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Handhelds Communications Hardware

Nokia 6820 Wireless Messaging Handset Reviewed 173

Posted by michael from the stuff-to-drop dept.
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."
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Nokia 6820 Wireless Messaging Handset Reviewed More

Nokia 6820 Wireless Messaging Handset Reviewed

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  • Yes, but (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @05:16PM (#9995898)
    Can it make phone calls?

  • WTF? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by powerline22 ( 515356 ) <thecapitalizt AT gmail DOT com> on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @05:18PM (#9995906) Homepage
    Sounds kinda like someone paid Slashdot to put this on. Looks too much like a press release for my taste

    • Re:WTF? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Erwos ( 553607 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @05:29PM (#9996005)
      "Looks too much like a press release for my taste"

      That because it's probably taken straight from the media kit for the product.

      I'm doing tech support in a teaching theater for a PR class this summer. They barely ever require my help, so I sometimes listen in on what's going on.

      One of the most fascinating things they talked about was how important "ready-made" materials that could be presented as a "story" were. Basically, reporters are generally lazy. If you send them stuff they can mostly cut and paste that's informative and doesn't look _exactly_ like an ad, they'll use it almost verbatim.

      To be honest, I almost got the impression that the "reviewer" had not used the product at all.

      -Erwos
      • Ready-to-runs are nice and all but I doubt they would give it a 3.75 in a ready to run piece. Besides the business orientation of it is really odd as Nokia doesn't really think of the phone as a business phone. This looks more like laziness, I mean any review where one can't tell if they ever looked at soomething more then a spec sheet is just not worth running (or reading).

      • El Reg got here ages ago (Score:5, Informative)

        by SpooForBrains ( 771537 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @06:16PM (#9996324)
        OK, what the hell?? The Register reviewed this phone THREE MONTHS AGO and that was an actual review. You can read it here [theregister.co.uk].

        So why is this being posted now? Hmm?

        • Re:El Reg got here ages ago (Score:2, Insightful)

          by Anonymous Coward
          The Register reviewed this phone THREE MONTHS AGO and that was an actual review.
          So why is this being posted now? Hmm?

          Because /. editors are crap these days. Probably several reviews were submitted as stories several months ago, and got rejected. Finally an old press release gets submitted as a story, and gets accepted. This is nothing unusual in today's Slashdot. We need some competition - a site more or less like /. but with competent editors.

        • Re:El Reg got here ages ago (Score:5, Interesting)

          by ozbon ( 99708 ) on Wednesday August 18, 2004 @03:07AM (#9998724) Homepage
          I'm guessing that'd be because the Reg reviewed the phone when it was released in the UK, but that Nokia has only just released it in the US.

          Of course, I may be wrong, but the answer makes sense... In many ways cell-phones are more advanced in Europe than in the US, primarily because GSM is common in Europe, and still only really coming in in the US. Hence the "need" for tri-band (and now Quad-band) phones so they work world-wide.
          • "in many ways" = "in every way imaginable"

            Seriously, two of the biggest cellphone manufacturers are over here (Nokia, Ericsson), and we take to that sort of thing faster than the Americans. Minidisc, anyone? You also won't find anyone saying "bluetooth is dead!" this side of the pond, either, as lots of us actually use it daily. :)

      • Got suckered by the big screen and the bluetooth and the tri band and the gprs and stuff, didn't I. My Nokia 6600 turned out to be a lump of dodgy experimental crap that probably should never have left R&D. The phone is totally non-Nokia - all menus and functions are as non-intuitive as a third party phont, it's the first telephone to have a virus in the wild, and it won't talk to a PC for anything useful.

        One might assume that, since pretty much all previous Nokias worked, that things like editing phone

    • Re:WTF? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Westech ( 710854 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @05:53PM (#9996172) Journal
      If I pay for a /. subscription will I still see stories like these?
    • "WTF" is exactly what i thought, what is this
      www.mobiledia.com ? or slashdot.com since when
      is this consumer electronics review site?

