Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition Review

Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition launched in fall 2006, managed to become the most expensive handset from Nokia's line-up. The exquisite design of the handset recommended it as a publicity tool for great car manufacturers. Astonishing new sequels appeared one after another, such as Nokia 8800 Aston Martin Edition (limited to 250 units) and 8800 Lamborghini Edition (limited to 500 units). The 'usual' Sirocco Edition has its display protected by a mix of sapphire glass, but that wasn't enough for Nokia. That led to new glamorous models like Nokia 8800 Diamond Edition model, masterly designed by the German company Sayn Design (1000 units produced), and the more recent Nokia 8800 Sirocco Gold. Despite the multiple versions launched, the technical specifications of the model remained the same in all cases; only the price changed, ranging from $1000 (for the 'normal' model) to a 'mere' $3450 (for the Diamond edition).

Design As seen in the pictures below, the luxurious design is only surpassed by the materials used for the construction of different parts of the handset. The exact measures of the phone are 107 x 45 x 17.5 mm and it weighs exactly 138 grams (battery included).

The slider form features a thumb-like inlet which enables owners to cover/uncover the keyboard with ease; this can also be used as a lock command for the keypad. Moreover, the slider mechanism seems to be using premium ball bearings crafted by the makers of bearings used in high performance cars. The phone casing is made of a mirror-like stainless steel, which protects the phone from scratches or hard falls (or head bumping) and also reflects light and objects.

Unfortunately, the glossy surface of the phone will be full of grease in no time, and will simply become a fingerprint reader. That's where the cleaning cloth comes in handy, but still, this is a minor disadvantage if you think of the utility of a fingerprinter. The phone doesn't have any other external buttons, it's all 'undercover'. Although it's a little bit inconvenient to press the last row of the keys, the keypad looks nice and when you slide down the cover it automatically turns on the backlight so you can see the key in the low light or dark areas.

The terminal features a lot of "goodies" (accessories) such as the HS-64W Bluetooth headset and the leather case. Unfortunately, the case cannot be attached by the belt; however, it's still nice to carry it as it bears Nokia's logo and it protects the phone.

The Bluetooth headset measures 48 x 20 x 10 mm, weighs exactly 11 grams and it's compatible with the Blutotooh 2.0 technology. It functions with an 80 mAh, Lithium-Ion Polymer battery which may last for about 6 hours talk time and almost 160 hours in standby mode. As seen in the picture, it has an ear clip so users can attach it with ease.

The HS-15 earpiece makes the elegant phone convenient to use. Used as a handsfree, the mono headset can be operated with a remote control button, for answering or ending calls, and features a clip with a small microphone.

The Desk Stand DT-16 which comes with the package can be used for charging the phone, as well as the additional battery, at the same time. There's a nice white light at the base of the desk stand charger which illuminates intermittently in the dark, thus helping users to locate it.

Check out below to see some comparative pictures "starring" Nokia 8800 Sirocco and Nokia 7390.

Display and Camera Nokia 8800 Sirocco is a beautiful phone, but like many people have said it's too expensive. One of the reasons for the high price is its display, which is made of a sapphire mix glass. The hardness of the sapphire is extremely high, only second to diamond. As a side note, sapphire is commonly used in high-class watches manufacture, and it also explains why watch crystals made of sapphire have a very good mechanical strength, wear and weather resistance. Imagine how much money a 31 x 31 mm display made from sapphire glass must cost - too much. Featuring 262K colors and TFT technology, the 208 x 208 pixels resolution is more than satisfactory, making the display one of the best found in a the Nokia handset.

The 2 MP camera of the phone is covered mostly for protection reasons, so you can take pictures only when you slide up the handset. The maximum resolution of the camera, 1600 x 1200 pixels doesn't make it a good one at all. I see no reasons for the camera embedded in this handset, especially this kind of low performance camera. It doesn't feature any kind of flash or autofocus, pictures taken with it look kindda crappy as you can see below. Even with the few features included like colors variation effects, self-release and even a night mode (what for??!!), the camera is worse than any other 2 MP camera that Nokia included in its handsets. The same goes for the videos captured with the 2MP camera. Nothing more to say about it, just that it's not that good at all.

