The Nokia 8800
This phone always makes you feel like you are special, but if you can afford one you probably are.
This phone always makes you feel like your special, but if you can afford one you probably are. Your first impression of the Nokia 8800 is ‘am I good enough for this phone?’ as the box looks like it is worth more than your car. It gets even better when you remove the slick stainless steel clip keeping the box closed; you ignore the brochure and go straight for the shinny metal object. This is one class phone Before you insert your sim card you just stare at the phone and take in all its shinny’ness, when you hold it in your hand it really feels fantastic, heavy but solid.
I found that taking of the battery cover to insert your SIM is an art, you have to use two hands and it is super smooth so it keeps slipping out of your hand.
Is it easy to use?
The phone does have a bit of a slow startup time but it’s got an amazing 262k screen, one thing which disappointed me is that it has the same themes as the Nokia 6230i. The user interface of the phone is very slick and it is amazingly quick. As for the calendar its good enough for most people as it has meeting, call, Birthday, memo and ye olde reminder, it also sync’s via Bluetooth with outlook, It also has a calculator which is very easy to operate.
Does it deliver on its promise?
The graphics engine in the phone is brilliant the icons, letters and games look sharp and clear. The screen is covered by hardened glass so it gives the screen wonderful clarity. Unfortunately competing phones cameras have about four times as many pixels as the 8800 but if you just take pictures to be viewed on your phone and the occasional e mail then this shouldn’t worry you as the quality is acceptable. The whole body is encased in stainless steel, which they claim is scratch proof. I tested that statement and yes it is to a degree the screen I managed to get two small scratches on, but on the rest of the body there were only a couple of hairline scratches. This is not a phone for people with big fingers or small pockets as the keys are minute and the price is about double that of competing phones. The phone has EDGE so surfing the web is lighting fast, according to nokia the phone can steam video but when I tried MTN said it cant, so I tried Vodacom. I got the same answer. So this phone right now is has got all the latest features but as soon as the next generation of phones break cover it will be almost obsolete.
Is it value for money?
The simple answer is NO.
Unfortunately all good things come to an end and Nokia wanted the phone back. Overall this is a fantastic phone that is a pleasure to use and joy to own, unfortunately only a few people with very deed pockets will have the privilege of owning it, and if your thinking “ill get it on my contact”, think again the only contract it is available free on is the Cell C BusinessChat 1000. But if you are looking for a new phone and can afford it then this phone is a viable option.
Brendon Ambrose
Friday, 25 August 2006
Sony Ericsson W810i
Sony Ericssons latest Walkman phone tried and tested.
I have always enjoyed using Sony Ericsson’s phones, so expectations were high for there latest Walkman phone. This is a very small phone which fits snuggly in your pocket but without being to small that it causes cardiac arrest when you cant feel it. It only weighs 99 grams so it feels solid in your hand without being to heavy. The buttons are well positioned and correctly sized so operating it is very easy, they also don’t wobble and as a result they don’t feel plasticy like the competition.
Is it easy to use?
The startup is a bit slow but after the wait, its all uphill. The operating system is stunningly simple and intuitive so you very seldom find yourself getting lost in the phones software, it also obeys your commands with lightning speed for every operation, except when searching for contacts, for some reason it slows down quite allot there. The Walkman software is very easy to operate and really orange, it works very quickly and is simple to navigate.
Does it deliver on its promise?
The W810i is part of a large range of Walkman phones none which have been particularly attractive, luckily with this model you actually feel quite proud to whip it out of your pocket. When you turn the phone on it gives you an option of just the Walkman feature or to urn the whole phone on which could prove quite useful when traveling. It comes with in ear buds which cut out all external noise and create real bass, they are absolutely orgasmic to listen to music on. Just a friendly piece of info, They put the iPods supplied headphones to shame. The sound quality is superb it possibly has the best sound quality in all the portable audio range, which is incredible considering it is a cell phone! A few weeks ago I tested the actual Sony Walkman, which was quite good but this is allot better, the only gripe I have is that it only comes with 512mb of memory which is quite limited. And finally the camera, its beautiful, it works on a landscape mode and has a dedicated button to shoot with, and with 2 mega pixels and auto focus in its pocket its unstoppable. Its almost impossible to take bad pictures no matter what the environmental conditions are.
The W810i also comes with some other cool software like the newsreader, which downloads the latest news from a selection of agencies, it also has two games only one is worth playing. EDGE mite not be the latest technology but it is still fast enough to download e mails and surf the web on your W810i, which by the way has a fantastic web browser.
By now I was very skeptical, this phone performed well in every test I put it though all that was left was to see how it synchronized with a PC, and I was positive this is where it was going to fail. I was wrong, the software syncs seamlessly with everything in Outlook and insanely quickly. The software suite is as easy to use as the phone itself, you can transfer songs, videos and files in seconds, wow.