      I dont mind a post about consumer electronics, but hey 6820 has been out for a while.

      and I HAVE that phone !!!!
      (and no, i am not posting my review here)
  • I've really gone off Nokia kit, their build quality has fallen dramatically. The painted-on numbers wear off the phone buttons after a few months. It's all driven by cost now...

    • Whaddya mean their quality has fallen dramatically? I'm using one right now to post this comm KABOOM! *shrapnel, bone fragments, brains oozing through hole in skull*

    • Must agree there...

      My 3588i has the following problems:

      Broken (and now missing) antenna cap
      Fading Sprint logo on bottom of faceplate
      Shiny paint chipping off of answer/hang-up buttons
      Soft button #1, "1", "4" undersensitive
      "6" alternating between undersensitive and extremely OVERsensitive
      Rubber grip on backplate coming off
      "NOKIA" text on rubber grip gone
    • I agree. I don't like nokias either, due to their crappy creaky dust gathering "XPress-On" covers. They also just rerelease the same thing over and over again these days. Nothing of good value. Pathetic 128x128 screens on Series 40, which JUST became 65k color. I'll stick with my SE T637 thank you very much.
    • Maybe Nokia has just realized that people are going to buy a new phone every 2 years anyway, so why make them to last longer? (joking...)
    • Well I have a Nokia 6600 and it has worked really well. In fact, we have about 50 of those in my workplace and they all work very well. Before that we had 6310i. Again: very few problems. Before that I had Nokia 7110. Worked flawlessly. Nokia 6150? Zero problems. 5110? Zero problems.

      I have personal experiences regarding six different Nokia-phones and they have all worked very well. Two of those models (6130i and 6600) have been in wider use, so I have had the possibility to see how well they work. And they

  • That review sucked.. (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    It needs more pictures.

  • IMO (Score:1)

    by kc0re ( 739168 )
    This is kinda handy. However, as long as I don't Mr. Corporate, or Mrs. Soccer-Mom, or worse yet even, Mr and Miss High School driver, going down the road typing away on AOL like I see them now. Gabbing on their phone, putting on makeup, reading the paper (yes), reading books, and eating their chessburgers.. but yet, Cell phone use without a earbud or something similiar is illegal. However, it would be neat, from a geek perspective to have IM on your phone. What kind of Security issues though, does thi

    • Re:IMO (Score:3, Funny)

      by sysopd ( 617656 )
      [...] eating their chessburgers [...]

      Is that anything like a checkerstaco?

      "I'd like a connectfoursalad with a side of strategofries please."

      "Would you like any chutesandladders sauce?"

      "No thanks, I always keep some hiddenvalleyaxisandalliesranch on me to dip them in."

      • "No thanks, I always keep some hiddenvalleyaxisandalliesranch on me to dip them in."

        I wouldn't if I were you. It would take several evenings to eat one order of fries.

        --
        Evan "Some advancedsquadleaderbarbeque sauce for me, please"

    • IM on your phone?

      SMS has done that for years.

      or if you want to go via internet, buddy list etc. then I use jMSN.
      • IM on your phone is MUCH different than SMS.

        SMS only allows you to directly contact other cellphone users, and unfortuntately you pay a silly $0.05 fee per each message.

        IM on a cellphone using GPRS data services is much cheaper in comparison and you can contact people who are at their computers, not at their phone and see if they are available.

    • Re:IMO (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      And while you are watching them do all this, you get in a crash.

  • EDGE (Score:3, Informative)

    by Lispy ( 136512 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @05:21PM (#9995939) Homepage
    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 have one... (Score:5, Informative)

    by cballowe ( 318307 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @05:23PM (#9995959) Homepage
    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.

    • Re:I have one... (Score:5, Funny)

      by Elwood P Dowd ( 16933 ) <judgmentalist@gmail.com> on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @05:37PM (#9996059) Journal
      I definitely like the fact that it has a normal phone form factor, unlike my previous phone... the Nokia 3300 mp3 phone.

