The Nokia 6500 Classic: Truly Slim, Truly Classic

Author: Moby
Filed under: Nokia
Date: Feb 22,2008

Finally, Nokia has come up with something great, proudly sleek and slim with the release of the Nokia 6500 Classic. While all the other cellphone makers have been up on their toes with slim offerings, Nokia seemed to have been slow to adopt with this trend. It first came up with the 6300 in 2006, and now the 6500 which is its slimmest Nokia we have seen so far.

Needless to say, we like the design and the leanness of the 6500 Classic. It may not be as thin as other slim phones, but it is comfortable enough to handle comfortably and to fit in shirt pockets. The Keypad is average-sized and tactile which makes them easy to press, unless you have really big thumbs, that is.

The 6500 Classic’s design exudes a more streamlined profile since thee is only a single port for data connectivity, charging and audio. The downside is that it makes multi-tasking virtually impossible to do. However, you can charge and synchronize at the same time since the data cable is bundled with a charger; an idea which is not at all bad. The 6500 classic is simply a classic phone. Aside from the onboard speakers positioned at the rear and the 2-megapixel camera with LED flashlight, there is practically nothing worth noting in terms of design.

Before we proceed, try not to confuse yourself with the 6500 Slide. The 6500 slide is obviously slide type, is more bulky but has better features to compensate for its bulk (such as a 3.2 megapixel Carl Zeiss camera for instance and an expansion slot). The 6500 Classic is equipped with a lowly 2-megapixel camera and does not have an expansion slot. However, it does provide a 1GB onboard memory which we find sufficient enough for storing photos and about 200 or so songs.

The 6500 Classic has improved imaging features because of built-in LED lights. We are still not contented though since it has no autofocus. This goes without saying that this 6500 is not meant to be as strong as an imaging solution as in the N series. The LED lights also didn’t seem enough, though fairly decent pictures can be taken under dim conditions.

The 6500 features a music player (which actually can play videos as well) which support regular music formats. It unfortunately does not have an FM tuner. Audio quality seems very satisfactory for the 6500 Classic both for calls and on speakerphone. The Nokia 6500 Classic relatively has a long battery life which can last up to 9 days on standby and 3.5 hours continuous talk time. The response time of the 6500 Classic is also quite excellent, as we didn’t experience any notable lags when switching applications.

The 6500 is indeed a classic. With its slim and sleek design, its sharper look and its compact features make it an outstanding handphone. Though it does not have video call capabilities, nor can shoot excellent image quality, the elegance and the look it exudes well compensates for all the rest of its shortcomings.

The Nokia 6500 Classic is available for $319.89 at ElephantCellular