The new Nokia 8800 Arte is the direct upgrade to the popular Nokia 8800 Sirocco range of 8-series phones. Stocks of the the new handset have finally reached UK shores and the first company to offer the handset with a contract package is The CPW Group. As usual the retailer has launched the handset exclusively on the O2 network but further network launches are expected very soon.

The 8-series Nokia phones have always been thought of as expensive and just for show as they are mainly manufactured from premium materials and sometimes lack the latest features and technology, however it looks as though Nokia have been listening to these rumours as the new 8800 Arte range features some extremely interesting additions when compared to the previous Sirocco editions.

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.