The club atmosphere was in full keeping with the new product's elite status - the show featured a guest star, the anchorwoman Tasha Strogaya did her best at disclosing the history of fashionable accessories throughout time - hand watches, gripsacks, cars and mobile phones. The Nokia are placing their bets on the market segment where a cell phone is more of a luxury piece and status indicator than a means of communications. By the end of her speech, Strogaya made it clear to the limit that anyone who had been previously in possession of a 8800-based phone would surely be opting for the new 8800 Arte - which is in fact very close to the truth, Nokia once again issued a phone that's doomed to success in its segment, erecting a new standard in design for all the products of this class.

One of the fancy features used to support the creme-de-la-creme image of the product is the sapphire used as a decorative element of the Nokia 8800 Sapphire Arte design. The gem is genuine (yet artificially created), Nokia did their best to concentrate the audience's attention on this piece's role in the overall design concept. Each of the guests was offered a glass of champagne with a sapphire resting at the bottom; a jewelry expert was asked to examine the contestants' 'findings' to tell which one (and only one) was a genuine sapphire and not an imitation, so only one person ended up with a real sapphire falling into her hands. That was a neat move and a good way to impress the guests with the new model's unique feature.

Characteristics and Unique Traits

Our speculations about Nokia's marketing policy aired back in the Nokia 8600 Luna review come perfectly true up to the slightest details - Nokia are indeed dividing their premium segment into subclasses, two of which are known to have been given a distinguishable framework so far, the upper one starting from 1000 euro and higher and the lower one ranging below 750 euro. We won't dwell deep into the peculiarities of this strategy in this article since a most detailed analysis is available in the review devoted to the 8600 Luna model.

The new Arte series (meant to say 'Art') preaches the spirit of individualism by imbuing the product design with a wilful spirit expressed through the use of natural yet sophisticated color schemes and ornamentation. The trend started by Sirocco is given further development: just as the Sirocco exploited the atmosphere of desolate desert symbolized by some of the peculiar design elements, the new Arte makes use of natural leather exported from the East India, both natural texture and color carefully preserved.

The prices of Nokia 8800 Arte and Sapphire Arte will estimatedly reach 1000 and 1150 euro, the less elaborate variant lacks the natural leather and the embedded sapphire. The new Arte model will enter the Russian market in the next month, Sapphire Arte will reach the customers in February 2008. The best time to release such kind of products is during the yearly Christmas present fever, the simple rule proved true for Sirocco and so it will be now. The expected update to the top model line is to happen somewhere by the end of 2008, while the other subclass will be presented in summer, giving birth to a 8600 in a similar price bracket.

The 8800 index turned into a sub brand, it's sure to return as a sort of catchphrase used in names of future Nokia models in this segment, usually accompanied by a unique 'nickname' like Sirocco or Luna. We can hardly expect Nokia to issue anything bearing a licensed world-acknowledged brand like Samsung Armani or LG Prada. The collaboration with famed designer will go one, but to an extent no greater than what we observed with Nokia 7370, 7373. The very sound of 'Nokia' is impressive enough to let its bearer keep without engaging any names of famed designers in the names of their products.

Characteristics and Unique Traits

Let's get back to the new models, then. One of the main differences between the two, as we have already mentioned, is that the less expensive one lacks the leather pieces and the sapphire. The 8800 Arte model is black while Sapphire Arte is brown sugar, almost like 6500 Classic. The body is made from stainless steel, a sapphire protective glass guards the screen matrix. Most of the surface is glossy so it's easily greased. Yet the Arte series suffers form this to a much lesser extent than Sirocco does, - especially that's true for Sapphire Arte which uses leather for places which come into contact with fingertips most frequently. The standard Arte model is a bit more exposed to greasing, especially the protective screen glass.

