The advance of mobile phone technology in the last several years is astounding, and the Nokia 6230 is a good example. Two reviews of this tri-band GSM phone make the advance very clear. It's "the smartest non-smart phone I've seen," one reviewer says, who notes its first-rate FM radio, IR port, Bluetooth feature, and excellent internal antenna. The blackest mark against it, from the perspective of another reviewer, is that it cannot handle HTML-based email.

The Nokia 6230: What You're Buying

Introduced at the "Destination Nokia 100% Pure Mobility"--a Brisbane, Australia event--as the star attraction, it was described as "sleek and compact." The phone offers numerous connectivity options, among which are EDGE, GSM, and Bluetooth. So far, the only service provider in the United States offering it is Cingular.

At 4.06 by 1.73 by 0.79 inches, the Nokia 6230 may not be the tiniest digital mobile on the market, but it's light enough at 3.42 ounces (97 grams). Its lithium ion battery offers four hours of talk time and more than nine days of standby. You can't beat that combination when you're on the road! The real bonus with this model is that you can take it abroad with you, unlike so many readily available and spiffy phones that are restricted to U.S. territory.

Approved by the FCC in February 2004, the Nokia 6230 offers more functionality than Alexander Graham Bell and Nikolai Tessla--whom we have to thank for the idea of wireless communications--could possibly have conceived in the 1880s. Standard features include a camera, picture messaging, POP3-IMAP4-SMTP email, high-speed data, Java support, wireless Internet, MP3 playback, and a host of others. In other words, your standard wireless telephone is fast becoming much more than the Dick Tracey wrist phone of a cartoonist's imagination 40 years ago.