Nokia 8910i Review

Overall Rating

Aesthetically ahead of its time.

Over-priced, under-featured.

I was orignially interested in an 8910 when my 8210 started to pack up, but when the 8910i was announced I decided to hang on until it was available in the UK off-contract.

Exactly one week ago I purchased an 8910i AND a Sony Ericsson T610, both off-contract, with the agreement that I could take whichever phone I didn't like back after 14 days (thanks, Phones4u). I chose the 8910i purely for it's styling, but I also chose the T610 for it's built-in POP3 e-mail client and iSync compatibility with my Apple Macs.

After owning both these phones for a week and using them in anger I'm sad to say that the 8910i loses out to the T610. The T610's POP3 e-mail client is awesome, and all of you on here who say the 8910i is a "business man's phone" ought to take a look at the T610 cos I'm sure the true business people out there will agree that being able to pick up your peronsal/business e-mail on the go is a massive plus.

Being a Mac user, the T610 also beats the 8910i hands down as the Nokia lacks support for the Mac OS; all I'm able to do is send vCards ONE AT A TIME from my Mac to the 8910i. The T610 is streets ahead in that I can synchronise my calendars, to-do-items and address book.

On the 8910i's side, it's styling is unrivalled, and I found myself using this phone more than the T610 because it just feels so good to hold and use. I don't find the screen unbearably small, and I can appreciate why people criticise the keypad illumination but I found it perfectly acceptable. However, I'm concerned how the 8910i will fare after a few years of use: the black metal is not anodised, only a black coating of paint which I'd imagine will wear off over time; the spring-mechanism could eventually wear out, which is crucial to the operation of the phone.

Aside from this, the T610 also wins out in screen size, resolution and colour depth (16 bit versus the 8910i's 12 bit). Going back to the 8910i after using the T610 for a while really highlighted just how old the technology is in the Nokia.

As much as I've berated this phone, I really do enjoy using it and will be sad to take it back. It wasn't an easy decision, which just goes to show how aesthetically appealing this phone is. But at the end of the day, to sum up; this phone really is over-priced and under-featured.

Members' Comments onEd Gain.'s Review

• Ed Gain. on 18th Jul 2003

  How nice a review and a story! Thanks ED!