Rated: Excellent Review by mfereday | 2008-04-10 07:54:59 It sometimes surprises me how quickly mobile phones have come to be regarded as a fashion accessory rather than a useful tool. According to my Concise Oxford Dictionary, one of the definitions of "prism" relates to "triangular, with refracting surfaces at acute angles with each other". The reason for this excursion into the realms of lexicography is a new mobile phone from Nokia''s fashion brand. This is the Nokia 7500 Prism which, if nothing else, is certainly a distinctive and eye-catching model. Ignoring for a moment the front-mounted LCD screen, this phone seems to be constructed of shiny and matt black plastic triangles. Even the various components of the telephonic number pad and additional keys are based entirely on the basic geometric triangular shape. I have to admit that, once over the initial surprise I nearly used the word "shock", the overall effect is quite pleasant. As an added touch for those keen to personalise the look of their handset, the Nokia 7500 Prism comes with a couple of coloured thin bands, referred to as "accents", which can be used round the edge of the phone. This task does require the removal of the back cover, an operation that I found to be rather fiddly. Aesthetic matters aside the Nokia 7500 Prism adopts the candy-bar style of handset. It measures 109 x 44 x 14.4mm and weighs in at 82g. While not the smallest or lightest model around, this phone does sit comfortable in the hand and will not take up too much space on your travels. The rectangular shaped keys are of a reasonable size receptive to the touch and light up when being used. One aspect of the keypad that did call for a little re-adjustment on my part was the placement of left and right selection buttons which are positioned to the side and at an angle rather than over the answer and end buttons. In the normal position, above the keypad and navigation joystick, is a 2-inch TFT display. This screen has a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels and is capable of displaying 16.7 million colours. A volume rocker control and camera shutter key are positioned on the right side of the handset. However for these features to come into play, you do need to have selected the music or photographic mode previously via the main menu. This handset does not feature dedicated keys for instant access to the multimedia features. However the playback volume is impressive and the camera is a 2-megapixel unit with flash which does go some way to compensate for the lack of instant access. The Nokia 7500 Prism comes with 30MB of internal memory and a 512MB miniSD card - expandable up to 2GB for storing music, images and other data. The usual range of telephonic offerings is covered by this tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 phone with support for GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth and USB 2.0. These features include text and voice messaging and a phone book plus web browsing and email facilities. For those interested in keeping their call charges down to a minimum, the estimate talk time of just 2.8 hours might be helpful. However, most users will feel that this aspect of the phone will be rather disappointing. Standby time is rated at 280 hours. While this phone is certainly a winner in the style stakes, its other features are capable but hardly outstanding. As is usual, the phone is being offered free of charge with various contracts.
Rated: OutStanding Review by nokia | 2008-04-10 06:31:08 Nokia are the leading mobile phone manufacturer in the UK based in no small part to their innovative approach to design. Their latest ‘fashion phone’ represents a new generation of stylish handsets using 3D and geometric shapes for a stylish finish. Nokia have led the way in the mobile market for the past 11 years, wowing consumers with new technology, design and innovation around the world. The manufacturer has not stood idle with its latest mobile phone design and has gone back to the drawing board with the original candy-bar layout but with a very different twist that has not been seen before. The Nokia 7500 Prism represents a design rethink on fashion phones, rather than opting to attach a famous clothing designers name or install high end photographic lenses, Nokia have redesigned the candy-bar phone into a futuristic looking 3D masterpeice. The outer casing of the Prism features raised 3D triangles both front and back giving an overall appearance of expense and class. The keys that make up the front of the handset are also in triangular formation which blends perfectly with the overall design of the phone. The Nokia 7500 Prism offers a lot more than just futuristic looks, it is filled with the latest technology including a 2.0 megapixel camera supporting video record and playback, built-in flash and digital zoom. An MP3 player and FM Radio allows users to upload their favourite music tracks and create playlists or tune into their local radio station whilst out and about. The 2 inch OLED display offers a maximum 16 million colours for viewing pictures, video clips and downloads in high quality. There are no shortage of data transfer routes either with a USB connection for direct PC communication and GPRS and EDGE technology for fast download speeds of new mobile content such as music, games, ringontes and themes. Bluetooth is also present for swapping pictures and video clips with friends and connecting to handsfree car kits for safe speech whilst driving. To make room for all of the pictures, video clips, content downloads and music tracks there is a MicroSD card slot allowing for memory expansion up to a massive 2GB. The casing can personalised with three different coloured strips which come in the package which are interchangeable with the band around the outside of the phone. This is a very light handset weighing in at just 82g and with overall dimensions of 109 x 43.9 x 14.4 mm will comfortably fit most pockets. The 7500 also offers a web browser and push email support so this handset could even make it into the lives of busy professionals. There is another version of this phone planned for release soon known as the Nokia 7900, the specifications are almost identical with the addition of 3G for video calling and even faster download speeds. Three colour schemes are planned for the 7500 Prism, Black, White and Red and all featured the intechangeable colour ‘accents’ for personalisation. The Nokia 7500 Prism sets itself apart from other phones on the market with its geometric design and high specification features, this not just another phone for the fashion followers but a phone that competes with the latest model releases for high technology and will appeal to a broader market requiring a phone to not only look good but to deliver the latest communication package.
