Review GSM phone Nokia 7280 
Nokia
7280. Live pictures
Standard kit:
- Handset
- Manual
- Disk with software
- Leather case
- Strap
- Stereo headset
- Extra SIM-card holder, a stylus for opening the module
- Charger
For many years Nokia was a trendsetter in a mobile phone world.
And having expanded its model line a few years ago it didn't manage
to hold the appearance of its many models even series of devices.
Their functional and design similarity made the devices look
completely alike. No doubts in each product line the similarity was
stressed with the same design elements but this all made not the
best impression of sameness. The situation started to change rapidly
in the middle of 2004 and the external difference with the inner
similarity grew more important. That would seem the company found
that golden mean in technology and the appearance of the device and
learned to produce well-balanced solutions. And the ergonomics is
becoming a determining factor again or will become in the nearest
future. The changes are gradual and are seldom seen with a naked eye
but they exist. We would hardly see a striking keypad with the least
comfort in use. The company rather tried to attract attention with
other design elements. And the changes of the developers' and
designers' opinions do gladden. At the same time Nokia doesn't
refuse manufacturing extremely designers' models for a small
audience. These devices would certainly cost more than average ones
(I just long to say serial but both the lines actually are).
Nokia 6170 may be considered the first system experience in
dividing into mass and niche models. This device was intended as a
pilot balloon before releasing several models with the same
promotion idea. But due to some reasons the device was a bit late
and didn't become a trial balloon. The second example is Nokia 6260;
this smartphone in a clamshell form-factor is a typical fashion
device and the sales proved this fact (the audience is quite
glamour). I can't but tell that as far as I noticed that in a month
after the sales had started many girls showed off with the model at
high society parties. In the 90 percent of cases the girls were not
tall blonds (an evident tendency of a separate social group).
Discussing the peculiarity with colleagues showed even more
interesting results. They all proved that's right and these girls
follow the fashion too much to use the model longer than 1-1.5
months. And here is an excellent audience with high speed of
changing a model and the only disadvantage is that there are too
little of them, the niche is permanent and rather fixed.
Here many of you may start to disagree with me and link
acquaintances of them that are men who are not those notorious
blonds but still have bought Nokia 6260. And really first the target
group was a business audience and those are they who need the
functionality of the device. The manufacturers tried to combine both
courses - business and fashion. And that is actually the same way
that Samsung took but from another end. It released completely
fashion devices and only then went towards the business segment
keeping all the fashion attributes (Samsung
D500 is an excellent example for the idea). Nokia has been dong
the same things but with business devices that have always been
successful for it.
Note that Nokia
6170 and Nokia
6260 have a 6000 index that usually indicates business models.
So, time passes and now here a mixed segment is present also
(business + fashion) though such models will better suit the 8000
series.
A project represented with the three models Nokia 7260, Nokia
7270, Nokia 7280 is an experimental one (the 7000 series is always
experimental in some kind). The designers used the 20th of the last
century with their spangle of clubs, fanciful closes and a usual
everyday life as an anchor point. Releasing these three models the
company tries to determine how viable the idea of niche models is
and what is necessary for their successful promotion.
As for me, the company used not trivial ideas for the promotion.
The experience of the rivals who failed to make the projects mass
(some models) or were unsuccessful in general (Xelibri by Siemens,
Vertu by Nokia in some way). The first idea is plain. The customer
needs not just a product with some characteristics but the one
having its own history and emotional response. These are the basic
rules of marketing but they make troubles for the majority of the
companies in many fields. Have you already guessed the idea of these
three models? That is a link to the 20th and the transfer of your
attention from the actual models to the last century, its atmosphere
and the people who lived then. That is practically an ideal product
for a glossy magazine and this fact makes the product very
successful combined with the average price of the models. That's
natural the company will use standard ad carriers for widening the
target group. The second idea comes from the Xelibri experience. The
experience of fashion houses was taken as an example and each of the
collection contained four models and was released twice a year
(autumn/winter, spring/summer). Nokia has also released a collection
of three models (though it's not called this way). The reason is
that's easier to use the first idea then (that's harder to promote a
single device and draw attention to it). And the last stroke is the
price policy inside the line. The youngest model Nokia 7260 is the
cheapest, Nokia 7270 is more expensive and 7280 has the maximum
price. Every woman reading glamour editions (and of course, other
categories) will be able to choose the phone according to their
funds.
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And differently to Xelibri this approach guarantees demand for
all the models of the line, gives an idea and an emotional response
to a user. A great advantage is that Nokia has not led the series
out of a standard model line. First these are the 7000 series
devices and only then they have some more elements added. That means
the customer deals with Nokia and only then percepts some extra
information. The fact Siemens had released the new trade mark was
caused by its low popularity among fashion phone users and the brand
is "lighter". In short evaluating the whole set of actions for
promoting Nokia
7260, Nokia
7270 and Nokia
7280 we can surely say that is the most thoroughly thought over
project for niche devices and it will bring maximum profit.
Having cleared up the history of the models let's talk about the
elder one that is Nokia 7280. Taking into consideration the fact all
the three devices are experimental the developers allowed themselves
make Nokia 7280 the maximum different from a standard phone. And
that is kitsch in its better sense, an attempt to create something
unordinary.
The first sight of the device shows it is completely different
from a usual mobile phone. Its rectangular form resembles a
dictaphone a bit and the form-factor is very close to it. There is
no any innovation from Nokia's side here. The first similar devices
were released by Haier (P5 and P6 models). That's curious the width
and thickness of the device is completely similar to Haier P5 (28x18
mm P5 and 32x19 in Nokia 7280). The main target group for Haier
phones was formed by women and they all explained it plainly -
"unordinary design, attracts attention and the device is not
