Nokia 8600 Luna

Positioning of the handset

One of the most sought-after handsets in the premium market today is the Nokia 8800 in all its editions and variations due to a simple reason – it is pricey and has a quaint design. The 800-1000 Euro price-bracket features no competition for it whatsoever, even with all its technical letdowns, such as mediocre battery life, meagre functionality, people are still buying it. The model is so vastly popular that waiting for a new Nokia’s device grows into some kind of sport. Many owners of the Nokia 8800 are ready to throw it away in favor of other solution, which would have metal casing, design that nobody would possibly miss and the price living up to the owner’s status.

The debut of the Nokia 8600 Luna for Live Premium category would seem to be a response to the consumers’ expectations, but in the end it is not all that simple. The 8600’s price tag is lighter than the Nokia 8800 SE by almost 250 Euro. Keep in mind, while cheaper it totally overwhelms the latter functionality-wise, sports more palm-friendly dimensions and so on. So what this price is all about? Very simple – this solution is slightly lower on the status ladder, that’s it, the Luna is a mere addition to the 8xxx line, rather than its flagship. Those feeling an urge to replace their Nokia 8800 with it, may go on and do that, but it would be a shame to shell out for Nokia 89xx Classic, or something in the near term. Within the range, the Luna finds its place below the Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition, you should think of it in somewhat different way – this is also indicated, albeit indirectly, by missing unique ring tones, like those the Nokia 8800 and the Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition show off. Well, then we are waiting for a phone which has already had these tunes created, and for now, let us break down the Nokia 8600 Luna.

Model name

“Luna” isn’t the product’s codename as many thought long before the official announcement, it makes a single whole with the index. Nokia has picked the way of personal names for many solutions, at that, milestone offerings get unique names, while series or categories are named after the segment. The latter is characterized, for example, by “Classic” – there are the Nokia 6500 Classic (and the Nokia 6500 Slider, which is a totally different model) and the Nokia 3110 Classic. In some respect, this is similar to what Sony Ericsson makes for its line-up, yet over there they do it basing on functionality, which means that Walkman name comprises only music-minded phones.

“Luna” comes from the Greek history – it is the goddess of the moon light, who was frequently identified with Selena. The history has much to tell, and the Greek myths are the perfect read for those curious about what happened to Latona and her daughter from the Sun and why Luna’s love to Endymion the shepherd was so sad. Ever since Luna has been recognized as the ideal helper in charming the loved ones, as in its light they gain special strength.

Selena, when she came to mortals, caused languor in their hearts, her eyes were drawing beautiful pictures with light and the sea was close to spill out its waves onto the shore. This goddess was special, and it seems it is the sparkling of the moon light that they have tried to reflect in the Nokia 8600’s name.

Our history has many surprising turns, for example, despite a stunning victory of the church over paganism and the Greek Gods, today we speak about them even without noticing. The Goddess of the Moon is honored by us every Monday, it is her day, actually. In Latin this day is called Lunae dies, and the French, as the most similar-sounding language, puts it as Lundi. In English it as morphed into Monday (moon day), in German - into Montag. Other weekdays are also named after various gods. Basing on this, we can delve even deeper and try to find the depths of the Nokia 8600 Luna’s name. This device is devoted to a goddess, and what a goddess she is! In some ways, that’s why this handset feels more feminine than the Nokia 8800. It won’t come as a big surprise for me, if other gods will become names for the products coming from the 8000-series. Which sounds not bad at all – the “Divine line-up”.

Design, materials, casing

The stumbling block for the Nokia 8800 was its pathetic battery life, which was directly affected by the metal casing, since it took a lot of energy to beam a signal out of it. And struggling for more hours without changing materials was not possible, and that’s exactly why the Nokia 8600 utilizes glass finish. The bottom part of the slider is made of hardened glass, although at first you want to believe that it is stainless steel, which is so Nokia 8800. But when it starts ringing, you instantly see the keypad glowing underneath.

Figuring out how strong this glass actually is, doesn’t seem possible, as for that we might probably need a hammer, but thankfully, when dropped, the Nokia 8600 doesn’t let you down. So for, Motorola has been the only company to employ glass in its models, specifically in the Motorola KRZR. Though the difference lies in the fact that in Motorola’s solutions, this glass just covers the display and serves decorative purposes, but here it is a part of the casing, at that, a moving part. Though, technically it is the handset itself that moves, while the cover remains on its place.

Undoubtedly, we have to wait until the first reports of the Nokia 8600 users on the glass durability, but speaking of today, there are no negative prerequisites, so I guess it will do just fine.

The main chassis part is made of stainless steel, though with matte finish, which really doesn’t feel like this type of metal. It is some sort of powder that has been spread all over the surface, so that now it is a tad rough to the touch. This is an obvious difference from the soft touch finish, that has been all the rage lately; and the reason behind this coating is that they wanted to make the casing as smudge-resistant as possible. Indeed, the rear hardly picks up finger prints or grease from your hands, whereas the front fascia is a real magnet to for smudge, making you take out the velvet cloth, that comes boxed with the Luna, quite often.

At present there aren’t too many models out there that enjoy the same casing texture, the only thing that came across my mind was Mobiado Luminoso, where powder covers the aluminum casing. Curiously, these two models are technically share much, being based off the well-known Nokia 6233 and having nearly identical suites of features (let us put it this way – the Nokia 8600 is marginally better in terms of functionality).

The design elements of the Nokia 8600 are brilliant, styling it up and giving the phone even more shine, are the loudspeakers’ metal grills and the chrome-coated volume rocker. The build quality is not something we would ever complain about in the Nokia 8600 with its well-adjusted parts. In hands, it looks like a very solid bar.

As of today, it seems that Nokia 8600 will be available only in black – the glass here allows us to make a guess that there are certain problems with making up other color schemes, but if the manufacturer does find the way to bring them to the market, they are more likely to boast flashy colors and the status of unique offers. For example, look at the Motorola KRZR’s color, which looks the way we see it now all thanks to the glass finish.

If you want to make sure, that the casing is made of stainless steel, then there is only one way to do that – remove the battery cover. The locker is placed on the left spine, so having pressed it, you just move the lid down. Basically, everything will go fine even with the handset closed, but putting the cover into its place is possible only when the phone has been flicked open.

The 8600 measures up at 107x45x15.9 mm and tips the scales at 140 grams. Compare, the Nokia 8800 has the following dimensions and weight: 107x45x17.5 mm, 138 grams. Though even with that said, they don’t feel any different from each other, and you can drag them along in any desired fashion, be it a short pocket, trousers or bag.

