Nokia 8800 > Reviews > Wow - Wow - Wow - Wow - Wow

Author's product rating:   

Look & Feel	Excellent
Durability & Robustness	Very Strong
Reception quality	Excellent
Battery standby time	Good
Value for money	Good
Range of features	Large selection

Advantages:	large range of features  -  good build quality  -  great call reception  -  polyphonic and MP3 tones  -  built in radio  -  excellent picture quality and graphics  -  battery life
Disadvantages:	price

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I managed to destroy my Nokia 6111 and had to buy another mobile phone for personal use. I am part way through my contract so the opportunity to upgrade was not an option so it was a case of find a nice looking, cheap, reliable phone and quickly. I bought this phone from the Carphone Warehouse for £300 rationalising the price in my head by convincing myself I wouldn't buy another phone for at least 3 years and this time I would insure it against damage.

Visually the 8800 is very similar to the Nokia 6111, it has a slide screen that partly covers the keypad but the bottom section of the keypad is covered by a magnificent looking metallic cover that slides in the opposite direction. It looks the bees knees. The picture Ciao have is identical to the 8800 I have.

The 8800 is slightly heavier than my previous phone, but I would imagine that this is because of all of the metal Nokia have added to the body and it feels well constructed to the touch. It weighs 134 grams and is just a fraction bigger than the 6111 being just shy of 11 cm long and 4.5 cm wide.

When comparing this with the Nokia 6111 I was amazed by the difference in the quality of the product. It is really durable, I have dropped mine twice and the metal covers have protected it each time. The TFT screen is scratch resistant so there was no damage there, the metal covers weren't dented and no bits fell off, unlike the 6111. The screen resolution is identical to the 6111 but images do seem to appear clearer and more defined and the video playback features isn't jerky at all and the audio playback from the voice recorder is really clear. More research via the instruction booklet informs me that the 8800 has a 3D image engine to enhance the graphics and it is noticeable when comparing wallpapers, themes and photo's saved to the phone.

What else is there to the 8800?

1) Well, it is a standard Nokia so it has the usual calendar, alarm clock, pre installed games, video camera, and 0.5 megapixel digital camera. The digital camera produces great pictures as I have said.

2) The phone can be used on any continent and automatically switches between bandwidths.

3) It is Bluetooth enabled.

4) It is WAP enabled.

5) It has a 64MB flash memory.

6) It has a built in speakerphone - The volume levels are really good and clear.

7) It has a built in radio that picks up most FM stations - It is like listening to a digital radio and it is rare to have any interference.

8) 4 pre-installed games that are all poor quality - The graphics are good but the actual gameplay is poor. I have added other games and removed the originals to save on memory space.

9) The phone has polyphonic ringtones and MP3 files can be stored as message tone alerts or ringtones - This feature is cool and I love finding an obscure song to use as my ringtone.

The 8800 is really easy to use in the same way as every other Nokia phone every made. SMS and MMS text messaging is straightforward and the call quality is superb, even via the loudspeaker.

The battery life is great. It tends to last for 4 days without needing to be charged again and that is from 10 - 15 calls and say 10 text messages. I can't complain and have struggled to find anything to fault with the 8800 apart from the price.

I can't ever see myself getting sick of this phone and I don't think it will go out of fashion soon. It wasn't the cheapest phone but I think I'll get my moneys worth over the long run. It is durable, easy to use, has great graphics and is different to a lot of phones out there on the street and I would say if you can afford one, or get the chance to upgrade to the 8800 grab the opportunity with both hands.