Just last week, we run an article on the launch of HTC Desire Z – the new Slider Android smartphone from HTC. Instead of doing a comparison between iPhone 4 and HTC Desire Z (which is oh-so-boring!), the team decided to run a comparison between the Nokia E7 and HTC Desire Z – which are released at almost the same time.
Let’s take a look what both devices have to offer.
Dimensions and Power
The Desire Z sports a 3.7-inch, 480×800 pixel capacitive S-LCD touchscreen while the E7 feature a 4 inch screen with Nokia’s ClearBlack Display technology. The Nokia E7 measures 123.7×62.4×13.6 mm, slightly larger than the HTC Desire Z with 119×60.4×14.16mm. The HTC Desire Z weighs 180g whereas the E7 weighs 176g. Display wise, the E7 wins with a bigger screen and richer color due to Nokia's ClearBlack Display technology. Dimensions wise, both phones can fit comfortably into your pocket and nothing much separates their weights.
OS Comparisons
The new Symbian^3 vs Android 2.2 Froyo - now, where do we begin? Well, we know that Android 2.2 comes with support for a large variety of apps, allows the smartphone to be used as a Wi-Fi hotspot and offers Flash 10 support.
The Symbian^3 features a wonderful email UI, allowing you to quickly swap up to 10 mailboxes and any of your email folders.
However, Android, coupled with HTC Sense UI in the Desire Z, provides the smartphone with new features like the ability to access maps without being on the web, the intelligence to adjust its phone ring volume depending on whether the phone in a bag or pocket and providing a stream of communication information for your friends. You can also set a self destruct button that allows you to clear your device immediately upon misplacing your smartphone.
Features
Both phones are equipped with a slide out QWERTY keyboard but the Z hinge design in the HTC Desire Z gives it a slight advantage in terms of usability over the Nokia E7. This design also allows users of the Desire Z to access the top layer of the QWERTY slide out keyboard much more easily.
The Nokia E7 has better camera functionality with its 8 megapixel camera and on-board picture and video editing application. The Desire Z only comes with a 5 megapixel camera.
For internal storage, the Desire Z is quite low with 1.5GB of internal memory whereas the Nokia E7 sports 16GB internal memory. However, upon saying that, both devices can support memory extension through microSD slot up to 32GB.
For applications wise, the Nokia Ovi Store is a far cry from the Android Market.
Conclusion
Although the Nokia E7 is a stunning device compared to the old Symbian, our vote still goes to HTC Desire Z with its innovative Z hinge design and accessibility to a wide range of Android apps. Ultimately though, it must be emphasized that choosing between these 2 phones will still be based on individual personal preference. Perhaps, the user should also take into consideration the handset prices offer by the different service providers to determine which smartphone provides more value for money.
Enjoy the Nokia commercial for the new E7!