      Damn... thanks for subsidizing Nokia's R&D for the rest of us.
      • AT&T WS literally gives these things away.....with a 2 year contract (or renewal) but still.
      • I fried my 3300 by falling out of a boat with it in my pocket - replacement was a necessity and I wanted a different feature set anyway. (Actually, falling out of the boat didn't really do it ... it worked for almost a year after. I think the green stuff growing on the board is what did it.)

  • Phone Quality (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Icarus1919 ( 802533 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @05:24PM (#9995968)
    When are phone companies going to actually ask the public what they need and use their phones for? There are gadgets out there that already do what these features, and do them better than the cell phones could ever hope to achieve at a reasonable price.

    What the public wants now is quality, better reception, and higher reliability.

    • Re:Phone Quality (Score:3, Insightful)

      by nkh ( 750837 )
      The public needs to read books, stop watching TV and practice sports. Companies tell the public what it needs: more expensive phones (and more TV watching all day long).
    • What the public wants now is quality, better reception, and higher reliability

      And who provides that are carriers, not phone manufacturers like Nokia ...

      But I understand your point.
    • "There are gadgets out there that already do what these features, and do them better than the cell phones could ever hope to achieve at a reasonable price."

      At only 4x the pocket space!
    • What the public wants now is quality, better reception, and higher reliability.

      The public already has these things (or at least, the GSM-using public has these things, assuming adequate coverage) - what they don't have is a need to buy a new mobile phone.

      As things stand now, everyone that wants a mobile phone has one, and all these new phones with the extra features and gadgets are designed and manufactured for the section of the market that sees the phone as a fashion item.

      Simply, if you want a phone t

    • What the public wants now is quality, better reception, and higher reliability

      Until my battery started dying on me, I was pretty happy with the reception and quality. I have problems in some buildings, but you have to expect a couple of meters of reinforced concrete to interfere with radio/microwaves. I can take my phone overseas with me and it still works, and if you do a little research on the providers in the country you are visiting, doesn't even cost that much. I suppose the problem with the batt

    • Re:Phone Quality (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anonvmous Coward ( 589068 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @06:40PM (#9996488)
      "What the public wants now is quality, better reception, and higher reliability."

      Quality? Nope, the quality is 'good enough'. That's not because consumers are stupid, it's because a phone isn't worth $600 just because it can last 20 years.

      Better reception? The phone manufacturers have little to do with that. More towers need to be placed.

      Reliability? I'll give you partial credit for that. Better battery life is okay. There's a point of diminishing returns, though. People actually do want cameras on their phones. People actually do want to play games on their phone. People actually do want MP3 ringtones on their phones. People actually want their phones to be cool, not just functional. Don't believe me? Go sit down at a Cingular store for half an hour. Reliability is a distant 3rd compared to "What am I getting with my $200 purchase?"

      It's really cool to complain about cell phones lately. For some reason, though, nobody seems to understand that people actually have to buy these phones to make them popular. Otherwise, the units without the nifty features at much cheaper prices would be far more popular. They're not. Why? Because a cellular phone has become an entertainment device as well as a communications device. Who cares if the games aren't Game Boy quality? Who carries their Game Boy around 24/7? Who cares if the digital camera is only 640 by 480? Who carries their $500 camera around 24/7? Who cares if the appointment book is a bit difficult to enter new memos into? Who carries their $500 PDA around 24/7? Who carries ALL this stuff 24/7?

      I can't believe that the self proclaimed 'nerds' don't understand the value. It's like we're all minimalists all the sudden. Funny what earning karma can turn ppl into.

    • When I think of better quality and reception I think of the quality of the audio you are listening to when talking to a person. I think it's really time they up it to 16Khz 16 bit at the minimum. After a voice has been downsampled and scrambled through a compression algorithm it loses a lot of life. I would gladely pay $10 more a month if they could double the audio quality when the cellular bandwidth is available.

