Nokia Cell Phones

The Prism collection offers all fashionistas out there three phones – the more mass-market Nokia 7500 Prism and two senior devices – the Nokia 7900 Prism and its iteration, the Crystal Prism. Essentially, these handsets target women as their main audience, and while the Nokia 7900 Prism can qualify as a unisex model to a certain extent, so men can actually go for it, the Crystal Pink is heavy on pink and this very women-centric.

In our review on the Nokia 7500 we mentioned that the fundamental difference between it and the 7900 positioning-wise is brought about by the materials used and size, while the Nokia 6500 Classic is somewhat in between. In fact, the latter served as the prototype for the Nokia 7900 Prism, and the truth is, the list of differences between them is pretty shallow, however the 6500 Classic is versatile as far as its target demographic goes, whereas the Prism is a clear-cut feminine phone.

The maker never aimed t to make a mass-market solution for everyone; on the contrary, the senior member of the family was meant to drive the sales of the junior offerings. Basically, that’s how things stand these days, the Nokia 7500 enjoys some sales largely thanks to its elder brother, as not everyone can afford it – this approach to selling phone duos has been around for a while and usually works a treat.

As far as the Prism collection is concerned, or, to be more prices, its top-of-the-line offerings, it is essential to realize that these handsets are in effect the flagships in the candybar class for Nokia’s feminine phone series. Although a couple of new models will see release later this year, in September, the candybar-style solution among them will be somewhat cheaper, whereas the other two will come in different form-factors. Turns out, that all women and girls out there favoring the classic shapes will have no other way to go, as their choice will be pretty much confined to the Nokia 7900’s iterations. On the other hand, most women give more credit to clamshells, while being cold to candybars, that's why the Nokia 7900's niche won't be all that large. Nevertheless, as far as fashion-savvy solutions go, a shallow user base is more of a benefit, rather than a catastrophe. Therefore there are all reasons to believe that the niche Nokia has picked for the 7900 is right on.

But this phone is not without a handful of gimmicks. The fact is, the only socket it has onboard is the microUSB slot housed on its top end alongside the V-shaped lip on the back underneath which is the sliding battery cover. This brings about certain challenges, since when you are pulling the charger’s plug out of it or disconnect your earphones, you can well flick the casing open; and from a psychological standpoint it is very hard to grasp camera lens when dealing with this microUSB socket. We wish the battery compartment cover was tighter, though; but again, you will never see it open on its own in daily routine.

While idling, the Prism shows no captions on the keypad, presenting the user with a flat black surface, which makes the phone somewhat quirky and not like any other solution. By default all keys are lit in purple, although you can pick one of the 49 backlight colors in the settings. This is an unusual feat that first came along around 5 years ago in a handful of affordable models, but never made it to the mainstream (although they didn’t sport such a bevy of colors).

The Prism utilizes a 830 mAh Li-Ion battery (BL-5P), rated for 300 hours of standby and 3 hours of talk time. In Moscow it lasted around 3 days with 2 hours of calls and up to 4 hours of music. It takes the Prism around 2 hours to charge up.

The Prism packs in the same camera module as the Nokia 6500 Classic. This handset has a 2 mpx camera (CMOS) which is not that much by today’s standards, but it is still pretty much sufficient for a mid-tier offering. Unlike some solutions that come armed with 2 Mpix cameras, Nokia has decided not to bet on the camera part in the Nokia 7900, it is more of an optional feature here. This is why camera’s module picked for the Prism is one of the cheapest units out there, and provides pretty poor quality. Shooting in the dark with the Prism may give you a hard time, since the exposure settings go up even the slightest movements of your hands can ruin the shot. What is more, for the Prism “in the dark” is synonymous to a cloudy day outdoors.

The handset allows recording video in 3GP format, available resolution – 128x96 pixels, or 176x144 pixels. There are three recording quality settings available. You can limit a recording’s length, but it also can be unlimited, so you will keep capturing videos until the memory runs out (memory card or internal storage). Effects can be applied for video just as for still images, they are all the same.

