Nokia X7 smartphone (preview)

Nokia is ditching its Symbian mobile phone operating system, and switching to Windows Phone 7 for future high-end smartphones, but the Finnish company still seems intent on pushing its Symbian platform. Its latest release is the Nokia X7, which has apparently been designed for "entertainment enthusiasts".

Described by Nokia as an "entertainment-focused smartphone" the X7 has a 4in AMOLED display, and an 8-megapixel camera that doubles as a 720p HD video recorder. Nokia says the screen is manufactured from "gorilla glass" which makes it less susceptible to cracking and scratching. The Nokia X7's display also has a reasonably impressive resolution of 360 x 640.

Nokia says the X7's large screen makes it an ideal device for mobile gaming, so the device will come preloaded with the games Galaxy on Fire and Asphalt 5 HD.

The X7 is powered by a 680MHz processor, with additional graphics accelerator. It also has a 3D entry accelerometer, and comes with an 8GB microSD card — there is only 350MB of internal memory.

The Nokia X7 is constructed from a combination of stainless steel and glass. Its front is almost completely flat, but the sides have distinctive curves towards the back, which should make it comfortable to hold.

The Nokia X7 will be one of the first devices that will ship with the latest version of Symbian, called Symbian Anna. Nokia has touted new icons and usability enhancements to the platform including improved text input, a faster Web browser and the latest version of Ovi Maps, which provides full turn-by-turn navigation for no extra cost. Symbian Anna will also come with enterprise grade security, hardware accelerated encryption, and a number of new e-mail features.

We are keen to put the Nokia X7 through its paces when its reviewed, but we highly suspect it will suffer the same issue as Nokia's flagship N8 and the Nokia E7 — both of these smartphone possess outstanding hardware but are held back by the clunky and unintuitive Symbian software.

The Nokia X7 smartphone will be available in Australia in Q3 but pricing and carrier availability are yet to be revealed.