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The Nokia 8 Sirocco edition is 95-percent glass
HMD brought a Nokia phone for all tastes to this year's MWC. Just as some people might want a retro feature phone or an entry-level smartphone, others want the best that money can buy. HMD's latest offering to these flagship fiends is the Nokia 8 Sirocco, which is pitched as a special edition of the Nokia 8 that launched last summer. Make no mistake, this isn't merely the same phone in a new funky color. It sports a completely overhauled design consisting almost entirely of glass.
ASUS Eee PC 1015PW 'Sirocco' was not worth the fuss (video)
Egads, ASUS, has it really come to this? The company synonymous with netbooks needs to seriously rethink its product strategy if it believes that its Eee PC "Sirocco" truly deserved a teaser and launch event -- two marketing ploys typically reserved for items of high consumer interest. Turns out that its "making waves" tag line was (as we feared) just a coat of texturized purple, gold, or pink paint applied to the company's otherwise bland 10.1-inch Eee PC 1015PEM netbook that runs Windows 7 Starter on a dual-core Atom N550 CPU. An embarrassing slab of meh in the age of Fusion. Even worse, we already saw the "new" Eee PC 1015PW announced in some official capacity back in October. Apparently, when you offer over 30 models of 10-inch Eee PCs this is the only way to get any attention. Click through for a quick video overview shot behind closed doors at CES by our friends over at NewGadgets. Otherwise hit up Mobile + Notebook who've been burdened with bringing you the live coverage of something that's already happened.
Asus teases Eee PC Sirocco, promises to make more waves than a VW coupe
We're still catching up on sleep after leaving CES, but ASUS is tireless, winding up for another product release, something new it calls the Eee PC Sirocco. We have nothing to go by at this point other than the teaser image above, which promises this new product is going to be "making waves" when it is released. This metaphorical euphemism could mean anything from a revolutionary new architecture that will sweep across the industry to another netbook with some funny textures on it. If forced to bet we'd put more money on the latter than the former but, as we mentioned, we simply aren't in Vegas any more and so won't be engaging in such shenanigans.
Pure Oasis, Sensia and Sirocco 550 internet radios hands-on
Pure's WiFi-enabled radios are making their US debut here at CES, and we've gotten to grips with the top trio on offer. The Oasis (pictured above) is a weatherproofed, rubber-rich unit, which can resist splashes of water and go on for between 10 and 15 hours on a single charge. We agree it looks like a durable machine, but -- while it can reach some pretty high volumes -- the sound itself was predictably lacking at the furthest ends of bass and treble. Moving up in the world to the Sensia delivers a snazzier touchscreen interface with built-in Facebook and Twitter integration, but we clashed with some deal-breaking lag while using it. Finally, the top tier Sirocco 550 offers a more conventional styling to go along with a CD player (those still exist?) and an iPod / iPhone dock. Priced at $249, $349 and $449, respectively, these should all find American shelves to sing from by the middle of this year. %Gallery-82501%
Nokia 8800 Sirocco Gold is the real deal
It seems pretty un-Nokia to us for official variants of one of its phones to hit retail shops before we hear an announcement out of Espoo, but it appears that's exactly what has happened here. The 8800 Sirocco Gold is, as one might expect, merely a gold-hued version of its 8800 Sirocco, combining almost-Vertu style and craftsmanship, almost-Vertu pricing, and a shiny yellow case for those times when neither silver nor black sufficiently express its owner's "my phone's more expensive than yours" attitude. Look for it to hit "select markets" (which we think excludes the US on account of the lack of GSM 850) bundled with a matching headset and desk stand for €1000 (about $1,355).
Nokia responsible for 8800 Sirocco Gold?
There are any number of shops around the world that'll happily apply some excessive opulence to a 8800 Sirocco Edition for the appropriate amount of coin, but is Nokia itself getting in the game? This "Sirocco Gold" looks legit enough -- as does its packaging -- and rumors are swirling that the phone is now available in select corners of the world. One of those corners is eBay's German outpost, where an alleged Sirocco Gold can be had for the princely sum of €1,199 (about $1,620), which by our calculations puts the handset within shouting distance of lower-end (ha!) Vertus. Cannibalizing yourself a bit here, Nokia?[Thanks, Mani S.]Read - Mobile-Review forum postRead - eBay Germany auction
Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition + diamonds = Vertu price tag
We're not sure what the story is behind this shining example of modern excess, but we think it's safe to say that taking a Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition (not a cheap phone to begin with) and tacking on this amount of designer hardware sends the sticker into Vertu territory and beyond. This fashion slider to end all fashion sliders apparently rocks out with the usual array of diamonds, sterling silver mesh, and stingray (yes, stingray -- as in, the sea creature) leather. We don't know how to buy this, who to talk to, or what it's worth, but we can think of a few stingrays that'll thank you for spending your cash elsewhere (like say, here or here).[Thanks, Steve L.]
