Mobile Phone Reviews : The Regulars

Nokia mobile phones are still a popular make and the Nokia C6 model is one of the most recent offering.  The handset has a number of excellent features that will please most users, including the 8 megapixel camera and a Symbian 3 operating system.  The handset has a strong feel to it that gives the impression of resilience, and the metal jacket has a matt finish for a classic look.

Users have a choice of three home screens that can all be customised with different shortcuts to the apps, so that the features you use the most can be there on your main screen, whenever you need them.  The screen measures 3.2 inches and as with most Nokia mobile phones, the handset makes use of the ClearBlack technology that gives users better visibility in bright light.

The internet can be accessed via both Wi-Fi and 3G, and apps can be downloaded from the Ovi Store very quickly.  The phone has inbuilt GPS and Ovi Maps, so you can get directions easily, and even pinpoint your own location.

Other apps for users include a voice recorder for making notes, QuickOffice, so that you can open documents that have been created using Microsoft Office 2007, and a file manager, so you can stay organised.  The 8 megapixel camera is of excellent quality and has a variety of settings and features, so that you can be sure you are taking the best photos possible.  This also applies to the video feature.

What It Has

This mobile phone was created specifically for the serious music lover.  The entire design of the handset is geared towards making the playing, navigating and organizing of music very simple.  The music controls are located on the side of the front panel, giving easy access for the avid music listener.  The overall appearance of this Nokia mobile phone is pretty sensible at first impressions: a 2.4 inch screen sits atop a standard 1-9 number pad, but a slide-out QWERTY keypad is neatly tucked away and easy to pop out.  It’s got a 3.2-megapixel camera and a front-facing camera that allows you to make video conferencing calls when necessary.  The GPS feature helps with the helpful navigation software, and the handset also has Wi-Fi and 3G capabilities, making navigation simple and quick.

What It Lacks

It focuses a little much on the music aspect and lacks some of the really nifty specs that you might desire.  For example, there’s no touchscreen and social networking isn’t a priority of this mobile phone.  You have basic texting and calling capabilities with this mobile phone but that’s about it.

Conclusion

If you want a handset deal that is specifically targeted towards music lovers then this is the mobile phone for you.  If you are looking for more features and a phone that gives you access to loads of apps and makes navigation via the screen quick and easy, this phone isn’t for you.  Simple as that.

Like its hugely successful predecessor the 6300, the Nokia 6700 is a stylish but simple phone.  It’s shiny, light and quickly impresses any user with its dazzling chrome finish.

The big screen is bright with fantastic colours, 16 million of them, and the detail is sharp and clear.

The keypad is straightforward and efficient, and the phone is responsive so that your contacts are displayed to you in seconds.  Even when the phone is in sleep mode, a couple of finger taps and it quickly buzzes into life and shows you the time.

The fast and efficient GPS and the 5-megapixel camera are good additional features on a phone that isn’t at the highest price end of the market.  There are also loads of animated wallpapers to choose from.  The battery life is strong with five hours of talk time and up to 416 hours of standby time.

Of course, as you would expect from a Nokia phone, the call quality and the audio quality are very good.

The downsides to this phone are that the camera only has an LED flash as opposed to the superior xenon, and there is no 3.5 mm headphone jack.  The phone isn’t sold as a music phone so if it’s not a problem to you, then it’s not a problem.  Another negative is that the shiny chrome finish does attract fingerprint and smudges.

Some chunky mobile phones just look chubby and charmless, and Nokia came close to this unflattering description with its N97 phone, which it had intended to be last year’s top of the range model. But with the fabulous Nokia N900, it’s really pulled the stops out and proved that chunky phones really can look good naked.

A quick survey of recent mobile phone reviews throws up frequent uses of words like ‘outstanding’ and ‘excellent’ – so what’s all the fuss about? The price tag excludes it from the cheap mobile phones category, it’s BIG for a phone, and it’ll make your handbag or briefcase feel like you’re carrying a small lead roof-slate. OK, that’s a slight exaggeration (but only slight); in compensation, the C900 manages to look extremely handsome in spite of the characteristics. The slide-out QWERTY keyboard accounts for much of the weight, and its size makes it considerably easier to use than, say, a BlackBerry. But the screen is to die for – it has stunning resolution (800×480 pixels) and measures a generous 3.5 inches across. The only quibble is that it’s not capacitative (resistive screens take a bit of bashing to get them to respond unless you use a stylus). The camera is a definite plus – Carl Zeiss optics, five megapixels, autofocus, dual LED flash and geo-tagging place it way, way above average. And the excellent digital music player handles most formats.

