Nokia 6600 Fold preview

Beautiful, elegant, sophisticated and slim may be words that are used during Fashion Week but Nokia has taken these ideals onboard and created the 6600 Fold with a tap sensitive exterior display, 2-inch screen displaying 16M colours, two-megapixel camera and an electromagnetic opening mechanism. But the question is will you flip over the Fold?

Unlike most modern day mobiles that feel the need to cram in as many gizmos and gadgets to the detriment of the device, the 6600 Fold takes a different approach and focuses on design functionality over needless applications.

Housed within this wee little phone is a meagre 15MB internal memory and 512MB microSD card included in the box. Video playback supports H.263 and 3GPP formats, video streaming supports H.264 and MPEG4 formats, 2 megapixel camera with 8x zoom, double LED flash, VGA video recording at 15fps, and QVGA at 30fps, xHTML browser for internet browsing, Opera Mini browser and WAP 2.0 browsing.

Perhaps the main focal point of the 6600 Fold is its seamless design and the signature smooth back remains subtle and compact when closed. However when opened it reverts to looking like any other flip phone.

Its large buttons make navigating easy but the phone does seem to lose some of its appeal. Physical specs are quite reasonable, weighing 110g and dimensions of 87x44x16mm. But alas like with most shiny surfaces it does attract smudges and fingerprints and will need constant care to keep it looking pristine.

The smooth and silent electromagnetic opening mechanism is not a new innovation but suits the phone well. It can be easily used one-handed with the press of a button and would have been rather impressive a few years ago but seems a little industry standard now.

The 2-inch QVGA display with 16M colours is very handy to use, offering excellent readability and a vibrant menu display. The large buttons make messaging a breeze and allows for simplistic navigation through applications like Yahoo! Go or Flickr.

The phone promises to have a tap sensitive surface as when tapped twice it will "wake up" the hidden outer display that reveals time, incoming messages, missed calls and more. A double tap on the Nokia 6600 Fold also snoozes alerts and silences or rejects incoming phone calls.

However this was not enabled on the prototype version we were given but it did show glimpses of the potential as the front display came to life with illuminated images every time the phone was shut. Nokia need to capitalise on this tap function as it a key link to the phone's main feature; its look. Design is fundamental to the success of the 6600 Fold and when closed it is a very appealing device.

The two-megapixel camera with double LED flash is something of a disappointment. In this day and age when everyone documents their lives with images and displays them on sites like Facebook, a phone with a reasonable camera is a must.

However the 6600 Fold lacks the zoom or picture resolution to truly capture the moments with any conviction. Also the placement of the lens means many photos will have your fingers in your friends' faces. The 3G technology allows for fast and easy sharing of pictures and videos snapped.

Nokia promises battery life of up to 300 hours for GSM and Bluetooth 2.0 with enhanced data rate (EDR). For entertainment on the move, the music player has multi-format support, FM radio, and a stereo headset with FM radio and music keys. Memory expansion allows for around 4GB of tunes to be stored.

The Nokia 6600 Fold doesn't try to compete with the iPhone for touch screen supremacy or the N95 for functions; it harnesses the technology of tapping and integrates it into a phone that has prioritised design over innovation.

This phone won't change the world of mobile telecommunications but pull it out at a party and everyone will be drawn to how shiny, smooth and lovely it looks.