widespread". So we all see its fashion element in the model though
Haier tried to stress the similarity with digital dictaphones. A
company peculiarity is a big value of the dictaphone and control
buttons. That seems that creating one product the company made
another phone with interesting user characteristics.
Nokia has intended the model for a fashion segment from the
beginning and that is the reason of those various materials that are
used in the device. First, the screen is mirror-like and it may be
used as a real mirror in the standby mode. Second, the loudspeaker
gap is protected with a chamois insertion and is firmly integrated
into the body. The same chamois insertion is on the right-side
surface of the device and here it's necessary for sliding the device
into a camera mode. An evident minus of the chamois insertions is
they are easily soiled, dust and dirt from a lady's handbag are seen
on them. They may be cleaned with a special brush for such surfaces
and many of those who wear chamois clothes do surely have this
thing. Third, a small tag with the manufacturer's name may be seen
on the right surface. That is a complete copy of similar labels of
famous clothes brands and that gives some similarity with a fashion
accessory to the device.
The only one colour solution represented is black glossy plastic
and fingerprints do stay on it. A cloth is not included into a
package but a case of soft leather fully replaces it. The case is
red inside and if carrying the device in the case the number of
grease stains surprisingly decreases. The accessory is really
stylish and matches the whole device greatly. There is a white
edging on the top end of Nokia 7280 and a red LED is hidden behind
it. In the standby mode it turns on smoothly lighting the top end in
a circle that looks stylishly. This indication also works to alert
various events. The device put in the case is seen anyway and then
an edge of the inner part of the case and a top of the device. An
interesting hint appears when the red edge of the case calls up with
the lighting.
The accessories included into the package are worth telling about
separately. And now I'd like to note only there is a strap that is
fixed to a staple on the bottom end of the device. The strap is made
in the same key like the case and has a silvery insertion besides.
Let's go back to the screen of the device. It has a specific
position due to a specific form of the phone. The screen is placed
horizontally (top-down). That means to work comfortably you'll need
to hold the device not vertically but horizontally. Considering the
fact the phone weights 84 grams you'll find no problems using it
this way. The total size of the model is 115x32x19 mm and it
perfectly fits a lady's handbag or a pocket. Though it seems a sin
to hide it from the others' eyes and the device is probably better
to hang on your neck.
The resolution of the 65K TFT screen is 104x208 pixels (16x30
mm). When displaying an SMS the screen shows up to 4 text lines and
one service line (a headline). Due to the position of the screen all
the tips for soft keys are placed in the right vertical column. The
quality of the screen is not bad and the colours are bright and
vivid. The preset pictures are not bad and show the screen
possibilities well. In the sun it behaves well much better than
other Nokia screens similar in characteristics. The reason seems to
be in the mirror like cover.
An obvious difference from other models is not only in the screen
possibilities but in a complete absence of any keypad. Only two soft
keys are seen under the screen a control element resembling a
loudspeaker is a bit lower and two buttons to call and end call are
under it. Saying a control element we mean a usual Navy Wheel that
came to the model from the automodels in particular Nokia 810. The
wheel helps to move along the menu, enter text and perform some
other operations that are characteristic for a keypad in traditional
phones.
The wheel may be turned in the horizontal line in two directions,
a black insertion of rubber prevents a finger from slipping. The
wheel is comfortable to work with a thumb of any hand you like. The
OK button is integrated into the wheel. A white backlighting shines
around the wheel and that makes a great visual effect.
On the left-side surface you can see a polyphonic alert gap that
is the second loudspeaker. An IrDA gap is a bit lower and it is
almost not seen. A silvery piece of the body is seen under and here
is a SIM-card holder. A special metallic stick is included into the
package. That is necessary to insert into a special gap for opening
the module. Also it may be opened with any sharp device like a pin
or a paper clip. A standard package contains the second SIM-card
holder, evidently the manufacturers considered a user might loose
the one preset when the device fell.
The device is impossible to disassemble except for a changeable
panel near the camera that is enough to slide the device apart and
pull the panel. There is a bar-code sticker on the top and a usual
user has nothing interesting to see here (there is nothing to clean
here when using an accumulator). And looking on the red LED is also
makes no great interest.
There is a microphone gap, a headset and a charger connector on
the bottom end. A user has no access to the battery integrated into
the phone. The battery is 700 mAh BL-8N. And according to the
manufacturer it works for 240 hours in the standby mode and up to 3
hours in the talk mode. In Moscow the device worked for about 2 days
in case of 90 minutes of talks and minimum of other functions.
Longer working time was achieved when decreasing the talk time to 60
minutes (3 days). Using the bluetooth actively tells upon the
working time not greatly, that would be two days without working at
night. Comparing the device with standard Nokia phones in the
working time I had a felling the battery has less capacity since
there are no evident reasons for high energy consumption. Turning
the LED off increases the working time for about 3 hours and that is
not critical. Full recharging takes about 1 hour 10 minutes.
I'd like to note the charger included into the package is very
qualitative and the wire is hidden behind rubber insertions and the
charger matches the device in style.
The only thing left to tell about is the device may slide apart
(do you remember a chamois side insertion?). A VGA-camera lens is
seen on the back panel then unfortunately the device doesn't turn
the camera interface automatically on opening (that would be logical
and there is something similar in Nokia
6650). The device may be opened with one hand but that will take
some effort. When the device is used actively the chamois insertion
comes unstuck. Girls will find it easier to open the device with two
hands. At the incoming call opening the device means answering on
the call and closing it will end the call. In principle the
mechanism is like an active flip or a slider in behaviour (and the
device is actually a sort of a slider).
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Menu
Let's turn the phone horizontally and activate the screen (press
any key) in the standby mode. The name of the operator is displayed
on the screen; three tips (two for soft keys use and the middle one
for an OK button integrated into the Navi selector) are placed
vertically.
 
