Here are some of the features I bought it for, and the experience I had after buying it:

Tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 network "world phone" - Too bad it doesn't work on the existing TDMA digital networks or AMPS analog networks that are far more common in the United States. Coverage seems to be spotty at best in urban and suburban areas, non-existent in more rural areas. I can't tell you how many times since I bought this "$350" phone I've had to borrow phones from people around me, who have service while I don't.

Camera Phone - 640 x 480 is marginal, but the image quality is so bad (color correctness, etc) that the pictures are worse than you'd see in a bad dream. Great concept, but the implementation makes it virtually worthless.

Bluetooth wireless connection - Supposedly you can transfer images to to other Bluetooth phones, and I bought a Bluetooth adapter to transfer the files to my PC. Guess what? When I contacted Nokia and the adapter manufacturer when the connection didn't work, the answer was "Bluetooth isn't one compatible standard". So much for that feature. Transferring the image files by removing the phone's data card is possible, but it's complicated and not well documented.

Other design problems with the phone include:

Poor access to phone features - There are so many non-phone features that it's cumbersome to do simple phone actions like call someone back or redial a number, requiring you to navigate deep into onscreen menus. Try that while you're driving. On second thought, don't. Hey Nokia, it's a phone, make it work well as a phone!!

Poor default ring - Too hard to hear, annoying tune. There seems to be no way to increase volume. There seems to be no way to change ring tones other than to pay for new downloadable tunes. As it's implemented, the programmable ring tone "feature" seems to be a way to extract extra money from users, not a way for users to be happier with the phone.

Poor keypad layout - Many of us can dial a standard "10 key" style numeric layout almost without looking. Good luck dialing the radial keys on this phone.

The tiny speaker is highly directional - If you don't have your ear in exactly the right place, the volume is severely compromised or you can't hear the person on the phone at all. If there's a way to increase the volume, I can't find it (but then I only have a computer science degree, maybe I'm not qualified to operate this user interface).

General usability - Sometimes when you make a mistake using a feature, you get kicked out to a place far removed in the menu system from where you want to be. For example, if you dial a number and the call doesn't go through (which seems to be common on these spotty GSM networks), the number doesn't remain there for redialing. Duh. Didn't anyone at Nokia try using this device as a phone? Maybe they were too busy playing games and changing faceplates and ring tones. I also had some trouble with the user interface when I tried to program numbers and labels into the phone.

The phone is highly programmable, but AT&T chooses to have their "MMode" messaging feature prominent on the phone, even if you haven't subscribed to it. If you're curious about what that feature is, or when that Mmode button gets hit while the phone is in your pocket, you start getting charged per byte for data transfers.

Overall this phone is unnecessarily difficult to use as a phone. On paper the phone implements some nice concepts and it is a nice demo of features to come, but for now, for daily use, the usability needs work, delivery of the promised features is spotty at best, and the manner of implementing them (such as using features to jack up your monthly phone bill in unpredictable, sometimes uncontrollable ways) can be highly obnoxious.

We're getting AT&T to switch us back to a phone that can use the far more common analog and TDMA digital networks here in the United States. We'll consider camera phones and ones that can import an Outlook contact list via Bluetooth when the technology improves and uses standards, and when the manufacturer and service provider's implementations of the features and services are better thought out.

Definitely don't buy it based upon a list of features, or the recommendation of someone who hasn't spent a few months using (or trying to use) the various features.



Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 75
Recommended for: Adventurous Technophiles - Tough and Durable