Nokia C7 caught with 8 megapixel camera?
By Thomas Ricker 
posted June 10th 2010 7:55AM
posted June 10th 2010 7:55AM
posted June 10th 2010 7:55AM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
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Gorgeous.
@Paul Elmy
Hideously ugly - imho, but beauty is in the eye....
It will be a variant of the N8 innards.
Nokia builds hw platforms and then reuses them, like everybody else.
Probably a lot like N8, but with lesser hw specs (esp. camera) and a different software mix to 'differentiate' it artificially to another 'segement'.
This is what is so nice about Apple (sorry about the comparison) : they don't think me as a representative of the business, multimedia, core or whatever micro-segment.
Still waiting for the top-end hardware Meego powered N9.
That has to deliver.
Everything else in N's lineup in 2010 will be old (600Mhz ARM11, with low spec screens) and not very advanced in UX (Sym^3).
Nokia has one chance and one change only in 2010: N9.
They better not screw it up :)
@Paul Elmy
Sarcasm I hope.
@vasra
so you don't like how Nokia gives you a plethora of choices to suit different people's needs and budgets? Nokia offers unparalleled value and functionality in these midrange phones. It probably doesn't matter to you, but it really helps out others who might not be able to afford iphones.
and dont think that just because they have an old ARM chip that it is gimped. One thing that tends to not get coverage is the top of the line gpu that it has. Because of the symbian architecture and hardware accelerated UI cpu doesn't have to be as beefy. It actually compares quite favorably in graphics test compared to other phones http://nokiamobileblog.com/benchmarks-nokia-n8-vs-iphone-3gs-vs-omnia-hd-vs-ipad/
sure, it would be even better and perform much greater than the other offerings if they had one clocked at around 800, but it is by no means necessary considering how light the os is compared to iphone and android. and it also helps out on the battery front as well.
don't believe everything engadget tells you. snapdragons aren't needed for everything. just heavy, not as mature os's
@Paul Elmy
I agree, really like it. But I bet it won't be out too soon.
Just wait for NOKLA to come out with the same looking mobile, about tomorrow. :D
@Paul Elmy This reminds me of the Samsung phones. and i don't really find it "gorgeous"...esp after having seen the N8
@vasra Not N8, it's more like an E71 with a touch screen.
@lockstockedd
I dislike the fact that they remove nice N features from E series and nice E features from N series. I've used my share of Nokia phones in the past 19 years.
Memory chips are cheap, that is quite artificial market segmentation to differentiate the products like that. No tech reasons behind it.
I'd rather have the N & E features, but Nokia won't give them to me.
As a Nokia customer I am not right. They are. Nothing I can do about it, except buy something else that doesn't try to segment me to different groups.
If you like it, that's fine. I don't dispute that.
Further, don't get me wrong, there's lots to like about Nokia phones: I like the build quality of much of the E series, really good phone/sms features (they work best in biz and comparing to HTC-Androids/iPhones isn't fair as they are still not there yet as *phones*).
But as a modern smartphone platform they are really old and tired in the hw game. CPU's are old, screen resolution is ancient, etc. Only the cams are nice (ref N8).
I could perhaps dig their nice gpu, IF :
1) Nokia told me what it is (they don't, they intentionally hide the SoC details inside N8)
2) Their non-geek (i.e. non-maemo) phone actually shipped with a good gpu (N8 not out yet)
3) N8 "gpu accelerated UI" didn't look so darned slow
As it stands now, the ball's is in Nokia's court to prove their game.
As for the superiority of symbian platgorm being light, I've used my share of dog-slow Symbians and even they require horse power in order not to be "click-wait-click-wait-slow" devices.
Also, more and more SW requires raw cpu power, like flash, AR-software, mapping, etc.
Even you should admit that 680Mhz ARM11 is old and tired in Q3/2010. That's c. 2 year old app processor.
By Q3/2010 the minimum should be 800Mhz Cortex A8 and even that wouldn't be top end. By Q4 1.2 dual Core snapdragons, maybe even Tegra 2s will be shipping. How old and tired do you think ARM11 will look then, when software makers start targeting these new hardware capabilities?
