By Reuben Lee
01/06/2007
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/mobilephones/0,39050603,62017744,00.htm

Nokia recently announced three new handsets which feature innovative materials used in their design, among them the premium 8600 Luna slider with smoked glass cover over its keypad.

	Nokia's 8600 Luna features an opaque glass slider cover. (click for more info)

Based on images provided on the Nokia global press site, this integration of opaque glass in the design of the 8600 Luna allows the keypad illumination to be gently viewable when the cover is closed. The quadband GSM-enabled Luna also makes use of stainless steel in its exterior, and combines a 24-bit color QVGA display, 2-megapixel camera and micro-USB connector.

How did the Luna name come about? According to Nokia's senior VP of Mobile Phones, Heikki Norta, "much like the Nokia 8600 Luna that we named in her honor, Luna, the goddess of moonlight, was often represented by the Romans as a mysterious captivating beauty encircled in a soft, yet radiant light".

	The 6500 classic measures just 9.5mm thick and comes with 1GB onboard memory. (click for more info)

While the names may suggest that the two mobiles are similar models with different form factors, the Nokia 6500 slide and 6500 classic are really quite different. In fact, other than both quadband handsets offering 3G connectivity and 16 million-color displays, the two phones have hardly any similarities. The 6500 classic candy bar, which measures just 9.5mm thick, seems like a 3G successor to the popular 6300 with its slim aluminum casing. It also packs in a 2-megapixel camera with dual LED flash, unified micro-USB port for charging, data transfer and audio, as well as a large 1GB onboard memory. There's no built-in card slot or front camera for 3G video calls, though.

The 6500 slide, on the other hand, is the more feature-intensive of the two. It comes with a 3.2-megapixel camera (with Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus and dual LED lights), TV-out, 2.2-inch display, FM radio and microSD card slot. It also features a brushed stainless steel casing which Nokia claims can protect the handset against scratches and fingerprints.

In Asia, both the 6500 models are expected in the third quarter of this year, while the 8600 Luna is slated to debut before the end of the second quarter of 2007.

Nokia's new handset trio

Model name	In a nutshell
Nokia 8600 Luna Click for more details	Cool factor: Smoked glass cover over its keypad and stainless steel casing Notable features: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Series 40 platform 2-megapixel camera 240 x 320-pixel 16-million-color display Bluetooth and micro-USB connectivity 2.5mm audio jack Onboard music player 10 days standby time; 3hr 40min talktime 107 x 45 x 15.9mm; 143g Availability: Q2 2007
Nokia 6500 classic Click for more details	Cool factor: Slim candy-bar phone with 3G and 1GB memory. Notable features: GSM 850/900/1800/1900; WCDMA 850/2100 2-megapixel camera with dual flash LED Series 40 platform 240 x 320-pixel 16-million-color display Bluetooth and unified micro-USB connectivity 1GB internal memory Onboard music player 12.5 days standby time; 5.5hr talktime 109.8 x 45 x 9.5mm; 94g Availability: Q3 2007
Nokia 6500 slide Click for more details	Cool factor: Slider with stainless steel casing and 3.2-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics. Notable features: GSM 850/900/1800/1900; WCDMA 850/2100 2-megapixel camera with dual flash LED, Carl Zeiss optics and autofocus Series 40 platform 3rd edition 2.2-inch 240 x 320-pixel 16-million-color display Bluetooth and TV-out connectivity 2.5mm audio jack microSD card slot Onboard music player, Flickr and Adobe Photoshop 13 days standby time; 6hr talktime 96.5 x 46.5 x 16.4mm; 125g Availability: Q3 2007