Geartest.com Nokia 6800 messaging phone with integrated keyboard real world review

Home > Mobile/PDA > Nokia 6800 > Preview

Nokia 6800 Preview

NOTE: This preview is based on a late prototype of the Nokia 6800. Some aspects of it may differ from the final production model.

The Nokia 6800 is a mid-sized phone that Nokia refers to as a "messaging device." Strictly speaking, that's accurate. The trend toward combining phones with personal digital assistants, music players and other devices has blurred the line between them and made them more than just a phone. The Nokia 6800 combines a phone with SMS and MMS messaging, e-mail and an FM radio, among other features.

We looked at a standalone prototype of the Nokia 6800 that arrived in a plain box along with the charging cord -- not the usual form-fitted packaging with instruction manuals and accessories -- so this article doesn't cover the full contents of the final product that ships.

Initial impression

The first thing you notice about the Nokia 6800 is that the phone's shell is not the high-gloss, high-polish, gleaming metallic silver that it appears to be in all of Nokia's press photos. Instead, the phone's body is made of a dull silver/grey plastic.

The phone itself feels solid in the hand and the plastic that forms the body feels thick and durable. It's light enough that you can hold it without any real effort, and is easy for someone with large hands to hold.

The keys are very slightly domed but smooth and otherwise flush with the face and the numbers appear to be seamlessly molded into the plastic. A backlight makes them glow very softly when any buttons are pressed.

The screen is bright without being harsh and reasonably sharp, but not as sharp or crisp as the display on the Nokia 3650 picturephone. One might compare it to the difference between HDTV and a conventional analog TV screen.

As mentioned, one of the big problems with the trend toward smaller and smaller phones is that they're difficult for large-handed men to use. The Nokia 6800 seems to have found a good balance between size and function. The keys are large enough and spaced widely-enough apart that there isn't much chance of accidentally pressing the wrong key.

The Nokia 6800 also has a pair of left-right rocker switches that span the width of the phone, with a hollow at the midpoint. A 4-way pointer stick for menu navigation sits in that hollow.

One side of the phone also sports a pair of flush-mounted buttons to raise or lower the volume.

Text mode

The phone's standout feature is its full QWERTY keyboard, revealed by flipping the face up and over the screen to lock it in place at the top of the display.

The screen orientation automatically rotates 90 degrees to match the keyboard, when opened.

The keys light up for a few seconds upon opening and can be kept on by pressing the lightbulb key to activate the Nokia 6800's backlights.

To type on the keyboard, you use your thumbs to press the keys while holding the phone with your fingertips.

We'll have more on the Nokia 6800 once we review the final production model.

[tech specs ]