When it comes to messaging and email on a mobile phone, the weapon of choice for many users is a device with a full Qwerty keyboard. By allowing each letter to have its own key, they provide an experience much more similar to writing to a larger drive such as a laptop or PC. The first phone to launch with this feature was the Nokia Communicator in 1990. Since then, the keypad has become a key feature of the Blackberry range of phones, perhaps the most famous users of the system. The obvious downside to packing so many keys on the front of the phone is the inevitable increase in size, until someone came up with the idea of putting them on a hidden slider just to use when needed. Since then, we have seen numerous models, and the current two that are vying for customer attention are the Nokia E7 and the HTC 7 Pro.
So if you are looking for such a device, which of these is the phone for you? The main difference between the two models is the operating system they employ, with Nokia sticking to its favorite Symbian platform, while HTC sports the shiny new Windows 7 form factor. The latter is undoubtedly the more attractive, with a screen Colorful startup screen with lots of information displayed instantly. However, this is a new style of interface, and many users may find the familiarity of Nokia’s icon-based system more comfortable. Moving away from the software side for a moment and looking at the build quality of the devices, the E7 scores highly. A combination of a sleek, strong aluminum chassis coupled with a reinforced display made of Gorilla Glass makes the phone a good match against the HTC’s slightly less impressive exterior. Let’s also not forget that Nokia has 13 years of experience in developing Qwerty keyboards, while HTC is relatively new in this area.
Obviously, these phones will not only be used for messaging, but also for a host of other functions, so how do you set up the other facilities? In terms of screen size, the Nokia E7 wins the race by offering a 4-inch screen that’s almost half an inch larger than its rivals. The benefits of this are obvious when it comes to tasks like playing movies or browsing the web, and the extra size also gives the keyboard that hides underneath a bit more room to spread out its keys. Both phones offer the user the opportunity to capture photos, and the E7 also scored highly in this area thanks to its 8-megapixel offering compared to the 5 million pixels found in the 7 Pro.
It seems that for traditional business users, the E7 will prove to be the most popular phone for the above reasons, but let’s not rule out the HTC, the OS will appeal to a younger audience, and with many teenagers turning to slider phones to chat with their friends , there is a place for both phones in the market.