BTW, I don't use Engadget as my source of data/analysis. I'm not a moron.
I just comment here.
@hm9408
Nope. E71 is a 2008 platform. It's latest incarnation is E73, that's it.
This is a different platform. Most likely N8 or some 5000 variant.
Considering it's going to ship with gpu accelerated Sym^3, I'd put my money on stripped down version of the same platform as N8 was built on.
@vasra Unfortunately the Symbian OS starting to become very tired. There's elements, as you mentioned (SMS/Call functionality) that are great, but it's really designed for machines 20 years ago.
Nokia has dropped the ball, they know it, people like me (upgraded from N95 to iPhone 3G) know it, the market will sort it out I suppose. Either they'll ditch Symbian and start from scratch, or die a slow painful death.
On the phone in the article, not really that pretty. Looks like cheap Chinese crap to me.
@sortius
The major problems with symbian are very well understood by Nokia. Might do well to look at their roadmap for the next few years. Symbian isn't even going to be the very high end anymore, furthermore the main problems concerning symbian as a touchscreen OS revolve around the use of AVKON which is indeed dead and buried after Symbian^3. Symbian^3 represents transition from AVKON to Direct UI and QT, two things that'll bring together all of Nokia's endeavors in both mid& high end market segments. Qt is already in use in Meego/Maemo and will be used in 2011 onwards and will mark a big change for Nokia in terms of developers, UI, applications etc.
But as for your comments concerning the N8's processor and UI. I've seen many many videos of it in action and I've yet to see the lag you speak of, I really don't see it.
Further, it makes no sense chucking processing power (and battery life) at something if it isn't going to be noticed at all. Half the android phones that run those Snapdragon processors that everyone seems to be jizzing over NEED the GHz processors just so they won't lag the F*** out (Java virtual Engine and all that jazz).
I'll put my money on the iPhone 4 being under 1Ghz. As an aside, the Arm11 in the N8 is supposedly underclocked from a 800-1000 Mhz arm1176.
Nokia has a habit of overclocking their processors in the firmware updates that it releases after the phone's release.
@vasra
"By Q3/2010 the minimum should be 800Mhz Cortex A8"
Why. Specifically.
@MarkAnderson
Check the competition in the 450EUR unsubsidized phone range for Q3/2010 and you start to get the picture.
Everything else and their grandma will be packing a minimum 1GHz Cortex A8 + a decent gpu.
ARM11 @ 600 ain't gonna cut it, regardless of how 'light' Symbian is.
Symbian may be light, but most apps aren't. Not everything can be off-loaded to the gpu.
@Paul Elmy
Are you kidding? This back could be the fugliest I've seen on a high end Nokia phone which are usually elegant.
@vasra
I didn't ask you about price. I want to know why a phone should have to have a minimum of an 800MHz A8 to function properly.
Specifically.
@hm9408 My thoughts exactly
@MarkAnderson
Of course it doesn't need 800Mhz A8.
You can get by with a 100Mhz DSP.
It just won't much of a multimedia phone or very snappy.
Companies have to target competition, not their own internal platform specs.
@vasra
This device will run on the same platform s the N8. Check out the latest video of that device. Its smooth as butter, some of the commenters that use it actually say its faster than Nexus 1 with Froyo, on par with Iphone. So, it is very likely this $ 270 phone, unlocked, will be just as snappy as an Iphone. Win. Specs do not matter if they only drive an OS.
unusual shape for a Nokia device
@Nokia N900 Not really...looks like a narrower E72...with a touchscreen. :-)
@Nokia N900 bottom looks like samsung, back like a palm pre or blackberry. Some might even say the big touchscreen on the front looks like an iPhone, but those people are crazy I tell you!
@Nokia N900
reminds me of E66
@Nokia N900
I don't really get the Nokia design department. They seem to have a pattern for the E-series, a big of Blackberry look. And they do have this more technical square-edged design for the X-series what makes them very recognizable. Something what a good brand should always have in mind.
But the C-series? Every single phone in this series has a totally different design. It's like they just pull a random casing out of the box for every new C-product. I don't get it.
