Review Given its unparalleled success in the mobile phone market, it was only a matter of time before Nokia tried its hand at creating a laptop. The Finnish manufacturer isn’t keen on its Booklet 3G being called a netbook, though. Instead, ‘mini laptop’ is the preferred term. But with features such as 10.1in screen and Intel Atom processor, it sure looks like a netbook to us.
A common complaint with netbooks (not least from Reg readers) is that prices have crept up and up ever since Asus started the whole thing off back in 2007 with its £220 Eee PC 701. Given the Booklet 3G’s price tag is nearly three times this figure, we’re fairly confident a large proportion of you will instantly dismiss it. Before we deliver our judgment, though, we’ll take a closer look at exactly what that £649 gets you.
At 264 x 185 x 19.9mm and weighing 1.25kg, it’s on a par with other 10in netbooks in terms of portability. And were it not for the Nokia logo on the glossy lid (it’s available in black, ice and azure flavours), you’d be forgiven for thinking this netbook had crept out of Apple’s labs. Indeed, with its aluminium chassis and minimalistic design, it has a certain mini-MacBook feel to it. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Once the unequalled leader among mobile phone manufacturers, Nokia still returns impressive sales, but ceded its dominance of the smartphone market with the arrival of the iPhone. It’s been playing catch-up ever since, sticking rigidly to a Symbian OS that only seemed to grow older looking with each new device.
Symbian successor? Nokia’s N900
Now, with the N900, Nokia is trying something new, with a brand new OS in Maemo 5 – a slimmed down version of Debian Linux – plus a host of top-end features, including a sizeable 3.5in touch screen, slide-out Qwerty keyboard, 5Mp Camera with Carl Zeiss optics, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, quad-band and much more besides.
We were torn on the appearance of the N900. We like its glossy black minimalism, with no hard buttons on the face to break up its smooth lines. But it’s a chunky chappy and a very solid pocketful at 111x60x20mm and 181g – svelte it is not.
Around the sides are a volume rocker, power key, shutter button and a rare example of an infrared port. Top and bottom features a brace of Stereospeakers, micro USB power/sync port, a lock switch, 3.5mm headphone jack and a plastic stylus. The back hides the Camera lens behind a sturdy sliding cover, which is surrounded by a fold-down kickstand for viewing video. Read the rest of this entry »
Review The E72 is the latest in Nokia’s line of Qwerty handsets, beefing up the popular E71 with a slightly sleeker look, improved software and some interface tweaks. It’s very slim – only just over 1cm thick, 58.3mm wide, and 114 tall, weighing 128g. The 2.36in screen is only QVGA, though arguably on a unit this size, a higher resolution wouldn’t make much difference.
Fast talker: Nokia’s E72
Below the screen are two soft keys, call and end buttons, plus four dedicated buttons. The home/menu key can’t be reassigned, but the others can, with one function for a short push, and one for a long one. By default, for example, pressing the calendar button briefly shows the calendar, while a long press creates a new entry.
Between these is the Navikey, a standard looking four-way navpad. However, it’s not entirely standard, as it has an optical sensor as well. So, you can scroll through menus and lists by wiping a finger or thumb over it, which makes for much faster navigation – although some third party apps did seem to be a little confused by it at times. On the whole, it works well, and is a good improvement. Read the rest of this entry »
Review While many mobile makers in the smartphone game have been concentrating their designer firepower on touchscreen devices, the Nokia N86 8MP rolls in as a successor to Nokia’s previous generation of Symbian S60 3E-packing heavyweights rather than as another touchphone contender.
Nokia’s N86 8MP: the N-series ancestry is immediately apparent
Making its mark as Nokia’s first 8Mp cameraphone – and its first with a mechanical shutter – the N86 8MP combines design and functionality elements from both the N85 and N96, two of Nokia’s most fully featured S60 devices. Imaging may be its focal point, but the N86 8MP also offers Wi-Fi to complement its HSDPA 3G data connectivity, A-GPS satellite navigation, 8GB of on-board storage, an FM transmitter plus a full spread of multimedia features and support for Nokia’s suite of online Ovi services.
There’s no mistaking that N-series family connection in the bodywork and front panel layout. The N86 8MP’s two-way slider design, which incorporates a numberpad and a media player control set as first seen on the N95, is chunky, measuring 103.4 x 51.4 x 16.5-18.5mm. It weighs a pocket-sagging 149g and feels very substantial in the hand.
Scratch-resistant hardened glass covers the front panel and the display, a 2.6in, 16.7m-colour 320 x 240 OLED screen that’s strikingly bright and clear. Read the rest of this entry »
Review While Nokia continues to push at the boundaries of mobile phone technology, it also has its eye on the voice-as-primary-function mainstream. This is where its bread and butter lies, and a market well served by the stalwart and very popular 6300. Now meet its successor, the 6303 Classic.
Nokia’s 6303 Classic: the candybar handset that wants to be a slider
As such, it’s a handset with few frills. There’s no GPS, no Wi-Fi and no 3G. Actually, 3G is one absence that that may hold this handset back. What constitutes the mid-range is moot, but for our money 3G is one feature that’s fast becoming, if it isn’t already, a must have for all but the most bottom-of-the-ladder phones. Read the rest of this entry »
