Nokia 8800 Gold Arte

Excellent build quality, user interface, design

Price, no new or outstanding features, no memory storage slot, heavy, poorly designed keypad and controls

The 8800 Sirocco Gold is a flashy mobile phone that will appeal to the fashion conscious consumer thanks to its 18-carat gold plated finish. Under its flashy exterior, though, is a handset with minimal features.

18 carat gold-plated body ; Genuine white leather padding ; 2" 16M-color OLED display of QVGA resolution ; 3G support ; 3 megapixel autofocus camera ; Full-house retail package with a Bluetooth headset and desk stand ; Decent battery life ;...

Smallish display with poor sunlight legibility ; Tri-band only ; No memory expansion ; Costs an arm and a leg ; Below-par camera performance ; No video calls ; No Smart dialing ; No office document viewer ; No Java multi-tasking

Okay, it may not be solid gold, but it's the next best thing - the Arte is gold plated alright, but it sure looks - better yet, glitters - the part. Gold does not react with air and moisture so even after thousands of years gold artifacts do not loose...

The music player was ok. Though the sound quality was good, the volume was a bit too low. You can adjust the output using the EQ presets available or us the customizable EQ setting. It doesn't make a world of difference but it helps. The acceptable...