Brian Eno hooks up with Nokia for charity Siroccos
We bet you didn't know that this was the punchline to the question, "What's better than a Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition?" Sho' nuff, Roxy Music's own Brian Eno (and creator of the Windows 95 "Start" sound clip -- betcha didn't know that, either) is blessing ten of the high-end Nokia sliders with his engraved signature, which will then be auctioned online with all proceeds going to the Keiskamma Aids Treatment Program and The World Land Trust. Look for the bidding action to kick off January 8 and run until February 12 at nokiacharityauction.com. (And yes, Mr. Eno composed the Sirocco's music, too.)
Nokia and Lamborghini serve up special Sirocco
One might think that a Lamborghini owner would be more the Vertu type, but alas, it's Nokia proper that's partnering with the Italian marque to produce a phone worthy (apparently) of bearing the charging bull crest. The high-end 8800 was recently reworked and re-released as the Sirocco Edition; the Lambo variant adds the aforementioned crest etched on its front, "automobili Lamborghini" and the handset's serial number on the posterior, along with the expected selection of exotic Italian wallpapers, screensavers, ringtones, and a "short documentary video by Lamborghini." No word on pricing or availability, but with only 500 in the pipeline, it might not even be worth trying to find one unless you've got a Gallardo parked in your driveway.[Thanks, James]
Up close with the Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition
While Nokia's just now starting an up-market push in the States with its older 8801, it looks like the freshened model (pictured right) is starting to filter through Europe in earnest after making some cameos last month. Newly dubbed the "Sirocco Edition" but wearing the same 8800 badge, the Vertu wannabe shares most of its predecessor's characteristics: unusually excellent build quality, hardened sapphire display, and lots of hypnotically shiny metal. Unfortunately, as phoneArena found out, it carries over a number of the original's faults as well, namely uneven keypad backlighting and a crappy d-pad. Oh, and still no expansion slot, though the re-upped internal storage (now 128MB) may hold you over -- but with prices pushing an honest grand US, the real question is whether you want to fork over some serious cash for the privilege of a circa-2005 spec sheet.
Nokia re-ups 8800 specs with "Sirocco Edition"
Nokia's 8800 is what you might call a sit-there-and-look-pretty phone; despite its stratospheric sticker price, no one ever asked the Vertu-esque handset (or its North American cousin, the 8801) to lead the pack with its spec sheet. Nonetheless, with over a year of market availability under its belt, we wouldn't mind seeing 'er put out to pasture, and it looks like Nokia's on the same page. The 8800's successor is actually more of a mild refresh than a true replacement; in fact, they didn't even change the model number -- the 8800 "Sirocco Edition" sports a streamlined exterior with a funky-looking dent in its slide, a redesigned keyboard, and not much else. Some folks are claiming the new model will upgrade the cam from SVGA to a full 2 megapixels, which seems believable enough, but the German shop we've got here (currently) shows the same ol' 800 x 600. No word on a GSM 850-friendly 8801 Sirocco Edition in the works, but if the European price of €1099 (roughly $1400) for the 8800 were to carry over, we'd lack the wherewithal to rock it anyway.[Thanks, Gib]
Sondigo's Sirocco Wireless Audio Bridge
If a Sonos is too pricey for your tastes but you still want to get a little wireless audio rocking your place, you may be interested in the Sirocco Wireless Audio Bridge, which'll let you stream music straight off your PC to your existing home audio system over a 802.11b/g network. The Sirocco is actually the first product from the newly created Sondigo brand, launched by Canadian company Layton Electronics and Networking Limited. According to Sondigo, the Sirocco is basically a wireless sound card for your PC, meaning it can play any format your PC can play, regardless of copy protection. The Sirocco unit itself can be connected to just about any device via an optical digital or analog connection, delivering full Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Price is $140 US per unit, and you can install multiple Sirocco bridges on the same network, although it only supports Windows PCs at the moment.[Via Red Ferret]