What is more interesting is quite different size of the phones – slid open, the Nokia 8600 is about 0,5 cm shorter, which doesn’t hurt its usability, though. They managed to trim these millimeters off with the help of the dip on the sliding part, which the Nokia 8800 lacked. At that, while the display has improved over the predecessor, keypad ease-of-use hasn’t been sacrificed, as it is just the same as we remember it size-wise.

The slider mechanism works well, the halves slide with ease and at that assisted by the spring mechanism. Unlike the Nokia 8800, this one doesn’t product that metal click upon opening; it makes less noise when being zipped open.

Battery

The handset makes use of a Li-Pol 900 mAh battery (BP-5M). The maker rates the battery life for 10 days of standby and 3,7 hours of talk time. Similar specifications were given to the Nokia 8800 SE, but then, in the real-life, the cell lasted only one day. However over there it was a 700 mAh battery.

Increased battery capacity, different materials used – all this has taken effect on the battery life, yet doesn’t make all the difference. The device lasts about 10 percent longer than the Nokia 8800 SE when put under the same load (calls, SMS-messages, etc). And if you remember that Nokia 8800 SE improved over the Nokia 8800 by about 10 percent as well, these figures will look pretty Also, don’t forget that the display found in the Nokia 8600 is substantially bigger than in the previous device.

Display

The Nokia 8600 utilizes a QVGA display, powered by TFT technology (16 mln colors, which are all bright and vibrant) with a resolution of 240x320 pixels (diagonal of 2 inches, 31x41 mm). The manufacturer hasn’t included any type of backlighting adjustment, i.e. the screen is always evenly backlit, which allows saving a bit of charge. Nevertheless the user is enabled to choose standby screensaver and backlighting mode (on/off) – in the latter case, if the backlighting will be turned off, the information will remain visible indoors but only at certain angles. Apart from that you can completely switch off the screen, so that it will turn black with no information being displayed on it. In light of the screen having a mirror layer, it doesn’t fade in the sun and ensures that all data will be still readable.

The fuss around the display utilizing OLED-technology is groundless and has been initiated not without the help of incompetent journalists of the British T3 magazine (these notes are shown in the video clips, along with 1 Gb of inbuilt memory).

Memory

The handset comes equipped with 128 Mb of onboard memory. Technically, the 8600 is no different from Nokia 6233, they share every last thing up to the bits and pieces. This way, it runs S40 3rd edition Feature Pack 1, which automatically means it carries a standard suite of features.

USB, Bluetooth, other sockets

USB. The Nokia 8600 employs the microUSB slot, which is a bit slimmer and thus differs from the miniUSB we all have gotten used to. In the near future microUSB will become a standard solution for household appliances and the handsets in particular. Nokia also has plans for putting this socket into own devices in mind. Though, these days, it is quite a challenge to buy the microUSB cable from retailers, not to say next to impossible. Such cables are included into sales packages of some MP3 players, but that’s about it.

The vendor says that the handset supports USB 2.0, and it does indeed, in USB Mass Storage mode the connection via USB cable puts up medium data transfer speed which makes up about 500-600 Kb/s. This is slower than the Motorola RAZR2 V8, which also comes installed with microUSB-socket.

Upon successful connection you can pick one of the following modes: USB Mass Storage, PC Studio, or modem mode. Depending on what you have selected, the battery starts charging up. There is no support for MTP mode, music tracks have to be moved onto the phone manually.

Bluetooth. The handset comes with EDR-enabled Bluetooth 2.0. The following profiles are supported:

• Dial-Up Networking Profile
• Generic Access Profile
• Generic Object Exchange Profile
• Object Push Profile
• Serial Port Profile
• Handsfree Profile
• Headset Profile
• Synchronization Profile
• Basic Image Profile
• File Transfer Profile
• HID (host) Profile
• Stereo Advanced Audio Distribution Profile
• Advanced Audio/Video Remote Conference Profile

The Bluetooth implementation is, as always though, nothing to complain about, we encountered no issues with handling this type of connections. The stereo-headset also works fine.

2.5 mm jack. I really don’t know where the conclusion on the 2,5 mm audio jack comes from, probably, from the headset specifications, which hasn’t changed its number, but its plug has morphed into microUSB. The 8600 houses only one socket for all connection types, no stand-alone slots for headphones are implemented.

Performance

Being a typical phone for S40 3rd edition FP1, it performs pretty much like the Nokia 6233, though is quite different from the Nokia 8800 SE. The interface proves to be sufficiently speedy, nothing we would complain about.

Camera

This handset has 2mpx camera (CMOS) which is not that much by today’s standards, but it is still pretty much sufficient. Nokia has decided not to bet on the camera part, it is more of an optional feature here. This is why camera’s module picked for 8600 is one of the cheapest units out there, and provides average quality, if not to say meagre.

The following resolutions are supported:

• 1600x1200
• 1280x960
• 640x480
• 320x240
• 160x120

Two minimal resolutions were added for creating photos that would fit as wallpapers for display. Three JPEG compression types are supported: basic, normal, high. Considering the fact that photos do not blow your imagination away, it is better to set maximal quality, it won’t be worse than it is.

Shutter sound can be disabled, there is 8x digital zoom, but there is no reason to use it. You can save photos in the internal memory.

Video. Handset allows recording video in 3GP format, available resolution – 128x96 pixels, or 176x144. Recording quality is divided into three parameters. You can limit recording’s length, but it also can be limitless, until memory runs out (internal memory). Effects can be applied for video just as they can be applied for photos, they are one and the same.

Games, pre-installed applications, themes

The handset comes pre-installed with four games, - High Roller Casino, Soccer 3D, and 3D Golf Tour. The user can install own application, yet has to observe the size limit for a Java-application, which makes 1 Mb.

The application menu comprises such programs as Converter II, World Clock, Presenter. .

Also, the Luna comes preinstalled with 7 very unique themes.

Impressions

The volume of 64-tone polyphony is enough for almost any conditions. The receiving part also does fine, as it equals all other phones of the current generation. The silent alarm is average strength-wise, but can be still felt while the handset is in pocket.

The model has already hit CarphoneHouse and in July will arrive in stocks of other major players in other countries. The 8600 will cost you about 700-800 Euro, which is cheaper than the Nokia 8800. In terms of build quality and materials used, however, this handset is beyond competition today. In view of how popular all editions of the Nokia 8800 are, make no mistake about that – the Nokia 8600 Luna will be a bestseller on the market. Less hefty price tag comes from missing desktop stand and second battery in the package. At the same time, the Luna has turned out to be a more feminine handset; so while the Nokia 8800 is sought-after among men, this device might go an opposite way. Undoubtedly, it has been styled as a unisex phone, but for some reason, we can’t help it but say it will fit women best. I don’t know why this is so, but anyhow, perhaps it is the first device since the Nokia 8810 to provoke such feelings.

