You're with friends at a trendy new place. Across the room you spot a young lady who seems fascinated with her lipstick case. Or is it a lipstick case? You saw the glint of a mirror but now you aren't sure. Your friend nudges you and says: "That's one of the new Nokia mobile phones. It has a camera and voice-activated dialing features."



When it comes to innovative products, Nokia mobile phones are one step ahead of the crowd. Nokia has become a world leader in mobile communications and continues to come up with fashionable styles and shapes. Whether you are a parent who's been thinking of buying one of the latest Nokia mobile phones for your son or daughter or you're just venturing into the mobile network dimension, here's a rundown of the more common mobile phone designs:

Clamshell or folder: You've probably seen this style of cell phone but just didn't know what to call it. Basically, these Nokia mobile phones consist of two parts with a hinge in the middle. When you are not using it, it folds closed. The top half of the design usually houses the speaker or earpiece and a display window, while the bottom half has your keypad and other apparatus. Nokia mobile phones have added a twist to this tale- or at least a twist to the hinged apparatus. For phones that support cameras and Internet connections, the hinge can be turned for easier viewing.

These phones often come with the active flip feature, which lets you close the phone to automatically end calls or open to answer.

Flip: This style has most of the components on one part with a flip piece that covers part of the keypad when not in use. Most Nokia mobile phones offer the active flip feature in these designs.

Slide: Similar to the look and the design of the clamshell, the slide usually has the keypad on one half and the display window and speaker on the other. Nokia mobile phones offer some of the most interesting looking sliding camera phones available. Instead of the hinge, the components slide open. People who like the convenience of one-hand operation like this feature and this design allows for a larger display area for videophone calling and other features.

Bar or block (also called candy-bar): This is considered the most basic of the styles, since there are no moving parts to contend with. You might be wondering what protects the keypad when this style is in a pocket or purse. Nokia mobile phones have a key guard feature that allows you to lock and unlock the keys.

Smartphone: Shaped like the bar phone, Nokia mobile phones offer one of the lightest weight and most compact models available anywhere. With a Smartphone you can access your email or view and edit important documents.

With today's mobile phones, you can listen to music, watch movies and exchange text, sound or image messages. If that is too much technology for you, you'll be glad to know that Nokia mobile phones are still designed for person to person calling.