The Nokia X7 is the latest entertainment smartphone from Nokia and one of the first to run the new Symbian Anna operating system, which injects Symbian^3 with some new features and a revamped look and feel.
The Nokia X7 has a striking design that sets it apart from its siblings and the OS changes bring a boost of speed and usability that is sure to appeal to a wide range of users, whether you're talking about surfing the web, listening to music, watching video or hooking up to your favourite social network.
As usual, we've been giving the Nokia X7 a thorough going-over in a series of reviews and round-ups, andhave been taking an in-depth look at its pros and cons. Here we round up the essence of those reviews in a single article - to read the full review, simply click on the link at the bottom of each section.
Nokia X7 unboxing review
The Nokia X7 comes in a rather swish box with a slide-out front compartment rather than the standard top-opening box. As soon as we opened the box we realised how much slimmer this device was than how we remembered it as the Nokia X7 launch back in April.
The full-metal body of the Nokia X7 looks amazing. Like the Nokia N8, it’s a unibody design so you’ll find the battery is already built into the smartphone. Buttons on the side are kept to the bare minimum with just SIM card and microSD slots on the left-hand side and rather small and flush buttons for the camera and volume/zoom buttons on the right. The top of the phone has Power switch, USB connector and a 3.5mm audio jack.
Check out our Nokia X7 unboxing review in full
Nokia X7 hardware review
The 4-inch screen has a 24-bit brightness and a standard resolution of 360 x 640 pixels. The AMOLED display is made from Gorilla glass, so not only is it bright and sharp but you’ll also find it’s tough as nails too.
We really like the size of the screen, as it’s the same size as found on the Nokia X7, but with the added bulk of the keyboard, so watching movies and generally holding the device when web browsing isn’t a strain.
Check out our Nokia X7 hardware review in full
Nokia Symbian Anna Calendar hands-on review
The big difference with the Calendar functions with the Symbian Anna update is that we now get a split view approach to the layout. Previously the screen was dominated simply by numbered squares, now you'll find this has been condensed and a new empty pane added.
Click on a date on the calendar and where as before you simply got an empty page, now you'll find that a timeline has been added down the left-hand side so you can choose what time to add you appointment, helping speed up the whole process.
Check out our Nokia Symbian Anna Calendar hands-on review in full
Nokia X7 and Symbian Anna hands-on review
The Nokia web browser, now up to version 7.3, positively zips along. Things have been rearranged on-screen to leave just a single address bar at the top, with the Back button sitting on the bottom left, and a pop-up button on the bottom right with links to adding bookmarks, viewing your browsing history, accessing settings and more.
Another new feature that has been ticked off is the introduction of a portrait-style on-screen keyboard. Many Nokia users have been crying for its introduction for what seems like years now, so they'll no doubt be pleased to finally see it come up for air. For our money, though, the landscape keyboard remains far better and easier to use, and we can imagine the portrait version will be a bit of a tight squeeze on handset with smaller screens than the Nokia X7.
Check out our Nokia X7 and Symbian Anna hands-on review in full
Nokia X7: top 10 accessories
The Symbian Anna-powered Nokia X7 can do a lot on its own, but Nokia also provides a wide range of accessories to extend its many capabilities, help you charge it up on the go or simply protect it from knocks and scrapes. Here are some great ideas for accessorising your Nokia X7.
Check out our Nokia X7 top 10 accessories in full
Nokia X7: top 10 free apps
Having such a large screen on board the Nokia X7 makes it an obvious choice for consuming media, but in truth it's a perfect window on whatever task you wish to perform, be it typing messages to your mates on screen, or simply browsing the web.
And in both cases Symbian Anna brings new features to improve the experience through the portrait-style on-screen QWERTY keyboard, and the all new Nokia Web Browser 7.3.
Check out our Nokia X7 top 10 free apps in full
Nokia X7: top 10 free games
If there's a smartphone in Nokia's current lineup that's quite simply made for gaming, it's the Nokia X7. It's fast and responsive, packs a bold design and comes with a superbly sharp 4-inch display that will do any gaming title justice.
So we won't be surprised if getting stuck into some free games from Nokia's Ovi Store is one of the first things you do with your Nokia X7.