Sony Ericsson K800i

Camera - Very good

The K800i shoots what can only be described as outstanding high-quality stills with vivid, accurate colours and a minimum of blur courtesy of its autofocus and image stabilization. It may not excel under poorly lit conditions despite its decent Xenon flash, but has other positive traits such as minimal lag between shots and a high-resolution screen to double as its viewfinder.

We also favour the BestPic burst mode which snaps a total of 9 stills across the time span of a second (perfect for fast-paced action), as well as hassle-free posting to Google's Blogger service. Sharing and printing photos is equally straightforward, although we miss the ability to do the latter over Bluetooth. Video quality, meanwhile, proved entirely sub-par.

Calling - Very good

Though its signal reception falls slightly short of ideal, the K800i handles audio and video alike with aplomb, and we're pleased by the quality of its loudspeaker, as well as good Bluetooth support and fast camera switching during video calls.

Messaging - Very good

Had it not been for the slightly cramped navigational pad and minute lag exhibited by the otherwise highly comfortable keypad, the K800i would have earned full marks as it handles all the usual suspects - SMS, MMS and e-mail - with ease.

Browsing - Good

An improved browser has snuck its way into the K800i, and appears reasonably apt at reformatting content for mobile screens - yet does in no way stand out from the crowd. As a bonus, owners get a handy yet basic RSS reader.

Battery life - Very good

With talk time hovering in the 5 hour range and standby clocking in around the 8-day mark, the K800i offers quite decent battery life; for picture taking, the limited amount of onboard memory will be depleted long before the battery is.

Nokia N93 camera phone

Calling - Very good

Handling voice and video calls with ease, the N93 offers excellent quality but doesn't quite match the usual excellence of its siblings for signal reception and volume. Bluetooth headset users will find themselves well served, however, and we also favour the inclusion of speaker independent voice dialing. Battery life is average with 3,5 hours of talk time and 7 days of standby, meaning users who draw on the full feature set of the phone should expect having to charge every day.

Messaging - Very good

Equipped with a massive, comfortable and responsive keypad as well as the ability to display in the range of 170 characters on-screen, the N93 has the basics down pat with regard to messaging. Unfortunately, touches such as backup and synchronization, the ability to see which messages have been replied to and organizing them into folders are lacking - but at least it's capable of storing a nearly unlimited number of messages.

Camera - Very good

Easily accessible, the autofocus-enabled 3.2 Megapixel camera of the N93 snaps first-rate stills, but struggled with detail in darker areas as well as obtaining focus at the end of its 3x optical zoom, a somewhat slow user interface and the odd software crash. On the upside, there's plenty of storage as well as solid printing, sharing and viewing options galore; sharing pictures via TV out or wirelessly over Wi-Fi are particularly interesting even though the latter requires additional hardware. Lastly, the video recording capabilities of the N93 are absolutely stunning.

Best of the rest

The N93 also offers several other tidbits of interest, including a decent, full web page-capable browser which benefits from the large, hi-res screen and speedy Wi-Fi access; extensive scheduling and e-mail capabilities; and a music player which plays MP3s and WMAs but lacks dedicated controls and a way of connecting quality headphones. Also, business users will be happy to note the presence of Office document viewers as well as a bundled USB cable and Bluetooth to provide hassle-free 3G connectivity for laptops.

Apple iPod 80GB

Price: Rs 10000.00
Design – Very good

Not since the doorknob has any device been so well designed. We won't labor the point, since the ubiquitous wheel and screen, circle and square aesthetic has been duplicated time and again. Still, once you explain the scrolling motion and the clickwheel buttons to someone, they get it right away, and are ready to scroll through long lists, jog through songs and fiddle with the volume. And it's all fun to use. We especially appreciated the accelerating scroll, which helped navigate the 9,000 songs and videos we loaded onto our test unit quickly. New innovations, like the floating letter that appears when you scroll or the new search feature, were less useful, but not obtrusive.

Though the screen on the iPod was very clean, the interface is starting to look a bit dated. Basically unchanged, in terms of layout and design, since the first iPod, Apple has added colors and album artwork, but little else. The hierarchical menus are very efficient, but we wouldn't mind a bit more graphical flourish, like on Microsoft's Zune. Text may be easy to read on the all-white background, but it doesn't look very pretty.

Sound – Very good

We tested the iPod with, well, everything. As our personal device, we've listened to every type of music we have, from podcasts and audiobooks to hip-hop and showtunes. We've tested the device with every sort of file it can handle, including MP3s, AAC files, Apple Lossless and AIFF files. Sound quality on the iPod is always top notch, and usually depends more on the quality of the recording, to make an obvious point. Files that sounded the worst were WMA files that iTunes re-encoded into AAC files, though this was more an issue with compression than the iPod hardware itself. The iPod has an assortment of EQ settings as well, though we wish these were easier to adjust from the "now playing" screen, instead of having to back out to the main menu.

Features – Good

Though the iPod has plenty of features available, many of these require third-party hardware to use. There is FM radio software built into the iPod, but you'll need the special FM radio adapter to listen. The iPod can make audio recordings, but you'll need to buy a microphone attachment. You can download pictures directly to the iPod from a digital camera, but you'll need the adapter. There is even an accelerometer attachment available from Nike with lots of cool workout features, but this is an extra kit, not including the special shoes you'll need.

Included with the retail box, you get an alarm clock (speakers not included), some games (with more to buy on iTunes), and some basic calendar and contact list synchronization. iTunes can sync with a selected image folder for picture viewing, though we had trouble picking and choosing our favorite iPhoto albums on our Powerbook.

Finally, of course, we come to video playback. The iPod can play MP4 and h.264 encoded videos. If you don't have any on hand, Apple offers a nice selection of television shows, short films, video podcasts and commercial movies on the iTunes store. We tested video playback with television shows ripped from our TiVo, some shady Bittorrent downloads and the last five episodes of "Heroes," which we purchased from iTunes. Again, the original quality of the file made more of a difference than any other factor, but our iTunes-purchased shows were perfect. The small size of the display was not a problem thanks to the clarity of the screen. Videos played without hiccup or interruption. Files, especially longer movies, took some time to stop and start, but resumed after hours of sleeping without pause. The iPod handles video very well, though some may prefer the larger screen and more robust options on a portable media player, like Archos' lineup. As Apple has yet to officially brand any device an "iPod video," we're curious about what to expect when that player finally arrives. Hopefully it will borrow many of the video playback features we've seen in previews for the upcoming Apple iPhone.

