Nokia, the market leader for telecommunication devices all the way from Finland recently released the much anticipated budget phone for the social networking savy group.
Yep this is the ALL NEW NOKIA C3. It comes in 3 colors to choose from! Cool huh? – Golden White, Slate Grey, Hot Pink -
Nokia C3 was first shoved into the market for one sole purpose : To cater to the social bugs that would want to keep up with his/her social life but would not break the bank!
This phone is rather a mix of what I call BB and N97. It has the all familiar qwerty keyboard with all your social programs such as Twitter and Facebook but at the same time lack certain features that some might think its important. But then again, for the uber dirt cheap price tag, you cant expect it to compete with N8, would you?
Before I go any furthur lets have a look a their key features and specification. Its not mind blowing but its acceptable!
Key Features
* Messaging made easy
* Full QWERTY keymat
* 1-click access to email and chat via Nokia Messaging
* Easy Ovi Mail and Ovi Chat account creation
* Conversational SMS for chat type messaging
* Favourite Contacts
* Social networking made better
* 1-click access to social networking via Communities client
* Viewing alerts and news on the home screen
* Easy posting and changing of status and uploading photos
* Quick navigation through your friends latest posts
* Experience the Internet in new ways
* Webkit based browser
* Opera mini client
* Web Search
* WLAN (with easy access point authentication without opening browser)
Additional features
* 2 megapixel camera with 4 x digital zoom
* Media player
* FM stereo radio
* 3.5 AV connector
* Support for up to 8GB memory card
* Built-in handsfree speaker
Nokia Original Accessories
* Headsets: Bluetooth Headset BH-105
* Data: Nokia 8 GB MicroSD Card MU-43
* Power: Mobile Charger DC-4
* High Efficiency Charger AC-8
Technical Profile
* System: GSM/EGSM 850/900/1800/1900
* User Interface: Series 40
* Dimensions: 115.5 mm x 58.1 mm x 13.6 mm (L x W x H)
* Volume: 63.2 cc
* Weight: 114 g (including battery)
* Standby time: Up to 20 days
* Talk time: Up to 7 hours
* Display: 2.4” QVGA (320×240), up to 262k colors
* Memory: Up to 55 MB internal memory, support for up to 8 GB microSD memory card
Data Services & Connectivity
* WLAN (IEEE 802.11b/g)
* EGPRS multislot class 32
* Bluetooth wireless technology 2.1 with enhanced data rates (EDR)
As you guys can see, this phone is a quad band phone but unfortunately it only supports EDGE connectivity. Nokia should have also implemented 3G connection if not HSDPA. But based on my personal review of the phone, EDGE connection is sufficient enough if you subscribe to Celcom’s internet package. The speed is acceptable and browsing speed is above average for EDGE. Don’t expect to load CNN, BBC or any other full featured webpage. The browser don’t support it anyway, because it is a WAP browser.
What surprise me here too is the Ovi Store. Its included but since its Symbian 40, a lot of applications are not supported including WHATSAPP! :/
The twitter and facebook client are also included but it’s a bit of a pain to use. But yet again, I cant blame Nokia as this is a low end phone catering to youth without much spending power. What ticks me off is the need for the twitter client to reload every time I go back to the Home. This client doesn’t seem to cache the tweets. For the chat client and push email functionality I don’t seem to have much problem. Every feature that most people would make use is there. Of course advanced features like spam filter and such are not included but again, its good enough for that kind of price tag.
On the other hand, the qwerty keyboard is such a breeze. Its wide enough for my hand and it doesn’t have that flimsy feel and it feels solid. Thumbs up for the build quality. Not only the keyboard to be honest, the whole phone has a solid build quality. I really like how it fits in my hand. Its comfortable and it just fits perfectly.
For the homescreen, of course its not like Android’s fully customizable ones, but for Symbian, its fair enough that this homescreen offers all the widgets that I would probably use in my Android. It has a twitter widget, facebook widget, contacts widget, shortcuts and etc.
For the rest such as messaging, FM radio, WiFi and camera is pretty much to be expected if you have had a Nokia phone of this type. This is like the E series look alike but far from it. The camera performs quite okay in brightly lit place but low light its just not up to par with its 2megapixel CMOS sensor
One particular thing I would like to mention is the battery life. The battery life is really outstanding. I could take my phone out for 2 days without much charging and at the end of the day still left 10%. I did twitter, facebook, message and of course light surfing and it amaze me at how long this sleek gadget can last. For this price tag and amazing battery life, I think its wroth the buy.
This phone is not a good switch for those who already own a powerful smartphone such as Iphone or and Android based phone. You would not feel like home due to the lack of certain features but for those who are looking to upgrade your Nokia 3300 to something better with social networking built in that does not cost a bomb, then consider this little C3.
It has a reasonable EDGE connection, WiFi, Twitter, Facebook, a reasonable 2MP camera, Ovi Store, 2.4 inch display, an awesome Qwerty keyboard, radio, 3.5mm audio out jack, FM radio and expendable memory! All this for only RM599.
To sums things up here are the pros and cons of this phone :
Pros
1. Cheap
2. Nice qwerty keyboard
3. WiFi built –in
4. Reasonable EDGE connection
5. Solid design.
6. Good email and chat app with Windows Live Messenger support.
7. Inbuilt support for ‘Game changing’
Cons
1. No 3G connection
2. Small 2.4inch screen
3. Poor Twitter and Facebook client ( Can be fixed with Snaptu available in Ovi Store)
4. Uses WAP browser.
5. No CPU – Slow
6. No true multitasking and low RAM
Build Quality 4/5
Features 2/5
User Friendly 3/5
Value for money 4.5/5
Overall 4/5
To get your hands on this super affordable phone to feed your twitter needs or facebook addiction, visit your nearest Celcom BLUECUBE outlet!
Visit www.celcom.com.my/celcomexec/promotions/nokiac3_features.php
for more information!
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Tags: Bluecube, C3, Celcom, facebook, Nokia, Nokia C3, phone, twitter
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