Don't cry, Eric

FORGET the scare stories about microwaved foetuses and superheated brain cells, the damage that can be done to your image by being seen with the wrong mobile phone is, frankly, far more frightening to the average Londoner.

As confirmed by 29-year-old PR consultant Hannah Shepherd: "I don't see why I should have to put up with a naff phone. I have to spend a lot of time with clients, often in restaurants - pulling out a mediocre mobile wouldn't do at all. As well as performing brilliantly, my 6110 looks pretty good in the flesh, too, which is rare for a mobile."

A 6110? Why, that must be a Nokia. Of course it is. Thanks to style icons like the achingly beautiful chrome 8810, the Internet- friendly Communicator, and even a starring role with Keanu Reeves in The Matrix, Nokia has become the beau monde's mouthgear of choice, sin-glehandedly making Finland fashionable in the process.

But for how much longer? Ericsson has declared war on its chic neighbour.

What, Bjorn-Borg-boring Swedish, smash-and-grab-brick looks, "technos-pod" Ericsson? That's right. Sick of being the only one at the mobile prom without a partner, Ericsson wants to be cool. Because it pays: last year, world number one Nokia sold around 41 million phones. Poor old Ericsson managed just over half that.

"Our phones have traditionally been perceived as being safe, solid and reliable," confesses Alex Rodriguez, UK marketing manager at Ericsson. "Our customers have been Pioneers and Achievers, who buy technology that helps them be more productive. We're now trying to capture the Sociables and Materialists, hungry for new technology but more demanding when it comes to styling."

Kind of seductive, when you put it like that. What Ericsson really wants is the Youth, and the Youth wants credibility, not productivity. In its quest for credibility Ericsson has sponsored a string of youth-associated events: club nights with a phone theme, Muzik magazine's dance awards, the Homelands dance music festival and, most recently, the MTV European Music Video awards.

And it has brought out its new A1018 "youth" phone with snap-on colour fashion covers. And maybe it's starting to pay off: Ericsson has been placed for the first time - in the new list of the World's Most Prestigious Brands.

Quite an achievement it is, too, coming 17th out of 60. Shame that Nokia is at number 11.

But aren't all you fashion victims out there missing out on a host of cutting-edge technology? Not necessarily. Dan Stern, deputy editor of What Cellphone?, has cast his eye over the latest competing models, the 3210 from Nokia and the T18s from Ericsson. "The Nokia is slim, sexy looking, easy to use, large screen, has 40 ring tones, games, and it is easier to send SMS messages because it has software built in to anticipate the words you type," he says. "But it's not data fax compatible, and doesn't store numbers and names so easily. Ericsson has got vibration alert, voice activation, is good for sending data, but the onscreen menus are clumsier and the displays smaller. It's still a bit of a businessman's workhorse." And it still looks like a brick, albeit a small one. "It's the last of the old breed," says Stern. "The T28 due out this autumn is a completely different beast. A real sexy, mean machine."

Scandinavia holds its breath.

Would you swap..

To Nokia?

The Ericcson user, Jonathan Stevens, finance executive: "The Nokia's larger than the Ericsson but it's very unobtrusive and the fact that it doesn't have an aerial means that it doesn't snag in your pocket, a constant problem with the PF768 I use. I started to use it without having read the manual but found I mastered most of the menu system pretty easily, much more so than on my Ericsson. Mine feels cheap and plasticky, the way the buttons click, by comparison.

Call quality is distinctly better, too, so all things considered, yes, I'd definitely be happy to switch to it."

To Ericsson?

The Nokia user, Sangeeta Rawal, advertising manager:"I found the menus on the TI8s very difficult to fathom {thanks mainly to a minute display} and the buttons very unpleasant to press. The construction quality feels flimsy, too, and the spangly finish just looks cheap. While it's nicely sized, the flap is quite awkward to open definitely a two-handed operation. The styling is actually quite cute but, sadly, neither the voice-activated dialling or the built-in vibrating alert (I keep my phone in my handbag) are of much use to me. Call quality is about the same as my Nokia, but reception is much better all round.

No way would I consider swapping it for my Nokia, it doesn't have the same class." - -

Copyright 1999
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