Transfer – Excellent

From audio players to musical cell phones, there isn't a better music transfer suite than iTunes. Besides the iTunes music store, the iTunes software itself is the best experience for getting music onto your player. With plenty of sorting and grouping options, multiple browsing window panes, and easy playlists, iTunes has grown into quite a mature product. Best of all, it just works. When you plug in your iPod, iTunes recognizes it (including its color) and starts synchronizing your music. You can be as specific as you like, and can synchronize files automatically or drag them to the iPod manually. You can use one iPod with many computers, though you can't (easily) get files off your iPod, and Windows has some problem with iPods that were originally formatted on a Macintosh, though the inverse is not true. iTunes will even keep track of when a song was last played, how many times it was played and how many times a song was skipped, offering loads of personalization and analysis for music enthusiasts. Smart playlists fill themselves automatically based on a set of rules, and the iPod is even smart enough to play along; so if you have a playlist for songs unplayed in the last week, the iPod will remove a song from the list when you play it, since it no longer qualifies.



Transfer speeds are also best in class, thanks to the USB 2.0 connection. Though we wish Apple would ditch the proprietary connection (and bring back FireWire), we were pleased to load more than 40GB of music and video to the iPod in about half an hour. Over a USB 1.2 connection, this would have taken all night, and then some. Finally, the iPod is also capable of acting as a mass storage device for Windows and Mac OS. Here, transfer speeds were comparable to music transfer.

Accessories – Very good

In the long race to keep down costs while at the same time improving capacity and quality, Apple has eliminated more accessories from the retail box than they have added. At one time, the top-of-the-line iPod came with headphones and a USB cord (still included), as well as a charger, a dock and a firewire cord. Now, firewire has been cut, and the charger and dock will run you nearly $30 extra a piece. Any attempt to describe the third-party market for iPod accessories would be an understatement, the device has created a veritable cottage industry of accessories, ranging from headphone wraps and cases to speaker systems and automobiles. If you want to plug your iPod into it, someone out there will build it for you, whatever it may be.

The little white headphones that come with the iPod are fine, but not remarkable. Apple has made them more comfortable and eliminated the little black pads that everyone loses, but sound quality was hardly improved. They certainly work fine in a pinch, but we almost always recommend getting a nice pair of cans for your audio devices.

Battery life – Very good

Don't believe bad things you hear about the iPod's battery. On a long train ride down the east coast, we watched more than three hours of video on the device, and still had enough juice for music on the car ride home. For music, we've gotten well over 20 hours of playback, and the iPod battery seems to hold a charge through days of idling better than other players. Maintaining this battery life requires some technical gymnastics, like letting the battery drain completely once a month or so, or setting the backlight timer to a short setting, but we had no issue with the iPod's battery, except for the fact that it is so difficult to replace, requiring a professional installer.

Motorola RAZR V3xx multimedia phone

Price: Rs 9200

Design:

It's a RAZR, so you know what it looks like. The RAZR V3xx has a little Cingular orange guy (poor little orange guy, we hardly knew ye) icon on one button near the 5-way key, which gives you Web access, and a Cingular Video button on the opposing side. There is a mysterious, glossy black rectangle on the hinge facing the user where customers in other countries get a front-facing camera for video conferencing, but not here in the U.S., unfortunately. The screen is the best we have seen on a RAZR by far: a 2.2-inch, 262,000-color, QVGA display that looks crisp browsing pictures and especially when viewing text. The interface is similar to older RAZRs, even dating back to the original RAZR V3 interface, but looks more polished, with better looking fonts, nice color gradients and smooth animations on icons and progress bars.

Calling: Very good

The RAZR V3xx makes calls that sound clean and clear, with no static or digital distortion. Calls were dropped a few times on Cingular's network in suburban New Jersey (where we did not get HSDPA reception), but we ran our tests in lower Manhattan without incident. Reception was strong; we typically got 4-5 bars, and found the 3G network everywhere in New York. In Jersey, without 3G reception, we got just under 4 hours of talk time, though Cingular admits that 3G shortens the battery life slightly, even when you are not using the data capabilities. The phone has a wealth of calling options, including speaker-independent voice dialing, Bluetooth, and a speakerphone. Three-way calling required some light menu drilling, but was no problem to connect. The address book was comprehensive for a non-smartphone, with fields for e-mail, postal address, URL and unique ringer IDs. The contact list also supports live, while-you-type searching.


Messaging: Good

The RAZR V3xx has more messaging options than other RAZRs we've seen, but its flat keypad holds it back. The keypad is mostly unchanged from the earliest RAZR models, with only a slight increase in the meandering ridge between the etched keys. Messaging isn't impossible, but certainly could be more comfortable with well-defined, discrete buttons and a bit more travel for each key. Instant messaging for Yahoo, MSN and AIM users is built-in, but the phone lacks an e-mail inbox, a curious omission. A separate Java app handles preset e-mail from Yahoo, MSN and AOL, but IMAP and POP support are lacking.

Camera: Poor

The snapshots we took with the Motorola RAZR V3xx were blurry and faded, with generally poor color. Unfortunately, this has become the norm, as phone manufacturers dutifully cram a camera into every phone but skimp on the lens. Don't let the respectable 1.3-megapixel sensor fool you; images are almost unusable. The interface is convenient, with options that are easy to change with the five-way switch, though nothing helps the poor image quality. No editing is available, but should you want to sideload your pictures to your PC, or, heaven forbid, print your pictures, both options are available from the image browser.

Video: Excellent

The video experience on the RAZR V3xx is excellent, but is strangely divided into two distinct programs. First, there is Cingular Video, which is accessible via a button on the keypad. This includes various short clips from HBO, Comedy Central and Fox, as well as others. Videos load quickly, and though they look slightly low-res, they run smoothly, without stuttering. The V3xx can display these videos full screen in landscape mode, which is accessible from the options menu. Second, you can download and subscribe to MobiTV, which offers longer streams than the clips you'll find on Cingular Video. MobiTV has network channels, news and comedy, as well as viral videos from iFilm, which are a fun distraction. Unfortunately, the MobiTV app does not support full screen viewing, so you'll be stuck watching a small window. MobiTV does have a nice channel guide, which lists programming for each of its 35 channels. Thankfully, both services support stereo Bluetooth audio. Had Cingular simply combined the two, you’d have a great experience that could act as a stopgap until the recently announced MediaFlo support is ready to go.

