporary phone until the arrival of the replacement Atrix.

Upon wiping off the dust layer that had been caked on its touch screen, I held its plastic body in my hand and stared in awe. I wondered what to expect after spending so many years away from it. Years ago, I had received this as a refurb unit from Cingular and was not happier. I could recall opting for the camera-less design in thinking it would be useful for my work environment at the time...but I was mostly left with camera envy instead. Quite a few blog posts had been written with its hardware keys, and I was excited to be back! The old generation bulk from the tried-and-true design of the Treo platform still felt familiar in the palm of my hand, and it was almost as if I had never left. This was one of the first phones along with the Nokia E62 that shaped my current affinity for hardware keyboards on mobile devices. My interest in smartphones was in full force, and this was where it all began.

Amidst high spirits, there was still apprehension of going without certain luxuries I became accustomed to on recent models. GPS, Wi-Fi, and camera were such ubiquitous staples in my frequent adoption of new handsets, so I eventually learned to just expect them all the time. Going through my Maps/RunKeeper debacle with the Samsung Captivate did awaken me to how I took such features for granted, but it was different to not have them at all. If there was any silver lining, it was being able to hunt for third party freeware apps for Windows Mobile 6 Professional again. Unfortunately, the dark cloud involved the possibility of certain apps being discontinued over time.

Overall, using a classic unit like the Treo 750 did have potential in being a rewarding experience from a nostalgia perspective. In a generation where one automatically expected capacitive feedback on a touch slab form factor, it did not apologize for its chunky dimensions or squared resistive touch screen. At one point, this seemed to be very popular in the corporate world from my work memories of insurance execs toting clunky belt clips. Whether it was Palm or RIM, there was no doubt of their huge role in how business people corresponded with each other. I figured that having access to a hardware qwerty after bidding farewell to the Nokia E7 would be good for me to gradually ease back in to all-touch on the Atrix. The funny thing is that I had previously come back to the Treo, but that seemed more out of leisure instead of necessity.

ONE DAY LATER
The replacement to my ailing Atrix had arrived via mail, and it was time to once again retire the Treo 750 to its resting place on my desk. I doubt that I would have lasted more than a week on it, but it still was not bad in serving as a basic backup smartphone. Considering its age and chunky design, it did perform quite well in keeping me connected via voice calls, SMS, and social networks. Surprisingly, I took to the small touch screen and stylus with no trouble at all and made the best of what I had with Windows Mobile 6 Professional. First thing I knew to do was enable the ClearType feature to smooth out the UI font and make it more appealing to the eyes. Setting up bookmarks in Internet Explorer for Twitter, Facebook, and Accuweather was done right after I changed the ringtone from that AWFUL AT&T Willy Wonka-Kiddie-Cartoon default. What really put a smile on my face was the setup of Microsoft Exchange to initiate syncing of my Google PIM data. In less than a couple minutes, ALL contacts, calendar entries and recent emails were on the Treo 750 and I was ready to go! Being reunited with the tried-and-true Word Mobile app paired with a compact qwerty seemed surreal...especially with a reliable spell checker!

Unfortunately, the setbacks of an old phone began to sink in after that: clunky UI, lack of notification LED, low earpiece volume, paltry support for video playback, lags performance with stereo bluetooth enabled, sluggish support for media on a 16GB microSD card via miniSD adapter. I absolutely did my best to tolerate every single con on the Treo, but the issue with music playback via bluetooth was too much to bare. I had to set aside the Sony DR-BT50 and continue listening to music aloud, and this brought me to the next issue with the Windows Media app. As to be expected, the Palm could not handle the expanded 16GB capacity of the microSD card I installed with a miniSD adapter. Playing over 2000 tracks of music in shuffle mode was impossible with Windows Media constantly freezing, so I had to play them one at a time. Playing videos was out of the question since their resolution was too much for the Treo to handle. Internet Explorer did prove to be handy in displaying mobile websites despite not having flash, and even its UI was more appealing and intuitive than Symbian. The YouTube mobile app was adequate in its execution, but the smallish screen did not inspire any desire to view videos. Earpiece volume for voice calls was not great, and I found the speakerphone to be ten times better.