    • Re:Phone Quality (Score:3, Insightful)

      by 10Ghz ( 453478 )
      There are lots and lots of phones that offer just the basics when it comes to features. If you don't want all these features, then go ahead and buy something like Nokia 1100 [nokia.co.uk] (I bought my non-technological mother that one. Really solid construction, works very well, good reception and it cheap as well!)

      Me? I have a Nokia 6600 with just about all the imaginable features. And I do use those features (yes, that includes the web-browser!).

      Seriously: It's pointless to whine "But I just want to make phone-calls

    • What the public wants now is quality, better reception, and higher reliability.

      Just pick a phone with an external antenna and a big honking battery with outrageous SAR values.

      Though if you gauge what the public want by what they actually buy, they want the exact opposite.
    • they sell a variety of handsets. the more popular dictate what the public wants. the ones that die off into oblivion don't. end of story.
    • When are phone companies going to actually ask the public what they need and use their phones for?

      I'm pretty sure they already do that. In fact, I'd be suprised if there were a single major cellular carrier or handset manufacturer that DIDN'T do focus group testing to find out what people want in a phone.

      What the public wants now is quality, better reception, and higher reliability.

      No, that's what YOU want. Don't make the mistake of assuming most other people are like you.

      The group of people sittin
    • There are gadgets out there that already do what these features, and do them better than the cell phones could ever hope to achieve at a reasonable price.

      You are partially right. However, when I bought a new cell phone, I bought one with a built-in MP3 player, FM radio and decent storage. It saved me the trouble of having to buy a portable MP3-player (which I had wanted to do for some time).

      There are tons of features on my current phone that I will not use (often), but there are also some that I wou

  • What the? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by LilMikey ( 615759 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @05:26PM (#9995992) Homepage
    So SlashDot is now turfing for cell phone reviewers? There's nothing especially exciting or geeky about this device. They've been making the flip-open messaging handsets for a while now. Hell, even the reviewer in underwhelmed (3.75/5). It's not exceptional in any way.

    The title of this article should read "Nokia comes out with new version of same old crap... like they do a dozen times every year."
    • From the "not-a-paid-advertisement-honest-i-swear dept."
    • OK, but the phone came out more than 6 months ago.
      Also, what other company makes a phone with this sort of keyboard? I know only of the Nokia 6800, that's it.
      • The 6820 is directly based on the 6800 which came out Q2 2003. It's the only *line* of phones with that specific style of keyboard but if you wanted to open that ball of wax Slashdot better start covering the Nokia 3650, Siemens SX1, the Blackberries, Sidekicks, and plethora of smartphones. All of them have unique keyboards and more features than the 68xx.

  • More info (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    The link [nokia.com] over at Nokia.

  • OLD NEWS (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    This phone has been out for months now. Edge is supported by AT&T Wireless, but it's all going to be replaced by the next gen stuff before it really becomes useful anyway.

  • A quick question (Score:4, Informative)

    by ElForesto ( 763160 ) <.elforesto. .at. .gmail.com.> on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @05:45PM (#9996119) Homepage

    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.

    • Re:A quick question (Score:3, Insightful)

      by gl4ss ( 559668 )
      * 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.*

      would you? would you really pay more to get less?

      then do so and buy some of the high-end business models they like to put out as well with reduced functionality and added impression of being rugged(8xxx)

      anyways.. most of the people that complain how they would just like to have clearer signal seem to come from the same areas.. particulary areas where a bet
    • Buy a Nokia 1100. It has just the basic features.

      I'm getting sick and tired of people whining about the feature-packed hi-end phones. "But I just want to make phone-calls!". Well boo-fucking-hoo! Go right ahead and buy a basic phone with just the basic features! market is full of them! Put your money where your mouth is and stop whining!
  • What's up with the icons of the old grayscale Palm V and the rotary telephone?

