The Nokia 8210 is RADICAL man!
Written: Feb 16 '01 (Updated Feb 17 '01)
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Pros: Compact, internal antenna, many features, outstanding phone!
Cons: Might be too small for some users. Doesn't feel all that durable.
The Bottom Line: Get this phone! It has it all, and more.
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| mikegmi2's Full Review: Samsung SCH-u620 Cell Phone |
This outstanding Nokia 8210 series phone is one of the best phones out there right now. It is very similar to the 8260 model, and the 8290 model. This model comes in more colors. Actually, I believe this 8210 is the US version of the European 8290 phone. Anyhow, on to the review.
What's In The BOX
In the box comes one Nokia 8210, a rapid plug-in-the-wall battery charger, hands free earpiece for driving in the car, LiIon rechargeable battery (with vibrate), and a detailed instruction booklet.
Size!
The size of this phone is one of its best features. Weighing about 2.8 oz with the lithium ion battery in it, you can hardly tell it is in your pocket. This phone is slightly lighter than the 8260, but who can tell? The digital screen is just as big as all the other Nokia series phones, so you don't lose screen size. The phone is about 1 cm. longer than a 1.44 MB hard floppy computer disk, and a little less than half of the disk's width. You can put it in your jeans pocket or a shirt pocket and not see it bulging out,unless you are wearing tight daisy dukes or something.
Battery
The very small Lithium Ion battery gives you about 200 minutes of talk time and 8 days of digital standby time. It took about 25 hours for the initial full charge, and about 4-5 for the next two full charges. It is recommended that you totally drain the battery the first 3 times, then you can charge it whenever you want. The battery is on the back of the phone, behind the backplate. It is east to take the battery out, and the phone will not lose any stored info when you take out the battery.
Clarity
So far all the calls I have made and received on this phone have been crystal clear, with the exception of calls made to Ameritech cellular customers. Something is wrong with Ameritech right now because our DSL service stinks, and my calls are never dropped unless I am talking to an Ameritech cellular phone user. The phone is plenty loud to hear while at a party or in a crowd of people, but isn't as loud as some of the larger cell phones out there. A friend of mine has this same phone and he also agrees that the clarity of this phone is right up there with the best. I haven't had a dropped call yet.
Antenna
This is probably the coolest feature of this phone. The antenna is an internal antenna, so there is nothing sticking out. It is located on the back of the phone at the very top, and is about 1" tall and 2" wide. I was skeptical about the quality of the reception with an internal antenna, but so far it has worked great. One thing they recommend you do is not touch the antenna during a call, just like all other cell phones. It is out of the way where you hold the phone while using it, so this isn't a problem.
Features Galore!
This phone sure has a lot of features. I won't list them all right out of the booklet, but tell you about some of the most useful ones.
Vibrate
This phone comes with a vibrating pack built in the phone, so you can use this as a phone and a pager. You can turn the vibrate on or off. You can also have the phone ring and vibrate if you want. The phone vibrates for about 1.5 seconds, then pauses for a half second, then vibrates again until your voicemail picks up. It vibrates enough to feel it in your pocket, so you won't miss calls.
Profiles
The phone comes with 6 different profiles, all of which can be modified and renamed except one. It comes with Normal, Pager,Silent, Office, and a few other modes. It is nice because you can set up a few modes for depending on where you are. For instance, I have my Normal mode (I renamed it "Mike Mode") set to Ring mode, ringer volume 4 out of 5, the "Kick" ring alert, and vibrate off. While at work I have it in Pager mode...ringer off, vibrate on. You can also set the volume of your touch-tones.
Phone Book
This phone stores up to 250 names and numbers in its phone book. It has a search feature where you type in the first few letters of the name you are looking for, and it will go directly to that name. You can also mark certain people to certain groups. I have Friends, and a Family group. When a friend calls, I have the ringer set to one tone, and when someone from the Family group calls, a different ringer is heard. So you can tell what type of person is calling just by the ring. Pretty neat!
Calendar
This is just like a calendar you would have on a Palm Pilot, but a little harder to use because you can't write with a pen, everything has to be typed in with the small numeric pad. You can make reminders for birthdays, meetings, and anything you would like to have your phone remind you of. The organizer can hold up to 50 appiontments and memos. It lets out a beep to let you know that there is something you were supposed to do on that day. I really don't use this feature of the phone much, but it is nice to know it's there.
Text Messages
This phone is capable of sending and receiving text messages and emails. If you are signed up with AT&T, people can send you a text message from a computer by using this address; areacodeandphonenumberhere@mobile.att.net. I tried it out and it only took 10-15 seconds to receive my text message, so it works pretty well. Right now I can only receive text messages because of my service provider, but the phone can send and receive them. You can also forward messages to other cellular phones or email addresses.
Outgoing and Incoming Call Blocking
If you find a number on your bill that keeps appearing and you don't know why or how, you can put that number on your block list. Your phone will not be able to call or receive a call form this number. This is also handy if your younger sister or brother likes to call their friends when you aren't looking.
Other Features
Of course you also get caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding, conference calling, 3-way calling, voicemail, 7 one touch programmable numbers, emergency one touch 9-key (calls an emergency number you program like 911), and many other features. There are 5 slots for downloadable rings if you don't like the ones that come with it (about 32). There are 4 games that come with the phone...Snake is the coolest. You can also download "graphics" that will appear when a person that you have assigned a graphic to calls you. Graphics range from happy faces, to south park characters, to short quotes.
Overall
Since this is the latest in cell phone technology, and it has tons of features, I will give this phone a 9.5 out of 10. The only downfall of this phone is that it doesn't feel too durable. I am not about to drop it on the cement to test its durability, so I will just take good care of it. You get a very compact cell phone without losing sound quality and reception.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 199.95
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Epinions.com ID:
mikegmi2
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Member: Michael Groesbeck
Location: Warren, MI
Reviews written: 85
Trusted by: 71 members
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