If Size is an Issue: A Lot of Power in a Small Package
Written: May 14 '01 (Updated May 14 '01)
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Pros: Small & unobtrusive, long battery life, internal antenna provides reception comparable to external
Cons: number pad poorly lit, accompanying headset is low quality
The Bottom Line: The phone book features, keypad layout, and programming are intuitive and easy. This is a wonderful phone if small and light is your preference.
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| melleg's Full Review: Nokia 8260 Cell Phone |
Having owned my Nokia 8260 for over a month now, I feel I have experienced it enough to offer you a thorough opinion with valuable insights.
Ease of Use and Comfort
First things first, I don't recommend this phone if you have large fingers. Long fingers aren't a problem but thick fingers will cause you to press buttons you don't mean to select.
For best use, you will want the top end of the phone about half-way up the height of your ear. This provides the best sound quality as you listen and it puts the mic closer to the mouth so your words aren't missed. Unlike most other phones, your whole ear won't be covered. Because of this, the "shoulder hold" does NOT work well with this model. If you are a juggler of items while you talk, and you don't use hands-free mode, this phone is challenging.
But if you like to use hands-free, it is a piece of cake to slip the light-weight 8260 into a pocket without feeling like you have a bag of pennies pulling your pants or jacket down. Just don't expect much from the headset (earbud type) that comes with the Nokia 8260. While I've never had any complaints about sound quality nor have I had trouble hearing anyone with the phone by itself, I have had all kinds of problems with the headset. Mostly people say I sound like I'm in a well and that my voice breaks up too much. I'm currently shopping for a new headset option.
Holding the phone up to your ear isn't as tiresome as with some of the heavier Nokias such as my old friend: my 5160. The phone does, however, get just as hot when you've been on it for awhile (10 minutes or so).
Features
The phone allows you to set "Profiles" so you can set your phone within seconds to accommodate your changing environment. It comes with several preset profiles such as a loud ring and vibrate mode to alert you to calls when you are "Outdoors" and a quiet single beep alert for "Meeting" mode.
The 8260 contains all the basic features of any older model with the addition of a "Calendar" feature and a "Calculator." While the calendar is a neat idea, it is cumbersome and not really worth the effort. The calculator also is not intuitive and I can do my math on paper faster than getting the thing to work right. I am a huge fan of PDAs and adding these features to the phone is a clumsy attempt at overlapping the features between wireless phone and PIM. My opinion is Nokia shouldn't have bothered.
The battery life is amazing. I've run low, but never run out. I only charge my phone every couple days and when I think to plug it into my car charger. I am a moderate user. (about 900 minutes/month) and am extremely pleased at how long the 8260 retains a charge.
Overall, the phone is terrific. Reception is superior to that of my 5160--I've had only one dropped call and that was due to geography (common problem in that area). Sound quality is excellent--I've had people who remarked they did not realize I was on a wireless phone.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 179
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Epinions.com ID:
melleg
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Location: St. Louis, MO
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 5 members
About Me:
Busy mom, wife and business person. Thorough shopper who performs serious due diligence before buying.
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