Nokia may be down but not out in smartphone race

MANILA, Philippines—Mobile phone maker Nokia has not given up on the local smartphone race just yet as it delivers its most advanced device model—the E7—in the hands of tech-savvy Filipino consumers.

Nokia last week announced that the new E7, would work just as well for people tracking their investment portfolios, or users who just want to play Angry Birds.

The device will hit the country’s stores by the end of the month.

The effort put in by designers to make the Symbian-powered E7 not just stylish, but also easy to use, is obvious.

With a 4-inch display, the E7 sports Nokia’s biggest screen ever for a touchphone. This is made more impressive by the Amoled technology used—its colors being worlds apart from other smartphones.

At first glance, the E7 takes styling cues from its brother, the Nokia N8, but who’s complaining?

The E7 feels just as sturdy as the N8, which is surprising because sliding the screen up from the phone’s left side will reveal a hidden qwerty key pad.

Unlike other phones that have moving parts, the E7 feels like a solid block.

According to Benoit Nalin of Nokia Philippines, the keyboard under the E7’s screen will suit more than just one market segment.

For fun-loving users who enjoy watching videos and playing games, the E7’s sensitive touchscreen will work fine.

However, more business-minded users who need to send long e-mail messages or take notes are likely to appreciate the tactile feel of a keyboard.

“People are continuing to look for solutions that suit both their work and personal life. In business circles, this is known as the ‘consumerization’ of IT,” Nalin said.

The Nokia E7 also gives people the confidence to bring their own smartphones to the workplace to connect securely to corporate messaging servers.

At the same time, with 16-gigabytes of storage, a high-resolution screen, and an 8-megapixel camera, the E7 can more than satisfy the needs of users who like to live a large part of their lives through Facebook and Twitter.

Available in dark gray and silver white, the E7 will retail for about P32,000.