Great showpiece. Bad earpiece
Written: Sep 21 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Super Small, great look, games!!
Cons: Price, Performance, Ergonomic issues.
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| badhmash's Full Review: Nokia 8860 Cell Phone |
This is one of the best looking phones on the market. Generally, I hate the look of the Nokia phones currently on the market because their design is not appealing at all even though they are small and light.
That is why I was very interested in the 8860 as far back as 2.5 years ago when it appeared on the Nokia website. It was the thinnest and smallest phone (second to the startac) at the time. But the key was, it looked better with the chrome and sliding cover.
First of all, let me point out that I know that many people were expecting this to be the phone with the sliding cover from The Matrix. This, in fact, is NOT the phone from the Matrix (even though it has the sliding cover). The phone from the Matrix is actually another model that will be released by Nokia soon in Europe. So to answer any questions about this phone, there is no auto-sliding cover.
Now that we have that out of the way, lets talk about the phone itself.
Obviously, the size and look of the phone are what has drawn most people to it over the past 2 years. It is very light, and most of all, does not resemble, in any way, the ugly lower end Nokia models.
However, aesthetics aside, there is nothing that this phone does that is worth the ENORMOUS and ridiculous price tag of about $400-$500 US dollars. The keypad, first of all, is not nearly as nice to the touch as other phones like the Samsung models. Instead, they are cheap, slippery plastic blocks that are very hard to push when you are driving or even walking on the street for that matter.
Next, I am not sure if this is a real problem with the phone, but I noticed that when I was roaming in the analog band, I would get terrible reception. It would be full of static and I would often get dropped calls.
Thirdly, the phone debuted as a TDMA only phone. To me this matters because TDMA is an old standard that should be the next standard to be phased out by the industry. CDMA technology is newer and more efficient. The Startac from Motorola, for example, has models for every type of mobile phone technology out there. That is probably why it was so successful and became Motorola's flagship product. To some this would be a minor detail, but to me, it shows that Nokia was worried only about getting the product out, rather than working on compatibility.
Additionally, this phone often became hard to hold BECAUSE it was so small. Let's face it, we all want a small, light mobile phone, but even phones that are too small can be uncomfortable.
The last problem that I had with this phone was a personal issue. I am deathly afraid of cancer and all the talk about cancer from cell phone radiation has kept me on my feet with regard to new information. ABC's 20/20 did an investigation with a company from Sweden (because no companies in the United States would agree to do the study) to measure the radiation from 5 different cell phones currently in use in the United States. The Startac was the only phone out of the 5 that passed the FCC standards for radiation emitted from a cellular phone. The Nokia phones were the absolute rock bottom worst, measuring 2.54 TIMES (I believe) over the FCC's suggested limits. Notice the trand that startac phones have in common: They all have antennae pointing away from the head. Now note that no Nokia phones have extendable antennae including this one. Above all, this is the smallest Nokia phone and note the antenna issue.
All in all, I would recommend this phone to those people who have it all and just want to show off. You might as well just buy this phone for show and don't bother connecting any service if this is your desire. Otherwise, don't get this phone, and until Nokia realizes that people's health is more important than making cell phones, buy from another company.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
badhmash
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Reviews written: 30
Trusted by: 12 members
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