Quick Review:
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It's like choosing the interior of a ridiculously expensive car - creme leather, mahogany, you get the picture. Same with Nokia's Arte series - Sapphire, Carbon fiber and now leather and gold.
In terms of technology, it's forged in the same crucible as the Nokia Carbon Arte - OLED screen, 3G, 3 megapixel autofocus camera, 4GB of inbuilt memory and Series 40.
Key features
- 18 carat gold-plated body
- Genuine white leather padding
- 2" 16M-color OLED display of QVGA resolution
- 3G support
- 3 megapixel autofocus camera
- Full-house retail package with a Bluetooth headset and desk stand
- Decent battery life
- Turn-to-mute
- Tap-for-time
- 4GB internal memory
Talking value for money with the Nokia 8800 Gold Arte, or any of its siblings, will make as much sense as attaching an enjoy responsibly message to the Vertu Concierge service. Though the Arte Gold doesn't go as far as the Vertu, exuberance is its very name and the materials and looks certainly hold their own against the luxury models.
Nokia 8800 Gold Arte is the most expensive phone you can buy from a mainstream manufacturer. For the same price, you could buy the Carbon Arte plus a Nokia E71 and still have a little cash left to play with. But then, it is gold-plated and that's very much where your money's going.
Upgrading a phone from the 8-series is obviously not about enhancing the capabilities - it's about using even more exclusive materials and denying common sense. After all, previous 8-series owners are unlikely to suddenly jump to Symbian or E-series unless they start gold-plating those as well.
The sole purpose of the Nokia 8800 Gold Arte is to send subliminal messages to everyone around you, not quite in keeping with the Connecting People spirit.
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