Nokia Astound

Nokia Astound (T-Mobile USA) Symbian^3 smartphone review

Nokia Astound

The Nokia Astound is T-Mobile's version of the Nokia C7 Symbian^3 smartphone that is available in other parts of the world. It shares many similarities with the C7, including identical hardware. Some software tweaks have been added to Symbian^3 that are designed to enhance the users' experience, though. We did a full review of the C7 for European markets already, so we will be focusing on the tweaks and differences that T-Mobile has added to the Astound.

Hardware

The hardware remains the same as the C7: solid construction with nice materials and a good fit and finish. T-Mobile offers the Astound in a white and silver color scheme as opposed to the other options that are available worldwide. Some might not be fans of the color,
but we found it to be an attractive device nonetheless. The chrome bezel that surrounds the screen is reminiscent of the iPhone 3G and 3GS design, and we suspect that it will get quite beat up looking after some months of wear and tear.

The screen is the same 3.5-inch capacitive AMOLED unit with nHD (640 x 360 pixel) resolution as found on the C7. Colors are bright and the resolution is sharp enough as long as you are not looking too closely at it. Viewing angles are very good as well. The only issue we had with the screen was its performance in direct sunlight, where it can become very washed out and difficult to read.
The Astound also maintains the 8 megapixel rear camera and 1.3 megapixel front camera of the C7. The rear camera still does not have autofocus, which we find to be a huge detriment. The extended depth of field lens can take acceptable pictures outdoors, however indoor subjects can prove troublesome. The dual-LED flash had a tendency to blow out the images harshly, not to mention that anything within a couple feet of the lens would be severely out of focus. Face-tracking is included and works as expected, maintaining a lock on our subjects faces quickly and accurately. The rear camera is also capable of recording 720p (1280 x 720 pixel) video at 25 frames per second. The quality of the video was ok, but the 25 fps frame rate will hold back capturing fast action. As far as the 1.3 megapixel front camera goes, the quality was not great and Nokia and T-Mobile did not package any software with the Astound to use the camera for video calling. At this point, it seems like it is a very "me-too" feature.

Call Quality

Call quality was very good with the Astound. Callers were able to hear us loud and clear and we could likewise understand them just as easily. T-Mobile has added its Wi-Fi Calling functionality to the Astound, which allows users to connect to their personal Wi-Fi network and use that to route calls over the internet as opposed to using a cellular signal. It is not a separate VoIP service, though, as your plans minutes will still be used while utilizing Wi-Fi Calling. Using the Wi-Fi Calling feature was seamless once we connected the phone to our Wi-Fi network and enable the option. Call quality was not noticeably different than when using the 3G network, but we imagine that it will be a very useful function for those whose homes or offices do not have a strong T-Mobile signal.