Windows Phone 7 is clean and easy-to-use, but the first generation of hardware was weak. Nokia's Symbian phones, on the other hand, had solid hardware but a confusing, stale operating system. Thus, the marriage between the two companies seems like a perfect solution.

Finally, after almost nine months of waiting, the .

Nokia Lumia 800

The looks familiar--its design is based on the Nokia N9, which runs the MeeGo operating system. It has a slightly smaller display than the N9, at 3.7 inches as opposed to 3.9 inches. The smaller display size is to accommodate the three Windows Phone buttons (Back, Home, Search) found on every phone. The curved AMOLED display has bold colors and deep, dark blacks. The display uses "ClearBlack" technology, which increases its visibility in bright sunlight.

I miss the days of bold, brightly colored phones--does every phone have to be all-black and rectangular? I always appreciated Nokia for releasing its flagship phones in a variety of colors so I was pleased to see that the Lumia 800 comes in cyan (sort of a bluish green) and magenta, as well as black. The phone is a bit on the chunky side, but its slightly curved shape feels good in hand. The phone is made out of single injectable polyurethane matte plastic, which gives it a sturdy feel. The material is soft to touch, but scratch and fingerprint resistant. It also doesn't feel like it will completely shatter if you drop it.