Nokia 8800

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Features
The 8800's minimalist facade belies the multimedia features lying in wait under that shiny hull. Again, it's a mixed bundle. You get EDGE support, but it isn't offered here in Singapore. You get Bluetooth, but no infrared. There's music playback including--surprisingly--an FM tuner. Unfortunately, Nokia has chosen to bundle a mono headset, although stereo playback is supported via Bluetooth which you can activate through the music options.

The headset doubles as an antenna for the onboard radio. Unfortunately it's in mono.

You get 64MB of internal NAND flash memory, but only about 47.7MB are usable given the preinstalled stuff, and there's no expansion slot. Of course, this won't be missed much if you're using the 8800 as nothing more than a status object. There's a loudspeaker which also outputs audio, but for radio you'll still need to plug in the headset/antenna for it to work.

Other than that, the 8800 packs support for Java, EGPRS, HSCSD, video, multimedia streaming, Chinese and Malay text, PIM, Wallet, Converter, email, instant messaging, voice commands, and a phonebook capable of multiple numbers per name, voice dial, picture ID, and groups. There's also World Clock, Converter, and a nifty Translator which works for individual words.

The keylock feature, however, belongs to one of those Dilbert moments--pointless and impractical. Every time you shut the slider, the 8800 will ask if you want to lock your keys. Since the keypad is hidden, the power button changes only Profiles, and the two front buttons do virtually nothing, one wonders what the Nokia designers were thinking.

For entertainment, there are three preinstalled Java games: Street Race, Golf Tour, and Chess. The latter can be played with another player via SMS or Bluetooth, or even against the computer, with a 3D graphics engine enhancing gameplay. More Java games can be downloaded either directly to the phone or via the Nokia Application Installer in the PC Suite.

In line with the phone's premium positioning, Nokia enlisted Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto to create some very New Age-y ringtones which you can delete if you don't fancy. You can also assign MP3s as ringtones.

Now you see it, now you don't. The blue base light breathes, much like the Zen Micro and Apple iPod, when charging the phone. You can turn this off via the switch behind.

The desktop charger deserves a paragraph of its own. The blue base light certainly makes it easier to know if the phone is charging. But--get this--it can charge only one item at a time despite the dual slots, with the phone taking precedence. Meanwhile, the base light has its own built-in Da Vinci Code that you must crack. It will breathe blue light only when the desk charger is empty, or when only the phone is inserted or when, in the event that both phone and battery are in slot, the latter is fully charged. We'll leave you to read the manual to figure out what happens when the blue light is constant.

No complaints this time with the Nokia screen. The 8800's scratch-resistant display means you don�t have to worry about slipping your phone into your pocket with your keys and coins and scratching that expensive investment. The 262,144 colors are crystal clear whether outdoors or inside, while the TFT 208 x 208-pixel screen is about the right size for this slider.

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