The volume of the Prism’s polyphony is high enough to make sure you will hear it in various environments. While it sounds a tad muffled as opposed to phones enjoying two speakers, the Nokia 7900 Prism is still loud enough. The reception quality was never an issue with the handset either. The vibro alert is average strength-wise, but it does the job even if the phone is stuffed inside a pocket.

The Prism is a pretty decent fashion-conscious solution that can get women interested, all thanks to the light indicator and keypad backlight adding more value to the phone. Also among the positives are the handset’s materials and build quality. But since the Nokia 7900 Prism is more of a complement to the Nokia 6500 Classic, it should be viewed as a niche offering, which is quite potent at that, given its current price tag (320-340 Euro). In its turn, the Prism Crystal will retail for around 375 Euro when it arrives in April.

As far as designer solutions go, it is a very rare occasion when we actually manage to come up with either direct or indirect rivals to them, for they are designed by people with sometimes polarized tastes, making for differently looking phones and thus little to no overlapping of ideas and concepts. But to my great surprise, the Nokia 7900 Prism does have a brother in arms – the Sony Ericsson T650i that also comes with a variety of light effects for its keypad, yet only one color for the key backlight, sports a metallic casing (unlike the Prism’s patterned body, it is smooth), Prism-grade display, ring tones volume and functionality and a slightly better camera. Basically, they have a lot of things in common, down to their price tags. But the thing is, they are still different – while the Prism is a very women-centric solution, the T650i caters for the tastes of both men and women. That’s the difference and that’s what makes the Prism a better way to go for women. Other than that, the Nokia 7900 Prism has no direct or even indirect rivals, that’s why it will sell well among its target audience.

Nokia continues to court well-heeled customers with another painfully expensive (around the £700 mark, SIM-free) handset aimed squarely at the luxury market.

The 8600 Luna is a solid 2.5G mobile that's all about style -- from its smoked glass top to its stainless steel tail. It's available exclusively through The Carphone Warehouse, from free with selected contracts over £40 a month.

Strengths

There's a fine line between 'reassuring' and merely 'heavy', but the 8600 falls on the right side of the tracks, cramming its 140g into a pleasantly tactile 16mm waistline. Much of that weight is down to the slab of smoked glass that encapsulates the phone, sliding up gracefully in the middle to reveal a small illuminated number pad. The chassis and detailing are stainless steel -- overall this feels like one tough handset.

The 50mm (2-inch) screen boasts 16 million colours and a 320x240-pixel resolution that means photos and videos look extremely sharp and natural. The animated graphical interface is typically straightforward and responsive -- anyone who's used a Nokia before will feel right at home.

Multimedia features are basic but effective. The 2-megapixel camera produces acceptable snaps in daylight, although it does ladle on grainy digital noise in the background. The media player has a very simple interface that makes using the FM radio or playing individual songs simple. You'll need a headset (ideally Bluetooth stereo) to make the most of both, as the built-in mono speaker is nothing special.

GPRS Web browsing is acceptable thanks to the sharp screen, but is no match for a genuine 3G handset. Messaging options include a good email client and Nokia's Xpress audio messaging, which allows you to send voice-clips as MMS. There are also some impressive 3D games on board.

Weaknesses

Exotic materials do have their drawbacks. The metallic backplate attracts scratches almost as easily as the glass front encourages smeary fingerprints -- although at least Nokia thoughtfully bundles a polishing cloth for the latter.

The high-res display has encouraged Nokia to use the smallest font size imaginable. While this keeps screen furniture like the network name nicely minimalised, it also makes key features like the clock and menu options tricky to read. You can, however, adjust the font size for contacts and text messaging.

The 8600's plastic keypad feels cheap compared to the rest of the handset, and the bottom row of buttons is slightly obscured by the smoked glass cover. There's also a quirk in the messaging software that makes it too easy to send the same text several times.

No ugly memory card slot is allowed to sully the Luna's smoothly rounded edges -- you'll have to make do with 128MB of internal memory. Similarly, an LED light might have spoiled the subtle, square camera design, so venture into low light photography at your own risk. Videos are also given short shrift, with miniscule (176x144 pixels) clips that are suitable only for messaging.

