Nokia Astound Hands-on
Folks over in Europe and other parts ofthe world are long familiar with the Nokia Astound, also known as theNokia C7, but it is only now that the U.S. is getting theSymbian^3-powered handset. While it doesn't break any newground with its specs, we were eager to take a look at it and checkif there are new features hidden behind the affordable $79.99 price tag on T-Mobile.
The outside looks of the Astound arepractically a copy of the ones on the Nokia C7, except for theT-Mobile logo on the front. This also means that the 3.5-inch AMOLEDscreen with a resolution of 360 x 640 remains unchanged.
In terms ofapplications, the most notable change is the addition of a YouTubeclient – unlike the C7, the Astound has a true application forwatching YouTube videos and doesn't just redirect you to the mobileversion of the website. The Astound also brings free turn-by-turnnavigation with pre-loaded maps of the United States and Canada.All of this is powered by Ovi Maps in its latest version supportingtraffic information.
The Astound will also feature anupdated version of the stock Symbian browser supportingtabbed browsing in an iPhone-like tile interface. In the brief momentwe had with the device, we could notice that it was close to unusablewith very laggy, horrific choppy transitions, but T-Mobile repsassured us this was due to the prototype version being showcased. Inaddition, the handset brings a 720p capable 8-megapixel snapper withdual LED-flash.
Well, it's only a couple of days beforethe expected April 6th launch of the handset, but wementioned that the Astound is basically a re-branded C7, so we expectno surprises. Take a look at the video demo below, but for a deeperlook feel free to check out our in-depth review of the C7.
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