a very nice phone for cool people (Nokia 8890)

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Product:	Nokia 8890
Date:	09/04/01 (17 review reads)
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To be competitive in the wireless industry, companies must do more than merely provide a quality phone to customers, they must produce products that are forward thinking. Hence, a wireless product that has the ability to function globally and appeal to consumers is an attractive option. Enter Nokia and one of their newest mobile phones- the 8890. Clearly this phone has a target audience, the world traveler. Still, the production of a phone that can and does function on multiple continents signifies that we are beginning to enter a new age in wireless technology. An age that will eventually require phones to link up via satellite anywhere in the world and produce a sound that is crystal clear. For now though, let us examine the Nokia 8890 and see just how much of a reality this really is.

How this phone operates

It starts with the GSM chip. I've mentioned in several previous reviews that most phones are empowered with either a TDMA or CDMA operating chip. Now without me launching into a detailed discussion of operating chips, let me just state that it is the GSM chip that allows this phone to operate globally. This particular phone boasts that it has the ability to operate on 5 contents and 120 countries (This I will take at face value). Using a signal from a satellite transmissions are received from virtually all major cities worldwide. Eventually, I believe that all phones will employ this technology and the perfect chip will be a blend of the convenience of GSM technology with the efficiency of CDMA functionality.

Once you get past the chip (which is the draw of this phone) the phone also has 200 minutes of talk time and 144 hours of standby time. It runs on a lithium ion battery. Signals are transmitted on GSM frequencies of 900 and 1900 mhz and a GSM super extended frequency of 900 mhz. Overall, impressive battery life and power compared to phones of similar quality.

What are the features of the phone

The first
thing that I noticed about this phone was the size. It's remarkably light and fits easily into a coat or shirt pocket. Nokia has always done a good job of producing lightweight products, but the 8890 is much more defined than the 6000 series. The screen is easy to read and backlit with an indigo display. The phone comes with most features that you would expect a high-quality phone to carry (E.G. voice mail, caller ID, call waiting, paging) and a few that you might not (E.G. such as one touch credit card dialing).

If you do a lot of traveling in the car, the voice dial feature makes life a lot easier. Simply store the number in the memory and presto the call is in progress. The phone sports a rather large database to store addresses, personal info, calendar, your lawnmower (just wanted to check if you were reading this?). User interface is friendly and the directions will guide you through the procedures quite easily. If problems persist, Nokia can be contacted directly or online.

One feature that I particularly like is the Irda port. This allows data to be transmitted to a computer using an inferred signal. With this phone it's primarily employed to send and receive e-mail. Information is inputed using predictive text. It is rather easy and can be mastered with some practice.

Now for the bad, this phone does not have Internet access. Oh, don't worry the wireless web is on the way, but for now Internet junkies will have to turn to their mainframes.

Final thoughts

For its audience, the Nokia 8890 is not a bad phone. Still, at £400 the investment is great. So, if you're a world traveler then by all means check the 8890 out. If you are however, among the many of us whose idea of a getaway might be a trip the health spa then this phone is not for you. So admire this phone, play with it if you get the opportunity, and realize then in just a few years you'll probably have a phone that can do everything thi
s product can at half the cost.

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