Conclusion

Judged on its price to specification ratio, the 8600 would barely merit a glance. You can pick up perfectly functional pay-as-you-go handsets with more advanced multimedia features for a fraction of its price. But style phones follow their own rules, and by any measure this is a tough, usable mobile that doesn't altogether deserve its likely fate -- to be ruthlessly upgraded when it loses its cool in approximately six months.

The Nokia N95 is a flagship smartphone produced by Nokia. It is part of the company's Nseries line of smartphones. The N95 runs on Symbian OS v9.2, with an S60 3rd Edition platform with Feature Pack 1. The phone uses a two-way slider to access either media playback buttons or a numeric keypad. Two newer versions have also been released: the upgraded N95 8GB (N95-2), and the N95-3, which adds 3G support for North America.

It was unveiled in September 2006 and was released at the end of March 2007.

Nokia has heavily promoted this phone using the tagline "It's what computers have become."

On March 22, 2007 Nokia announced that the N95 had started shipping in key European, Asian and Middle Eastern markets.

On April 7, 2007, the N95 went on sale in the United States through Nokia's Flagship stores in New York and Chicago and through Nokia's nseries.com website. No US carriers are expected to offer this phone.

On August 29, 2007, two updated versions of the N95 were announced at a press event in London; first, the N95-3, specifically created for the North American market with support for AT&T Mobility's 850/1900 MHz W-CDMA (3G/UMTS, 3.5G/HSDPA) bands instead of the original European/Asian 2100 MHz frequency; second, the N95 8GB, an updated version for the European/Asian markets with 8GB of onboard flash memory, slightly larger screen (up from 2.6 inches to 2.8 inches), and a black faceplate instead of the original silver. Both the new versions have additional changes, such as the removal of the sliding lens cover for the camera, improved battery life, and doubling of runtime memory (RAM) from 64 to 128 MB. The U.S. version started retailing without carrier branding or discounts in Nokia's flagship stores in New York and Chicago on September 26, 2007; however it is unclear whether this phone will eventually be carried by AT&T Mobility. Also, there is no word yet on a version for the T-Mobile U.S. 1700/2100 MHz W-CDMA bands.

Nokia N95 handsets supplied by Orange and Vodafone in the UK have the VoIP facility disabled from the phone by installing their own firmware and not using the Nokia generic software. Vodafone's reason for removing the facility was that it "does not believe it's a mature technology". O2, T-Mobile & 3 allow VoIP to be used on their handsets, however data charges may apply when using the service. This is due to the high data transfer costs.

The N95 contains an integrated GPS receiver which is located below the 0 key on the keypad. The phone ships with navigation software. Maps are free and can be downloaded either over the air (via a carrier's data packet network) or through the phone's built-in WiFi. Maps can also be downloaded via a PC using the Nokia MapLoader application. Individual city guides and voice navigation are also available, but require a fee. A-GPS was added later, which greatly improved the performance of the GPS.

The N95 has built-in Wi-Fi, with which it can access the Internet (through a 802.11b/g wireless network). The N95 can also connect to the Internet through a carrier packet data network such as UMTS, HSDPA, or EDGE. The web browser displays full web pages as opposed to simplified pages as on most other phones. Web pages may be viewed in portrait or landscape mode and automatic zooming is supported. The N95 also has Bluetooth built in and works with wireless earpieces that use Bluetooth 2.0 technology and for file transfer.

It should be noted that the original N95 does not support US based versions of UMTS/HSDPA; UMTS features in this version of this phone are disabled by default as sold in the US (but can be reactivated if needed). Likewise, the forthcoming N95 U.S. will only support AT&T's 850/1900 MHz UMTS/HSDPA bands, not the 1700 MHz T-Mobile USA band or the 2100 MHz band used internationally.

The phone can also act as a WAN access point allowing a tethered PC access to a carrier's packet data network. VoIP software and functionality is also included with the phone (though some carriers have opted to remove this feature).

All this and much-much more makes this phone a computer in your pocket. All you need, from calls to GPS and Internet - Nokia N95 can provide.