After considering the age of the Treo 750, I was honestly impressed with how content I could be when giving it a fair chance. Not only did I get the sensation of a time warp, but I also maintained my connection with the hardware keyboard after the Nokia E7. Churning out two blog posts in a short amount of time on the Treo was proof positive of how much I still loved a great tactile typing experience. Using the qwerty bar form factor also reminded me of how convenient it was for one-handed usage. It almost seemed a shame to not have the opportunity to use Google Maps or search out a working version of Twikini, but I was ready to return to Android and its advanced amenities. At the end of the day, my old Treo 750 had stepped up to the plate as a capable backup. At the last moment when I was prepared to complete this post and switch my SIAM to the new Atrix, a thought had occurred to me: the Nokia E7 serving as just an offline word processor seemed silly. Despite its arsenal of specs in comparison to the classic Palm, the S3 slider's QuickOffice app did not have a functional spell checker. I was also shocked to find that I liked the typing feel a little bit more on the Treo. Instead of saving up money to buy the Nokia, I wondered if I was better off simply holding to my old, yet functional Palm for mobile blogging. It turned out that I would need more time to weigh the pros and cons to make a decision on that. Either way, I was extremely pleased to be back with Android on the Atrix and wanted to get back to my laptop dock and Nokia BH-905i ASAP!!

Trent Smith, blogger
Sent from my Treo 750
http://about.me/trentsense/bio

An Atrix Atrocity

One evening I was out at the bowling alley to visit teammates from a league I had bowled with for two years. All was going fine with my Atrix when I decided to take photos of a Verizon R2D2 Droid phone someone showed to me. I simply quit the camera app and then placed the Moto in standby like I would normally do. It was minutes later when I attempted to find a picture in the Gallery that I noticed something wrong. Every single folder was showing zero content as an orange progress circle continued to spin in the upper right-hand corner. Assuming this was only a minor glitch, I tried a couple times to close out Gallery and open it again. The same glitch remained. Luckily, I had sent this photo to a friend via MMS, so it was saved in the messaging thread. Unfortunately, I was still not seeing anything appear in the phone's media storage. While the SD card files were still intact (mostly music), the Atrix internal drive was showing to be completely empty even under the settings menu. In addition to the Gallery appearing as wiped clean, the Tape-a-Talk app I had used to record my voice for CTIA no longer showed the long list of saved audio files! After spending the next 30 minutes powering on and off and pulling out the battery, I was DESPERATE, LIVID, AND FORLORN. Yes, I was ALL of those! Along with all my voice recordings I made during CTIA for my blog post writing, every video and photo from the CTIA Unplugged Lady Antebellum show had disappeared! The Motorola Atrix 4G had mysteriously formatted its own 16GB internal drive for NO apparent reason, and I had no backup of what had been erased. I assumed all was well with my Android phone, and I ended up getting f****d in the end.

There was no way I was planning to keep an unstable device that could potentially wipe out all stored files at a moment's notice, especially after losing content that was highly important for the writing of my CTIA blogpost. My Atrix was no longer trustworthy, but I only harbored ill will toward the device itself and not the particular Motorola model. In lieu of this, it was a plausible solution to seek a replacement unit of the same make and model. Honestly, if the Atrix was the best Android option, there was no sense in running to the Inspire 4G or another unlocked touch slab.

