Nokia unveils E6, X7 with new Symbian 'Anna' software

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While both phones were heavily leaked, today Nokia took the wraps off of two new Symbian-powered smartphones, the E6 and the X7. The E6 is targeted at the business bunch and sports a full QWERTY keyboard, a 2.46-inch 640 x 480 pixel touchscreen display, an 8-megapixel camera, GPS, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and a 1,500mAh battery. The X7 is no doubt the sexier of the two phones. It rocks a 4-inch 640 x 360 resolution AMOLED screen, is made of stainless steel and glass, has 8GB of storage, and offers an 8-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p HD video. The E6 and the X7 will both run Nokia’s updated Symbian “Anna” operating system which Nokia says offers a revamped user interface, new icons, improved text input, faster web browsing, and a new Ovi Maps application that includes public transportation and offers better search. Anna will also provide enterprise grade security with hardware accelerated encryption, and several new e-mail features. Both phones are scheduled to launch during the second quarter of this year; pricing information has not been divulged. If you’re looking for the X7 stateside, don’t hold your breath. AT&T has reportedly already killed its plans to launch the X7. Hit the jump for the full release.

Nokia E6 extends business mobility range and Nokia X7 introduces a new entertainment device for mobile gamers, both using the latest update of Symbian software

Espoo, Finland – Nokia today announced the Nokia E6 and the Nokia X7, two new smartphones aimed at business people and entertainment enthusiasts respectively. The two devices are the first Nokia smartphones to contain the updated Symbian software, with new icons and usability enhancements such as improved text input, a faster browser and refreshed Ovi Maps.

“We are further strengthening Nokia’s smartphone portfolio with these two new devices, both of which offer a more beautiful and intuitive user experience that will soon also be available for the Nokia N8, Nokia E7, Nokia C7 and Nokia C6-01,” said Jo Harlow, head of Nokia’s Smart Devices business. “With these new products and more Symbian devices and user enhancements coming in the near future, we are confident we can keep existing Nokia smartphone customers engaged, as well as attract new first-time and competitor smartphone users.”

Following on from Nokia’s highly successful Nokia E71 and Nokia E72 devices, the Nokia E6 is a sleek business smartphone with a full QWERTY keypad and a high resolution touch display. Designed using premium materials such as glass and stainless steel, the device comes in a compact size that makes it easy to use with either one hand or two. The Nokia E6 offers exceptional battery life and the best out-of-the-box Microsoft messaging experience on a business smartphone, including access to Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Communicator Mobile and Microsoft SharePoint.

The Nokia X7 is an entertainment-focused smartphone with a large 4″ display ideal for gaming, and an 8 Megapixel camera for capturing pictures and HD-quality video. A distinctively designed device, the Nokia X7 is made from a combination of seamless stainless steel and glass – delivering a solid and durable feel in the hand. The Nokia X7 comes preloaded with the popular Galaxy on Fire HD and Asphalt 5 HD games.

The Nokia E6 and Nokia X7 are also the first smartphones to contain the complete update of the Symbian software user experience. This update offers a host of usability enhancements, including fresh, new icons, improved text input, a faster internet browsing experience and a refreshed Ovi Maps application with improved search and new public transport routes. The renewed software also offers a strong set of new features aimed at business users in particular, including true enterprise grade security with hardware accelerated encryption, and new e-mail features such as full meeting request support.

In coming months the software update, which is nick-named Symbian Anna, will also be available as standard on newly shipping Nokia N8, Nokia E7, Nokia C7 and Nokia C6-01 devices, as well as available to download on previously purchased models of those same smartphones.

For developers, Symbian Anna greatly enhances the user experience on Nokia smartphones and makes the Qt business opportunity with Nokia even greater. Read more at: http://blogs.forum.nokia.com/blog/nokia-developer-news/

For more details on the Nokia X7 and Nokia E6, please visit: http://events.nokia.com/discover-symbian

15 Comments
  • Batteman87

    Those “page dots” look like I have seen them…. where have I seen those? Oh yeah my iPhone!

    • Anonymous

      fulgy and they will be DOA without doubt.!

  • Roland

    lets say, this will be the last one symbian stand

  • Anonymous

    X7 Design is really sexy.

    • http://twitter.com/XXTravis Travis

      disagree.

      • Anonymous

        Meh… okay to disagree. But most phones these days are pretty generic looking. This stands out to me in a good way. And im sure the build quality/materials are really solid…. It is a Nokia phone after all.

    • Anonymous

      I think that thing (X7) looks hideous… but, to each their own.

  • RealDeal

    There is no denying Nokia makes nice looking hardware.

  • Allen Walker

    Hardware nice? Sure.

    Software terrible? Absolutely.

  • numetheus

    This is the last stand for Nokia as the Symbian platform goes. At their current rate, Nokia will be out of the smartphone game if they don’t do something to wow to masses. According to Gartner, there were 111,000 Symbian smartphones sold in 2010. 2011 there is expected to be 89,000. In 2012, there is expected to be around 32,000. They are only on top because of the overwhelming marketshare they had prior to the Android/iPhone onslaught. They aren’t selling NEARLY as many phones running Symbian as there have been sold running Android and iOS. It’s only a matter of time before Nokia goes by way of Motorola and has to downsize. I doubt they will go like Palm though.

    • OBJ_me

      You do realize that the symbian platform is all but officially dead with the announcement of the Nokia/MS WP7 partnership? While I personally very much dislike the entire WP7 platform it is certainly a better business decision by Nokia rather than going the way of MeeGo. While MeeGo was promising and IMO much more attractive than WP7 it wasn’t ready for primetime and while it’s arguably true that WP7 was also not ready for primetime it should be by the time Nokia begins to deploy on new devices. That is to say that the industry will have already pumped out enough WP7 devices for there to be a fairly adequate app ecosystem, developer interest and the presence of some sorely needed features.

      It’s almost sad to see symbian go in a way because it did have a few solid aspects about it. It’s unfortunate that Nokia lacked the vision, and perhaps the talent, to evolve symbian into a modern smartphone os capable of competing with Android and iOS. RIM will soon be facing a similar decision/fate for it’s BlackBerry OS if it cant better with what it’s picked up by way of the QNX acquisition. Yeah it’s on the PlayBook that we’ve been hearing about for months and is finally being released soon but that is not enough. BB OS 6 is the same pig just with some lipstick on, if that’s the best RIM can do they’ve got a problem coming their way.

  • Alloallo

    You guys must be havin a larf!
    These are two of the ugliest pieces of junk seen since….hmmmm…..lemme think….
    The N8 perhaps?

  • Gypo

    If only RIM could make a handset with the same quality and finish (no pun intended),as the E71, E72 and E6. I have a 3 year old E71 and screen resolution aside, it makes my company Bold 9780 look like a prehistoric toy.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=502367884 Smellis Jellis

    Love the DPI on the E6 and its design. Completely wary of the software, given the terrible results I have had with the E71. Great hardware and terrible software.

  • zps

    who is buying symbian phones?

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