Features
If only the keypad was better -- then you could really appreciate what the Nokia 7900 Prism has to offer, and it has a fair amount, considering it's only 11mm thin. You can browse the Web relatively quickly with 3G and there's a 2-megapixel camera on the back for MMS photos and the odd snapshot.
There's an MP3 player and FM radio but you'll need to use the provided headphones to listen to either, which is a shame. You can store all your media on the 1GB of onboard memory, although there's no expandable microSD card slot, so that's it. Unusually, the feature that had us most fascinated was the keypad backlight.
Normally, keypad backlights aren't that exciting. That's primarily because they don't do much but the 7900's keypad has a trick up its sleeve. That's right, you can change the colour of the backlight and when the phone rings it can display effects. OK, so it's a gimmick but it is different and some people will really like it.
Performance
Audio quality during calls is loud and clear with no noticeable distortion or muffling. The loudspeaker works as expected and Bluetooth and Stereo Bluetooth also provided little surprise in performance, with no noticeable issues.
For a 2-megapixel camera picture quality was good but it did take a long time to actually save the picture once it had been taken. It's perfectly suitable for MMS messaging and small prints but don't expect great shots in low light.
Battery life is quoted three hours talk time and 300 hours on standby. It lasted for over two days with moderate use and just under a day if we used 3G intensively. Battery life will of course vary depending on use.
Conclusion
The Nokia 7900 Prism is an attractive phone and while it won't be to everyone's tastes, it does possess design features that differentiate it from the rest of the crowd. Unfortunately, one of those features happens to be a rather awkward to use keypad and while we'd like to give this phone a great review, its keypad really lets it down.
Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday
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User reviews2
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twellve 11 April 2009
Good: customisable keypad lights, 1GB memory
Bad: phone crashes, battery difficult to remove, difficult to type, poor photo quality
Comment: I've had this phone for a year and a half. During this time, it has crashed perhaps half a dozen times. In order to fix this, one must remove & replace the phone battery. However, the phone is so efficiently designed, that this is not easily accomplished (has to be leveraged up with a pin). This was the solution offered to me by Nokia's support staff who were equally baffled, initially, as to how to remove it.
Contrary to the editorial review, my phone has no FM radio support, nor could I find reference to this in either amongst the phone's applications or the provided user manual. The included earphones are clumsily attached to a lanyard of sorts, as such, they have remained unused to this day.
As mentioned by others, the keys are somewhat difficult to type with due to their shape and feel somewhat cheap and plasticky compared to the rest of the metal housing. They are flush with the rest of the faceplate making typing difficult, raised buttons might've worked better.
The camera is slow and, despite sporting a flash, picture quality is fairly poor unless you're in a well-lit area and can take your time.
It is somewhat on the heavy side, weighing over 100g, and the battery life is slightly on the low side. The mains charger emits an irritating, high-pitched buzz when the phone is charging. The chargers connect via a mini USB port on the top of the phone, which makes it slightly awkward for talking whilst charging.
Web browsing on the 7900 is rather slow-going and the built-in browser's user interface isn't the best. The Instant Messaging and MMS features have never worked for me, but I attribute that to the service provider, not the phone.
On the plus side, the phone itself is good-looking design-wise and a number of people have commented on its attractiveness. I was definitely sucked in by the ability to change the colours of the keypad lights and do use this feature occasionally. The top surface of the phone 'breathes' at you in the form of glowing lights; it glows more urgently when you have received a message.
The loudspeaker feature has good sound quality and works well.
The metal housing has proved sturdy and protective. Despite being dropped many times, it has only a couple of superficial dings and is otherwise no worse for wear. Unfortunately, the back has started to slide off more easily, sometimes unintentionally, over time.
The USB charger works quickly and takes up less space than then mains charger. It also conveniently allows you to store files on the phone if you find yourself short of a flash drive in a pinch. Additionally, stored music files can be used as ringtones.
It is definitely a unique phone; I have yet to see another 7900 Prism in the wild.
Adrian K 30 January 2008
Good: I'm a sucker for gadgets that look good.
Bad: May be a little harder for me to text with (I text a lot).
Comment: This is a really nice looking phone. I don't really like the pink, though :P .
The only problem is it looks a little hard to text with. It is still a good gadget, though.
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