NOKIA 8800 REVIEW

Firstly, the battery life has been surprisingly unproblematic. It will be slightly short at first, but this is often how phone batteries work. After a 16 hour inital charge, and running the battery through a few cycles, it's now started to last me a couple of days, which is fine. And the inclusion of an extra battery is very useful. It takes pictures (and sends them via MMS or bluetooth) very well; the 0.5 megapixel camera is absolutely fine for my purposes. Due to the general camera technology used in phones, such cameras (even if they are many megapixels) will never be an entirely great replacement for a good digital camera. Also, the keypad is actually fine and easy to get used to after a week or so of using it. Some people have also complained about the ear piece having a low volume, but I believe that this is only the case because they are holding it wrong (as I was doing at first). Due to the shape of the phone, it's easy to have your ear helf against the screen, but the speaker is right at the top. You need to learn how to put your ear up there when in a call, then all is fine. Thus, the problems which a lot of people pick up on are, in my eyes, relatively minor issues, which disappear over time.

Now for the truly positive side of things. This phone is stunning. The screen looks phenomenal; high resolution with many many colours - I've never seen another screen like it. The body of the phone, however, is incredible. It looks far better in real life than in the pictures on the internet; not too shiny, not too flash, just very elegant. A lot of people either look at it, or ask about it when catching sight of it. One problem you might consider is what on Earth would happen if you were to drop it. Well, it seems that the answer to that would be not much. Accidentally, I've dropped it several times, but with the scratch-resistant screen and solid steel body, there isn't a single mark on my handset, and the opening mechanism is still entirely solid. I just can't fault this phone. After years of going through phones which have supposedly been the most high-tech at their time of release, not only have I gone back to using a Nokia (which seems to have the best software and build, perhaps almost equal to Sony Ericsson), but I've gradually realised that I only need to make calls and send texts. Anything else is a bonus. But the greatest bonus of all is something which looks, feels and even sounds perfect (the ringtones on this phone are unique and great). I am entirely pleased with my purcahse and can actually see myself using this phone for the next decade, or at least until GSM technology becomes redundant.