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Nokia 6800 Phone - Next Generation (AT&T)

Nokia 6800 Phone - Next Generation (AT&T)

List Price: $199.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best
Review: If you like to send text messages, this is the phone to have. It takes seconds instead of minutes to send a message. You don't have to press the number 7 key 4 times to get to the letter S. Just open, type and send. The phone is just GREAT!!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: a vast improvement over my old phone, but...
Review: In looking for a new phone after I smashed my Sony Ericsson T68i (easily the worst phone I've owned), I was stuck between getting the 6800 and the Palm Tungsten W, but settled on the phone rather than the PDA/phone. As it turns out, the 6800 turned out to be a great phone with some adequate PDA-like functions.

Pros:
-reception MUCH better than my old phone (but that's really not saying a whole lot).
-typing is much, much easier due to the flip-open keyboard.
-I can send and receive email via my Earthlink account.
-I can quickly jot down notes into a note file.
-with the optional PC cable, I can sync my information with Microsoft Office on my PC.
-It's a Nokia, and once you've gone Nokia, you should never go anywhere else. I find their interfaces very intuitive.

Cons:
-it's substantially bigger and bulkier than my old phone. That's tough if you're a hip Asian kid, but I'm probably past that stage now.
-battery life is surprisingly disappointing (this can be due to heavy usage, however), and the charging period can sometimes be akin to an ice age.
-voice recognition isn't any better than my old phone, which is to say it's lousy at times (especially when using the headset in the car).

Bottom line - definitely a keeper. I have no intentions of smashing this one.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: You could do better!
Review: The moment I set eyes on the folding design of this phone with the full keyboard I knew I had to have it. This is great if you do a lot of text messaging, and those of you who do will know how FRUSTRATING it is hitting a key 3 times to select the letter you want. You may find though that once this phone is in a standard case you may not put in the time and effort to take it out of it's case and then unfold it to text message anyway. This phone has a lot of good features and it is like a mini organizer. With the phone book you add a name and it then allows you to store a home, work and cell number for each person. Great - but unfortunately, when adding a new contact it assumes it's a home number and you have to change it afterwards - which is a pain. Too bad you can't select type when entering. The thing I really HATE about this phone is the volume - it is really soft compared to the other phones I have had. It is easier for me to hear when putting the phone on Speaker, unfortunately this naturally results in the other person hearing everything in the background. (btw, I recently went to an audiologist and my hearing is fine!) For this reason, unless you are really into text messaging, get something else. Cingular also sells this phone, if you are going to get it, stick with AT&T. Cingular are awful!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Superior Interface Design, Poor GPRS Data Performance
Review: The Nokia 6800 represents a leap forward in interface design that mobile executives will appreciate. Unlike most phones that require multiple key presses per character, the 6800's full QWERTY keyboard allows users to rapidly type information. At first glance, the phone looks like a conventional cell phone. Ingeniously, the main numeric keypad folds open, to reveal right and left halves of the keyboard that sit on either side of the screen. This arrangement allows significantly faster typing than via QWERTY keyboards on the Handspring Treo or Blackberry. It makes entering notes, adding contacts or accessing the Internet much more appealing. My reason for purchasing the phone falls into the last category, Internet use, which has been disappointing due to the network performance.

Unfortunately, ATT Wireless GPRS service is spotty at best. In fact, here in downtown Chicago (as of 4/04) access to mMode can be hit or miss even though there is maximum signal strength. Oddly, the data network appears to have degraded significantly since it went live 2.5 years ago. With reliability being as bad as it, one has to question the value of a superior interface, especially if the primary motivation for upgrading your phone is easier use of data functions. Clearly, one could not rely on this network for critical access to data for business purposes.

Data performance aside, the 6800 is an impressive phone with the best keyboard on the market. It also has a joy stick that allows for easy navigation of menus. Although I have never played games with the phone, the joystick would be excellent for this purpose. To aid users typing in poor ambient light, full keyboard lighting is available at the press of a button. The elaborate set of interface elements, especially folding keyboard, makes the phone appear fragile. Yet, my experience shows the phone is quite rugged as it has survived several drops on hard concrete.

There are many bells and whistles on the phone including a programmable FM radio. Although the reception is adequate in the city[Chicago], it degrades significantly 10 miles outside the city limits. Compared to a car radio with external antenna, it leaves something to be desired. Oddly, the stereo headphones (not required) cost $25, which is more than most digital FM radios. At first glance, one might think a radio on cell phone is a useless feature. However, many health clubs have their television screens' audio broadcasted through FM. Having an all-in-one device is nice in this regard.

Combined with an excellent interface, the phone's feature set is sufficiently robust as to supplant most PDA functions. The screen is large enough for the calendar and note pad. When traveling, I have found the multifunction calendar and alarms very helpful. A surprising feature of the phone is the quality of the speakerphone. Clearly there was major engineering to get the clarity and volume is good as it.