The buttons on the side look so darn cheap ...
but i might just be super-biased by the EVO and iPhone build qualities :/
@Fliesen Nope, you've seen what good quality products produced by companies who know they need to produce good solid products to get customers.
Nokia are still a little confused on this front..
Thuogh that metal one floating around looks pretty decent
@Fliesen
Well N8 is all aluminium. More metal than iphone 4G and costs 200 euros less.
This will cost even less. Would have still wanted to see some metal on the back on this one.
lol so this will be N8 cheap version? And still with a 8MP camera.
@YpoCaramel
Yeah but the megapixels are not the whole story. N8 has the best sensor yet seen in phones.
@huzzlehoff No doubt. Sensor performance, post processing and lens quality still factor in.
8 megapixel camera's husband won't like this headline.
It doesn't look that Nokia-ery.
@Jub
It looks like an E71/72 with a touch screen instead of qwerty keyboard.
@Tes Ironically, I just sent a txt on my E72 and the C7 didn't remind me of it at all. Maybe it's the lack of chrome, and pretty much every E72 design feature. Obviously it has some Nokia attribute but still seems new.
@Jub
Well obviously as a budget phone its' used the tip top materials but that weird tapered chin, the transparent top with the grey background...cam on the right, earpiece at the top in a strip.
Sorry, what year is this???
@Psarrism Year 2010 sir.
@Psarrism
The year of phones.
@hazelnuts89 Not for Nokia's designers!
@Psarrism According to Nokia, 2005 it seems!
Dire
@Psarrism I dont understand what you mean.
It seems that you have a clear vision of what a mobile should look like correct?
Could you please state your preference here so we actually know what the heck you are talking about? And already answering your future post, not all phones need to look like that. Grow the F-up!
@Mr w00t I am a 35 years old architect and i know what i am talking about. This phone looks old! (What's the reason for the F-word?)
@kuruptedbhoy
Yeah we know. If it doesn't have one button with squareish figure innit, it's not good design.
@huzzlehoff Htc Diamond was nice, too.
@huzzlehoff
Oh yeah, i forgot the glass that's harder than a stolid coc.. i mean, sapphire.
@Psarrism
Well, I think that iPhone 4 looks much older.
@Psarrism he didnt use the f word. he used the f letter.
@kuruptedbhoy
2005? That there Nokia does not look a thing like a Sony Ericsson P990 or a Palm Treo 650
@Psarrism So you are an architect?
You mean... a PHONE architect (nowadays we call them designers) or a building architect? If somehow you work in a phone company design department I eat my words, but if your livelihood depends on counting the number of windows a room should have or "how can renew this urban landscape"... I still dont think you are the most qualified person to talk about this.
And "this phone looks old" argument makes you sound like a 5 year old.
ps. Still you have not stated your preference. Please enlighten us.
ps2. And it was not an F-word, was an F-up. Think of it as 7-up.
ps3. An architect complaining about "old looks". I thought you guys studied to admire the old as well... Just because Eiffel tower "looks old" does not mean it is ugly. Different people different tastes.
@Mr w00t Obviously, you are not in the position to talk about anything with anyone without insulting him and our logic. There are styles in buildings as well as cars, portable devices etc. No, i don't count windows, i design much bigger things than a phone. Old is not ugly, i never said that. Old is old. In 2010, it's stupid to make a new building look the way parthenon looks and it's quit weird to make a phone look like one from previous decade. Finally, i mentioned Htc diamond, didn't i. And i have never mentioned iPhone, till now.
So, like you say, grow the F-up by starting respecting others' opinions... boy!!!
@Psarrism Wow... easy grandpa, this way your heart wont hold. No reason to get all worked up if a "boy" from the internets says things you dont like.
You should have more sense of design. HTC Diamond is far from being perfect. Looking more squarish than an old brick. If that is pretty than I suspect you are the one behind Ryugyong Hotel.
And about respecting others opinion. You come in a Nokia post to say what ever you want and you dont want to hear a reply? You are not respecting my opinion either... ;)
I will take a F-up but I dont want to grow up to be like you.
And I am here, eagerly expecting your design revolution.