Audio: Good

Though the inclusion of Cingular Music on the RAZR V3xx is admirable, we still prefer the iTunes interface and music transfer from the V3i, even with its 100-song limitation. Still, the ability to use Napster and Yahoo Music on the phone was nice. Music transferring is handled entirely through these third party apps, or Windows Media Player, if you prefer. Stereo Bluetooth headphones were easy to setup and sounded very good. The audio player itself was a bit bare, we prefer more options, like an EQ or more playlist setup options. If you choose not to subscribe to a music download service, Cingular also packages streaming radio through MobiRadio and XM satellite radio. Both offer a good selection, though we preferred XM's channels, and both sounded the same, a bit digitized with some audio artifacts, but otherwise clean. The phone lacks dedicated music buttons, though, so expect some menu drilling to access tunes.

Web browsing: Very Good

The RAZR V3xx surfs the Web on Cingular's 3.6Mbps HSDPA network, which is the fastest network available in the U.S. With no tethered modem support, we couldn't get more specific details about our actual browsing speeds, but in side-by-side tests against our Palm Treo 700P running on Sprint's EV-DO network, the V3xx easily bested the Treo downloading The New York Times homepage and our own infoSync World site. Of course, the layout for The Times was seriously jumbled on the RAZR, and scrolling took a long time with the simple 5-way button. Still, the fast download times made us wish that Cingular bundled tethered modem support for this device.


Accessories: Poor

To get the most out of the RAZR V3xx's music capabilities, you will need a microSD card, a USB cable and a set of headphones, preferably stereo Bluetooth headphones to take advantage of the A2DP support. Cingular bundles none of these with the phone; instead, you need to buy a separate accessory kit, or find each accessory a la carte. This is an unfortunate trend we've seen from the two largest mobile carriers, Verizon Wireless and Cingular, to keep accessories out of the box. We understand asking people to buy their own stereo headphones, but a microSD card and a USB cable should be included, at the very least. Also, since the law in many states requires you to use a hands-free microphone while driving, we'd like to see a mono earpiece/microphone included as well.

NOKIA N73

Camera - Excellent

With no effort at all, the Nokia N73 snaps superb hi-res stills with accurate colours and precise focus, letting users who want more control tweak a range of options to get pictures just the way they want them - including colour effects and red eye removal. Also, the large, high-resolution screen not only makes a great viewfinder but works a charm for browsing or viewing pictures you've already taken, which can also be shared and printed in all thinkable and unthinkable ways. It's a pity it only stores 50 pictures out-of-the-box.

Calling - Excellent

Voice and video calling are two other strengths of the N73, with an excellent loudspeaker and good Bluetooth headset connectivity to back up the first-class voice quality. Impeccable signal reception and speaker independent voice dialing further improve matters, as does a comprehensive contacts library, which chalks up the inability to add pictures as its sole fault. Lastly, battery life is quite respectable with 3 hours of talk time and 7 days of standby, and owners can select from a broad choice of polyphonic ringtones or add their own in MP3 format.

Messaging - Excellent

It doesn't support backing up messages or show you which ones have been replied to, but the N73 is still a perfect choice for avid texters with its outstandingly comfortable keypad and a large screen which shows a whopping 170 characters at a time. Unlike many other phones, it also allows for archiving missives into folders and even stores a nearly unlimited number of messages - again handy for tap-happy users - plus there's a decent e-mail client to boot.

Multimedia - Very good

The N73 is also fortunate enough to include a good quality stereo FM radio as well as mobile TV capabilities, but we don't care much for the confusing split-browser setup which does let users visit full web pages but not without having to contend with thoroughly Also, for not being a music phone, the handset's music player is fully featured with support for both MP3 and WMA, and there's a bundled set of earphones (mediocre as they may be). Don't expect to load up on tunes, though; there's only room for 10 or so.

Best of the rest

Business users will also get a good companion in the N73, thanks to its many quality connectivity options as well as its ability to view documents in popular Office formats, decent scheduling capabilities and Exchange ActiveSync compatbility.

Nokia N95

Design

The phone has an overall look reminiscent of a simple point-and-shoot camera. Because of its massive feature set, the Nokia N95 was always bigger in our minds than in our hands. Though it is thick for a multimedia phone, with everything it can do, we still expected it to be larger, more like an internet tablet. It is smaller in every way than our Palm Treo 700p, except when the numeric slide makes it a bit longer. The dual-slide design of the N95 looked nice, and worked well, but may have caused more problems than it solved. Though we liked the tactile, not touch-sensitive, playback controls, the slide itself seemed a bit loose, and often, closing the numeric pad, we would pass the nuetral point and open the playback controls. Perhaps these controls could have been placed elsewhere, and the novelty of a dual-slide could have been replaced by sturdier design.

The interface is mostly standard Symbian fare, which is not our favorite, but probably because we lack the extensive experience needed to decode the tiny 3-D figures and swirling geometric shapes that make up the interface icons. Still, Nokia has included an additional media-centric menu, activated through a dedicated button or by sliding open the playback controls. This menu takes a moment to open, but is PC-like in its fluid animation and beautiful icons. For example, the media menu's background is a soft focus photograph that moves in and out of focus as you spend time browsing the icons. Very classy.

Calling - Excellent

The Nokia N95 makes calls that sound great. We had some occasional noise issues, but listeners reported above average sound at all times. Reception was also top notch, 7 bars (Nokia's maximum) when our Cingular RAZR had 3/5. Battery life was good for calls, at more than 6 hours for a single charge, probably because calls on the U.S. networks don't use WCDMA, which requires more power.

In terms of call features, the N95 does everything, a mantra we'll repeat in this review. It uses Bluetooth 2.0, has a very loud speakerphone, features speaker-independent voice dialing and makes conference calls easily. The contact list is more robust even than Outlook, with three fields each for Internet and Video calling numbers, as well as a slot for Assistant's name and Assistant's phone number. Contact list backup is handled through Nokia's PC Suite software, which can synchronize with Outlook and other PIM programs.

Push to talk is available through Nokia's proprietary service, which we haven't seen stateside, so AT&T push to talk fans are out of luck. Because this phone is basically a European guest on our networks, U.S. buyers won't have access to video calling, among other HSDPA goodies. We've been dying to see this feature in action, but instead we're taunted by the front-facing camera.

Messaging - Very good

The Nokia N95 has a nicely curved, comfortable keyboard, and does a fine job as a basic messaging phone. Though plenty of additional IM options are available for Symbian S60 phones, the Nokia N95 lacks some of our favorite pre-loaded messaging services, such as Yahoo or MSN for e-mail and instant messaging. POP3 and IMAP e-mail is available, and worked nicely. If you really need to do some hardcore messaging, the N95 also has a Bluetooth keyboard profile built in. The screen fit a full outgoing and incoming SMS message at once, and characters were perfectly legible. Sending photos and videos as messages couldn't have been easier, as this was a top-level menu option from the camera app.