One very useful capability, which many users are not aware, is the phone's ability to use any POP email account. Hence, you can send and receive business email - and NOT use an ATT address. ATT has its own SMTP capability, which is transparent to the sender and recipient and lets users avoid blocked SMTP access hassles. More recently, all of the major web-based formats (Hotmail, Yahoo) have been added to the ATT mMode offering.

While most of the problems with the phone stem from the data network performance, there were some Nokia-created glitches. The original headset and numerous replacements kept breaking. I went through four in the first three months. The salespeople at the ATT wireless store were kind enough to provide a new one each time. One even suggested that there were many headsets from this particular model being returned. Nokia may have had some manufacturing problems with the initial production lot as I haven't had any problems in the last five months.

Although the overall design is excellent, I would have appreciated a keypad cover. The main numeric keypad is prone to accidental key depression when the phone is placed in a pocket or backpack. Many users will lament the lack of a camera or Bluetooth. However, I truly miss higher data rates from offered by EDGE. These features, including EDGE data capabilities, are available in the recently released Nokia 6820. Given the enhancements of this later generation model, there is little reason to purchase a 6800. If you don't mind the flashier design of the 6820, skip the 6800.

Pro's
Excellent interface design with QWERTY keyboard
Joy stick
Excellent sound quality and reception
Excellent speakerphone quality
Personal email (POP accounts)

Con's
No EDGE (available in 6820)
No Bluetooth (available in 6820)
GPRS Network performance poor
No camera
No expandable memory
No MP3

FINAL WORD
Skip the 6800 and purchase the 6820 instead

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: great Device
Review: this is a great phone but AT&T needs to be more competative with their rate plans.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Mobile ....No Bluetooth
Review: This Mobile has everything. But it is sad that it has no Bluetooth.
Nokia could have done better. But it has got GPRS and MMS which are advanced features. It has also got broader screen which is makes it more attractive. A four-way joystick presents an additional mode of navigation. Standard organizational features include a calendar with a monthly view, a to-do list with priority levels, and a Notepad application for jotting down brief notes of up to 3,000 characters. The phone book, calendar, and to-do list can all be synchronized with a PC using Nokia 6800 PC Suite software. This phone's extended Li-Ion battery is rated for up to 4.5 hours of digital talk time and 10 days of digital standby time.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Good phone, TERRIBLE SERVICE
Review: This phone in itself has some pretty useful features - like the fold out keyboard, organizer, pop email and web access - but the service from at&t renders all these perks either unusable or terribly expensive.

I cannot get a signal at my apartment, my mother's house, my girlfriends house, my best friends house, the corner store, the lower level of most shopping malls, the office, the gym, or most anyplace else with a roof. And if you use text messaging, you need to keep it under 300 a month (and get the additional text package for $10 a month, or get ready to pay. Also the web access is VERY EXPENSIVE @ .03PER KB!!!!

WOULD RECOMMEND ONLY IF INTO GADGETS, OR IF YOU TEXT MODERATELY, OR IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT SERVICE (CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS TOO).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: very nice phone. look for the new upgraded 6820
Review: This phone is excellent. I have purchased a total of three over the last year or so for myself and family. All were excellent phones. A pleasure to use if you text message a lot (even though AT&T is too expensive for this service). The only problem I encountered was a slight hairline crack in the hinge area of one of the three phones. But, it still works and is not causing any major problems. Battery life is very long (as usual with Nokia), the screen is decent--not the best--but for the price you cannot beat it. Easy to use platform (common Nokia). Overall a very well made product. Look for the new updated version: the 6820. The style and a few features have changed. It looks sharp. If you like messaging this is the phone for you, but beware: with AT&T's $0.10 per message over your plan this phone can rack up the message charges for you because of how easy to use it is.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: very nice phone. look for the new upgraded 6820
Review: This phone is excellent. I have purchased a total of three over the last year or so for myself and family. All were excellent phones. A pleasure to use if you text message a lot (even though AT&T is too expensive for this service). The only problem I encountered was a slight hairline crack in the hinge area of one of the three phones. But, it still works and is not causing any major problems. Battery life is very long (as usual with Nokia), the screen is decent--not the best--but for the price you cannot beat it. Easy to use platform (common Nokia). Overall a very well made product. Look for the new updated version: the 6820. The style and a few features have changed. It looks sharp. If you like messaging this is the phone for you, but beware: with AT&T's $0.10 per message over your plan this phone can rack up the message charges for you because of how easy to use it is.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I LOVE THIS PHONE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: This phone is great and i think it is one of the best phone out right now. It got some really cool feature such as keyboard for easy text messaging. It expensive but really worth the price. Check it out for yourself.


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