Nokia 7280 mobile phone

The Nokia 7280 is the third and most extreme of Nokia's trio of "fashion phones" - the other two being the Nokia 7260 and Nokia 7270.

The 7280 has a unique design. In fact, it's a phone that defines the word "unique". There is no keypad, only select, send, end, and 2 soft keys. Instead, the phone is operated using a voice-activated user interface. The phone has an active slide that opens to reveal the camera. You can also answer and end calls by opening and closing the slide.

Now, you're probably wondering "how does it work?" or maybe just "does it work?"

The phone is intended to be operated mainly through a voice-activated interface, and voice-dialling and simple voice commands seem to work well. However, relying on voice commands is quite risky, as they can easily go wrong especially in noisy environments (parties, clubs, etc.) Also voice dialling will only work for pre-configured numbers. If you want to dial a different number, or if voice dialling just isn't working for you, then you need to start using the keys. As we mentioned, there's no numeric keypad, but there is a select key, 4 soft keys and a rotating pad - a little like the controls on an iPod. The rotating pad is used to navigate through the on-screen menu. This makes for a clumsy user-interface that is only really suitable for occasional use. Whilst scrolling through a list of names in order to make a call may be a pain, texting is very difficult indeed. You need to scroll through a list of characters using the select button to select each one. Even with predictive text, sending messages this way is going to make you wish you'd got a normal keypad.

Visually the 7280 is stunning, finished in black lacquer, red and chrome, with a mirror-like display that can actually be used as a mirror. A small Nokia fabric label sticks out from one end, and the top of the phone flashes red when in use. The screen lights up when you slide the phone open. The handset is slim and lightweight and fits easily into a pocket or handbag. It has been compared with Art Deco lipstick, and that pretty well describes how it looks.

Let's take a look at the features that you get. The display is a small 65k colour screen featuring a subtle red glow that "exudes mystery and excitement" according to the Nokia blurb. The camera is VGA resolution and there's no video recorder, just a video playback facility. There's no camera flash, so taking pictures at night is going to produce disappointing results (despite the 7280 being marketed primarily as a phone for night-time use!) The phone includes an FM radio but no MP3 player. In other words, if you strip away the styling, this is a very ordinary phone with limited features that would probably retail for not much more than £100. But that misses the point of the 7280.

Reading the Nokia marketing material, it's clear that Nokia don't intend the 7280 to be used for regular business or daytime use. Instead it's designed as a second phone, or a "night phone". Viewed in this way, it seems to be a much more realistic option - at the end of the working day, you leave your normal phone behind and step out into the night with the 7280 in your pocket, to be used for calling, taking fun pics, occasional texts and general posing.

In conclusion, don't buy it for its features, definitely don't buy it for value-for-money, be aware of its limitations and preferably use it as a second phone. But if you want to create a big impression and have people drooling with curiosity to see your phone, then this is the one!