Camera - Very good

The Nokia N95 has a 5-megapixel camera on its back and a VGA camera up front. The rear camera features auto-focus with a two-step shutter release and a Xenon flash, still a rarity on camera phones. The Carl Zeiss optics are hidden behind a lens cover, opened with a switch.

Pictures taken with the phone were among the best we've seen on camera phones, with the exception of theSony Erricson Cyber shot line, perhaps, which also use the Carl Zeiss optics. We still don't think the image will replace a good, dedicated camera, but images from the camera would have been fine for Web publishing or small print jobs.

The phone includes plenty of camera options, including various shutter modes for fast-moving subjects or night time portraits. The phone also has a variety of transfer options, including e-mail, printing, IR transfer and Bluetooth capabilities, as well as direct access to Flickr accounts.

Video looked very good as well. Again, we don't think the N95 will replace a nice, standalone camcorder, but its recording quality, at VGA resolution and 30 frames per second, means that videos will look just as good on a television as they do on the 2.6-inch screen, though our review unit lacked the TV-out cable included in the retail package. Our only complaint is that we can't use the front-facing VGA camera for video calls.

Videos - Very good

Through a special deal with YouTube, Nokia has its own access to an updating list of popular YouTube videos. Over Cingular's EDGE network, we were pleased with the streaming quality, which was on par with the streaming video applications we've seen on most carrier-locked phones.

While this video looked good, with only a slight blockiness, the N95 did an even better job playing MPEG-4 videos. We ripped a Simpsons episode off our TiVo and played it on the N95 - the picture looked as good as any portable media player we've seen.

We were disappointed that the memory tops out at 2GB, and even if Nokia surprises us with microSDHC card support, we would have liked to see a few gigs tucked away inside for real media fans. Still, playback controls worked well with the video functions, and we were pleased to find that A2DP support works for videos as well as audio content.

Audio - Very good

The Nokia N95 is a musical powerhouse, with support for a wide range of file types, including MP3, AAC and even some DRM WMA files. The music controls work well, and we definitely prefer the tactile control to touch-sensitive buttons, even if the buttons were a bit stiff. On the Nokia 5300 Xpress music phone, pressing play on the music controls activates the music immediately, and though we like that music is generally the default app on the media menu, we would have liked an instant-on feature for the playback controls.

Nokia's PC Suite includes a music transfer application, and this works better than some other manufacturers' apps, but pales in comparison to iTunes. Still, the phone and software read ID3 tags better than some we've seen, so our album information was preserved, though our artwork was lost.

The music player is simple on the surface, but packs some impressive options, including an equalizer with presets that you can manually fine tune, and a nice, though not too trippy, visualizer. FM radio is built-in, with an app that can download local frequencies and radio call letters.

Perhaps best of all, the phone features a 3.5mm headphone jack, so you can use whatever cans you choose, in addition to A2DP for stereo Bluetooth. Without the headphones, the phone is straddled by stereo speakers that are almost as loud as the Samsung YP-K5, the micro-boombox MP3 player.

GPS - Excellent

Though it takes a moment to warm up and find your location, once the GPS sensor on the Nokia N95 is tracking you, it can be tenacious. The sensor and included software are easily the best we've seen on a phone, even with the additional subscription fee for navigation and voice directions.

The map works as a 2D top-down or 3D map, and it tracked our location quickly and accurately, turning with us as we went through intersections. The zooming globe map clearly takes advantage of the graphical firepower of the N95, as visual effects are smooth, and the map zooms better than any map we've seen.

Web browsing - Very good

The Nokia N95 features the same Web browser we liked so much on the Nokia E62, with its smooth scrolling and mini-map navigation panel. The phone chewed up any web page we could throw its way, including The New York Times and our own infoSync World home pages. Of course, more advanced AJAX pages won't work, but most pages come through accurately, and navigation is a breeze with the accelerating pointer.

Office

The Nokia N95 includes the QuickOffice suite for reading Office documents and Adobe's Acrobat PDF reader. For a fee, users can upgrade to a more fully-featured QuickOffice that allows for document editing. We found QuickOffice to be reliable and accurate on Excel and Word documents, though it did leave out our hidden comments on both. PDF files had perfect layout and typesetting, and navigation was generally easy, though we would have preferred less digging through the menus.

Gaming

With Nokia's N-Gage system soon to be available on N-series phones like the N95, we are happy to report that gaming performance on the N95 is much closer to a portable console system than to an average cell phone. Games looked clean, with textures and smooth 3-D animation that reminded us more of a PSP than a RAZR. Phone controls aren't desirable for gaming functions, we'd like to see a joystick or more sensitive control scheme, but the processing power seems to be there.

Battery life

Though we got a satisfying amount of talk time from the phone, battery life is more of an issue as you turn on more features. Navigation uses a tremendous amount of power, with its combination of sensors, always-on backlighting and voice directions. Music and video drain the battery further. Wi-Fi access is another battery hog.

I imagine, with every bell and whistle blaring, you could drain the battery in under an hour. In our few days of testing, with above-average use, we needed to charge the phone every night before bed, and it died once on our commute home, while we were navigating.

Value

The Nokia N95 costs $750. There are more expensive phone out there, but most of these fall into the luxury category and involve precious metals and/or stones. For U.S. importers, who won't even get some of the best capabilities of the phone, the 3G networking and video calling, the phone couldn't possibly be worth the price. And yet, it literally does everything. If you want the best phone on the market that has all the features you could ask for, this is the phone, and the price might not matter as much as the resume.

Nokia N76

Design - Good

The Nokia N76 is a very slick phone from Nokia, an obvious attempt at borrowing some of the design cache that the RAZR still hold, which may unfortunately be none. The phone is a slim, flat flip phone, with a keypad even flatter than the Motorola phone. Mirrored surfaces attract fingerprints the first time you touch the phone, and the display sits so close to the keypad when closed that prints on the screen from the keys appeared after less than a day's use. The phone looks good, but not great, and could probably have been improved by rounding out some of the edges, as it has a very square look. Navigation is a problem, thanks to the small five-way button and soft keys up top, but dialing wasn't too bad, as number keys are given more space.