Nokia’s new Linux-based OS, Maemo, makes the phone exceptionally fast, and you can get stuck into some serious multi-tasking without hindrance on this phone. You’ll also get a colossal 48 GB of memory, ultra-fast HSPA and Wi-Fi to boot. As one of the latest mobile phones in Nokia’s repertoire, it comes close to being a great internet tablet, too.

Listen in on the tech grapevine for a little and you’ll soon discover that a prominent feature of mobile phone news is that, after a shaky patch in 2007, Nokia mobile phones are evolving again. And the X6 – the first in the new XSeries – is a sure sign that the Nokia brand is thriving once more. Essentially, it’s the first development of the popular XpressMusic range, and it represents an upward shift in market positioning. Similar in size to the immensely popular 5800, the X6 sports a delectably responsive 3.2 inch capacitative touch screen with a satisfyingly crisp 640×320 pixel resolution.

Given its origins in the XpressMusic range, you’d expect it to be an excellent music player – and you won’t be disappointed. The NSeries music player readily handles most digital music formats, including AAC, WMA and MP3, and it’ll even display album graphics. An audio chip and highly effective 3D surround sound delivers excellent playback performance, and the sound quality can be further enhanced with loudness effects, stereo widening, a bass booster and an 8-band graphic equaliser. You’ll also discover a positively gargantuan 32 GB of memory – and the 3.5 mm jack means you can use your own favourite headphones rather than bother with those annoying bundled versions. If you opt for the special ‘Comes With Music’ feature, you’ll also get free unlimited music downloads for a full twelve months.

But music isn’t the X6’s only virtue. It has a most impressive 5 megapixel camera with cutting edge Carl Zeiss optics which ensures superb still images, and a front-mounted video camera allows you to make video calls. The Nokia X6 also boasts excellent connectivity – it comes with triband 3G and quadband GSM, and HSDPA means you can make downloads of up to 3.6 Mbps. The battery is a real beast, too, yielding 8.5 hours of talk time and a thumping 35 hours of music playback.

Getting cheap mobile phones can be easier than you might think. However, in order to get the latest technology and spend the least amount of money you are looking at contract mobile phones. One of the newest Nokia mobile phones is the N97 and to be honest you may well be happy to be tied into a contract to get your hands on this phone. When you compare mobile phones you will see how easily the N97 holds its own, as it really has the best of the rest in terms of technology.

This is a side slider phone and a full QWERTY keyboard slides out, which for a change has reasonably sized keys making it easy to use. When the phone is closed it is a fully interactive touchscreen, so for most things you wont need to slide out the keyboard, just touch the screen. The N97 has music player technology and though the Nokia Ovi music shop has never been well received, you can simply upload from your music collection to avoid this problem. Purchasing from other places and moving from the PC to the phone also works as long as you respect copyright restrictions. The Nokia N97 is likely to appeal to the younger generation, as one of the things it does well is social networking, with sites like Facebook being easily accessible from this handset. Overall this is a great phone and the contract is likely to be over before you are ready to give it up.

The LG Arena KM900 has a wide range of features that have made it very popular with smartphone users and the LG mobile phone range is becoming one of the largest on the market.  The phone has an elegant look and includes a three inch screen which gives clear, sharp images, making it ideal for those who like to watch videos on their phone. 

The handset is equipped with a 5 megapixel camera and 8GB of internal memory.  There is also a music player and the phone comes complete with a 3.5mm headphone jack which is ideal for those who like to listen to music on the move.  Other popular features of the phone include the GPS navigation function and easy access to the internet and email applications. 