Entering the menu is possible by pressing the Ok button, an
Active menu with the most frequently used functions is separated and
a user may adjust for his needs.
Pressing the Ok button for long calls dialing a number and let's
learn how to work with the device at this example. Numbers and
characters that may be used when dialing are displayed in the bottom
line. Scrolling the selector you choose a necessary button and then
press Ok, the number appears on the top. The operation is repeated
for every number of the phone number and then you press the Call
button and thus start dialing. The list of numbers may be scrolled
in both directions. You may turn a cyclic recurrence off and then at
reaching the final character the scroll is stopped and you'll have
to go back. The setting works for letter input also.
Entering a number with Nokia7280 is a durable process and it's at
least two-three times longer than for usual phones. The device is
not very ergonomic in this parameter. I'd recommend to all the
fashionable women to enter the contacts to the phone book first
(that's better to do via a PC) and then searching for a contact and
calling it will take less time. Call lists remained standard, each
one contains up to 20 entries and time and date are shown for an
entry. If pressing the Call button in the standby mode you'll see a
last dialed numbers list.
The menu looks standard (an animated icon with a tip for it, only
one menu style), that's curious a number corresponds with every menu
item and that is probably a vestige of a standard platform. In a
usual phone numbers may be used for speed calling this or that
function and here the numbers seem senseless.
 
