Cell phones have come a long way since the early days of digital, both in size and functionality. Today’s digital cell phone comes packed with features from calendars to email; in this article we will take a look at Nokia’s new 8260 Digital Cell Phone. When I first saw this little gem at my local AT&T Wireless store, I knew had to have it. However, I was weary of this new model because its older brother, the Nokia 8860, has gotten such a bad rap as a result of its poor reception and complaints about the sound quality. I am pleased to announce that those are problems of the past, this bad-boy has great sound and the reception is right on the mark. Like the 8860, it sports an internal antenna design, compact sleek body, and is light as a feather.

Nokia has really refined this baby with great new features like Send and Receive SMS, (short text messages), Predictive Text Input (T9, similar to that found on some palmtops), and up to 8 days of standby time. They even managed to stuff in some PDA features like a 250 name, number and email storage phone book. The built in calculator includes a currency converter. The calendar can organize up to 50 appointments and has an alarm to remind you of important events.

I think the most intriguing feature is the 2 way text messaging. While attending a conference last week, I was able to send a short message to the cell phone of a friend who was meeting me there, telling her where I was located in a large room of people. You can send messages to any phone able to receive text messages, and most new phones these days are. An added bonus is the ability to send a text message to anyone with an email address. No more receiving emails on my cell phone and not being able to reply right away. However, I did find sending an email a little non-intuitive. After typing in the message, you are not able to just enter the recipient’s email address and press send. The recipient has to be listed in your phone’s phone book including their email address. Once this is done, you have a choice of sending the message to their cell phone as a text message or to their email address. Entering text can be a little challenging at first, I have abandoned the traditional way of scrolling through the 3 letters per number on the keypad and have begun using the Predictive Text Input system. The system uses T9, which I first used on my Philip’s Nino 312 a couple of years back. As you press a number on the keypad and select your first letter you then go for the next letter. Meanwhile on the screen the T9 system will be displaying the word it “thinks” you are trying to type out. If your word does not appear you are able to add it to a dictionary or simply add it manually. This method does take some getting used to and I am still not proficient by any means. However, I do find it quicker than the pecking through numbers and letters method.

The menu system on the phone is mostly identical to other Nokia phones such as the 5100 series and the 6100 series. Nokia has added one additional game, Rotation. For all you cell phone hackers out there you can still get into the phones internal programming using the same method you would on the aforementioned phones. Of course, I immediately changed my phone’s screen name to MaximumPDA. Another nice bonus was being able to use my A/C power adapter and car adapter from my Nokia 6160. The new A/C power adapter that comes with the 8260 is a rapid charger; they even include an earpiece headset.

It’s also worth mentioning that the RF power output on the Nokia 8260 has a .95 SAR rating. The Nokia 8260 is considered the safest cell phone when combined with an RF shield, reducing the RF radiation to almost nothing. If you’re looking to upgrade your current cell phone or are getting your first one, I would highly recommend the Nokia 8260. It sells for about $199 at AT&T Wireless, and Nokia currently has a $30 rebate on the phone. AT&T Wireless also sells the new Nokia 5160i, which is basically an update to the classic 5160 series phone. It includes the new 2 way text messaging, sells for only $99, and Nokia has a $30 rebate on it as well.

--Bill Landon
Senior Editor

PROS
Internal Antenna
Two Way Text Messaging
PDA Features
Low Radiation
Includes Earpiece
Light Weight

CONS
Sending an email is non-intuitive
Price

SPECS
Weighs only 3.4 oz and stands a little over 4 inches tall.
Standard Li-Ion battery offers to 3.3 hours of talk time and up to 8 days of standby time.
Five-line LCD display.
Extend battery performance with DTX
Send and receive short text messages