Those who are looking for cheap mobile phones might want to consider contract mobile phones.  These give the user a free mobile phone in return for a contract of a fixed term, which can be anything from between 12 months to 2 years.  The monthly tariff attached to a contract will vary depending on the contract length and the number of free minutes and texts that you receive. 

A contract is an ideal way of getting hold of new mobile phones as many providers allow you to upgrade at the end of the contract.  Checking out a few internet sites allows you to keep up with the latest mobile phone news and the latest deals, so you can be sure that you are getting the one for your needs.

The Nokia 6600 Slide is a fantastic looking phone with smooth curved edges, and it lays claim to a striking display.

Photographs taken on the 3.2 megapixel camera look so sharp and stunning that it doesn’t matter that the screen is not the biggest on the market or OLED.

The camera has a video camera and the video player supports the usual file formats; you can use the camera anywhere and anytime as it has an in-built flash so even shots taken in poor lighting conditions will come out sharp and clear.

The audio player supports WMA, eAAC+, AAC+, AAC and MP3 file formats and there is also an FM radio.  You can increase the file storage with a memory card, as there is a microSD card but unfortunately no 3.5 mm headphone jack.  However, this phone is not marketed as a music phone so the lack of standard headphone plug may not be a problem to those who are interested in buying the 6600 Slide.

There is no Wi-Fi or HSDPA but you can browse and email using 3G and GPRS.  Like the majority of the Finnish company’s mid range products the 6600 Slide runs on Symbian Series 40 that uses a simpler operating system and the simplicity will appeal to people who are used to a standard Nokia phone.

A niggling problem with the handset is that the shiny surface shows up every fingerprint, so the great look is somewhat spoiled by smudges.

For individuals looking for cheap mobile phones, the Nokia 6700 Slide is a combination of smartphone and feature phone in one.

The phone is nice to look at, featuring a slide opening design with touch screen. When closed, the phone measures 9.52 cm tall by 4.61 cm wide and 1.59 cm deep. The weight with battery is 100 grams. The touch screen is a 2.2-inch TFT screen displaying 16 million colours. Beneath the screen is a series of external keys which are spacious and easy to use.

The phone feels sturdy and the slide action is nice and smooth. When first turned on, the Nokia 6700 Slide walks you through a set up to help personalise your user experience. This includes importing contacts and personalising wallpaper and ringtones.

As to the touch screen, home screen widgets include Nokia Ovi Store and shortcuts to Facebook Mobile and email. Email is quick to set up and general browsing is fairly quick, although there is some lag when trying to connect to the Ovi Store.

The phone includes a 5 megapixel camera which supports high quality Carl Zeiss optics.

Overall, while the Nokia 6700 Slide isn’t an advanced smartphone, as a feature phone it isn’t bad. Best for the user looking for a basic mobile with a few extras, this phone is great for casual photography, the odd short text message, checking email, and occasional web browsing.

For mobile phone deals on the Nokia 6700 Slide, carriers include T-Mobile, Orange, 3 Mobile, Vodafone, O2, Virgin, and Talk Mobile.

The Nokia E71 is a slim, extremely handsome phone, encased in attractive metal and if you like typing long messages, emails or chatting using a mobile IM service then you’d be hard pressed to find a better phone.  If you do like this phone but want to compare it to others with similar features and in the same price range then check out the Sony Ericsson W705 or the LG Prada 2 KF900.

The E71 has a screen that is bright and clear and a QWERTY keypad that is well designed; in fact one reviewer even went so far as to say that the QWERTY keypad on the E71 was the best he had ever used in his mobile phone review.

Every key on the keypad is of the right size and only requires the gentlest of presses to register easily and accurately.  In fact it makes emailing and texting a complete pleasure.

Even though the E71 is slim, Nokia has managed to fit in HSDPA (3.5G), Wi-Fi and GPS, which means that applications such as Google Maps will be easily downloaded and can be used to navigate around the country. 

There are a couple of negatives with this handset.   The 3.2 megapixel camera’s shutter lag is a bit long, meaning that you have to hold the phone perfectly still unless you want your photographs to come out looking blurry.  There is also no standard 3.5 mm headphone jack.

The main niggle though is the lack of folder support for Microsoft Exchange.

But apart from these slight problems, this is a great phone.