 
 
 
Entering text is similar to dialing a number and the only
difference is that alphabet is scrolled. Nokia has foreseen a system
guessing words, in some kind that's like T9. You start entering a
word and enter the first letter and the list provides the most
possible following letters for you to choose (the letters are
indicated in blue). This system makes life easier but slightly. If
you made a mistake you'll have to enter editing mode (a cursor) and
leave it by one Ok button press. Comparing the way text is entered
here with standard phones I'd like to say it is slow due to the
absence of a keypad and using a circle selector is not a cure. And
often entering 70 characters of SMS take about several minutes, that
is long.
 
Phone book. This is a standard 40-platform phone
book. Up to 100 names may be saved in the internal memory (that is
an average number when the fields are filled in maximum, the memory
is dynamical). Up to 5 numbers for a name, select its type (main,
mobile, home, work and fax). The first entered number is a default
one and then after you'll be able to change it by your wish. When
entering for the first time you can have only a name and one main
number and all the other actions are possible later from the editing
menu. One will find this not convenient and others will say they
keep only one number for a name. Both will be right. Considering the
fact the same input type is realized in all the phones by Nokia we
can surely say it makes no problems.
 
E-mail address, site URL, post address and a text note may be
saved as extra information for a name.
A photo may be added for a name (only portrait mode or changing
the photo to fit a necessary size automatically). When viewing info
for a name you won't a photo automatically you'll have to open a
corresponding item. On the other hand viewing a name and a
corresponding image may be set in a general list. An icon is small
in this mode and gives a little impression of a picture. Other ways
of representing the list are traditional - only names, names with
main number. The general list may represent both numbers from the
internal memory and from the SIM-card one.
Up to 10 voice tags may be assigned to names. The function works
stable even in the street.
A total number of 100 photos may be assigned to names. Caller's
number and a corresponding photo are displayed during the call. The
picture is a bit bigger than in a list but still smaller than
necessary. You'll have to use you imagination to understand who is
on the picture because when decreasing the photo you get extra
distortions. In general the photo takes a very small part of the
screen and this is unexplainable logically. The realization of this
function is the weakest in the phones by Nokia for the moment, let's
hope the changes will come in the future.
There are only 5 users' groups in the phone and that is not
typical for Nokia devices. A melody may be assigned for each group.
Considering the general comfort of the phone book we can call it
average. On the one hand there are many fields and on the other hand
input is adapted more for working with a PC but not he phone itself.
I'd like to stress the phone book is typical for Nokia's phones.
There are no any principal changes (read improvements). Siemens
phones are the richest in functions of a phone book, then Sony
Ericsson follows and Nokia after it.
Messages. The device has a support for Nokia
Smart Messaging and that allows sending and receiving melodies and
plain black and white pictures from compatible devices. Phones by
Samsung, LG and some new devices by Motorola support the standard
besides Nokia. Up to 10 graphical templates are preset for such
messages and emotion icons may be added to the messages.
Unfortunately the company standard limits the users because an
alternative EMS standard is spread wider today and allows not only
send and receive melodies and pictures but also format texts. The
prevalence of the standard is maximum for European countries and the
fact Nokia ignores it may e considered a real drawback. In Russia
only the main operators do support the standard and the presence or
absence of the support in regions is not critical. The fact may be
disputable but the absence of support for EMS is a minus for Nokia's
phones.
 
