Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte Review

Introduction:

Did you see the word “Arte” in the title? You did? Does it ring a bell?

That is the name of the most expensive product in the Nokia catalogue – the only major company on the market that offers such exquisite models. The 8800 series of the Finnish phone maker is close to the lines of manufacturers like Vertu and Gresso, which offer even more luxurious phones. The rest is “rabble”, fighting for characteristics. On top remains the sensation aroused by expensive materials and refined design.

If you believe that a phone should be an unique jewel, which to distinguish you from the crowd no matter the price, keep reading.

Carbon is the third variation of the Arte idea, following the original and Sapphire and brings fresh new feeling by using carbon fiber and titanium in its appearance. The only enhancement in the modifications comes in the face of a memory increase (from 1 to 4GB).

The package includes: Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte, Charger, microUSB cable, Bluetooth handsfree BH-803, Desk stand, Leather case, Wiper, Nokia PC Suite CD-ROM, User’s guide, Manual

The only difference compared to the other Arte models is the fingerprint wiper.

The handsfree (BH-303) comes in a different color scheme; it has a silver line (it’s not entirely black) and it fits the overall design of Carbon Arte, which we’ll discuss right-now.

Design:

As we’ve already mentioned, the only thing that has suffered visible changes is the appearance. Despite the phone having the same shape and size, the new materials give it a totally new face.

Adding carbon fiber is a very good idea, because in contrast to LG Secret, it goes well with the titanium and the stainless steel. Arte still is a “tough guy” with its 150 grams. Similarly to Vertu, the body is well balanced for a good grip.



The light material, giving the name of the model can be seen on the front, covering the keyboard. Tapping on it will cause the clock to visualize on the screen. That’s not a very handy function but is very effective.

As in the two models from the Arte line the QVGA OLED display is covered by glass, which has a mirror-like effect when the screen is not lit up. Indoors the image is bright and saturated, but the presence of a bright sunlight makes it fully unusable.


The keys have not been modified and light up in a color fitting the design. They are small and if you have larger fingers, the upper row will give you some trouble.


The typical for the line stable sliding mechanism is present here as well. It is not fully automatic and although it requires some effort to push, creates a quality feeling. Going to the sides, you’ll not see any buttons besides the two pins, which need to be pressed in order to release the back lid.

Overall, the combination of materials and colors looks very well and would be a perfect match for Lamborghini Reventon.

Interface:

In this department, we are up for a surprise. Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte runs on the Symbian S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 OS! We’re just kidding. As all previous models of the series, it works with the Series 40 and lacks any enhancements not seen in the original Arte. We have the same six themes, with five of them being interactive (change according to the time). Only their colors have been slightly modified in order to change the vision of the phone.

Details about the phonebook, organizer and messages you can get in the review of the regular Arte. The most substantial change is in the integrated memory. You now get 4 instead of 1GB.

Like the previous two models of the Arte line, Carbon is a tri-band GSM, which will probably be a disappointment for the luxury phone aficionados in the U.S., because they won’t be able to fully take advantage of the device. If you live in Europe however, you’ll enjoy the high-speed 3G support. We also recommend using the preloaded Opera Mini, and not the regular browser, because it loads faster and easily opens large pages. Its main drawback is that it doesn’t have a mode where you can view the content as on a PC, but let’s not forget that this is not an Internet oriented phone.

Camera and multimedia:

The fact that Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte is a high-end luxury phone doesn’t mean that it lacks multimedia functionality. Being true to the series, it sports a 3.2-megapixel camera for pictures and 640x480 videos with up to 15 fps. Although the quality of the results offered by both elements cannot be compared to to other cameraphones with the same resolution, they will do the job.



Music-wise the phone performs much better with the same player seen in the non-smart XpressMusic line. It allows you to sort your tunes by artist, album, genre and visualizes album art covers. The sound quality is excellent and we felt like pimps listening to “Got Money “ by Lil Wayne and T-Pain.
 

The same menu allows you to play videos as well. The phone played easily H.264 MPEG4s in QVGA and at 30 fps, which is acceptable for such a device.

Performance:

Imagine getting in to the VIP and flashing your Carbon Arte… not being able to hear a single word. Luckily this won’t happen, because although not perfect, the sound during a call is very good at both ends of the line. Only at your end of the line voices will sound somewhat monotonous but clear. Do not forget that you can stop the ringing by just putting the phone face down. That’s a nice extra especially if executed in the proper manner.

According to the manufacturer, the battery lasts up to 3.5 hours of talks or 300 in standby mode, which is less than the average time offered by the latest phones. You could still go for couple of days without recharging (30-40 min of talk per day). If you make a lot of calls (hours daily), charging will become a daily routine.

Conclusion:

Got money...  And you know it... Take it out your pocket and show it... Throw it... This a way... That a way... This a way... oops, we got carried away!

One more time – Carbon Arte is more of the same. It has a nice, slightly different design, which only widens the audience of potential clients for Nokia. If you like Carbon Arte, you should definitely purchase it. It is worth having and will help you demonstrate class before the crowd.