Nokia 8250

Print

Email

Bookmark

Share

In trying to inject "techno-trendy" appeal into its product line, Nokia has released a spruced-up and funkier version of its popular 8210 model, complete with facelift and improved data transfer speeds.

First Impressions
The 8250 looks and feels the same as the current favorite, the Nokia 8210. It's only slightly heavier and boasts an eye-grabbing futuristic faceplate. Unlike the 8210's almost-flush keypad, the 8250's buttons are more raised, allowing for better feel and touch feedback--perfect for the SMS junkies of today.

The one thing that really stands out on the 8250 is the bright blue backlight. There was a time I used to wonder why anyone would want to make their mobile phones look like "Bengster" (youth racer) Honda Civics with blue backlighting. Well, now I understand. Besides standing out among the traditional green backlit displays found in most of today's mobile phones, it is supposed to offer superior contrast (though I've had mixed comments on this point). The blue backlight is less harsh than the white backlight on the Nokia 8850 , but it certainly takes some getting used to. However, once you're accustomed to it, green just doesn't seem right on mobile phones anymore.

Nokia has also taken industrial design for mobile phones to a whole new level with the X-style menu button layout. Like the backlighting, this also takes some getting used to. Although the Menu and Names buttons are nice and big, the dial and disconnect buttons have shrunk to a size that can only be comfortable for those with smaller fingers. The keypad buttons are slightly larger, more raised and offer better tactile response compared with the 8210's buttons.

Under The Hood
With the price of the 8210 falling to a sub-S$400 level, the 8250 (introduced at less than S$700) had better have more than looks to set it apart from its relatively inexpensive cousin. To start off, mobile warriors using notebooks and PDAs will be delighted to know that the 8250 offers data support at 14.4 kbps instead of the 9.6 kbps, the rate found in many earlier models including the Nokia 7110 and 9110 Communicator.

With support for Thai, Bahasa Malaysia, Tamil, Tagalog and Vietnamese, the 8250 has a leg up on the 8210 in terms of language options. While this wouldn't be much of a feature to most of us in Singapore, it opens up the market for Nokia in the Southeast Asian markets.

The 8250 also incorporates the SMS Chat and screensaver features from the 3310. Frankly, besides looking cool, the screensaver does nothing else of any practical value. With a hip looking operator logo and profile name, my 7110 and 8210 can look almost as cool, so the screensaver really doesn't excite me. The SMS Chat feature, on the other hand, offers an IRC-like interface for SMS messaging with another party, though many SMS junkies like me are unlikely to switch to something new but not radical.

Like the 8210, the 8250 supports six custom ringing tones, created through the composer or downloaded from the Internet or through third-party software such as LogoManager. In addition, Nokia has also provided a PC Suite for the 8850 (a free download from Forum Nokia) which allows users to easily manage the phonebook and calendar (PC Sync--works with Microsoft Outlook), create group graphic logos (PC Graphics) and compose tones (PC Composer) using a PC connected via the infrared port. Users can assign voice tags for up to eight phone numbers, and set up five caller groups with customized ringtones, ringing style (ascending, beep, ringing, etc.), SMS alert tones, and keypad tone volume.

Battery life on the 8250 is comparable with that of the 8210 and both phones share the same handsfree kit, batteries and power equipment (the ACP-8X, which is also compatible with the 7110). Unfortunately, due to changes in the keypad layout, the faceplates are not interchangeable between the 8210 and 8250 (although the back panel is--but who wants to change that?). I managed to get a good three hours and 45 minutes of talktime out of a fully charged battery and squeezed a good 3 days of standby time (with an average of one hour's use a day) before the phone shut down.

One noticeable difference between the 8210 and the 8250 is the volume of the speaker. The latter seems to be able to reproduce sound louder and clearer than the former. Reception and transmission quality is superb though the phone tends to get a bit warm around the battery area after 20 to 30 minutes of use.

Considerations
Unlike many mobile phones targeted at the lifestyle market today, it is sad to see that the 8250 does not offer WAP services, something that's becoming a standard feature on such phones.

Also, there appears to be a small bug in the Caller Group feature, which causes the phone to hang after assigning 15 to 20 contacts to groups. I believe Nokia will take care of this in a very short time (they usually do). For this reason, it's a good idea to keep your warranty card handy so you can swing by any Nokia Professional Center to have the software upgraded from time to time.

Conclusion
So what's the 8250 really like? Well, in a nutshell, it's an aesthetically revamped 8210 with chat functionality and blue backlighting. As such, users may find it hard to shell out an additional S$300 for a funkier version of something they can get for S$388 (with a two-year plan from most shops). Still, the 8250 is one of Nokia's better phones and is certainly worth a look. Once you get your hands on one, you may find its appeal hard to ignore.