A replacement Atrix probably did seem like overkill for others, but I found it to be justified. There was a Twitter comment in response to my situation that basically stated that s**t happens and it could have been a simple glitch that could be fixed by an upcoming software update. WTF?! I personally needed a brief moment to muster a calm reaction instead of unleashing a volatile thread of all caps in the Twitterverse. In my opinion, this was not a simple glitch like a random lack of response from the fingerprint reader or capacitive touch screen...this was a random wipe of 16GB internal storage that erased ALL of my important files from the CTIA trip!!! PICTURES, VIDEOS, VOICE RECORDINGS ALL GONE!!! GONE!!! How anyone could simply have such a carefree attitude and tolerate keeping such a faulty device is beyond comprehension for me. I have a good amount of tolerance for malfunctions, for a phone is a machine at the end of the day and nothing is expected to be perfect. However, I have NEVER had a phone randomly format its own internal memory and delete important work files in the process...even the awful and craptastic Sony Ericsson P990 didn't pull such a cruel trick in the midst of its numerous freezes and random reboots! I guess it may not have been such a tragedy if I only had a few casual pictures and some movie files backed up on my Mac, but that was not the case. All I knew was that the first Atrix was not capable to be my daily companion anymore, no matter how soon a software "fix" is scheduled to arrive. The choices for me were quite clear: hold on to a "glitchy" Atrix and hope for an update or take action and switch to a replacement unit. I understood that risks were present for receiving another Atrix that could possess the same flaw, but it was worth it nonetheless. If I did happen to encounter the same problem on the second Atrix, I would have to handle that situation when it made itself known. In the meantime, I think it would have been foolish to remain with a device after it so horribly failed me in such a manner. True, the Atrix's erasing of my CTIA work files did indeed play a major factor over the faulty P990 and GPS-lacking Captivate.

Trent Smith, blogger
Sent from my Treo 750
http://about.me/trentsense/bio

Nokia E7 unboxing (WomWorld)

Evolution of Qwerty Usage/Respect for Nokia's Symbian

During my review of the Nokia E7 from WomWorld Nokia, I truly had a most amazing experience in using S3 with a hardware qwerty. In addition to the general presence of a keyboard, I also appreciated its great tactile feedback and spacious layout. I was confident in daily usage of being able to quickly compose word documents, emails, and SMS messages with the help of such a vital feature on a business-centric smartphone. I was once again in utmost contentment from being able to write freely at any time from portable keys at my thumbs, and I loved every minute of it. However, something struck me one evening when I had switched my SIM card back to the Motorola Atrix for a session with the laptop dock and USB mouse.

Sitting before the dock with its full keyboard and mouse really reminded me of how accustomed I had become with such a setup for my typical writing. Instead of sitting at a coffeeshop or Panera Bread targeting chiclet keys with thumbs, I could relax as if I was on my MacBook at home! Suddenly, the Nokia E7 began to lose some of its appeal as a writing machine for me although maintaining its overall credibility. While I could certainly capitalize on its portability, pressing phone buttons instead of keys on a laptop dock variant was not the same. I almost began to wonder if I was being ungrateful, for it was always better to have an onboard keyboard than none at all. After further thought upon using both devices, I realized that was not the case at all. There was an evolution in my mobile tech usage that occurred at the exact moment I docked my Atrix into the laptop accessory. Years of relying on portrait layouts and landscape sliders with function keys seemed to pass away as another concluded chapter in my tech life. I had graduated.

My preference finally expanded to consider another method in performing my writing tasks on-the-go. In lieu of this realization, I hoped this did not mean I would shun the likes of the E7 or any decent phone qwerty, for I still yearned for an Android version. But then a key word emerged to the forefront of my brain as the plausible factor in all this: Android. At the end of the day, it was my familiarity with the OS combined with WebTop UI functionality that made the laptop dock such a joy to use over the E7's qwerty. Even though I did like the appeal of sliding open landscape buttons to immediately write thoughts at a moment's notice, the dock helped me to cope with the Atrix's inability to grant this feature. Hours of getting used to Swype could then be blessed with occasional stints of mobile gadgetry with the laptop dock. In effect, that essentially made the Atrix much more appealing to me than a typical smartphone like the E7. While the touch OS experience also played a factor to a certain extent, Motorola's docking execution really struck a chord with me. It was more than just tethering a phone's data to a dedicated laptop or netbook (which is admittedly better in a number of ways), it was all about the transformation of a mobile device that allowed continued monitoring of onboard functions onscreen. I always thought that I would never turn down an opportunity to have an Android slider, but I had to admit that my Atrix laptop dock got me thinking otherwise.