We could keep talking about the device's design forever, but it's hard to describe the feel that you get just by holding it in the hand. The overall dimensions didn't change much since 8600 Luna, save for a reduced thickness of 14,6 mm only. The size is comfortable enough to forget about it, which isn't true for the weight - the shocking 150 grams stand for no chance of keeping the phone in your shirt pocket. The rest of features like the exterior appearance, the smart implementation of exotic materials and shapes (let alone the unique opening sound when you unfold the slider) produce an amazing impression - no doubt the product will be iconized as one of the standards of premium design and stay such for a realy long time.

Let's have a look at the unique features from the inside. First of all, here comes the motion sensor. For instance, when somebody's calling you, simple placing the phone on the table its screen down will muffle the ringtone. Just below the keypad another sensor is located, the one which launches the screensaver upon knocking twice on the surface of the closed slider. That won't work if the slider is open however, and the two sensors aren't used for anyhting else. The Living Wallpapers interface function made its way into 8800 from the 7900 Prism model. The hardware and software funcitonality is extremely impressive, thriving with multiple neat features that make using the phone a pleasure.

The screens of the two phones are powered by the OLED technology, which saves power as compared to TFT and provides for excellent view angles, a brighter image as well. The diagonal is 2'', the quality is at a high level.

The hardware features of Nokia 8800 Arte include a 3,2 Mp camera with auto focusing, which is very similar to the one used in Vertu Accent Ti, the photo quality is good. There's no dedicated camera launcher button though, the focusing is done with the central button, once it's released the photo is taken. The video clips are recorded at the VGA resolution with a FPS rate of 15. The integrated memory size is 1 Gb, 992 Mb of them available to the user for data storage. There's no memory expansion card slot. The device supports 3G mobile networking. The only slot to be found on the surface of the casing is the microUSB one.

A few camera photo samples:

The new battery type is especially remarkable, it's a BL-4U type battery sporting a capacity of 1000 mAh. As claimed by the manufacturer, it can provide enough charge for 3 hours of talk time and 12,5 days of standby. The battery is rather large, it occupies the most part of the back surface. Real-life endurance tests proved 8800 Arte to do better than Sirocco - the moderate duty continous cycle lasts for about 2-2,5 days before you have to recharge.

The software platform used is Series 40 v5 FP1, all the basic functionality offered by that platform is in. The messaging, phonebook, PIM and similar features are virtually the same with Nokia 6500 Classic - you could have a look at our review devoted to that model to get more info. The visual aspect of the user interface used in the two new models is remarkable for the refined themes and animated slashscreens by Fritz Fitzke, the harmony between the interface design and the design of the phone itself is amazing. The exclusive video sequences by Kruder & Dorfmeister are used as 'video ringtones' or 'videotones'.

A wireless Bluetooth stereo headset BH-803, the tabletop holder DT-19 and a leather case make the rest of the sales package. Following the tradition, Nokia sees to it that the product status shall be backed up by the amount and quality of

Impressions

That's all that we were able to see and learn about the two new products, and a detailed review is to appear in the nearest future. Now let's sum up the essential facts. Nokia once again issues an idol product that will influence the premium phone design and numerous other trends for many years ahead. The 8800 Arte model does well on the path started by its predecessors back in 1998, and is destined to succeed. There's no doubt that the new models will enjoy just as much popularity as the original 8800 and its sequel Sirocco. While Nokia 8600 Luna belongs to a lower segment and this positioning is reasonably justified, the 8800 Arte is a totally new approach to the idea of an elite premium-class product which is underlined by the use of exclusive materials and a much higher price. Most likely the price won't be declining over time, moreover - we can expect even more expensive modifications sporting jewelry and precious metals to appear in the future. The socialite atmosphere of the presentation was something very close to the very idea that the two new models are meant to express - we're being fed (and quite successfully) the idea that a rich and successful person can't do with anything but a 8800. The premium segment of Nokia products enters a new era of its independent development - and judging by our experience, Nokia took the only right path in this field.

Author: Spiridonov Anton, nl_pd@hotmail.com

SMAPE.com

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