Mobile Phone News

Filed under: Handsets, Nokia, Symbian, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA

When the N95 was released, it was all but universally adored. Even today, nearly two full years after it was first revealed, it’s still one of the most respected in Nokia’s lineup. From the get-go, we knew the N96 was more evolutionary and less revolutionary; after all, the two handsets even look alike. The general consensus this time around is about what we expected: the N96 is a fine phone, and a worthy successor, but probably not worth the high price it’s currently demanding. Oh sure, the call quality was stupendous, battery life was satisfactory and the multimedia playback was superb, but some critics were a bit displeased with the fit and finish given the premium price tag. All in all, don’t go into the links below expecting any very big surprises — the N96 is a nicely revamped, high-priced N95, and if that’s what you’re looking for, there doesn’t seem to be any underlying issues that should hold you back from indulging.

Read - PhoneArena (”Nokia seems to have taken more of a lateral step than pushing forward with innovation.”)
Read - MobileArsenal (”…doesn’t have anything we didn’t see before…”)
Read - LordPercy (”…an improved, quality phone…”)
Read - Mobile88 (4 out of 5 stars)

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Tags: Battery Life, Consensus, Gsm Edge, Hsdpa, Huge Surprises, Lateral Step, Mobile88, Multimedia Playback, N95, Nbsp, Nokia, Nokia Gsm, Nokia N96, Nokia Review, Nokia Symbian, Premium Price, Price Tag, Quality Phone, Roundup, Worthy Successor

Filed under: Handsets, Nokia

Besides the RAZR, few handsets have milked longevity like Nokia’s 8800 slider — first introduced in April 2005 (spied in March). Unlike RAZR, however, the 8800 somehow manages not to annoy… too much. The latest Carbon Arte model brings 3G, a 3.2 megapixel camera, 4GB of flash memory, and OLED display with anti-fingerprint coating. Fine, but it’s the rocket-esque carbon fiber, titanium, and stainless steel materials that help push the price tag to €1,100 (that’s about $1,600) before taxes and of course, carrier subsidies. Expected to brazenly appear in the smoking dens of Europe’s finest gentlemens’ clubs sometime in Q3.

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Tags: April 2005, Arte, Carbon Fiber, Euro 1, Europe, Fingerprint, Flash Memory, Gentlemens Clubs, Handsets, Longevity, Moon, Nbsp, Nokia, Price Tag, Q3, Slider, Smoking, Stainless Steel Materials, Subsidies, Titanium

Filed under: Handsets, Sony Ericsson, GSM, HSDPA, UMTS

Yippee, it’s T700 day at Sony. First they launched the DSC-T700 digicam, at this time the T700 cellphone. The T700 candybar is mostly phone though with a smattering of camera just for kicks. We’re talking quad-band GSM and UMTS/HSDPA 2100 with 4.5-hours of 3G talk and a 3.2 megapixel camera with cell-id geotagging and photo light. It measures just 10-mm thin with Bluetooth A2DP, 2-inch TFT LCD, and 512MB of Memory Stick Micro (M2) storage tossed in the box. Available in “chosen markets” in Q4 for what’s expected to be a middling price tag.

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Tags: Bluetooth A2dp, Candybar, Cell Id, Ericsson Gsm, Geotagging, Hsdpa, Inch Tft Lcd, Memory Stick Micro, Memory Stick Micro M2, Nbsp, Price Tag, Product Names, Q4, Smattering, Sony, Sony Ericsson, Sony Gsm, Sony Product, Storage, Umts