The unfortunate part of this whole learning process was that the Nokia E7 gradually became a mobile Quickoffice word processor instead of a phone. While I loved having qwerty access on a sturdy slider supported by such pristine hardware, I did not feel much motivation to install my SIM card. As long as I could enable wifi on the device to link with my home network or my Atrix hotspot, I was more than content with the offline status of the E7. Such an arrangement did appear to be an insult to the Symbian device, but I did not think so. In the chance of anything happening to my Atrix 4G, I remained confident that no other available device/OS on the market could fill in as a backup replacement like the E7.

In the unfolding of all this recent mobile tech drama, the same old ending manifested itself in Android and Symbian remaining as favored OS platforms. True, that saying "we're all winners" did have a corny and lackluster appeal in certain situations, but in this case it felt most appropriate. In the midst of my being converted to Android, I never lost sight of how much Symbian had enriched my life since I adopted the E62 from Cingular Wireless years ago. Even through the debacle of the N97, there was still a place in my heart for the OS...and even the Nokia brand itself! Actually, I could even rephrase the ending as my continued fondness for Android and Nokia's Symbian! Through the years, no other brand like Nokia captured my interest in how it managed to consistently execute a harmonious marriage of hardware and software in each mobile device. Although I relied on Android and tolerated fragmentation on a number of fronts, there was (and still is) a steadfast respect for Nokia remaining true to itself with Symbian via set standards. Experiences gained throughout time passing had certainly changed my views, but there was no doubt that Nokia and Symbian would continue to be my first love. In all due respect, I thought it was amazing to still consider Nokia's Symbian as a backup to Android after its evolution over time to a touch interface.

Trent Smith, blogger
Sent from my Nokia E7
http://about.me/trentsense/bio

Nokia E7: Symbian's Last Mobile Marvel?

After so many months of delays and almost losing complete interest in the Nokia E7, I finally received a review unit from WomWorld! I didn't want to admit my continued fondness for Symbian as I toyed with the Atrix and its laptop dock, but there was no denying it when I received the DHL shipment notification via email. After spending time with the N8, I had missed the metallic feel and solid build surpassing the plastics of Motorola and Samsung. Cutting open the security tape on the box instantly put a smile on my face as I lifted the top cover. The E7 in person was much more than what I initially expected after so much waiting, and it was good to be back with Symbian once again.

The software aspect was simple since everything felt similar to the previous N8, so I focused mainly on the hardware offerings of the E7. In addition to a sleek metallic design, a larger 4inch screen with ClearBlack technology and a sliding keyboard really brought the device home for me! Symbian had never looked so glorious on a screen since the E90, and it felt like home to be reunited with writing on a mobile qwerty. ClearBlack most likely had something to do with how amazing graphics looked onscreen from the standard UI to movies and images. There was no doubt that the SuperAMOLED display of the Samsung Captivate had a contender in the E7. It was no surprise that the Nokia turned out to be a bit longer than both the Atrix and Captivate, yet thickness remained about the same. I favored the added weight from the build, for it gave the E7 a solid stance with its high-end appeal. From the metal of the outside body to the solid plastics and etching of chrome elements, I certainly had a homerun in a true E90 successor! Every single chiclet key on the sliding qwerty operated with sufficient tactile feedback and supported speedy thumb typing. The four row layout was a refreshing departure from the cramped quarters of the N900, N97, and N97 mini, and a centered space bar was enough to induce a happy dance! I initially had concern for the rising edges on either side of the keyboard, but this did not hinder my writing.

