David Shapshak Spending It
In science fiction, functional technology has long been integrated into mainstream culture as fashion.
Technology has often been reinvented as fashion, witness what Bang & Olafsson have done for the dour hi-fi or Apple’s iMac for the home personal computer.
The cellphone, that once distinctive sign of a yuppie, is going through it’s own style revolution.
It started with clip-on covers available in a wide range of colours and patterns. But now, Nokia has leapt ahead of the pack and made its latest, and smallest, phone into an attractive fashion item. The silver chrome phone, fitting snugly into one’s palm, is more chic accessory than communication necessity. This is especially true given its roughly R8 000 price tag – out of the range of all but very high net worth individuals.
The Nokia 8810 is a fashion statement. Its marketing positions it as glamorous, evening-gown and fast-car phone. It echoes the Ericsson adverts, which place tiny phones next to glamorous symbols of wealth and fashion, such as a Chanel lipstick.
Apart from its enviable size, the 8810 is loaded with features that position it, technically, at the top of the market. It has no aerial and can store 250 phone numbers. The screen is the clearest I’ve seen and handles text and graphics well.
Nokia’s operating system makes navigating the phone’s functions a simple task. The interface is easy to use and although the size of the buttons may initially appear to be too small, one grows accustomed to them.
Like the 6110, this silver surfer has an infra-red port and built-in GSM data capability and similar functions (calculator, calendar, various caller profiles). But it also has a built-in vibrating ringing tone. This is something you never knew you needed until you used it.
The 8810’s cover slides over the keys. You can drop it into any pocket, and at 118g it is barely noticeable.
But the phone has some drawbacks. The lack of an aerial makes it difficult to get a decent reception, reduces the sound quality and creates some interference. This is compounded by the phone’s poor speaker quality. The size of the speaker must be an influence here.
Another problem is that the battery life is somewhat anachronistic. In these days of seemingly endless battery time, the one-day life of the 8810 is frustrating. The phone under review came with the standard nickel metal hydrate battery, which should give an hour and 40 minutes to two hours 50 minutes talktime, and anywhere from 36 to 133 hours standby. However, it must be said, the 8810 I reviewed had already done the rounds through a variety of other reviewers.
Other cellphone manufacturers – Ericsson and Motorola – have tried to capture this market before, but at that time their phones were over-priced. It remains to be seen whether Nokia will be as successful at selling style as they have function.