Nokia 8810

The Nokia 8810 is a slider style mobile phone handset manufactured by Nokia, announced on March 18, 1998. It is most notable as being the first mobile phone to have an internal antenna. It was designed to be beautiful and luxurious, and much of it was made of chrome. The Nokia 8810 has since been discontinued.

Core features

Memory

The phonebook can store up to 250 names and numbers. 10 text messages were able to be stored on the internal memory. Contacts can also be stored on the sim card, which allows the user to keep a backup should they accidentally delete their contacts from the internal phone memory. The phone does not have, however, any external memory options such support for a micro sd card or Sony memory card.

Calls

The call history of the 8810 stores 30 previous calls; 10 dialed, 10 received and 10 missed. There are 35 preloaded monophonic ringtones on the phone and additional ringtones are available for download at a cost. The phone featured the ability to make conference calls, hold calls and send DTMF tones. However, the phone does not feature a built in loudspeaker, which was unusual considering many lower quality phones which did not fall into the same price bracket as the Nokia 8810 were built with loudspeakers.

Display and input

The Nokia 8810 has a 5 line monochrome graphic display. Features include dynamic font size and soft key.

Connectivity

In terms of connectivity the Nokia 8810 could be described as being somewhat limited. In order to call the phone had a 2G network which allowed the user to send and receive text and calls. The phones does not have, however, support for any form of email, a feature which was probably considered only suitable for a computer when it was first developed. The phone also lacks GPRS Connectivity, 3G connectivity, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Due to the lack of these features, therefore, the phone has no WAP support for the user to browse the internet. Nevertheless, the phone does have support for an Infrared connection^[1] which can be used to send information either between another phone or another computer. Again, this feature is limited as the phone has a limited internal memory and so small items such as VCards tend to be the only pieces of information which can be sent. The phone allows, however, the user to send their contacts to a PC which has an Infra Red port and software in order to keep a backup of their contacts. The user can also send information to a printer which has an Infra Red port without having to use a computer.

Messaging

The phone uses SMS (Short Message Service) with T9 predictive text input, with support for major European languages. Messages can be up to 160 characters long. Compatible phones can send and receive picture messaging in Nokia standard Smart Messaging, not in later (universal) EMS. It could receive network operator logos and ringtones (up to five). Due to the lack of multimedia support for the phone, the Multimedia Messaging Service is not available on this phone. Similarly email is also not supported.

Battery

The 8810 has two options for the battery: 600mAh Ni-Mh or 400mAh Lithium. The Ni-Mh was considered the standard battery and the lithium was the extended battery. The standard battery provided from 30 minutes to 1 hour talk time and 15–60 hours stand-by time, whereas the extended battery provided 1 hour 40 minutes – 2 hours 50 minutes talk time and 36–133 hours stand-by time.

Applications

The Nokia 8810 has a calculator which was an advanced feature in 1998, but a simple and basic feature by today's standards. It also has a currency converter which enables the user to convert one currency to another. This is also very basic, however, as the user is required to enter the exchange rate and can only enter one currency at a time, something which is very basic in comparison to today's mobile devices. Finally, the Nokia 8810 has a calendar which allows the user to store notes as well as make appointments for meeting and birthdays. The user can also use the infra red technology within the phone to send as exchange information between a computer or even another Nokia device.

Other features

The Nokia 8810 weighs 118 g with the standard battery and 98 g with the lithium battery. Its dimensions are 107×46×18 mm. The phone contained a few extra features; a clock, an alarm, the highly popular game - Snake

The popular game Snake

and the phone was able to display any of 32 different languages. Vibration was an option for alerting the user to an event, for example receiving a text or reaching the time of an alarm. The 8810 is able to be used with Carbon Copy 5.0, which is a remote access program used for controlling a computer via a dial-up model connection. Like all Nokia phone models, the 8810 has the option to change the 'profile'. This means that that the user can select the volume and melody for tones such as the message tone, the ringing tone and the keypad tone, to name a few. There are also security features available on the Nokia 8810. Features such as a PIN code request and a call barring service mean the users personal information won't be at risk should they accidentally leave their phone lying about.

Design and reception

In 1998 the Nokia 8810 was considered a luxury phone. This was due to the sleek new design the 8810 presented. It was the first cell phone without an external whip or stub antenna. Instead, it featured an internal antenna, which allowed the phone to be stored in a pocket upside down.^[2][3] Nokia invested hundreds of man hours into research of how people hold their phone for calls, this allowed them to place the antenna accordingly.^[4] The 8810 was tapered and weighted to encourage users to hold it below the antenna, minimizing interference. However this also led to a poorer signal reception compared to an external antenna, which meant battery life was reduced. It was encased entirely in metal apart from part of the back that was plastic to allow the signal to pass through; this case would slide down to reveal the keypad. This new appearance, in particular the lack of an external antenna meant the 8810 had a desirable advantage over its competitors and enjoyed moderate success.^[5] The choice to have the antenna internal had a negative effect of battery life, however, Nokia felt this was an adequate trade off for getting rid of the external antenna.^[2] The design of the phone also made it particularly popular following its release. Unlike most other phones in the market at this time, the Nokia 8810 featured a chrome metal finish as well as a pull down metal slide which covered the keypad and kept it clean. Nokia claimed to prioritize antenna performance over physical design if they were ever in conflict.^[6]

Support

Like all Nokia mobile phones today, support for models which are no longer sold by retailers is still available from the Nokia online website. Nokia Europe allows the user to download the manual or user guide which was sold originally with the phone as well as options to download software which allows the user to use their phone as a modem to connect to the internet, albeit this option would be particularly slow by today's standards. The user can also download the original settings (which would allow them to reset the phone back to its factory settings) from the website.

References

External links

• http://www.phonesir.com/Nokia_8810_manual.html#
• http://europe.nokia.com/support/product-support/nokia-8810
• http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_8810-20.php