After the honeymoon period came to an end, this was when the flaws began to inevitably show. The 8 megapixel fixed focus camera certainly proved problematic for me due to its lack of autofocus, and I was still holding to bitterness from my time with the E5 variant. Despite the onslaught of blurred indoor photos, I was pleasantly surprised by an impressive HD video taken outdoors with the E7. Vibrant colors jumped off the screen as I watched via the viewfinder and I was nearly reminded of the N8. Playback of this footage on my Mac revealed audio capture that maintained depth in my spoken words despite a strong background wind. However, despite the great video recording, there was still no denying the setback of taking pictures without autofocus. Zooming to maximum limits seemed to produce favorable results indoors, but the fact that I had to go to this length proved inefficiency in the greatest manner for me. In that regard, the camera was barely passable at best. Another inconvenience I encountered involved having to repurchase Gravity and JoikuSpot Premium. I did not know if a recent software update had changed things with the OS or if I had been away from Symbian too long after the N8, but that was discouraging. In the Ovi Store, a general search for "joikuspot" produced no matching results and Gravity was not shown as previously purchased. I paid the $10USD again to get Gravity and bought JoikuSpot from its official site per suggestion of a Twitter contact. Despite the existence of a larger screen, there was still an absence of a portrait qwerty. However, this was not really a deal breaker since I could get used to using T9 like I had done on the N8. While Swype was available, it was only good for landscape qwerty which was unnecessary for me on the E7.

GPS remained reliable and fast for capturing positioning with Ovi Maps navigation, but Sports Tracker did show slight inaccuracy in recording mileage for my outside runs. While pocketing it for my runs, the bigger size posed no problem like the Inspire 4G. In comparison to the Atrix, unlocking the E7 screen was much more simple and convenient with the lock switch to view Sports Tracker progress.

Voice call quality was stellar with the second mic handling noise cancellation, and speakerphone calls were sufficient with plenty of volume. I even developed an appreciation for the wired headset.

The mono speaker gave a suitable listening experience for my multimedia files. Very little tinny feedback was sensed from my music library even in higher volume levels. Sitting the phone on a flat surface did pose a risk of sound muffling.

Signal reception on the AT&T 3G network was strong, just like on the N8, and I was once again impressed by having pentaband 3G. If I actually owned this E7 and wanted to switch from my current carrier to TMobile, I would have no trouble connecting to its 3G data!

The 1200mAh battery could grant about a day's worth of usage, but could easily require charging by early evening. Taking many voice calls through the day along with web browsing, watching movies, and listening to music via bluetooth could put a strain on the device if I was not careful.

Just like on the N8, having a LED charging indicator was convenient in determining whether the battery was fully charged.

One feature I was extremely glad to see come back was the torch function with the dual LED camera flash. The N8's Xenon prevented this feature from happening, but the E7 enabled it with a long press on the lock switch.

Vlingo was thoroughly useful in offering speech-to-text capability on the E7 and was handy in composing SMS on the go. Overall, I did not feel that it was as smooth as speech-to-text functions on the Inspire 4G or Atrix 4G.

I was thoroughly shocked by the improvement made to overall stability on the Nokia Social app! There was no sign of login errors or interface freezing, so I finally had a worthwhile alternative to the well-known Gravity application for social networking activities.

One crucial part of the E7 experience I had always taken for granted was the wired headset. With the Nokia BH-905i (also on loan from WomWorld), this was not a big issue, but with the Atrix and Inspire models it most certainly was. I noticed these two Android phones had no wired headsets packaged inside their boxes, so I was left with trying to use my own Sony headphones with inline mic/remote. Of course, using the mic with any of them proved unsuccessful, so I was left with only the speakerphone, earpiece, or a newer set of bluetooth headphones. My Sony DR-BT50 model was good for music, but was truly lackluster in voice call quality. This was where the wired in-ear headset became a dependable backup for me in being able to listen to music and still take calls efficiently while on-the-go. As terrific as the BH-905i unit was for its purpose, it seemed best suited for an environment where I would be sitting down for a while. No matter what Nokia model I ended up with, I could always be rest assured that a pair of wired headphones with at least a mic/call button would be in the box. With a high-end model like the E7, it was great to see Nokia still include this component when other manufacturers deemed it necessary to do otherwise.

