Hands On With the Nokia Surge

Nokia's new Surge smartphone for AT&T Wireless is designed specifically for the U.S. market – and a younger demographic.

BOSTON – I spent some time Monday checking out the Nokia Surge, the company's new smartphone for AT&T Wireless. In a twist, Nokia designed the Surge specifically for the U.S. That means there's no unlocked version with a different model number, such as with the E71 and the E71x.

In fact, it's actually Nokia's third smartphone for AT&T in the past 12 months; the first two were the Nokia 6650 and the E71x. That's significant because it signals a change in Nokia's strategy; up until recently, Nokia's diverse lineup of unlocked smartphones have barely made a dent in the U.S. marketplace due to their high upfront cost.

That said, Nokia is aiming the Surge at a younger demographic than the E71x. The big news is the Surge's thin, squat form factor, as if it endured a few passes of a rolling pin. It's made almost entirely of black gloss plastic and accumulates fingerprints like crazy. The handset measures 3.8 by 2.3 by 0.6 inches and weighs 4.4 ounces. But it felt lighter in the hand than I had expected.

A slide-out, horizontal QWERTY keyboard spans the width of the unit. In fact, the entire handset is oriented horizontally, down to the AT&T and Nokia logos and the asymmetrical front panel. As a result, it looks a little weird when holding it vertically. The keyboard's squarish keys felt a bit cheap, but they offered a pleasant, clicky resistance despite their flat look. The slide mechanism itself was smooth but also felt a little chintzy.

The power button doubles as the End key, which is a departure from other Nokia handsets. The Surge's five-way control pad was a little smaller and harder to press than I normally like, but I adjusted pretty quickly. Plenty of buttons adorn the unit's sides, including a messaging shortcut key on the front for texting fiends. Given that most horizontal sliders only rotate the screen when you slide out the keyboard, the Surge's responsive accelerometer was a nice touch. The QVGA screen was sharp and bright, but its 320-by-240-pixel resolution and simple menu graphics felt aged compared with an iPhone 3G or BlackBerry Bold.

As a proper AT&T device, the Surge features support for the TeleNav-powered AT&T Navigator. That's a step up from Nokia's confusing, proprietary GPS software, such as what came with the unlocked Nokia N78 last year. The Surge also features CV for streamed videos, and Nokia's standard-issue Mini Map browser.

There are some minor nods to the younger target market, such as JuiceCaster support, some built-in games, and support for AT&T Video Share. But even as such, the Surge is a genuine Symbian Series 60 Third Edition smartphone. It can multitask, it includes Quickoffice for editing Word and Excel documents, it works with Mail for Exchange 2.9, and it can be used as a 3G modem for a laptop. I tested a pre-production unit, though I didn't run into any bugs for the short amount of time I had the handset.

The 2-megapixel camera lacks auto-focus or an LED flash, but it's capable of recording smooth QVGA videos. The non-standard, 2.5mm headphone jack is a bummer. But other Nokia smartphones I've tested have sounded quite good when paired with stereo Bluetooth headphones; this one shouldn't be any different. There's also a built-in FM radio for the three or four people who need that. The battery is the same 1500 mAh pack that comes with the Nokia N97 and E71x, which should put talk time in the four-and-a-half hour range.

The Surge will be compatible with the Ovi Store when it launches later this year, complete with integrated carrier billing when buying mobile apps. The Surge will cost $79.99 with a two-year contract and after rebates when it drops on July 19; stay tuned for a full review. (Gearlog)