Overall this is the type of phone other phones want to grow up to be like.
Brendon Ambrose
I have always enjoyed using Sony Ericsson’s phones, so expectations were high for there latest Walkman phone. This is a very small phone which fits snuggly in your pocket but without being to small that it causes cardiac arrest when you cant feel it. It only weighs 99 grams so it feels solid in your hand without being to heavy. The buttons are well positioned and correctly sized so operating it is very easy, they also don’t wobble and as a result they don’t feel plasticy like the competition.
Is it easy to use?
The startup is a bit slow but after the wait, its all uphill. The operating system is stunningly simple and intuitive so you very seldom find yourself getting lost in the phones software, it also obeys your commands with lightning speed for every operation, except when searching for contacts, for some reason it slows down quite allot there. The Walkman software is very easy to operate and really orange, it works very quickly and is simple to navigate.
Does it deliver on its promise?
The W810i is part of a large range of Walkman phones none which have been particularly attractive, luckily with this model you actually feel quite proud to whip it out of your pocket. When you turn the phone on it gives you an option of just the Walkman feature or to urn the whole phone on which could prove quite useful when traveling. It comes with in ear buds which cut out all external noise and create real bass, they are absolutely orgasmic to listen to music on. Just a friendly piece of info, They put the iPods supplied headphones to shame. The sound quality is superb it possibly has the best sound quality in all the portable audio range, which is incredible considering it is a cell phone! A few weeks ago I tested the actual Sony Walkman, which was quite good but this is allot better, the only gripe I have is that it only comes with 512mb of memory which is quite limited. And finally the camera, its beautiful, it works on a landscape mode and has a dedicated button to shoot with, and with 2 mega pixels and auto focus in its pocket its unstoppable. Its almost impossible to take bad pictures no matter what the environmental conditions are.
The W810i also comes with some other cool software like the newsreader, which downloads the latest news from a selection of agencies, it also has two games only one is worth playing. EDGE mite not be the latest technology but it is still fast enough to download e mails and surf the web on your W810i, which by the way has a fantastic web browser.
By now I was very skeptical, this phone performed well in every test I put it though all that was left was to see how it synchronized with a PC, and I was positive this is where it was going to fail. I was wrong, the software syncs seamlessly with everything in Outlook and insanely quickly. The software suite is as easy to use as the phone itself, you can transfer songs, videos and files in seconds, wow.
Overall this is the type of phone other phones want to grow up to be like.
Brendon Ambrose
Samsung P300: The Ultimate Small Phone?
Samsung's new P300 credit card sized cell phone.
Much more than meets the eye. Although it looks a lot like a calculator you'd get for free when opening a bank account, the Samsung P300 can do a lot more than just help you balance your check book. Samsung's is now into thin, it took them a while to jump on the bandwagon but now they’re here and as good, if not better, than the rest. The new P300 super small, super slim phone is their first Faure into the market and it’s not a bad job for their first time, but does it stand up to the competition?
Is it easy to use?
Depends on who you ask, the P300 runs on Samsungs classic user interface which is generic throughout its range, you either love it or hate it. One thing which I will note is that they changed the positions of some of the keys slightly which is extremely frustrating, even after nearly two weeks of use. The actual user interface is very clean and self explanatory. One thing which Samsung has got right which most other ultra small and slim phones have forgotten is the features, this little phone has it all, an MP3 Player (which has a dedicated button), a 1.3 Megapixel Camera, a surprisingly decent calendar, Bluetooth and the list just goes on.
Does it deliver on its promise?
You have to wonder exactly what Samsung was thinking when it designed the P300. In the ever-growing frenzy to shrink the cell phone, the company produced an eye-catching yet somewhat polarizing handset. On one hand, it is one of the smallest phones we've seen to date, and Samsung gets credit for not churning out another blatant RAZR imitation, as it did with the Samsung Z540.
Yet on the other hand, the resulting silver and black design is far from flashy, if not downright dull, and it does not give that feeling of great pleasure you get from using something really cool. It makes you feel like your using an overpriced calculator. Despite our gripes, however, the story here is the diminutive size, and it's in that area where the P300 blows other phones out of the water.
Is it value for money?
For about R2 600 this phone is not bad value as it competes with the Motorola V3i and LG's Chocolate which are both in the same price range.
So all in all, if ultimate style is not that important to you this is one very competitive phone in the ultra small market.
Steven Ambrose
Much more than meets the eye. Although it looks a lot like a calculator you'd get for free when opening a bank account, the Samsung P300 can do a lot more than just help you balance your check book. Samsung's is now into thin, it took them a while to jump on the bandwagon but now they’re here and as good, if not better, than the rest. The new P300 super small, super slim phone is their first Faure into the market and it’s not a bad job for their first time, but does it stand up to the competition?
