(First Look) - Nokia releases a new phone, the 7380, as a fashionable multimedia device for the hip and gadget friendly market. According to Nokia, "the Nokia 7380 phone is perfect for a night on the town. Feel the sensual fusion of leather-inspired materials complemented with etched metal and quicksilver surfaces. Touch the core of elegant inspiration as you intuitively glide through its many facets. Be the toast of the fashion elite as you flaunt its entrancing light effects; with the Nokia 7380 phone you will never fail to leave an unforgettable impression."

The Nokia 7380 is a compact tri-band phone with a 2-megapixel camera, a mirror display, enhanced voice commands, integrated handsfree speaker, integrated FM radio, and a music player. The 7380 packs in a plethora of multimedia features, and defines a new standard for cell phones as the budding CE devices.

Nokia’s fashion statement weighs in at 80g, supports a TFT 65K color screen and a 104x208 resolution. The 2-megapixel camera features 4x digital zoom, built-in flash mode for low light environments, a video recorder and player.

The integrated music player is compatible with MP3, AAC and M4A formats, in addition to the added FM stereo capability.

Additionally, the Nokia 7380 packs in standard features that are minimal in a decent cell phone. These features include various text (or voice) messaging support, Bluetooth wireless connectivity solution, browser compatibility with updated standards (WAP* 2.0 xHTML/HTML), video streaming services, multitude of ringtone formats, exclusive UI themes, voice dialing options and much more.

The average price for Nokia 7380 is $550.00.

Initial Thoughts: The very first thing that stands out is the hefty price tag for the 7380, but as is the case with most Nokia phones, the price is inflated. Overall, the phone appears to pack the latest features and functionality that are a must have in today’s cell phones, but Nokia has done injustice to the phone multimedia features with 52MB of onboard memory. Unfortunately, the onboard memory is too low for anyone to seriously take advantage of the entertaining attributes of the device. Furthermore, as much as the design is sleek and up-to-the-standard, the lack of a keypad requires the user to go through a learning curve. If you are spending $550 on a bleeding edge phone, it’s a common assumption that you’ll switch to another phone within the next 12 months, and thus the learning curve may not be fruitful. Instead of the keypad, you will be required to use the dial for text messaging and dialing, which makes the overall interface cumbersome. Though we have not tested the phone yet, the concept behind the device leads to an uneasy feeling, especially for $550.

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