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

tagged: Keypad, Nokia, 6500 classic, 6300

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The Nokia N82: The Rightful Heir to the N72 Throne

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

Nokia N82
After the overwhelming success of the N72, Nokia has come up with another handset which they hope to become the next N-series bestseller. We find it to be a noteworthy successor of the N72, and we won’t find it surprising if it becomes an instant hit as well. This is also partly because the N82 is relatively affordable as compared to the rest of the N-series. In fact, it is by far the most affordable of all the feature-rich Nokia camera phones.

The Nokia N82 is a candy-bar type phone with a comfortable size and a good weight distribution. The back side of the N82 becomes interesting as it houses a 5-megapixel camera featuring Carl Zeiss optics and a Xenon flash. It has also an autofocus feature and a dedicated camera key making things more convenient.

The N82 has one major shortcoming, though: its unreasonably small Keypad. Let us just say, they’re not the type of keypad most people in their right minds would like. However, we will give them an average rating on this aspect since they allowed ample spacing in between the keys. We still believe Nokia could have done a better job. The backlighting is not strong enough, but it can actually do a decent job.

The audio port of the N82 is found on the top edge, which is rather unique - no more worrying about protruding sides when you put your phone in your pocket. On the left edge are the microSD expansion card slot, port and the charging connection, while on the other side lies the stereo speakers, shutter, volume controls and gallery key.

If you are familiar with the N95, then there really is nothing new to talk about. The only thing most notable is its Xenon flash and a smaller 2.4-inch display. It runs on the Symbian S60 third edition so it should be easy on Nokia users.

When it comes to performance, the N82 is quite impressive. First, we believe that the Xenon flash in the N82 is one of the most powerful ones we’ve seen so far in a camera phone, which is a great thing. We also liked the larger capacity battery which allows talktime of 260 minutes and standby for over nine days. Third, it is also worth noting that the N82 is equipped with a 128MB RAM, which makes responses very quick. We have tried running different applications on the background and noticed no stalls.

In terms of picture quality, N82 shots are among the best we have seen so far, even better than the Sony Ericsson K850i on many instances. It is unfortunate though that this unit can’t stand on its sides like normal digicams. Night shots are pretty impressive too, thanks for the Xenon flash.

The N82 deserves to be considered as the successor of the N72. If you wish to upgrade, then this is probably a great option. It is excellent as a camera as well as an all-around phone. It does have its imperfections, but we still highly recommend it.

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