Menu and Software Let's get inside the phone and see what "goodies" await us. Well, the usual intuitive and easy to use interface that made Nokia handsets more desirable, couldn't have missed on Sirocco. The menu is customizable, users have the option to see the menu in grid mode or in list mode. You can do that by entering the menu and clicking on the "Options" command. The main menu includes: Messaging, Contacts, Log, Settings, Gallery, Media, Organizer, Applications, Web, Audio message. I guess everyone knows what these are for and explanations won't be necessary. The phonebook is large enough to accept 1000 entries, and users are also able to change the font size. You can attach pictures to every contact if you want, and other details like ringtones, web address, email address, video or nickname, but only if you move the contact into the phone's memory. You can also edit any detail later if you want to change something. The latest messaging capabilities are supported such as SMS, MMS, instant messaging and emailing. You can find pictures taken or images received in the "Draft" folder in "Messaging" menu, and you can send MMSs. More applications that you can find on de device are very simple to use: alarm clock, world clock, unit converter, voice recorder, calendar, to-do list, notes, calculator, countdown timer, and stopwatch. There are also four nice games included such as: Chess, Golf Tour, Snake III and Solitaire.

Nokia 8800 Sirocco doesn't run any version of Symbian OS, it's just a simple S40 phone and the only applications you'll be able to run will be Java compatible software. Moreover, not all Java applications tagged "for S40 phones" will be fully compatible. I had big problems in trying to "locate" a minor software to capture some screenshots, but I couldn't find any. Maybe it's just me, but the fact still remains; you'll be able to install 3rd party applications only at a minimal level - there are simply too few of them. Here are some useful softwares that should work on Sirocco: a currency converter, unit converter, alarm clock, and some free games Zelda, Astro Blaster, AquaLife.

Generally speaking, the phone works fine with applications (those that are compatible), it's pretty fast and doesn't have any bugs, because it lacks an operating system. Most probably, owners of the handset won't be able to install any complex software, thus resulting in a smooth functionality.

Communication Now here's a 1,000 Euros mobile phone that lacks USB port for PC synchronization. The only way to transfer your files, pictures or videos, is by using its Bluetooth. Furthermore, it features class 8 GPRS and EDGE connectivity, which is rather mediocre, but bear in mind that this phone was not designed for this kind of "activity". I had go(o)d-speed using the Bluetooth for synchronization with my PC, I accepted it the way it was and that's what all of you should do. The class 8 GPRS will enable users to transfer data files with up to 40 kbps, but the efficiently better class 8 EDGE will up that speed to almost 240 kbps. Surprisingly or not, the phone has good signal, but low volume, so you just simply need to avoid speaking on the phone in noisy areas.

Processor and Memory Nokia 8800 Sirocco features and ARM9 processor (127 MHz), but lacks any kind of slot card for memory expansion. Users will have to be satisfied by the 128 MB internal memory featured by the device. Actually, that should be more than enough if you don't use the phone as a mass storage device or MP3 player. And that's pretty unlikely because of the low data speed transfers and the rather mediocre sound provided by the MP3 player. Still, no slot card for memory expansion these days is considered a major drawback, unless you have a 30 gigs mini hard drive included in your handset.

Battery Strange that Nokia didn't upgraded the 700 mAh battery embedded in the 8800 Series, and instead decided to include a second battery in the package. The official numbers in the Nokia press release for BP-6X model battery is 2 hours and 45 minutes in talk time and 240 hours in standby. Mine only lasted for about 2 hours of talk time and about 200 hours in standby. Therefore, you can choose between changing the battery frequently (which is annoying) and charging more rarely, or simply charging your battery everyday if you talk more than 2 hours on the phone daily (which is also annoying).

Impressions Nokia 8800 Sirocco is simply a luxurious accessory, targeting rich people that look for a more exquisite design rather than high-end features. In terms of technical specifications, Sirocco is a low-end phone, which - in total contradiction - costs a lot of money. An easy-to-use handset that looks like it's trying to avoid the mundane look of other phones, Nokia 8800 Sirocco continues to sell very good, even after people considered its low-end features. In the end, it remains a true evidence of the fact that what's 'outside' sells better than what's 'inside' (see Motorola RAZR).