Nokia 8260 Cell Phone

In my recent quest to buy a cell phone I came up against many obstacles. I was somewhat leery of these items anyway, being that I at first felt they were more of a status symbol than a usable everyday piece of equipment. I soon found though, with the start of my new internet business that a cell phone would be a practical investment for me. I searched and searched for a quality phone for quite awhile before deciding on a phone from Samsung. In my process of looking for a quality phone, I came across many models and had the chance to use this phone from Nokia, both on a trial period and also because my friend has one. I will explain my trial usage in this review although I also feel it is important to point out that my friend is also dissatisfied for many of the same reasons that I was with his phone.

There are many positive aspects to this device and I feel that it is only fair to point these out first. The first thing that jumped out at me in regards to this phone is its lightness. This phone easily fits into the users shirt or jacket pocket( I stress "easily" ) and overall cannot weigh more than a few ounces. This makes portability for the user a definite advantage as this phone from Nokia can easily be taken just about anywhere the owner may desire.

This phone also has many neat features. First of all, a calendar and a calculator can be easily accessed for those who are on the go. Secondly, there is a feature that allows the user to type in the name and number of the people they are likely to be calling most often. These numbers are saved and can be displayed and dialed easily in the future. This is a fairly common feature with many cell phones; however, it is one that is very usable and nice to have. Finally, there is a space to type in the email adresses of those people whom the user would like to talk to via computer. The addresses can be called up again at any time at the users convienience. This is also a nice feature if the owner is on the computer a lot and would rather use email. Forgetting an address will never be a problem again. Overall the menu is very easy to navigate and will be a help to the user.

Now, I must state the many problems that I have had with this phone. First of all, while being an advantage, size is also a disadvantage. The buttons on the phone are so small that I had problems typing the digits I wanted because of my large hands. I would often hit two digits at once which would cause me to have to dial the needed numbers over again. Furthermore, I often found that it is hard to talk on this phone because of the small size. Petite people will find it a breeze, but tall individuals like myself may be hard to understand by the person they are talking to.

The biggest problem that I had with this phone would be its reception. I have a quality long distance plan and am able to make and receive calls easily usually with this plan. I noticed that with this phone; however, that I was often unable to make or take calls when I was in enclosed rooms or spaces. The power levels weren't high enough from the phone's reception. Once I stepped outside, the power quickly came back and receiving calls was a breeze. This is not good for me though because I am often inside and it is imperative that I receive all calls while indoors. Most of these missed calls were forwarded to voice mail, which is nice, but this is still no substitute for missing an important call.

All in all, the Nokia 8260 has some nice features but is not good where it needs to be for me. These would be the areas of practicibility and reception. If you do not have large hands and can stand missing the occasional call here and there then this would be a nice phone. It just doesn't do the job for me.