 
 
The company thinks that MMS may be a fully functional substitute
for EMS. And really, the technology gets everyday and even more
interesting messages containing photos, color images, melodies and
so on may be created with its help. Every message may be up to 100
KB in size. The realization of MMS is well done in the device and
there are no any problems.
Settings. Profiles may be activated from a
corresponding menu. Each profile may be activated temporary for a
period of time and then the phone switches the default one. Sound
signals may be adjusted for all the events, the incoming call signal
for all the calls or for special users' groups. The realization of
the profiles in Nokia phones is one of the best in the market.
 
Screen settings allow choosing its color scheme, wallpapers and a
screen saver. A screensaver is a picture displayed in the standby
mode with the backlighting off. One of the preset pictures should be
selected as a screen saver because they are seen better in this mode
than full colour pictures.
 
 
 
 
There are themes that change all the settings in no time. Total
and free memory size may be viewed from the settings menu (up to
52.4 MB of memory).
A possibility to switch an improved sound during a conversation
should be mentioned. That is a sort of an equalizer changing the
sound in noisy rooms according to the preinstalled on the factory
settings. A similar function is mass integrated in Samsung phones
now and there it is called Voice Clarity.
There is a key lock in the phone (but is it necessary?) you also
can use a special security code for nobody could use your phone. A
possibility to set the behavior of the phone from the beginning
appeared, for instance, you may choose a profile that is activated
when the headset or a charger are plugged in. That is an interesting
possibility that allows setting the phone according to your idea of
a necessity.
Gallery. Here all the folders that contain
different files are gathered, they have corresponding names. There
is a possibility to view the folders as a list, a list with names or
icons. You always may create your own folders, sort files.
 
 
 
Media. In this part all the settings connected
with multimedia capabilities of the device are gathered, let's start
considering them from the Camera. The integrated camera allows to
take photos with VGA resolution and in the portrait mode. (80x96
pixels). The quality of the pictures on the screen is average. After
transmitting them on a PC they do not get worse but still not very
good. The settings of the camera are ascetic, there is a night
shooting mode, three types of quality and compression levels. The
files are stored as JPG. The quality of the camera is lower than
average and maybe the size of the device told upon. The phone
doesn't record video.
- Photo
sample, VGA, JPEG
- Photo
sample, VGA, JPEG
- Photo
sample, VGA, JPEG
- Photo
sample, VGA, JPEG
- Photo
sample, VGA, JPEG
A dictaphone allows to record up to 3 minutes of speech and works
during the conversation. The number of entries is limited only by
the free space in the memory.
Media player is a simplified player for musical files. That means
you open a file and may listen to it either via earphones or using a
speakerphone. There are no track lists, equalizer settings are
placed into a separate menu item and are used for all the musical
applications. The media player doesn't show the names of the mp3
files and that is a disadvantage. Using a model as an mp3 player is
impossible when having no memory card and internal 50 MB of memory
are for call melodies files, photos and that's all.
Radio. The device allows saving up to 20 FM-stations and set text
names for them. The function is similar to other devices by Nokia.
Unfortunately, switching via the saved radio stations using a button
on the headset is impossible. The radio may work in the loudspeaker
mode but attaching the headset is necessary since it services as an
antenna. Radio signal also may serve as an alarm signal but the
headset is necessary again.
A stereo headset is included into a package. It is comfortable to
wear due to the catches that circle the headset into a necklace. A
wire has a plastic braid, if the radio doesn't work, you carry a
headset and the wires touch each other a strange noise of the braid
rubbing appears. In general the headset is acceptable but in the
turned off mode the wires are so long that get tangled.
Organizer. You may keep from 100 to 250 entries
in the memory and everything depends on their length, there is an
automatic erasing of the old entries (by the time characteristic).
There is a month and week view of the calendar, the last view has a
division into hours, there is a quick switch to an entered date.
There is a possibility to enter up to 5 different events (meeting,
call, birthday, reminder, memo). A notification may be assigned to
an event, they may be recurrent.
 
