Eric's phone shopping Fridays: Nokia's 6820
Americans are finally waking up to SMS and starting to send short text messages to each other on their cellphones. Sure, we don't send nearly as many as people do in the UK (who collectively send out billions, with a B, per month), but it's no longer a phenomenon of the mobility elite. Thanks to Upoc, Dodgeball and American Idol, everyone and their brother has tried sending a message at least once. And most of you who have tried to text were probably frustrated by either triple tapping out your message on the tiny keys or trying to figure out how T9 works.
We could spend today recommending a 10 phones that have numeric keypads that are easier to use when texting, but instead we're going to offer a single, better solution. Why torture yourself plunking out letters on a keypad when you can type them on an actual keyboard instead? We're not suggesting you go out and stuff your pockets with a Treo. Instead, we're going to suggest you look into the Nokia 6820. In the US you can buy one through AT&T Wireless or directly through Nokia USA's website if you use Cingular or T-Mobile.
First off, the 6820 doesn't look like a big nerdy phone. In fact, it looks a bit like a cheap GSM candy bar phone at first. When you look at it you see a mediocre 128 x 128 color LCD screen (one of its shortcomings), a regular numeric keypad with big keys, and a nice joystick. Still you're not going to pull it out and impress your friends or the hot girls at the bar. But wait, the soft keys next to the screen look a little odd, and how is a cheap looking phone so good for text messaging anyway?
If you want to impress people, or send a text message, you actually flip the phone open. Even though it looks and works like a candy bar phone, it opens up to reveal a keyboard, split on either side of the screen which rotates 90 degrees to accommodate the new layout. Once you've opened up the 6820, it doesn't take long before you're flying away, typing out text messages or even emails since it also has an excellent POP3/IMAP email client. The keys on the keyboard are big and easy to press, and it's just as easy to learn on as any thumb keyboard out there. The menus work the same whether the phone is opened or closed, so you'll know exactly how to get where ever you're going.
The keyboard isn't the only good thing about the 6820. It also has a fairly complete Bluetooth system, supporting headset, hands-free, object exchange, and even synchronization profiles. No phone is complete without a camera these days, either. The 6820 has a low-resolution camera too, which does a decent job despite its sub-VGA quality. Since it uses Nokia's Series 40 interface, all these features from text messaging to taking pictures are fairly easy to use, so you won't spend your time fumbling through menus or fumbling to type out messages.