Sales package:
Handset
Wired stereo-headset (HS-82)
Charger (AC-6)
Li-Pol battery (BL-6P)
Micro USB data cable (CA-101)
User Guide
Software CD

The story of this model is very remarkable and has much to do with how the company's vision of its product line-ups development changed over time and what expectations the company had for its future phones. By summer 2005, over at Nokia they had grown unhappy with the way their product design had been going, and this resulted in Frank Nuovo resignation. This event was followed by, if not dramatic, but still a substantial revision of the product creation approach, which allowed the line of "slim" devices to emerge - the development of these solutions commenced in the middle of 2005. Back then, the company, already lagging behind both Samsung and Motorola, the trailblazer in slim phones, began looking into the ways of rolling out similar offerings.

They started off with a bunch of models, one of them was codenamed Lynn (today known as the Nokia 6500 Classic). Christian Riise managed the product, whose development kicked off in August 2005. First results and a rough spec sheet had shaped up even before September 2005 ended, after this point they engaged themselves in the development of the hardware department, as well as design. The image of the device was finalized by December, and its first designs employed plastic. In February 2006 this device was tested out on a focus group in Moscow and several other cities. Apart from this model, they also showcased designs of the Nokia 6300 and a couple of other handsets. Curiously, when the users put Nokia 6300 and Nokia 6500 Classic head to head, it was the latter that came out victorious, as it seems a tad classier.

The Nokia 6300 is positioned as a designer solution, but at the same time it belongs to the Connect - Contemporary category in Nokia's books, like the Nokia 6500 classic. While the former device has been pushed under the motto , the latter has had a couple of aspects highlighted, with materials, rather than design, being the centerpiece of the ad campaign. The maker doesn't trick us, claming that the device is made of metal - indeed, the top part is made of anodized aluminum. And, no matter how you look at it, on the top, metal is everywhere. At the same time they claim every device has unique front polishing to it, there are no two models that look alike. I readily believe in this as well, but in real life conditions, you can barely spot the difference in metal polishing, all 6500 Classic look resembling. The entire underside is a kind of a "shoe" dressing up the handset's innards. This solution has already been used for rugged Nokia's phones, for example, the Nokia 5100 and its successors. This part of the casing enjoys only moderately thick plastic. The antennas are also located here, even though such lay-out doesn't seem normal, it is successfully utilized in many other phones, for example, from Motorola.

The handset ships with a 830 mAh Li-Pol battery (BL-6P). As the manufacturer puts it, this cell can keep the phone up and running for 215 hours in standby or provide 9 hours of talk time. In Moscow the battery time averaged 2 days at 2 hours of calls and up to 5 hours of music. It takes the battery about 2 hours to charge up from empty to full.

The model has received a camera model absolutely identical to that of the Nokia 6300 with no substantial changes. That's why we are taking the camera review and sample shots from the respective write-up. This handset has a 2mpx camera (CMOS) which is not that much by today's standards, but it is still pretty enough for a mid-range model. Nokia has decided not to bank on the camera department, so as far as the 6500 Classic is concerned, it is more of an optional feature. That's why the camera module that was selected for 6500 Classic is one of the cheapest out there, and provides average quality, if not to say meager. In poor light conditions, this camera won't snap good photos, that's for sure - its exposure time increases and every movement of your hand leads to a blurry image in the end.

The volume of 72-tone polyphony is enough for almost all environments. The 6500 Classic also does fine on the reception front, as it stands up to all other phones of the current generation. The vibro alert is average strength-wise, but can be still felt while the handset is in pocket.

This is the key offering for Nokia, so the maker's substantial marketing activities come as no surprise. In the vast majority of European regions, it retails for around 320-350 Euro, whereas in Russia it sells for 650 USD or more. The phone has been positioned as a fashion-savvy solution in the first place - its target audience is not really into mobile powerhouses.

Over the month of our quality time with a commercial unit, we couldn't a reason to fault its coating or performance. However, our handset had some problems with the "shoe" which didn't fit the upper part of the casing very well - in fact, there is no one else to blame for this but us, and we couldn't fix this, regrettably. Short of that problem, we didn't notice any other flaws with the 6500 Classic.

The 6500 Classic is an pleasant phone to use. It doesn't really qualify as a music-minded solution, even though it does okay on the music front. The list of its direct competitors has only the Sony Ericsson W880i, but the latter has been around for a while now, whereas the Nokia 6500 Classic has the momentum behind it.