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Music playback quality was OK via Nokia's bundled two-piece headset, and if you want to listen to the radio the headset cables function as the antenna. The in-line microphone module has a 3.5mm connector if you want to use your own cans instead of Nokia's in-ear buds.

You can use your own headset at the phone end, too, as the connector here is also 3.5mm, and it's worth noting that they will also double-up as the antenna for the FM radio. And joy of joys, Nokia has even managed to put the 3.5mm connector in the most sensible location - on the top edge of the phone.

Battery life proved fairly good. I got eight and a half hours of non stop music from a microSD card after fully charging the battery.

The camera is a less positive story. It has a 2-megapixel lens which puts it squarely in the average camp. It lacks autofocus, self portrait mirror or flash, and when framing photographs you have to hold the phone still to avoid your subject looking very blurred on screen.

It took about 12 seconds to save photos shot at two megapixels on the high quality setting. Not only was the wait really annoying during the testing period, it means there is no chance of you being able to capture a succession of candid shots of friends or family.

Images themselves are disappointing. The coloured dish, which I always photograph under normal household lighting and with the camera set to auto modes, looks washed out. Its colours are a lot more vibrant than the photo suggests. The chair lacks definition and there's evidence of lens distortion along the top of the picture.

Verdict

It is a real annoyance when a mobile is such an obvious mix of great design and poor features. If Nokia takes the thin look and striking outer casing of this handset and puts S60, 3G, a decent camera and Wi-Fi inside, it could come up with a consumer focussed mobile to rival the more business-like Nokia E51.

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