Nokia 8800

8800 Nokia picture If being understatedly stylish is at the top of your handset wishlist, then Nokia's 8800 might call out to you. Its stainless steel casing and lack of an immediately visible keypad are the first signs that style is integral. The sliding mechanism that extends the handset's length and reveals the keypad brings it home. But this is not a pocket-money handset. We found it SIM-free for a jaw-dropping 600 and the best contract price (as of August 2005) was 340 on a 20 per month contract. Moving on from the look and feel of the phone, the 8800 isn't the best-specified phone around, especially when you consider the price tag. The camera is rather poor, although the display is excellent, with 262,000 colours and high resolution. The MP3 player supports both MP3 and AAC formats with stereo output via a conventional stereo headset (included) or an optional Nokia Bluetooth wireless headset. 3D games are supported, plus fast data transfer via EDGE. There is also an XHTML web browser. Nokia 8800 Themes Free Nokia Themes download Nokia 8800 Software Free Nokia Software download Nokia 8800 Games Free Nokia Games download The sliding mechanism means the battery cover is fiddly to remove, and there isn't quite as much room as usual for the battery itself, which is necessarily rather small. You get a spare battery in the box, along with a suede pouch to keep the 8800 scratch-free. Nokia also provides a desk stand, complete with a slot to charge the spare battery. Overall, the 8800 does its job. It impresses. It's a stunningly beautiful phone that looks good, is lovely to hold, and does enough to hold its own against the competition. If style is what matters to you, then you may love the Nokia 8800, but there are too many issues to ignore, particularly battery life and poor audio quality. It could have been a five star phone, but doesn't make the grade. The new Nokia 8800 Sirocco improves on the original.

www.nenokia.net 2007 (email nenokia@bigmir.net)