  • I used the lesser model (Score:3, Informative)

    by gexen ( 123248 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @05:55PM (#9996196)
    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.
    • Dude, get a hands-free headset. It solves your problem, and it keeps the harmful RF radiation from cooking your brain.
    • This certainly isn't the case with the 6820. The button is there, but you gotta jam your thumbnail down on it for a few seconds to get it to respond. I'd say they overcorrected, but I guess it's better this way than with what you endured.

      My real problem with it is that when I lose signal for extended periods of time, it sometimes doesn't re-establish signal when I get back to a place where it's perfectly clear, occasionally blaming the problem on a SIM card error, usually just not reconnecting. I have t

  • Credibility (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Cranx ( 456394 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @05:59PM (#9996223)
    Slashdot's credibility as a place of discussion is going to sink fast if they continue attempt to pass off advertisements as real topics worthy of discussion.

    Strike one, Slashdot.

  • My Best Phone Ever (Score:5, Informative)

    by TheScream ( 147369 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @05:59PM (#9996228)
    I've had a 6820 for about 4 months now and I can honestly say that it has reduced my phone bill as far as calls are concerned. The downside that my costs for messaging and data have skyrocketed because I'm sending heaps of text messages and spending heaps of time on IRC using WLirc [sourceforge.net]. It certainly has the geek factor to be on the bus or train using IRC.

    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 [telstra.com] charge.

    This is a massive leap ahead over the 6800 [nokia.com.au] 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:
    • Series 60 OS (and the associated higher resolution screen)
    • 1.3 Megapixel or higher camera
    • Expandable memory
    • Better quality screen
    • Faster UI

    The low points of this phone are:
    • Very average screen
    • Poor quality camera
    • UI could be faster
    • Joystick could be better
    • No MP3 ringtone support
    • Not much memory (3.5MB)

    • Re:My Best Phone Ever (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      If you think the UI could be faster you *definitely* don't want a S60 phone. Mine's incredibly slow at everything UI related.
    • Hey for the geek factor don't forget the bluetooth headset (I have Jabra's set for mine).

      This phone is awsome. I agree witht he parent on the lowpoints.

  • Aw... (Score:2, Funny)

    by gardyloo ( 512791 )
    Anyone else disappointed when they read that as " Massaging Handset Reviewed" ?
    • Just turn the phone to vibrate mode and call or send messages to it a couple of dozen times. mmm... personal massaging handset.

      Just wait a while and you'll see a soccer mom driving an H2 using her cell phone not only to talk but also as a personaly enjoyment toy :(
  • The Nokia 6820 has only been out for [b]six months[/b]. I've seen the 6820 and although the keyboard is clever, the screen is terrible. Check out the Siemens SK65 [mobilegazette.com] though - it's a much smarter, more business-orientated phone with a better screen and proper Blackberry support.

  • Looks like another ripoff of Bell's telephone (Score:3, Funny)

    by IGTeRR0r ( 805236 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @06:21PM (#9996352) Homepage
    http://sln.fi.edu/franklin/inventor/bell.html [fi.edu] Looks like another cheap imitation of Bell's telephone, and I don't see Nokia giving props to the man who started it: "Bell's "electrical speech machine" paved the way for the Information Superhighway" Just giving the man the respect he deserves.
  • I was thinking about using the non-keyboarded version of this (the 3660? The one with the "normal" key layout) as a phone and eBook reader. Anybody tried to use it? For comparison, I now use a Palm IIIc (with the hypersharp and bright screen) right now.

    --
    Evan "I prefer the IIIc over my iPaq. DateBk5 and the screen."

    • I recently purchased a Nokia 3660 on Amazon.com for $275 (and $300 in rebates). My service provider is T-Mobile. This is what I've been able to do so far:

      * IM using Agile Messenger (ICQ, MSN, AIM, Yahoo)
      * Send/Receive my comcast.net POP e-mail

      As a plus, I can do all of these things without paying silly little per KB or per message fees. T-mobiles "t-zones" for only $5/month allows you to access unlimited GPRS data so it's a very good deal.

