Nokia's premium range has had everyone from city boys to students drooling since the chrome-clad 8810 first hit the shelves five years ago, and its appeal shows no sign of being different with the latest luxury model - the 8600 Luna.

The big question, though, is whether the Nokia 8600 Luna can tackle the style-over-substance argument that's been levelled against some of Nokia's high-end range in the past.

Heading the current luxury line-up, the Nokia 8800 Sirocco represents a step too far financially for most of us - which is where the 8600 Luna comes in. Aimed at aspiring Sirocco owners, the 8600 makes a style statement all of its own with a smoked glass sliding cover and a weightyness that says clearly "I'm expensive".

Despite this, you can actually get your hands on its sleek form for free on some of the higher-usage contracts and online offers, making it a much more agreeable option. On its own however, you can expect to pay around £500 for a SIM-free handset.

Like previous luxury Nokia models, the Luna is largely encased by its stainless steel chassis but has one important difference: the slider is made from semi-opaque smoked glass that leaves the keypad to glow through, rather ethereally. It glides open with a smooth slide-action, and closes with a reassuring click.

Two long loudspeaker grills add to the overall impression of luxury, and little else is allowed to clutter the edges of the handset save for the microUSB port. This is used for the charger, data cable and stereo headset, conveniently ridding the need for extra connections.

Opening the handset reveals a decent-sized keypad, larger than its predecessor and plenty big enough for man-sized digits, although the lower row is a bit close set to the slider for comfort. Nokia users will be immediately familiar with the standard layout of the Series 40 graphic interface and four-way navigational pad, but will have to have fairly good eyesight as the default font is rather small.

Luckily, the 2-inch screen is incredibly clear thanks to the 16-million colour QVGA resolution, so the small print is less of a problem. Users can also choose to make the most of the screen when it's idle by switching on Active Standby to list commonly used features on the standby screen for quick access.