The screens on the phone are fantastic, and we would expect no less from Nokia. The internal screen was a bit dim, but it could have been the dark theme we were using, and colors showed great depth and contrast. The external screen lights up from under the mirrored exterior, a nice effect. The phone's interface is standard Symbian Series S60, which grows on us every time we use it, thanks to its polished, modern look. Still, organization could be better, though this iteration is an improvement from the N75 (eg. the radio is now under "Applications," instead of "Tools").

As petty complaints, we found the battery cover difficult to slide open, and had a spot of trouble with the SIM card slot. The SIM card must first be placed in a tiny sled, which then slides into the slot. To remove the sled, you pull a plastic tab, and in removing our card from a review unit, the tab broke off. It seems an overly-complicated way to handle the SIM.

Calling - Very good

Call quality on the N76 was notably better than on the N75, on both AT&T's network and T-Mobile in lower Manhattan. We didn't encounted the slight static we saw on the N75, and the sound was a bit cleaner overall. The speakerphone on the N76 is among the most clear we've heard, though it could have been louder. Still, we'll take clarity over volume any day. Nokia's PC suite did a fine job integrating our contact lists from Outlook. In the phone's push to talk option, we find the first of many features that may be easy to implement for European users, but which could be difficult for AT&T customers stateside. Though we're not PTT subscribers, in browsing the application on the phone, we're skeptical that we could get it working on AT&T's PTT service without considerable help, a situation U.S. customers might not be used to. We're not a country known to ask for help, after all. For talk time, we got almost four and a quarter hours on the phone, which is more than the 2.75 that Nokia promises, but less than we'd like from EDGE-only phone.

Messaging - Good

Again, the Euro-centric N76 falls short of what we'd normally expect on a carrier-specific phone. Though the phone does have an IM application, it comes with no presets for any of the instant messaging networks that are popular in the States. E-mail is available for POP and IMAP accounts, but also lacks any presets. We never thought we'd ask for some carrier intervention on a phone, but here we wish Nokia would add some pre-loaded settings to make the features easier to use for an American audience. SMS messaging was good, though the keypad was a bit flat for fast typing. Still, the screen was sharp enough to display text quite legibly, and MMS messages were just as easy to send as we'd expect. The phone also has plenty of options for sending messages over Bluetooth or the Web, and printing options for MMS messages.

Camera - Mediocre

We're sorry to report that the camera on the N76 is just as poor as that on the N75. With such respectable optics on the higher-end N-series phones, this is really an embarrassment for Nokia. Images were blurry and a bit washed out, and only the most distant landscape shots were acceptable, though details were foggy. Again, Europeans get to utilize the user-facing camera for video calls, though U.S. audiences are only teased by its tiny lens, above the internal screen, which can only be used for self-portraits.

Audio - Good

Compared to the N75, music and audio handling on the N76 is a win and a loss. The phone features a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is a win, but loses stereo Bluetooth. The jack is poorly placed at the top of the phone, so it interrupts the clamshell from opening fully, but we didn't mind so much, as the phone is certainly usable only mostly open. Still, it seems like an amateur design flaw. We liked the hardware, and not touch sensitive, buttons on the face, especially the fact that they can be used to access and control a variety of features and menus, from the music player and radio to some basic messaging features. The phone's speaker, though not stereo, was also very clean, with a better sound quality than we expected to find from the phone. It wasn't excessively loud, and it didn't distort at higher volumes, which surprised us.

Web browsing - Very good

In our initial Web browsing tests on AT&T's EDGE network, we could not achieve a data connection in our East Village offices. Replacing the review unit at our rep's Midtown Manhattan office seemed to solve the issue, but when we got back down to Astor Place, we had the same problems. Swapping the AT&T SIM with a T-Mobile SIM solved the problem, so we suspect the issue has to do with carrier reception. Even the T-Mobile SIM showed less reception than we were getting on our T-Mobile wing, so the phone may also be to blame. Perhaps all the metal in the shell is causing interference? In any case, once we got the data connection to work, Web browsing was as good as we'd expect from a Nokia phone. Nokia's excellent mini-map works on this phone in the default browser, as opposed to the N75, which hides the Nokia browser in favor of the AT&T WAP app. Dig for the Nokia browser if you have that phone, it makes all the difference. Unfortunately, like the N75, the N76 lacks GPS. Fortunately, unlike the AT&T phone, which comes with no accessories, the N76 comes with everything you need, including a microSD card and a lanyard-style stereo headphone setup with a microphone that fits the 3.5mm jack.

Nokia 6500

Featuring a 3.2 Megapixel camera and video calling, the sleek Nokia 6500 slider could become another Nokia hit.

Featuring a 3.2 Megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and the ability to share pictures, videos and video calls on a television, the Nokia 6500 slider will be quite a powerful multimedia phone when hitting the streets. The handset's integrated camera sports autofocus, a dual LED flash and 8x digital zoom, while its support for 3G networks will allow for quick data transfers in Europe and Australia. A TV-out jack has also been incorporated for connection to any television with standard RCA inputs. The TV-out feature can also be used to allow an entire group of people to simultaneously participate in video calling. A 2.2" QVGA screen, Bluetooth support and a micro USB slot can also be found under the hood of this relatively sleek handset. Weighing in at 125 g and measuring 96.5 x 46.5 x 16.4 mm, the Quad-band GSM 6500 slider claims a talk time of up to 6 hours and a standby time of up to 13 days. The Nokia 6500 slider is expected to be available during the 3rd quarter of 2007, selling for approximately Rs.16000.

