Nokia 6760 slide: Qwerty phone lacks Wi-Fi

Nokia has announced a mid-range Qwerty slider phone for messaging addicts of average wealth, the 6760 slide. But there could be a problem.

On the plus side, it'll be an affordable quad-band phone that looks slightly like a wasp, with 3.6Mbps HSDPA support for push email from Microsoft Exchange servers, a 61mm (2.4-inch) 320x240-pixel screen, a 3.2-megapixel camera, GPS for use with the phone's mapping software, IM applications and a promised five hours of talk time.

The problem, perhaps, is that it's a phone -- geared up for emailers, messagers and Twitterers -- that has no Wi-Fi.

Now, we're torn in the office as to whether this is a problem. Rich Trenholm doesn't think it's a problem at all -- just use 3G, right? -- whereas yours truly thinks it's a regrettable oversight. Regardless, it's something for potential buyers to be aware of.

They should also probably be aware that you can't plug in most headphones as the phone uses a 2.5mm socket -- not 3.5mm, which is the headphone standard. Internal memory is just 120MB, but it'll come with a 2GB microSD card and the phone itself supports cards up to 8GB.

Obviously, this is supposed to sit as a cheaper alternative to the Qwerty E-series phones, such as the E75. But the absence of Wi-Fi -- even though stereo Bluetooth and GPS are present -- may be a problem for some people.

If you don't need Wi-Fi and can't afford an E75, it could definitely be one to check out when it's released, all being well in a couple of weeks.