mipowell

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Of course it will be subject to "Tall Poppy Syndrome"

Oct 16, 2008

Rating: 9 out of 10 (Spectacular)
Pros: Quality construction, stable, simple, plenty of storage.....
Cons: A bit pricey, but hey we don't all have to be the same
Opinion:
I picked up one of these phones having seen how stable, robust and just usable my wife's Arte Sapphire has been over the last 6 or so months.

The 8800 Carbon might be a bit on the pricey side. Is it for people who can't afford a Vertu? Maybe, but then again the difference between shelling out SGD 2k for a phone and SGD $10k is a vastly different proposition so I can't see the validity in that statement.

The attraction to the Arte is because it is a fashion statement. Lets face it there is no valid justification for having a carbon fibre clad phone other than the fact that it looks different, make that cool. No matter what phone most people buy, form factor, looks and perception of "coolness is a factor" that we all take into account when making our selection .

Nokia have very cunningly found a niche market here with the Arte and one that no other phone manufacturer has managed to crack successfully. The Arte is not a bling bling Vertu, but at the same time it is not a plastic fantastic mass market model either.

So why did I buy it? It is more a case of this device being a quality and robust product, that works, does not do a ton of things (my Blackberry Bold is the work hack) badly as is the case with most new phones today. Having looked at the N96, N85, these devices whilst boasting more and more capabilities are getting more and more flimsy. It does not hang, does not require rebooting, does not boast GPS navigation that tells your where you should be going after you have already gone past the turn off point.

Is it a phone for everyone? No definitely not. It does however have its place on the shelf as being a fashionable, and perfectly functional device. It offers simplicity.

Taking a closer look at the device, it pulls my personal pop account mail for me, is 3G, can be used as a GSM modem on my laptop, has an ok (not brilliant camera), 4GB storage, scratch resistant glass and finishing and surprisingly good talk time battery life. It has that simpicity of menu that made Nokia the defacto standard in phone menus all those years ago.

The supplied desk stand is solid, does not fall over, and is snug fitting meaning that you do not risk damaging the micro USB connectors on the phone when docking it to the stand. The phone comes with a 2 year warranty. Most of all I have been nothing short of impressed by looking at the as new condition of my wife's 6 month old Sapphire model which has taken one heck of a beating in the last six months.

This is a top quality phone, just not designed for the user that wants the plethora of toys that modern phones offer.

I love its simplicity.