A to-do list allows to create events with three priorities (high,
normal and low), and set a critical date for every event.
 
Notes. Every note may contain up to 3000 characters, in general
it is more than enough even for the most fastidious user. Two
different font sizes are supported like in messages.
An alarm clock allows to set both once or recurrent signal.
Synchronization. SyncML settings are here.
Internet. Wap-browser is version 2 and allows
viewing xHTML pages. There is nothing special to say about it.
Synchronization with PC. The disk with software
has a special cover designed for this model and it matches the
device. That is another proof the manufacturers came very seriously
to the point of adjusting the device.
A standard Nokia PC Suit is used for synchronization. There is
nothing special to say about his program, there is a complete
synchronization with MS Outlook and some other popular programs.
Bluetooth, IrDA. The advantage is an IrDA is
fully functional and allows transmitting all the supported file
formats from one phone to another and also the device may be used a
GPRS/EDGE modem.
The device supports almost all the Bluetooth profiles including
Dial-Up Networking, Headset, Handsfree, Obex Object Push, Obex File
Transfer, Audio Gateway, File Transfer Protocol. There are no cavils
roused by Bluetooth work in the majority of cases, though sometimes
similar to Nokia 6230 symptoms were noticed (connection was lost
when transmitting big files about 20 MB in size). Problems
characteristic for Nokia PC Suite version 6.3 may appear when using
standard software for synchronization. I'd recommend using a
previous version of the suit.
Impressions
Sound possibilities of Nokia 7280 come from the same hardware
platform as used in Nokia
6230. The volume of the loudspeaker is enough in the majority of
cases and a possibility to use an extra mode called equalizer adds
to its quality. Standard polyphonic alerts sound low and are heard
badly that is characteristic for Nokia models. Especially for Nokia
7280 a set of AAC signals was added. Some of the sounds have voices
and some imitate various situations like flight announcement. These
signals were first used in Sony Ericsson, in particular that was Sony
Ericsson P900. A melody sample really proves the model was
though over well. The volume of mp3 or AAC melodies is not bad
though the call is heard not always from the lady's handbag. The
ideal place for the device is on the neck. The power of the
vibrating alert is low.
 
 
The model rouses no cavils in the quality of connection.
Evaluating the device from the fashion point of view we may surely
say that's an ideal solution for a target group. On the one hand the
model has an attractive appearance, is unordinary and has new
functions, on the other hand the price is high and will decrease
slightly with time.
The absence of a usual keypad is a disadvantage and the result is
low speed of entering numbers and working with texts. That is partly
liven down working with the phone book or when the number of
incoming calls is much more than outgoing ones. The device is ideal
as a second phone for a woman, but it won't be suitable for active
work or those who consider themselves a business lady.
The price is about 550-600 USD now. But it won't fall under 540
USD for a current moment. Later the device will decrease in price
but not significantly. The device has no copies due to its original
design and control possibilities. Considering the popularity of
Nokia brand we can speak about the prestigiousness of the device.
That is the best offer for young girls having a glamour life style.
The SAR value for the device is 0.82 W/kg.
Melody
samples (mp3, 346 KB)>>>
Links on the topic:
- Nokia
7260 – the first representative of the art-deco series
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