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Nokia 6820 Wireless Messaging Handset Reviewed
Brainsur writes "The Nokia 6820 is an ergonomically pleasing handheld device that integrates short text, multimedia and instant messaging capabilities with all of the features and functions that one normally would expect to find in a dedicated GSM/GPRS cellular phone."
Pleae note that the EDGE protocol has to be supported by the phone-providers. At least in Germany this is not a reality yet.
I like it... You can even get a slow but useable SSH client that runs on it from www.idokorro.com. The electrical connections between the keyboard portion that flips seem to be a little flimsy, and sometimes certain keys don't have the expected behavior. Other than that, it's a nice unit. I definitely like the fact that it has a normal phone form factor, unlike my previous phone... the Nokia 3300 mp3 phone.
The link over at Nokia.
Who has two thumbs and thinks this phone is a waste of money? This guy.
I don't particularly care for Nokia phones, and even my Sony Ericsson T226 is overkill for what I need. I can understand integrating your address book into your phone, but the rest of this stuff is a waste of circutry. I'd rather they spend the manufacturing dollars on a phone with clearer signals and better durability. I'd pay good money for something like that.
There is a difference between "insightful" and "inciteful" other than spelling.
I believe the same problem is in this one if I remember correctly. The power button is actually located at the top of the FRONT FACE of the phone. Thus, if you hold it up to your ear with your shoulder, you turn the phone off. After turning off the phone 5 times in a month while I was talking, I went out and got a Motorola v600 series. It's the best phone I've ever had.
As far as email goes, I havn't tried it because it seems that the IMAP4 client for the phone is broken. I'm still able to check my mail via IMAP4 on my Pocket PC when connected via the phone using Bluetooth.
The keyboard is excellent for it's size but I fear about getting RSI in my thumbs.
I certainly get a lot of looks when I whip it out and fold the keyboard open. It is highly common to get the "what on earth is that?!?" comment from some... ahhh back to the days when I had my first US Robotics Pilot 5000 and the continual praise heaped upon one for having such a unique device.
I find that I'm almost never using my Pocket PC anymore because I can download all my calendar, contacts, etc into this one.
I don't believe the US version has the Blackberry client but the Australian version sure does. I'm hesitent to get it activated because of the AU$50 (US$35) per month fee that Telstra charge.
This is a massive leap ahead over the 6800 and when Nokia inevitably release a followup to this one I'm not hesitating in getting it.
Things I'd love to see in the next iteration of this phone:
The low points of this phone are:
OK, what the hell?? The Register reviewed this phone THREE MONTHS AGO and that was an actual review. You can read it here.
So why is this being posted now? Hmm?
"The dew has clearly fallen with a particularly sickening thud this morning"
was it too much to ask that this was included?
http://www.nokiausa.com/phones/6820
I bought one just last month and switched providors to do so. I bought it primarily for the Bluetooth capability - I'm on a kick lately, as I bought a Palm Tungsten T3 and a Navman Bluetooth GPS module to go with my PowerBook.
Like all Nokia phones, the battery is incredible. The keys are a little small for an old phart like me, but they are very useable. The clamshell QWERTY keyboard is also a little hard to use, but easier than ditsing around with the keys when trying to type more meaningful memos. I used it to the max for the first month sending text messages and it was better than my whining makes it out to be.
In addition to the phone, I bought a Motorola Bluetooth headset. It is by far the best complement to the phone! The two make an unbeatable pair. Oh yeah, the phone has a camera and the one time it screwed up was when I took a booty shot of my wife. Um, this is slashdot, right? Scratch that. The video mode is cool. Anyway, the 6820 is a solid phone and I hope to get a few years of service out of it.
My user name was a mistake. Input wasn't restricted, my bad.
I bought the 6820 about four months ago, and love it more than any other electronic gadget I own, even over my Sharp Zaurus.
What stands out is how natural the keyboard is. The device is weighted perfectly. You can also type quite fast, as the two halves of the keyboard are roughly a hand-length apart. Handtop makers and PDA designers should take particular notice in how much more natural this design is than a thumb keyboard exposed on the bottom of a device. This really is the future, I believe in the design that strongly.
An especially handy feature is that as soon as you start typing, the phone goes into "Note" mode - just type the first letter of a sentence, and you're inputting into a notepad-like application. No frills, but you can save and edit easily, then email or SMS the text.
There's also a cool keyboard-light button at the top left, to illuminate the whole device for typing in low light. I can't tell you how stylish the thing looks with light streaming out from each key on the pad.
There's also a customizable "GoTo" button on the phone face, so you can instantly utilize the voice recorder, alarm clock, timer, calculator, your inbox, and the other dozen+ applications.
The camera is about one-half or even one-third megapixel, I'd say - still looks fine (tho small) when emailed. There's a built in mini-Outlook, with audio reminders and all, which is now 100% usable thanks to the keyboard. Literally, there's no need for a PDA if calendar, contacts, and notes are your primary apps.
It's one of the rare devices that earns a 5 out of 5 rating. No astroturfing here, this thing has earned my love.
Actually the locations of the @ and double-quote symbols are in exactly the same place as on all my regular desktop/laptop keyboards. The double-quote is above the number 2 (shift-2 to access) and the @ symbol above the single quote near the enter key (shift-' to access).
I think what the author of the review doesn't realise is that UK and US QWERTY keyboards have slightly different layouts. The switch of @ and double-quote being one of the differences. There's also, for example, a £ symbol above the number 3 (shift-3 to access) which is extremely useful when dealing with Pounds Sterling.
So as far as I can see Nokia hasn't elected switched anything. They've just produced a QWERTY keyboard based on the UK model.
I've had a 6820 for about 4 or 5 months now. It's an OK phone. I find that I can type SMS messages quicker using the fold out keyboard than even with predictive texting on and using the number pad. The camera is a bit crap and I rarely use it. As for other messaging capabilities, frankly I may not be a big enough geek because not enough of my friends have compatible devices that I can send to.
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