Quickoffice worked like a charm on the E7 for the most part, but the spell check function was useless. Once I was forwarded to the Quickoffice mobile site to download the software for US English, there was a pop-up stating it was incompatible with the E7. After downloading it anyway, I was a bit surprised to find that it did not work. Each time I selected the feature, the word doc would disappear and I had to reopen it again. Strange. To make the situation even more peculiar, the spell check function eventually disappeared from the drop-down menu altogether! Was this a sign of the E7 exercising some self-preservation? As with previous iterations of onboard document editors, sluggish performance did affect Quickoffice once I reached approximately 1500 words in one document. Overall, I still liked the app, especially with its updated user interface.

NOTE: A recent software update to version 014.002 was released in the midst of this review. Though minor at 907kB, I did notice a slight increase in speed with the S3 UI on the phone. All of my apps and settings were left intact and I only had to restart a sync of my Google calendar and contacts via MfE.

There were two freezes experienced on the E7 in one week, and I learned to initiate a reboot by holding down the menu and power keys at the same time.

Basically, aside from the larger screen and form factor, sliding keyboard, lack of camera autofocus and microSD card slot, the E7 provided the same experience for me as the N8...actually a better experience. As a Symbian fan, I certainly did come to appreciate OS perks on hardware that could be considered Communicator-worthy in my eyes. In fact, I would go as far as to say that the E7 trumped the E90 for me with its combination of touch OS and sufficient tactile keyboarding. While its sliding form factor may not have been able to fully defeat the qwerty bar, I had to admit one concern that emerged my daily usage. Sliding open the qwerty on the smooth, metallic body posed a risk of dropping the E7, and I was initially worried when standing on a hard surface. Typing with the keypad was a joy and I had no problem reaching fast speeds with thumbs on the button layout. Even the tilt of the screen added viewing convenience when I typed in bed by holding the device above my chest as I laid on my back. Slight interference in comfortable typing came from when the microUSB port was occupied, but that was to be expected. With a spacious display and capable keyboard, one could promptly stay connected through everyday forms of correspondence. I really appreciated the multitasking capability of S3 with my daily usage and found it to be more visually appealing than my Atrix smartphone.

While I did not have a HDMI cable at home, there was one handy at the Nokia blogger room at CTIA! With the E7 HDMI OTG adapter, I was able to connect the phone with no trouble to the Samsung big screen and have the Symbian S3 UI reflected therein. Upon trying out the HDMI OTG feature, I found it to be quite impressive in granting a worthwhile multimedia experience on the television. Overall playback quality was indeed very good with amazing sound feedback. An interesting thing I noticed on the E7 screen was that a remote function was activated similar to the Motorola Atrix. As the film played on TV, the phone displayed the film title along with volume and playback controls and soft commands for “Details” and “Back”. Responsiveness of the UI was quick in navigating to different spots in the film via the progress bar, but with a slight delay in the resuming of audio. Unfortunately, there was no way to change the aspect ratio of the video in the HDMI OTG mode. For navigating the S3 interface, touch response was very good, but I did have a bit of lag in the first time I activated an Angry Birds game. This worked itself out in under a minute and I was able to resume normal game play.

