Nokia 8800 Sapphire Arte Joins the Nokia 8800 Arte UK

The new Nokia 8800 Ssapphire Arte is teh most expensive Nokia phone to be released in years.

It joins the already released Nokia 8800 Arte which was a reasonably expensive phone but the new Sapphire Arte is in a league of its own.

Initially, the Nokia 8800 Sapphire Arte has been released as a SIM free handset, this means that consumers can buy the phone outright and simply insert their existing SIM card to keep their current mobile number and account details.

The Nokia 8880 Arte Sapphire offers exactly the same great features, design and technology as the Nokia 8800 Arte but adds a cut sapphire gem stone into the mix.

The Nokia 8800 Arte and Sapphire Arte compliment the existing members of the range with their sophisticated and artistic design and exhaustive list of features.

Previous Nokia 8800 handsets haven't exactly bowled us over with their abilities but the 'Arte' duo has changed that.

3G enabled phones, both the 8800 Arte and Sapphire Arte come with 3 mega pixel camera's, autofocus functions and video recording capabilities.

No phone is complete without an MP3 Player onboard and these new handsets are no exception and to add to this they both come with a 1GB memory to boot.

Apart from 3G Connectivity, the new Nokia 8800 duo boast EDGE Technology, Bluetooth Wireless and microUSB connectivity.

The WAP Browser enables access to a wide range of online content plus with instant access to emails, even when you're out of the office you're not far away from your desk.

Each with their own codename, Virginia for the Nokia 8800 Sapphire Arte and Gina for the Nokia 8800 Arte, they are pretty much identical apart from the Sapphire Crystal that the Sapphire Arte proudly boasts in the centre of the navigation pad and its delicious Brown finish, wereas the Arte version is available in a stylish Black but doesn't sport any crystal.

Surprisingly the panels on both phones have been covered in goat hide delicately embossed and the casing has been coated to provide extra protection.

Additional features include a Turn-to-Mute function, Accelerometer, portable docking station, built-in handsfree, noise cancellation bluetooth headset and touch sensitive volume control.

But however you look at it these phones are a thing of beauty and class.

Although initially released as a SIM free phone the Nokia 8800 Sapphire Arte is due to be launched on UK network sin the near future. This will mean network subsidies will greatly reduce the upfront purchase price of the handset although this model does look set to be the most expensive of mobile phones for the forseeable future.