Of all of Nokia’s problems, and there are many, the one that stands out the most is their lack of presence in the United States. For years we’ve been hearing the Finnish firm proclaim that North America is important and that they’re working hard to bring their devices across the pond, and yet the only Symbian powered Nokia device we can think of that has had any real support from one of the top four operators has been the 6790, known as the “Surge” by AT&T. That’s due to change by the end of this month if rumors out of TMoNews are correct. They’re saying that the C7, one of the first Symbian^3 devices to ship, is coming to T-Mobile USA and that it’ll be called “Tiger”. We’re thinking that has to be an internal codename because no one in their right mind would launch a product called “Tiger” and expect it to be taken seriously, especially with Charlie Sheen losing his marbles and broadcasting to the world that he has tiger blood flowing through his veins.
The C7, for those who may have forgotten about it, was announced in mid September 2010 and began shipping a month later in Europe and Asia. It has a 3.5 inch screen, 640 x 360 pixel resolution, comes with 8 GB of memory inside, has an 8 megapixel camera, is “only” 10.5 mm thin, has 3G 850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz support and 2G 850/900/1800/1900 MHz support. The 3G is capable of 10.2 Mbps down and 2.0 Mbps up. There’s also 802.11n WiFi, GPS, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and the battery is user replaceable.
How this device is going to be priced will determine whether or not it’s a success. The fact that it has support for not only T-Mobile’s 3G network, but just about every other 3G network on the planet, is a strong selling point for international travelers.