Using the E7 also reminded me of the privilege of having an unlocked device in comparison to my Atrix locked to the AT&T network. In the early hours of one morning, I was writing additional content to to this blogpost via Quickoffice and saw a suggestion on Gravity to try the Picsel Smart application since I had mentioned trouble with the spell check feature. I had no idea of the upcoming adventure I was about to get myself into. Once again, Ovi Store proved useless when I did a general search for "picsel smart" or even "word document editor" with E7. I ended up wasting about 25 minutes on the horrible and sluggish S3 default web browser to find a download link for Picsel Smart. In a fit of frustration, I immediately decided to download Opera Mobile and resume my search. After about 5 minutes on the reliable and fast Opera browser, I FINALLY was able to download Picsel Smart...only to find out I hated its text execution in comparison to Quickoffice! While I was initially challenged to find patience in that situation, I was at least fortunate to have the freedom to download an app outside of the Ovi Store! I could only imagine the potential heartache if the E7 had been locked to download apps from only the Ovi Store which apparently didn't have Picsel Smart OR JoikuSpot available. This brought me back to my Atrix 4G being locked to the Android Marketplace for app downloads, and I once again understood the importance of rooting devices. Rooting or hacking was never primarily about breaking rules, but about giving end-users the freedom to use a device to its full potential even if a carrier thought otherwise. At that moment, I was proud to have an unlocked device in my hand once again.

For the most part, the E7 did turn out to be a worthwhile device that took hardware features a step further from the N8 with a 4inch ClearBlack display and sliding qwerty. The cons mentioned earlier were eventually tolerated for the sake of those two elements alone. There was no doubt that I had finally found a writing companion for my blogposts and emails, and I did not want to part with it. I could seriously consider buying one of my own as a back up to my Atrix 4G, but not as my main device due to such strong ties to the Android OS. As a Symbian user, the E7 was most definitely as close to perfect as phone could ever get for me. With Nokia's recent announcement of a partnership with Microsoft, I believed E7 to be the last great bastian of Symbian's prowess. Despite my reluctance to adopt Symbian as my primary OS over Android, I was nonetheless grateful to WomWorld Nokia for giving me the opportunity to review such a mobile marvel.

Trent Smith, blogger
Sent from my Nokia E7
http://about.me/trentsense/bio

Motorola Atrix 4G HD test footage

Nokia E7 HD test footage

Nokia E7 Unboxing from WomWorld Nokia

Words could never express my gratitude to WomWorld for giving me an opportunity to finally review the Nokia E7! After so many months of delays, I now am sitting here with a SILVER unit that practically matches my own MacBook Aluminum. While I typically go crazy for any mobile tech unboxing I encounter, there is a special reason for me to be even more so at this point. WomWorld Nokia actually put forth the effort to send me an E7 review unit with a package sleeve signed by CEO Stephen Elop AND printed with a phone image depicting my online name, website, and previous quote made about the E7!! How amazing is that?! To make things even better, I have also been invited by WomWorld Nokia to attend the upcoming CTIA Wireless event in Orlando, Florida!

I am not sure if this is day two or three, but I am working to complete my official YouTube unboxing video as I continue to spend time with this device and record findings via QuickOffice. So far, my impressions are very positive for the build quality of the E7 being extremely solid with its sliding qwerty mechanism and metallic body. I cannot help but be reminded of the legendary E90 every time I use Symbian on this phone, and it is indeed a great feeling! As much as I tend to be partial to Android and my latest Atrix phone, the E7 easily beats it in terms of hardware craftsmanship and video playback capabilities thus far. Being back with an onboard keyboard versus a separate laptop dock does indeed remind me of the joy I get from being able to write on-the-go at a moments notice! Speaking of writing, the E7 keyboard is very sufficient for speedy thumb typing. There is a right amount of balance between a soft key press and clicky sensation that grant adequate feedback for me. Instead of the E90, I am reminded of the HTC Touch Pro 2 as I type this blogpost right now.

The only challenge that still manages to irritate me since the E5 is the fixed focus camera. I shall elaborate more on that in my upcoming review, and hope that between now and then I can get used to being without autofocus.

With all that said, I am looking forward to taking on other apps such as Ovi Maps Navigation and Sports Tracker as my duration of this WomWorld review period continues! Thanks again to WomWorld Nokia for this amazing opportunity, for I almost thought it would never come.

In the meantime, all of you take care and stay safe!

Trent Smith, blogger
Sent from my Nokia E7
http://about.me/trentsense/bio