Is it easy to use?
Depends on who you ask, the P300 runs on Samsungs classic user interface which is generic throughout its range, you either love it or hate it. One thing which I will note is that they changed the positions of some of the keys slightly which is extremely frustrating, even after nearly two weeks of use. The actual user interface is very clean and self explanatory. One thing which Samsung has got right which most other ultra small and slim phones have forgotten is the features, this little phone has it all, an MP3 Player (which has a dedicated button), a 1.3 Megapixel Camera, a surprisingly decent calendar, Bluetooth and the list just goes on.
Does it deliver on its promise?
You have to wonder exactly what Samsung was thinking when it designed the P300. In the ever-growing frenzy to shrink the cell phone, the company produced an eye-catching yet somewhat polarizing handset. On one hand, it is one of the smallest phones we've seen to date, and Samsung gets credit for not churning out another blatant RAZR imitation, as it did with the Samsung Z540.
Yet on the other hand, the resulting silver and black design is far from flashy, if not downright dull, and it does not give that feeling of great pleasure you get from using something really cool. It makes you feel like your using an overpriced calculator. Despite our gripes, however, the story here is the diminutive size, and it's in that area where the P300 blows other phones out of the water.
Is it value for money?
For about R2 600 this phone is not bad value as it competes with the Motorola V3i and LG's Chocolate which are both in the same price range.
So all in all, if ultimate style is not that important to you this is one very competitive phone in the ultra small market.
Steven Ambrose
Has Sony Finally Got it? - The Walkman A1000
Sony has been trying to attack the iPod for some time now and all attempts have failed dismally. Now they say that they have a legitimate competitor to the iPod Nano.
The Sony Walkman NW-A1000 comes housed in a metallic purple box; it certainly catches your eye. The actual device is no different, we got a purple one! It looks very slick and has a minimalist look and feel to it. The screen is nice and bright, pity it isn’t color though. True to Sony the sides of the Walkman and the surrounds of the buttons are chrome. Altogether it is a very visually appealing package. The software that comes with it is a bit unstable, freezing at times but is easy to use. It automatically syncs with the Walkman when you connect it. A very irritating problem which the Walkman displays is that you can only sync with the program that came with it.
Is it easy to use?
Sony did a good job when it came to the actual software on the device. It is very easy to navigate. It also has a very cleaver search function which its competitors lack. One very original feature which is quite useful is the artist link button which displays all the artist and songs in the playing songs genre. The one big fault that I’m surprised that Sony did not pick up on was that it is incredibly slow, you do get used to it but it is extremely annoying.
Does it deliver on its promise?
The sound quality is better than that of the iPod but that is mainly due to the Sony headphones which are vastly better than that of Apples. To hold the walkman fits snugly in your hands until you try to change songs using only one hand the buttons are positioned to low so it tends to slip out of your palm every time you press a button.
Is it innovative?
With its unique design it is one of the most original MP3 HD devices that have entered the market for a long time, it is not just another iPod rip off.
Overall I do believe that it is a viable competitor in the portable audio market, it may not be as seamless as its rivals but it makes the grade.
Steven Ambrose
The Sony Walkman NW-A1000 comes housed in a metallic purple box; it certainly catches your eye. The actual device is no different, we got a purple one! It looks very slick and has a minimalist look and feel to it. The screen is nice and bright, pity it isn’t color though. True to Sony the sides of the Walkman and the surrounds of the buttons are chrome. Altogether it is a very visually appealing package. The software that comes with it is a bit unstable, freezing at times but is easy to use. It automatically syncs with the Walkman when you connect it. A very irritating problem which the Walkman displays is that you can only sync with the program that came with it.
Is it easy to use?
Sony did a good job when it came to the actual software on the device. It is very easy to navigate. It also has a very cleaver search function which its competitors lack. One very original feature which is quite useful is the artist link button which displays all the artist and songs in the playing songs genre. The one big fault that I’m surprised that Sony did not pick up on was that it is incredibly slow, you do get used to it but it is extremely annoying.
Does it deliver on its promise?
The sound quality is better than that of the iPod but that is mainly due to the Sony headphones which are vastly better than that of Apples. To hold the walkman fits snugly in your hands until you try to change songs using only one hand the buttons are positioned to low so it tends to slip out of your palm every time you press a button.
Is it innovative?
With its unique design it is one of the most original MP3 HD devices that have entered the market for a long time, it is not just another iPod rip off.
Overall I do believe that it is a viable competitor in the portable audio market, it may not be as seamless as its rivals but it makes the grade.
Steven Ambrose
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