November 19, 2001

6:33 AM

Nokia 7650- A cellphone, a digital camera, a photo album, a PDA with a color display and joystick -- all within 114 x 56 x 26 mm dimensions, shaped like this, looking like this. Must... put... on... Christmas... wishlist.
posted by frednorman (26 comments total)

I like how the snapshot of the guy on the phone is taken from our perspective and not the girl's, who is actually taking the picture.

Sweet phone... thingy. I'll have one also.
posted by howa2396 at 6:35 AM on November 19, 2001

The little flash movie is kind of sad. She's a real tease bitch. And she uses emoticons. :(
posted by ColdChef at 6:49 AM on November 19, 2001

Sorry, this is the little flash film I mentioned.
posted by ColdChef at 6:58 AM on November 19, 2001

Symbian is life. The rest is just M$.
posted by nedrichards at 7:03 AM on November 19, 2001

Here's a Reuters story.
posted by frednorman at 7:10 AM on November 19, 2001

Whats that thing on the guy's head?
posted by davehat at 7:12 AM on November 19, 2001

Im waiting for the Motorola Accompli
posted by stbalbach at 7:13 AM on November 19, 2001

Ick, the Accompli thing looks like it's running Windows3.1.
posted by jragon at 7:43 AM on November 19, 2001

Then it must be destroyed.
posted by Summer at 7:45 AM on November 19, 2001

Qustion: Will Symbian work on machines that aren't running windows?

Statement: The availability of the product is (thus far) limited to Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific.
posted by aladfar at 8:05 AM on November 19, 2001

Ah..... Symbian. Gotcha.
For a moment there, I thought someone had mistyped Sybian.
posted by grabbingsand at 8:16 AM on November 19, 2001

Availability: Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific

And thank god for it. The last thing I need is people taking pictures while talking on the phone while playing video games while driving that Ford Excursion down to the ol' Safeway.
posted by scarabic at 8:37 AM on November 19, 2001

mmmm ... gimme gimme gimme ... Finally, something with J-Phone like functionality makes it to Europe.
posted by MintSauce at 8:51 AM on November 19, 2001

I suspect that this phone, much like the apparently-now-discontinued mp3-playing Samsung Uproar, will end up being yet another gadget that the tech press likes, but which no one ever really uses. I really detest the current gadget-maker trend, which essentially is "just make it do more" without regard for demand or utility.

I own an iPaq and a Palm - I use the Palm far more, because the interface is better, the OS more reliable and ... guess what? I don't want or need to work on word docs or spreadsheets on a 2*4" display!
posted by Sinner at 9:01 AM on November 19, 2001

I think you're terribly, terribly wrong, Sinner. This phone's integrated digital camera is going to be all the rage with European teens. Even these days, you can hardly spot one of the species not preoccupied with sending short messages (SMS) to friends and family. Imagine what will happen when they get the ability to illustrate their messages! "We're at the beach, and as you can see, it's wonderful here!"

Heck, some people are already using pencams for their blogs. When you get cam included with your cellphone, presumably capable of uploading to the web from wherever, how is that trend likely to stop? It isn't. This is going to make some Finns a looot of money.
posted by frednorman at 9:19 AM on November 19, 2001

Whats that thing on the guy's head?

It's swimming goggles with a built-in shark fin sticking out of the head. My 9 year old has one (plus the "creature from the black lagoon" version). I didn't think grown-ups played with them.
posted by jpoulos at 9:20 AM on November 19, 2001

But why didn't they use the Palm OS for the PDA?

Huh? HUH? Sheesh.
posted by rich at 9:22 AM on November 19, 2001

frednorman - it's certainly a possiblity. The whole approach seems to rely on putting out tons of products and hoping one works, so naturally any one could always be the exception.

But almost invariably, the more features they cram into one box, the worse each individual component seems to be and the higher the price point on the unit.

Also, I'm not convinced that the phone will actually transmit the photos (I'm too lazy to go back and re-read it, and it would be crappy design if it didn't, but it also wouldn't shock me). Finally, couldn't the same "European teens" argument have been made for the Uproar with "mp3 player" substituted for "camera?" If so, how do you explain its lukewarm response?
posted by Sinner at 9:34 AM on November 19, 2001

Symbian, Sybian, hell...aren't you all really just dancing around the issue of Sybok? (geek factor: +7)

Back on topic -- love the gadget! If only my budget could accomodate all of the wonderful toys that are available...(sigh)...making do right now with iPaq and Nokia phone. Anybody remember the semi-serious "Earth 2" series? The doctor wore a computer-type device strapped on her left forearm, able to access medical d-bases, etc. Throw in a keyboard, add wireless connectivity, and that's where we're headed next. Cool.
posted by davidmsc at 9:40 AM on November 19, 2001

Also, I'm not convinced that the phone will actually transmit the photos (I'm too lazy to go back and re-read it, and it would be crappy design if it didn't, but it also wouldn't shock me).

OK, I'm not as lazy as I thought (and neither is Nokia): you can send the photos. (Although I wonder how long it would take to send/receive one of those messages - isn't GSM still sub-56k? Can't remember.)

Send your pictures over MMS, the Multimedia Messaging Service. It works like text messaging, except that you can send a picture, text and voice all at once. Snap a picture, write a short note, record a message, "This view is fantastic. Words fail me. Wish you were here." And send it as a multimedia message. You can send your pictures from your Nokia 7650 by MMS to an e-mail address, to another Nokia 7650, or to another MMS-capable phone.
posted by Sinner at 10:02 AM on November 19, 2001

according to the nokia phone hotline, the phone will be available in the respective markets in Q2, 2002.
posted by HeikoH at 10:21 AM on November 19, 2001

Who's that in the picture with the girl? The fabled Shark-Boy?
posted by KLAX at 11:46 AM on November 19, 2001

That guy's got one o them there Portuguese Men O' War on his noggin.

"Hello Griselda! Having a wonderful time. Jan had a Portuguese Man O War attached to his forehead for a while, stinging him repeatedly and draining him of his vital fluids, but now he is regaining the use of his extremities. Wish you were here!"

Either that or he is trying out an extremely unconvincing Jabberjaw costume.
posted by Kafkaesque at 11:47 AM on November 19, 2001

The headline says "Show what you mean." What exactly does a guy wearing that kind of getup mean?
posted by kindall at 12:49 PM on November 19, 2001

Obviously it means "call the police!"
posted by Kafkaesque at 12:58 PM on November 19, 2001

And let's not forget the Handspring Treo.
posted by ric at 4:14 PM on November 19, 2001