Say hello to a many-sided splendor

MANILA, Philippines - How many times have I been told not to judge things by their covers? Perhaps more often than I can imagine.

But it is simply hard to ignore a product that is uniquely, quirkily, differently packaged, right?

Let’s see. The packaging that lots of Japanese companies use to market their products are some of the best examples. The goods are always neatly packaged, pleasing to the eye and simply call out to you. 

For kids, most of the time it is how a toy is wrapped that appeals to them — with the right colors and cute designs. So much so that a kid could be sold on a toy even if he or she has never held, touched or even seen it. 

For me, well, I like chocolate that come in packages that are colorful, have lots of funny drawings and preferably have little cute animals that adorn the packaging. It just makes the chocolate taste so much better — the packaging, that is.

But when it comes to packaging and design, today’s gadgets bring in a whole new world. For instance, I have often heard that what attracts people to cellphones these days are the kind of cameras and the number of megapixels the cellphone camera is equipped with. Although this might be true, I am still of the mind that a cellphone’s unique look will be the first to catch a buyer’s fancy before its other features are studied. And that for me as a cellphone buyer, is already half the battle won.

It was just that kind of techie in me that was attracted to the Nokia X7. After all, it is shaped differently from the many touch-screen cellphones available in the market - and that difference made me want to check out what is new and different about the Nokia X7.

It’s a quirky looker

I was told at my favorite suking tindahan that for the Nokia X series cellphones, it is the Nokia X7 that has gotten a lot of comments like “puede kong matignan yan?” or “wow, ang ganda naman yang bagong cellphone na yan!”

I guess beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder first. And with the Nokia X7, that saying starts with the looks.

I would describe the Nokia X7 as an eight-sided angular cellphone. For those of you who believe that eight is a lucky number, you might want to check this cellphone out. The X7 has four grills on each of its corners, but only the bottom two hold speakers.

Unique is one way of describing the shape. But beyond its shape is the way the X7 feels firm in the hand. I also liked the fact that its four corners are not abrupt in design, but flow into the next side of the Nokia X7. This gives it a different but not out of this world look.

The four-inch AMOLED screen takes center stage in this cellphone.

I also was amazed at the new Gorilla Glass scratch-protection screen, which is a must, if you, like me hate smudges and scratches on the face of a cellphone.

Other interesting features are the ear speaker on top and the menu key, which sits at the bottom of the X7. On the right side, there is a volume rocker and very handy camera shutter key that allows for really quick snapping of photos for those who like to take shots on the go.

I found that lid-protected microSD slot on the left side a cool addition, as well as the SIM card slot.

Time to take sides

The backside of the X7 will be of interest to cellphone users who make sure that their phones double as cameras. That’s because it is at the back where the fixed focus, eight-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash is located.

I have become a big fan of the full-focus cameras that the Nokia cellphones are equipped with because they make it easy for camera flubs like me to take passable photos.

I was also very happy with the snap-and-go way that the camera of this Nokia X7 worked. It was just perfect for those close-up shots of the doggies.

The Nokia X7 is a winner because it is such a cool looker. This looker is loaded with everything that cellphone lovers demand like fast browser connection speeds, an eight-megapixel camera and 24/7 social networking connections in a single click, just to name a few.

First off, it is touted as one of the front-runners of Symbian Anna. The traditional Symbian 3 interface is no longer in place, making way for an overhauled Symbian Anna. This includes news and a really cute and functional set of icons that allow for real-time switching between home screens. What this all means is that the X7 allows users to scroll through to the next home pane with the content moving along with your finger. Just perfect for those of us who like to fiddle with the cellphone as we sit and learn new things we never thought our contraptions could do.

This might sound rather simplistic, but what makes the X7 truly a treasure of a cellphone is that it gets me to where I want to go in the cellphone faster, and with less hassle — which could only be good.

Just in time

I spent a morning working on personalizing the X7, from picking my favorite theme to loading ringtones to transferring contacts. I was pleasantly surprised how quickly the touch screen responded to my every touch move.

Sometimes, the problem with touch-screen cellphones is that they can be too sensitive to the touch. Not the X7 though — it was easy to use and did not leave me making too many wrong touch moves, which is very important to me as I am a touch-screen cellphone user.

In particular, I noticed how easy it was to make a phone call using the Quick dial feature. The calendar application, which I don’t often use, has been redesigned with a dual-pane view. It has the calendar of the month on the left and meeting schedules on the right. I enjoyed pinching the screen to zoom into weekly view and double tapping to get to the daily schedule.

Sure, we should learn to avoid judging a thing only by its external looks. Believe me, I have seen lots of things, people, too, who really look great on the outside but whose inside leaves much to be desired.

Yet I have also learned that when it comes to cellphones, the Nokia X7 is a beauty both in and out. It was truly designed with the techie-minimalist-quirky person in mind — and ours is a fast-growing tribe out there.

Given its unique looks and the great Symbian Anna operating system, the Nokia X7 is truly redefining what cellphones should be like.

And, yes, I like.