'Why didn't you get a BlackBerry?'. This coming from my Dad, who's in his 50s not only made me feel out of touch, but also a little paranoid. Suffice it to say, that when set up with email, address book and all the features I needed for my phone - which really aren't many - I was very happy with my decision. 'Too many people have BlackBerrys' and 'iPhones are for show-offs', I told myself. Months went by with little to no issues, apart from the Nokia email client, which when abroad seems only to work with roaming Contract WAP settings and not the wireless. Turning off the 'sync while roaming feature' renders it impotent. It may be that I don't understand, but my understanding was that 'roaming' describes the use of the contract service provided wherever one may be, thus utilising chargeable services abroad...Never mind, that's for another day. On to the product itself.

Looks:

Sleek, slender and has a rather charming look that almost reminded me of those amazing calculator-fitted casio watches every self-respecting 10 year old had in the mid '80s. Nice size screen.

Functionality:

Uses the Qwerty keyboard which for me was a revelation as I see predictive texting as a total pain in the ass - although, I no longer get to chuckle as I type my sister's name (Anna) and it comes up 'bomb' and other such cheap laughs...The applications, alarms, calenders, organiser etc are all easy to use and useful, and the phone's alarm works even when you turn the phone off - a useful battery saver when travelling.

Problems:

As I mentioned, at the beginning all was fine, but recently things have taken a strange and infuriating turn. The wireless internet WAN finder has disappeared from the home-screen and no matter how many times I confirm that I want to see it it disappears. Periodically my email account is no longer recognised on the email client and other such strange anomalies. It may be that it has picked up a virus, in which case it's hard to level blame at the phone, but still a major pain in the butt.

Overall:

Happy I got it, but time for a change.