Nokia 7360

...brand name for the latest Nokia Fashion range, which has been on release in the UK since just before Valentine's Day. Building on the dubious success of the 72 Fashion series (one of which, the 7280, is updated in the range), they have given the 7360 and its two siblings, the 7370 and the 7380 a new arty makeover which really makes them stand out from the crowd.

In the design of the L'Amour Collection, Nokia's have used materials such ...
...amber and turquoise. Well done Nokia in your innovative design, which has proven very popular in the UK so far, and rightly so. I've experienced first-hand the interest this handset gets from people who either seem intrigued or bemused as it differs greatly from the standard silver, black or pink varieties of phone that you usually see around.


Look & Feel

The 7360 is the best value of the three: a basic block ... more

Introduction

The new L'Amour Collection is the brand name for the latest Nokia Fashion range, which has been on release in the UK since just before Valentine's Day. Building on the dubious success of the 72 Fashion series (one of which, the 7280, is updated in the range), they have given the 7360 and its two siblings, the 7370 and the 7380 a new arty makeover which really makes them stand out from the crowd.

In the design of the L'Amour Collection, Nokia's have used materials such as ceramic, silk and enamel and unusual colours such as amber and turquoise. Well done Nokia in your innovative design, which has proven very popular in the UK so far, and rightly so. I've experienced first-hand the interest this handset gets from people who either seem intrigued or bemused as it differs greatly from the standard silver, black or pink varieties of phone that you usually see around.

Look & Feel

The 7360 is the best value of the three: a basic block handset with superb design using a mixture of colours, materials and textures. The front of my phone is a shiny gold colour, but it also comes in a darker brown variety for a more masculine look. The back cover uses a soft suede-effect material which certainly looks good and has not faded at all in the few weeks of use I've made of it. There is even a little tag in the side of the phone so that not only does the phone feel like a work of art, but also a classic and collectable piece of consumer culture too.

The screen is bigger than most other phones of a similar spec, and the colour screen when switched on is clear and user-friendly. The buttons work well and don't roll around in their setting, my only gripe being that they don't display the traditional green colour indicator for 'lift handset' (i.e. take or make a call) and red colour indicator for 'put down handset' (i.e. end call). Ah, the price of looking good...

Durability & Robustness

I feel that the 7360 feels slightly 'dainty', and not entirely as strongly-built as, say, a 6230i. However that might just be my perception because of the colours and patterns of the phone, and I have had no problems at all with it suffering from knocks. The feeling that this handset is not too strong is borne out in the slightly flimsy battery cover, whose opening mechanism is even more annoying than usual for a Nokia. My advice is to unclip it (as per the instruction manual) from the base, then get your nail under the case halfway up one side and flip it off that way, rather than trying to lever it off from the bottom of the cover.

Features & Ease of Use

First of all, let me say how happily surprised I was to see two excellent games on here. Both puzzles, the first is a tetris-style game which is pretty addictive once you get the hang of it. The second is an old favourite backgammon, which I didn't really know how to play before. But I certainly do now - and it gets a lot of use on whenever I'm travelling into and out of the office. Fantastic game and a nice touch, continuing the sophisticated feel of this handset.

Secondly, I thought the 'Flash message' option was a nice advancement too. It enables messages of up to 70 characters to instantly flash up on the recipient's screen. But that's not all - you can also insert 'blinking' text so that certain words are highlighted to the reader. It is basically like an instant message, and the recipient cannot save it like a normal text. Handy for those quick chats which you can't be bothered to have to manually delete from the phone memory!

Another great little messaging feature that this phone brings to the table is 'Push to Talk', which provides a direct link to talk with a pal as you would with a walkie-talkie. To do that, you just push and hold down the volume up key. You can use all the other features and functions of the phone while you are conected on a PTT call too, which is useful.

Finally, my old favourite, the FM radio, is available on this phone. I always think that this should be standard on all handsets, but surprisingly Nokia don't put this feature on all of them. Also, as mentioned earlier, the screen is nice and big and houses the usual easy Nokia Operating System. I was a little disappointed with the simple VGA camera, because for the money you'd expect a 1.3 megapixel one, but it is adequate.

Standard Specifications

Reception quality was good on Orange from the lofty heights of my apartment. Battery talk-time, due to the lower spec of the features on the handset, is very long at around 4 hours. I would say that, at £120-£150 for a pay-as-you-go 7360, this handset offers as much in terms of value than the usual handsets, simply because of the design. Alternatives would be the Motorola U6 PEBL and the Sony-Ericsson W550i, each with their own look and feel but at a similar price. Purely on looks, the 7360 wins.

Detailed Specification:
General Network GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900
Size Dimensions 105 x 45 x 18 mm, 72 cc
Weight 92 g
Display Type TFT, 65K colors
Size 128 x 160 pixels
Downloadable themes, wallpapers
Ringtones Type Polyphonic (24 channels), MP3, True Tones, AAC
Vibration Yes
Memory Phonebook 1000 x 10 fields, Photo call
Call records 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls
Card slot No - 4 MB built-in memory
Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
HSCSD Yes, 43.2 kbps
EDGE Class 6, 177.6 kbps
3G No
WLAN No
Bluetooth No
Infrared port Yes
USB Yes, Pop-Port
Features Messaging SMS, MMS, Email
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML
Games Yes + downloadable
Colors Coffee brown, Warm amber
Camera VGA, 640x480 pixels, video
- Push to Talk
- Java MIDP 2.0
- Stereo FM radio
- T9
- Built-in handsfree
- Calculator
- Calendar
- Voice memo/dial
Battery Standard battery, Li-Ion 760 mAh (BL-5B)
Stand-by Up to 330 h
Talk time Up to 4 h

Conclusion

Being a man's phone man, I didn't think I'd like this at all, but it has grown on me loads mainly due to the games and the attention I have got for it down the pub! The design is not to everyone's tastes, however for the more discerning it has to be a major selling point and Nokia have taken a chance which has paid off as far as I'm concerned. This handset has all the essentials for talking and texting, and while it doesn't have all the complex techology of some of the higher-spec phones, it is certainly worth its money. It is available at The Carphone Warehouse and possibly some of the other high street stores by now and is available on Orange pay monthly and pay-as-you-go. Check out this website for an amazing flash sequence designed for this handset and the other two L'Amour Collection phones http://www.nokia.co.uk/nokia/0,,83577,00.html

4 stars for the innovative design, only marred slightly by the average camera. Definitely worth your bucks. 

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