Nokia misses out on swivel

IT'S BIZARRE BUT TRUE. Orange UK has told the INQ that the much delayed Nokia 6630 3G handset does indeed support video calling. But you'll need a mirror to have a proper conversation because its camera points away from your face.

It seems that Nokia is still unable to swallow its pride and copy the idea pioneered by the likes of rivals, LG and Samsung. Namely a camera that swivels in the hinge so that you can point it at or away from your face. Neither has Nokia decided to fit two cameras like Sanyo, for example. So as a videophone the 6630 's a bit pointless really.

Orange also let slip why the Nokia 6630 and the Motorola C975 are included in its initial handset line up but won't ship until 2005. The company has yet to configure their UIs (user interfaces) so that they fit in with the Orange user environment. Orange has been deveoping its own 'look and feel' ever since it introduced its Signature range of 2.5G handsets.

Interestingly the 6630 will be the only Orange 3G handset to support the Orange Music Player which utilises DRM and software supplied by Chaoticom.

The INQ finally figured out why an attempt to use the Sanyo S750 as a 3G data modem failed. Our trusty Psion Revo has an old implementation of infra-red which the Orange handsets don't like.

One neat facility though. If your notebook is downloading your emails via the handset's modem, you can still make and receive phone calls. Use Bluetooth and you can even put the handset next to your ear. GPRS never actually managed that trick. µ

Compare prices in the UK Compare prices in the USA