As a matter of fact I have.

AFAICT, it's exactly the same as E7, with some differences:

* Camera has more megapixels in still mode, but same optics for N8 versus E7, so little gain in quality (see low light notes below).
* N8 has SD card and FM transmitter.
* E7 has physical keyboard
* E7 has office editors and a few other minor software differences.
* Even though E7 is larger, N8 is only 3 mm thinner with 10 mm shorter so it looks slightly more stout. It's just a feeling though, might have something to do with the angles at which the margins are finished. Side by side, E7 looks like a slab. It's incredible what 1 cm does :). Guess size does matter. Who knew.
* Menu button is off-center in N8. Better in portrait, worse in landscape. N8 doesn't really like landscape except for OSK.

I don't find the camera in E7 lacking (overall) but like I said there are a few things to consider:

a) More pixels than other phones (N900 included). That means less light per pixel. It's physics and I covered it in a post a while ago while reviewing N900 camera. So, poorer dark performance. The shots in the review are not doing it justice. A moving subject in a poorly lit room is a challenge for any camera. Try to find a still image in dark.

This only grows worse as resolution goes up (hint: N8).

Surely you knew instinctively a crammed-in-a-phone 20$ camera can't beat a 2-kilo 2000$ camera. It will not be up to all tasks. Specifically, low light poor performance, lack of focus, poor colors (let's not start that old that-phone-has-excellent-colors talk. They cheat and it shows - for a trained eye it's more obvious than redneck wood spoilers). Some of these (like focus) are specific to E7/N8, others are generic for all.

Also, just throwing it out there, I've had people telling me my DSLR pictures look worse than their phone pictures. Make sure you're not watching through a laptop screen, brightness cranked up. When comparing cameras, try a good display, properly balanced, and remember that 8MPx is four times what a full HD can display.

But I rant.

b) It has NO focus. So, there is nothing you can do to take pictures from closer than 40 cm away. You can, but optical loss is greater than digital, so just zoom in. No software can help defeat physics. On the bright side, video is perfect. None of that zooming-in-the-middle, poor focus, shifting focus, etc.

I skimmed through the review you linked as much as my overcaffeinated brain would allow (read: 45 seconds) and it seems to support my view. Great outdoors, poor indoors, like all other cameras that didn't make you slouch when you carry them. No shock there.

I find it performs better than N900 (minus the close-up).

That being said

I looked on Google images as you suggested for various shots claimed to be E7 images and found that not only they are in short supply, but many of them have been tagged (EXIF) as taken with X7, N8, etc and posted as equivalents. In fact, I only found a handful of E7 images that haven't been resized and those aren't exactly prime examples.

I can't attach here and all hosting sites I know resize images. So try:

http://www.mediafire.com/?vus3rfk47ka4lha
http://www.mediafire.com/?nyafp0tx7fc2zih
http://www.mediafire.com/?a3pk2cbhk2ofb1q

The shots are:

Romania seaside (sunny)
Bucharest business (cloudy)
Bucharest sunset from terrace (just before sunset. As you can see, some areas are already black, it was the last few minutes of light)

Not necessarily in that order. Feels like a nice slice of performance.

Also, for resetting your monitor, here's a 2 MPx shot of a flower with my Zeiss glass Sony Alpha, to contrast the 8 MPx phone:

http://www.mediafire.com/?keo1cmkm1i1t76h

The 2MPx image is a cutout from the 10 MPx of the camera raw. Notice the noise, JPEG artifacts and contours. Yeah. Megapixels my foot.

No, and I have not - they are now rolling the update in areas and device codes, and because their servers are stomped they are spreading the load. I'll be getting it in the next few days.

I could poke at it via an off-channel download but I'd rather not. I'm not sure if flasher can solve it if I nuke the phone. :)

Besides, Anna is appetizer. I've seen Belle in demos and I wants me some of that.

However, I advise you to get Anna ASAP. They fix a few things in browser that are annoying, like an actual back button. And then Belle. In fact, they seem to be going forward. That alone is worth a few ... somethings. I have to stop typing replies after midnight.

Non-removable battery ain't bad. You can still pull it via hold-the-button that power cycles the device - unless you were hoping to use a desktop charger and a second battery it's no big deal. Also, screwdriver.

FM Transmitter is available in N8 but not in E7.

Macro is shot. Just ... shot. There is no workaround, no software, nothing. You'll have to live with it.

SD card is no biggie IMO. Some disagree, not me. 16G is plenty. Also, USB OTG means plug-a-stick. Tried it, it's fast and supports backup and restore everything to stick, plus mount and use. Pretty cool. Carrying a cable not as fun. I wasn't carrying a card with me either, frankly. I also tried keyboard and mouse. The geek in me was smiling all through the experience.

Also, I bought the HDMI cable and got Nokia Big Screen from Beta labs. That is seriously cool. Image, video, music, slideshows and BT remote that works with Wii (or an USB device, assumingly). Phones have never been closer to HTPCs. It also works with the normal phone screen so web with mouse on a screen. (low resolution though)

Some people like to carry tons of gigabytes with them. I had, at most, 10G on N900 and it held 48G - no reason to hold back. It's just I never keep everything with me. Pics belong on a RAID array, in chronological order or by event, and only a few are left on the phone.

Gladly.