Why I Want a Nokia Windows Phone

When closed, the Nokia E7 closely resembles the company's N8.

(Credit: David Meyer/ZDNet UK)

 

Nokia is wonderful at hardware. But like Motorola, another veteran of awesome industrial design, Nokia is not terribly strong on the software front--once upon a time it was, but it proved unable to shake itself loose from the now-outdated software of its glory days.

The Nokia E7 is a prime example. It really is a thing of beauty (I like a proper keyboard, me) but I don't want one because it runs Symbian. As it happens, I retain a lot of respect for Symbian as an operating system, but its user interface sucks. It's a tragedy that Nokia hasn't been able to quickly and effectively redesign that UI for the modern age, but there you go.

Point proven. Stick something else in there, and the E7 would rock.

Now we know what that "something else" is: Windows Phone 7.

Read more of " I want a Nokia Windows Phone, and here's why" at ZDNet UK.

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Nokia E7 Phone Finally Hitting Stores this Week

Nokia E7 Phone Finally Hitting Stores this Week

Following its unveiling last September and a long delay coming to market, the E7 will arrive in some stores over the next few days, with a broader launch to follow soon, Nokia announced today.

Initally scheduled to debut in December, Nokia told CNET at the time that the company decided to delay launch "to ensure the best possible user experience on the Nokia E7." Nokia did not specify what exactly had gone wrong.

The E7 includes the Symbian 3 operating system, a 4-inch AMOLED ClearBack touch screen designed to improve outdoor visibility, a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, an 8-megapixel camera with a dual LED flash and HD video capture, USB and HDMI connections, and 16GB of flash memory.

Geared for the business crowd, the phone offers built-in synchronization with Microsoft Exchange and comes with Office Communicator Mobile, a corporate instant messaging app developed by Microsoft specifically for Nokia smartphones.

The E7 costs 495 euros ($674) before any potential carrier subsidies.

Nokia's announcement today did not specify any carriers for the phone nor did it specify exactly where it's launching this week. Nokia representatives were not immediately available to comment.

Although still the world's leading mobile phone maker, Nokia has watched its dominance slowly slip over the past couple of years. Losing market share and sales to Apple and Android devices, the company reported lower earnings yet again in the fourth quarter of 2010.

In a bid to regain its foothold, CEO Stephen Elop is planning a major shift in Nokia's strategy. Details are scheduled to be revealed in a financial briefing on Friday. However, some reports say that a management shakeup is already in the works.

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