Review of Nokia 7380
Review of Nokia 7380
Nokia has introduced a collection of three trend-inspired mobile phones, the Nokia 7360, Nokia 7370 and Nokia 7380. Each model in the L’Amour Collection offers a beautiful mix of contrasts infusing cultural and ethnic influences with luxurious touches of the unexpected. Hints of vintage and craftsmanship, are fused with natural materials, colours and patterns, all carefully crafted and layered with a passion for detail.
Ah, L’Amour. Don’t worry, we’re not waxing romantic on you, dear reader, but it’s certainly refreshing to see Nokia make another stab at a collection of slightly-unusual fashion phones with its 7360, 7370 and 7380 models - dubbed their L’Amour collection. Sindre Lia gets acquainted with the purportedly lavish 7380 top model, but alas it doesn’t quite seem to be a match made in heaven.
I came across an interesting product on Nokia’s website, the Nokia 7380 phone. As you can see in the images, the phone appears to have no keys. The Nokia 7380 does have a display screen, but it is mirrored so when not in use you can’t tell it is there. The Nokia 7380 does have the Nokia Navi Spinner for navigating the phones menu.
The Nokia 7380 also features a 2 megapixel camera with flash and a resolution of up to 1200 x 1600. The 7380 makes use of voice dialing, and I was unable to confirm if that is the only way to dial the phone. Other Nokia 7380 features are integrated Bluetooth, PC synchronization and the 7380 is iTunes compatible.
In the design and development of the L’Amour Collection, Nokia’s Design team looked to materials such as amber, ceramic, turquoise, silk and enamel for inspiration. Craft techniques such as enamelling and etching added a creative spark to the graphics, finishes and colours selected for each model in the collection.
The phone has a very feminine look to it and will likely be very popular with the ladies. Currently the phone is not available in the US through any major cellular carriers. However, you can purchase the Nokia 7380 online at around $600 USD and it is said to work with carriers using GSM bands/frequencies 900/1800/1900 MHz.
Before Nokia 7380 Shaped along the lines of a lipstick tube in a bid to stand out from the increasing crowd of fashion handsets, the 7380 weighs in at 80 g and measures 114 x 30 x 20 mm. The front of the fashion handset is comprised of a glass mirror in need of constant polishing, with a small and sharp 65K colour widescreen with a resolution of 104 x 208 pixels concealed beneath, as well as an Apple iPod-style scroll wheel replacing the keypad for text input and navigation on top of it.
Sleek and seductive, the etched mirrored surface and discreet keyless dial of the Nokia 7380 invites glances, even stares. A leather cover and a mirrored display subtly mask the sophisticated technology, which includes a 2-megapixel camera and intuitive voice dialing. The centrepiece of the L’Amour Collection, the Nokia 7380 is aimed at trend-setting men and women who enjoy being the centre of attention and are willing to spend a little extra on the finer things in life.
Representing a major step up from its predecessor, the Nokia 7280, the 7380’s camera has not only been bumped up to 2 Megapixels but als enjoys a new position on the back cover surrounded by leather-inspired materials in a tan colour. Offering good image quality, an intuitive user interface and 52 MB of onboard memory holding a little more than hundred still pictures in high quality, the camera’s overall performance was only held back by the handset’s small screen and subsequently small viewfinder. We also missed the ability to transfer pictures and received messages to the computer via an USB cable, as the Nokia 7380 only offers Bluetooth as an out-of-box connectivity option.
Fortunately, the 7380 shines in regards to basic mobile phone functionality, supporting tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz networks as well as GPRS for data connectivity. Nokia has also found place for voice dialling, a handsfree speaker and support for SMS and MMS messaging. The bundled earphones double as an antenna for the well-performing FM stereo radio, while the integrated music player does a better job playing supported MP3 and polyphonic ringtones than real music. A WAP 2.0 browser is also present, but remains mostly unusable due to the handset’s small screen.
Reception and voice quality for the Nokia 7380 proved excellent, while the phone offered approximately 1.5 hours of talk time and 3 days of standby time during our test period as opposed to Nokia’s claim of 3 hours and 10 days, respectively.
The Nokia 7380 is at the time of writing available in Europe and the US, selling for €500 EUR and $600 USD without subscription, respectively.
The Nokia 7380 bears no resemblence to an ordinary mobile phone, providing an Apple iPod-style scroll wheel for navigation and text input as opposed to a keypad. On the upside, it’s smaller than most phones and also sports a widescreen display, but its mediocre battery life and virtually unusable text input hamper use to the extent that it cannot be recommended as a daily-use handset. Using it to show off, however, is another matter altogether.