Nokia C7 Starts Shipping, Nokia Says

Last month, mobile phone maker Nokia unveiled some new smartphones running under the Symbian^3 operating system, including the Nokia C7 and the Nokia C6-01, and now the company announced officially that the former started shipping on the market.

This is the second Symbian^3-based handset to start shipping to end-users out there, following the Nokia N8, which started shipping at the end of the last month.

“The smartphone for the design-conscious social networker, the Nokia C7, has started shipping to customers around the world,” is what the leading handset vendor announced via a press release.

The new device comes with a wide range of high-end features, some of which can offer similar functionality with the Nokia N8, including enhanced social networking capabilities.

The new Nokia C7 comes to the market with a full-touch design, boasting a 3.5 inch AMOLED display, an 8-megapixel photo snapper on the back, with HD video recording capabilities, and with enough storage options to fit the needs of any multimedia enthusiast.

At the same time, the mobile phone sports fast access to Facebook and Twitter updates straight on the homescreen, not to mention that it provides one touch access to email accounts like Ovi Mail, Yahoo! Mail and Windows Live Hotmail.

On top of that, the Nokia C7 comes with support for various content (apps, games, videos and more) available for download via the Ovi Store.

“The Nokia C7 is our second smartphone based on the new version of Symbian to hit the market,” says Jo Harlow, head of smartphones at Nokia.

“Designed specifically with the style-conscious consumer in mind, the Nokia C7 also brings excellent social networking abilities, making it perfect for people who want to check-in and stay up to date.”

The Nokia C7 lands on the market with an estimated retail price of EUR 335 before taxes or subsidies, though the actual price might vary depending on country and wireless carrier.

In addition to announcing the shipping of Nokia C7, the handset vendor unveiled a new contest for its users, aimed at finding the most active Facebook user from the wide range of fans it has on the social networking site.

Nokia will pick “five finalists who will each be provided with a Nokia C7 to organize a party using various social networks. The fan who best captures their party through Facebook - generating the most coverage with updates and posts - will win a Nokia C7 for themselves and 20 of their friends,” the company announced.