The Phone Whore Strikes Again


Yeah, I've got it.

Okay, okay. I know I've written before that I was going to stay with my 6600 for a while, and that I was perfectly happy with it. And I was, given that I had spent a bundle on maximizing the phone's memory, installed a crapload of games and stuff in it as proof against boredom as long as the battery held out.

But then, the phone got blacklisted and basically was turned into little more than a glorified Gameboy/MP3 player and substandard digicam combo. As a phone, it was useless- no signal, no coverage, no life. The cause for the exile/excommunication/castration of my 6600? Who knows... maybe the original owner didn't pay his bills. Maybe the phone was frickin' stolen. Whatever ghosts of the past it had, they had returned to haunt me and the phone had been struck down.
Not wanting to switch to a rival network, downgrade to a lesser phone or redundantly get another 6600, I just decided to nip this in the bud and just GO FOR IT. I told myself it was my birthday present to myself. I told myself I was getting a higher-res camera and digicam for what I was paying for. I told myself I was at least getting rid of my problem phone and paying a lot less cash than I normally would. I told myself, WHAT THE HECK. I traded in my 6600 and got my 7610 in the box.

So here I am, with the latest Nokia on the block.

My model is black and shiny, with metallic brown highlights- a limited edition, the salesguy said. Riiight. Whatever. Anyway, the 7610 is just as tall, but a lot thinner, narrower and a bit lighter than the wide-bodied 6600. The screen is the same size, though it has straighter sides than the more TV-esque screen of the 6600. The 7610's screen IS noticeably brighter and prettier to look at. Really.
The keys are odd- that's easy to see straight off. Surprisingly, they're not hard to use at all. The joypad though is a bit stiff- especially with downward motions. I hope this gets easier to use with practice. Aside from that though, using the 7610's keys are snappy, responsive and quick. Texting with it should be a breeze in a day or two.
As it is yet another Symbian 60 smartphone, the 7610 works with most, if not all, applications made for these models. My favorite third party app, namely Smartmovie, works PERFECTLY. In fact, I'd venture to say that the 7610 plays the AVIs even smoother and clearer than the 6600 ever did. WOOHOO!!! Other games and apps I installed also worked on the get-go. Coolness.
As for sound, the 7610 kicks the 6600 easily- ringtones and sounds from media come in fuller and brighter. For calling, I have yet to use the phone extensively, but there's really no reason to think that it won't.

Another issue is memory- the 7610 uses Reduced Size MMC cards that are different from those used in the 6600- making my previously acquired cards useless. I hope to acquire larger-capacity versions to replace the 64MB card that came with my phone. For now though, I have to choose what stuff I pack my phone with. Sigh.

Well, that's it... Oh, wait. Yeah, the camera.

The 1 Megapixel-camera rocks. The pics are far, far better than any previous Nokia. I haven't taken too many clicks yet, but when I do I'll post them at my phlog or here. Suffice to say, the change is a world away from the blurry pics of yesteryear. As for the videos, I haven't yet even started to film my first 7610 movie, but the editing features and other doodads should be something cool to play with when I have the time.
Aside from the phone itself, the 7610 came with a manual, a charger, a USB cable to link with PCs, a headset and an attacheable wrist-strap. Didn't get the CD with the Nokia PC Suite- I'll have to follow that up.

I'll post a more in-depth review as I use my new toy more. For now though, the phone's great. Well, for what I paid for it, it SHOULD, damn it. Heh.