Hands-on with Sony Ericsson's 5-megapixel K850

Price-Rs 20000 (approx) releasing October 2007

The phone wasn't a full production model. No carrier had been announced (though it might not be hard to guess), and a few bugs still needed to be worked out. Still, the K850 we saw was mostly what we'll expect when the phone goes on sale, possibly later this year. From our experience, Sony's Cyber Shot camera phones don't just brag about megapixels, they usually pack the glass to back up their boasts, and we've even been impressed with the lenses on other offerings from Sony Ericsson, besides the Cyber Shot line. The K850 has all the amenities you'd expect from a high-end camera phone, including auto focus and a bunch of scene modes, but an optical zoom is still painfully absent. Though we'd read about the alternate-lighting buttons, which illuminate camera soft-keys in that mode, we weren't terribly impressed with the way the keyboard looked. It seemed as though the number keys should have been blacked out altogether to make the camera mode much easier to use. Also, we had a lot of trouble using the screen on the K850, though the pre-production unit we were using had seen plenty of use and abuse recently. We weren't previously aware, but the K850 uses a partially touch sensitive screen. Instead of corresponding to soft keys, the options at the bottom are themselves the buttons, and only this lowest portion of the screen is touch sensitive. It didn't work very well in our hands-on, but we expect Sony Ericsson will polish this up before the phone's official launch, much later this year. We weren't able to give the camera a good run-through, but we were happy with Sony Ericsson's ever-improving menu system, which is even more dazzling on the K850 that it was on the W880i. Unfortunately, the K850 also has very small, nubby buttons, like the W880i, which may make dialing more difficult, and texting extremely so. For four-way navigation, the K850 uses a large rectangular space on the keypad that surrounds the 2 and 5 keys, which took some getting used to. Instead of using this directional pad to select, you need to press the screen, so we hope Sony Ericsson improves the sensitivity greatly before launch. We wondered aloud with our Sony Ericsson representative why the company didn't simply combine the excellent Sony Walkman interface from the Walkman phones with the Cyber Shot lineup to create a sort of super-phone, and he hinted that such an idea wasn't unheard of in the company's halls, but had no concrete information to provide. In any case, we would like to see the K850 make an appearance on a U.S. carrier network, and with HSDPA, that probably means AT&T, though we wouldn't be surprised to find this phone for sale unlocked, instead. Still, with support for the U.S. HSDPA bands, this will be a device to watch for shutterbugs looking for a good phone that takes serious pictures.

Sony Ericsson S500 fashion phone

The Sony Ericsson S500 is a slick little slider with a few glowing light accents on the sides and the face. Sony Ericsson has performed some scheduling tricks that will cause the slider to glow and display different colors and wallpapers depending on the season or time of day. These may be gimmicks, but the phone is still a nice looking slider with a solid feature set, including stereo Bluetooth for music and a QVGA screen. Unfortunately, the S500 only gets EDGE networking, but Sony Ericsson expects to start shipping the phone as early as this fall.

Nokia 5300 XpressMusic slider phone

Design

Music is obviously a priority for the Nokia 5300 XpressMusic phone, even beyond the dedicated music and volume keys. The phone has a playful look, more rugged than compact. The red band that encircles the phone has a rubbery finish, and the buttons (especially those dedicated to music) have a tight, rubbery feel. The slide has a larger gap than you'll find on Samsung's thin, fashionable sliders, with exposed rails on the back and a 1.3-megapixel camera that remains visible when the slide is closed. The phone is quite thick; at 0.8 inches, it is only a tenth of an inch thinner than our Palm Treo 700p. The slide is spring loaded, and we liked the rubberized border around the screen that helps flick the phone open.

Music - Very good

Unlike phones that cram in music functions as an afterthought, the Nokia 5300 is a true music phone, with dedicated buttons that start the music with one touch. The music player is simple but effective, with equalizers and playlists. Nokia includes a low-end pair of stereo headphones with a microphone for calling, as well as a small (and easy-to-lose) adapter for attaching your own cans if you so desire. Stereo Bluetooth was easy to set up and use, but we can't say the same about Nokia's dreadfully unfriendly music management software. Not nearly as slick or intuitive as Apple's iTunes desktop client, the buggy and tricky-to-use Nokia music manager is just a single step above a folder hierarchy menu. Back on the plus side, our music transfers were speedy via USB 2.0 to the phone's microSD slot, and though we received a palty 256mb card with our review unit, cards up to 2GB are available. FM radio was easy to use, though we encountered a lot of static in our New York office.

Calling - Very good

The Nokia 5300 is quite capable when it comes to handling calls and contact lists. Voice quality was good, though callers complained of background noise as we made our way through the packed, noisy streets of Manhattan. Signal strength was always strong in New York using a T-Mobile SIM card. The speakerphone is among the loudest we've used, but while the phone sports speaker-independent voice dialing, we found performance on voice commands to be very poor; the phone didn't recognize a single name we spoke. Bluetooth and push-to-talk capabilities are present, and conference calling was not difficult. The contact list accommodated plenty of fields, though you must add them one at a time if you want more than a single name and number per contact. Through the Nokia PC studio, the phone syncs your desktop-based Outlook contacts.

Messaging - Very good

Messaging functions on the Nokia 5300 are better than expected. Text on the clear, bright screen looks rounded and clean, not blocky, and the SMS viewer shows up to 128 characters on incoming messages, just shy of the 160 we prefer. Typing on the phone is comfortable, with its wide, rubbery keys. Messages can be sent from your contact list, but the while-you-type searching requires you to search for surnames and will not find first names in your contacts. We would also prefer to be able to search directly from the "To:" field in the messaging app. E-mail setup was easy, especially with a range of preset accounts such as Gmail, Yahoo, and AOL, though the phone can also handle manually entered POP3 and IMAP4 accounts.

Sony Ericsson W810i

Music to ones ears

With the W810i, the act of navigating music has been vastly improved as the navigational pad now lets users easily skip forwards and backwards as well as play and pause music in a one-step process. As presented through the bright and crisp 1.8-inch medium resolution screen, the Walkman interface remains one of the best in existence for music management, and looks even better than before courtesy of the addition of phone-wide support for themes created in Flash Lite, a pared-down version of Macromedia's flash for the desktop.

On the note of connectivity, the W810i no longer requires the installation of PC software to enable music transfers over its USB 1.1 cable; instead, users can now install only the required drivers, connect the handset and request an memory update be conducted once the desired files have been transferred from the PC. Speaking of memory, the W810i retains the 512 MB Memory Stick PRO Duo card bundled with the W800i, which is a fairly decent amount even considering recent developments in the music phone space.

Unfortunately, the W810i remains compatible with only MP3 and AAC file formats, negating the use of all-you-can eat online subscription services. Out-of-box audio quality is very good, however, and the W810i now also comes bundled with a stereo cable for connecting to home stereos and the likes as an alternative for listening to music through the bundled earphones for 15 hours straight .

Other musical tidbits worthy of mention include the ability to activate the well-performing stereo FM radio with RDS through a dedicated play/stop button on the left side of the phone is a handy feature, as well as our slight disappointment in the lack of support for stereo Bluetooth audio via the A2DP profile.

Best of the rest

In addition to its prowess in the music department, the W810i also plays host to several other features, among which we find a first-class 2 Megapixel camera with autofocus as well as a browser out of Japan's Access. Unfortunately, the latter is of the rather mediocre kind as its ability to adapt full web pages to the small screen falls short on the account of excessive scrolling, failing to exploit the newfound EDGE support which enables higher-speed data transfers.

Lastly, the quality keypad deserves a bit of attention, as does the ability to connect mono headsets via Bluetooth; the integrated ambient light sensor for automatically adjusting screen brightness; Java MIDP 2.0 support; and talk and standby times of 4 hours and 7 days