      I tried looking for adobe's PDF reader, but it doesn't work on my

  • Link to the manufacturer (Score:3, Informative)

    by Koyaanisqatsi ( 581196 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @06:23PM (#9996366)
    was it too much to ask that this was included?

    http://www.nokiausa.com/phones/6820 [nokiausa.com]

  • Used to have one (Score:2, Interesting)

    by hkb ( 777908 )
    Used to have one, awesome phone, but wasn't Symbian OS, didn't (and probably never will) work with ISync, sold it, bought a 3620, haven't looked back. The 6820's thumb keyboard was awesome for composing emails and instant messaging, however. Even had an SSH client on it.
  • But if you want to talk drool-worthy phone, take a look at the Moto RAZRV3 [motorola.com]

    I mean yeah, I guess it'll make phone calls and stuff, but good lord. Nice match for a 17" Powerbook...

    m-
  • WTF is wrong with slashdot? Posting a cheap review of a mediocre phone on front page is foolish. Or does it have some hidden handshake with certain *uhmm* manufacturers.

    The phone obviously reeks of average functionality, with a not-so-good camera, same ice-cream bar design, average features, etc. They haven't talked about its voice clarity, signal catching strength, enhancement software with camera, durability, software, and many other things. Am I supposed to read directly from the company's press release

  • Bluetooth, Keyboard, Camera (Score:3, Informative)

    by your_mother_sews_soc ( 528221 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @07:04PM (#9996616)
    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.
  • so I don't have to worry about new phones with any kind of new features. Nextel phones are good but wrt functionality, they really do stick with the Henry Ford credo about car colors. Nextel's idea of a "new phone" is to put some nascar shit on it. The features are the same as the first nextel phone i bought like 4 years ago. Oh wait, they added java. That is very useful, I can play tiger woods golf demo (!) while I'm waiting for something to happen.

  • "On the downside, Nokia has given the 6820 a mere 3.5 MB of internal shared memory, which some business professionals may find insufficient for storing all their e-mails, text and multimedia messages, ring tones, images, video clips, calendar notes and "to-do" lists -- not to mention any of the available Java Latest News about Java applications that they may want to download to the device."

    Yes. For my "business". You just keep telling yourself that you are not a phone fashion geek but a "business professio

  • A very handy phone (Score:4, Informative)

    by galtenberg ( 646020 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2004 @09:15PM (#9997210)
    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.
  • This is much better. [slashdot.org]
  • This phone [phonescoop.com] seems to do much the same, and looks a lot cooler to boot.
  • The review according to privoxy:

    Privoxy blocked http://ads.osdn.com/?ad_id=4780&alloc_id=10190&sit e_id=1&request_id=1755696.
    See why or go there anyway.

    Cheers,
    Reid
  • All the the EDGE/GPRS/multimedia messages functions are wasted on the device with 128x128 screen. Browse the internet on the 128kbt/s on the 128x128 screen ? Thanks no. Nokia have some quality smartphones but that not one of them.

  • I have a conspiracy theory. I noted when AT&T came out with the Nokia 6800, the precursor to the 6820. I even went to an AT&T store to check one out, and the 6800 phone in the AT&T store said that it was compatible with "AT&T" "Cingular" and "TMobile", under the services section of the Nokia OS. Now the 6820 has been released and at almost the same exact time, TMobile has released the 6800 as one of their products. I am willing to water that AT&T paid a good sum to Nokia to have excl
  • "Moreover, the layout of the keys deviates from the usual Qwerty configuration in several respects. For example, Nokia has elected to switch the positions of the "@" symbol and the double-quote keys from their usual Qwerty assignments."

    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).

  • Here's an application that I find incredibly useful on my 6820: an opensource spreadsheet.

    MicroCalc

    Other (free?) applications that people really like on the 6820?

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