Review of Nokia's High-Fashion 7280 Lipstick Phone

Nokia 7280

Nokia 7280

Nokia 7280

Bearing more resemblance to a lipstick than a mobile phone, the Nokia 7280 was designed to be flaunted, to be a conversation piece during nights out, and of course, to function as your communication tool. As Nokia puts it, the 7280 is shrouded in glamour and mystery. Its combination of black, white, and red lines is typical of Nokia's 7000 series bold art deco look, which is also found on the candy bar 7260 we reviewed recently.

The 7280 is by far one of the most outrageous designs from Nokia, featuring a slender pen shape, and the new Navi Spinner key that attempts to make up for its keypadless design. The 7280 is a triband (900/1800/1900 MHz) GSM phone with support for EDGE networks. It has an integrated VGA camera, FM radio, and even Bluetooth connectivity.

So does its outrageous design impair its functionality? Let's find out�

Physical Aspects

At first glance, few would guess that the 7280 is actually a phone. The phone's display is used horizontally with the screen to the left and the Navi Spinner to the right, which might be a problem for left-handers. The display doubles as a mirror when not in use, certainly a plus point for women. Measuring 35mm x 20mm (1.38" x .79"), the 65K color TFT screen has a resolution of 208x104 pixels. The relatively high resolution of this tiny display makes icons and fonts look sharp. However, about one third of the screen is taken up by menu command text, leaving only a small space for you to read SMS, watch videos, and browse the Internet. The display is bright, but under sunlight its reflective coating gives off a terrible glare, making it almost impossible to be read. The earpiece is located to left/above of the screen, depending on how you look at it, and it is lined in suede. The 7280's narrow 32mm (1.26") width makes the earpiece uncomfortable to use. It also became quite warm after a few minutes of use.

The 7280 does not have a keypad, and the only buttons it has are the upper and lower softkeys, the Call and End keys, and the middle selection key found at the center of the Navi Spinner. The spinner is your only means of dialing a number, typing out an SMS, or navigating through the phone's menus. It works like the navigation wheel found on the first generation iPods. You can rotate it clockwise, or counterclockwise. The margins are chrome, and so is the center selection key. The rest of the spinner has a rubber lining to give you a better grip. The backlight is white, lighting up the perimeter of the Navi Spinner, as well as the buttons.

 

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