Nokia C3 review: SNS love

Introduction

Nokia C3 is young and social, simple and reliable. Messaging and social networking are the very heart of this handset. But are they enough of a head-turner to become a phone's key selling points? Sure thing! Just add a pinch of charisma and hang a price tag fit for the masses and you've got yourself a recipe for a true love story.

At its Indonesia launch, the phone drew massive crowds and it seems success in Europe is only a matter of time – with a price tag of about 100 euro. Compromises are always implied in this price bracket but the Nokia C3 does well to focus all attention on its strengths. It’s a budget package – no doubt about that – but so wonderfully balanced. It has all the relevant features and the target audience isn’t likely to miss what’s not there.

Nokia C3 official photos

A QWERTY messenger focused on the basics, the Nokia C3 is an excellent upgrade option for the budget-minded. And social networking isn’t just a thing for marketing to work with. The full QWERTY keyboard, dedicated Messaging and Contacts keys, along with Wi-Fi connectivity round off a solid package that will give the right user all the performance they need.

Key features

• QWERTY messenger bar
• Quad-band GSM/EDGE
• 802.11b/g Wi-Fi support
• Solid SNS integration on the homescreen and with dedicated buttons
• 2.4" 256K-color QVGA display with excellent sunlight legibility
• 2 megapixel fixed-focus camera
• QVGA video recording at 15fps
• Series 40 UI, 6th edition
• Stereo FM radio with RDS, Visual radio
• Bluetooth (with A2DP)
• Standard microUSB port
• microSD card slot (8GB supported, 2GB included)
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Great audio quality
• Reasonable price

Main disadvantages

• No 3G
• Low-grade camera, no autofocus, no flash
• Poor video recording
• S40 is outdated, never mind the visual updates
• No multi-tasking
• Doesn't charge off the microUSB port
• No USB cable in the retail box
• No office document viewer
• No smart dialing

The Nokia C3 is a social gadget for the young. What’s not to like if Facebook is your second home and you want to always stay in touch. Attractive design and the right feature set come at a price that many can afford. The Nokia C3 is so full of potential because it’s suited for both emerging and mature markets.

In the low end, you will sometimes come across rare gems of phones that will surprise you with their styling and features. The Nokia C3 isn’t one of them. The key word here is enough. The build, the connectivity, the interface – even the imaging – is good enough.

Nokia C3 live shots

A 2MP fixed-focus camera isn’t the kind to send your digicam into retirement – it’s good enough for photography you need to quickly share. The screen isn’t perfect for media or browsing, there’s no fast network data, you have a QWERTY keyboard but no document editing – you catch our drift.

There isn’t much to get excited about but – we’ll say it again – the right users will find more than enough to get excited about. The Nokia C3 is a phone that wants to be in every pocket – let’s see if it is the right choice for you.

HTC Wildfire review: Desire Mini

Introduction

Occasionally HTC takes a little break from high-end smartphones and dips its toes in the waters of the lower midrange. The HTC Wildfire is a down-sized, down-clocked and down-priced version of the HTC Desire. If Sony Ericsson can do it with the X10 mini, then HTC have all the right in the world to make a Desire mini too.

HTC Wildfire official photos

But while the Desire was something that easily snatched everybody’s attention, the Wildfire is a bit more toned down despite its fire-some name.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• 3G with 7.2 Mbps HSDPA
• Android OS v2.1 (Éclair) with Sense UI
• 3.2" capacitive touchscreen of QVGA resolution
• Multi-touch support
• Qualcomm MSM 7225 528 MHz CPU, 384 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM
• 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash and touch focus
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g and GPS receiver
• Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate
• Turn-to-mute, lift-to-tone-down
• Proximity sensor
• Smart dialing
• Standard miniUSB port for charging and data
• Bluetooth with A2DP, file transfers
• microSD card slot, a 2GB card in the box
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack
• Social network integration: Facebook, Twitter and Flickr through Friend Stream
• Flash-enabled browser
• Direct access to the official Android repository
• Stereo FM radio with RDS

Main disadvantages

• Poor screen image quality, QVGA doesn’t do Android OS and the display size justice
• No video-call camera or videocalling whatsoever
• CIF@15fps video recording (352 x 288 pixels) is below par
• No voice dialing
• No DivX or XviD video support out of the box
• No TV-out port

The Wildfire is certainly the right phone for those who like to always stay in touch. The high-end connectivity is all there, along with solid social network integration and browsing. It seems the display and CPU are the only downgrades from the Desire.

But that’s still a lot. Android phones with QVGA screens have failed to impress and the size of the Wildfire’s display gives no reason to be optimistic here.

HTC Wildfire at ours

On the other hand, the Wildfire boasts the premium finish of the Nexus One and the HTC Desire. Not only is a touch of style always welcome in the lower tiers of the market but users will probably appreciate the compact size too.

So, repackaging a flagship device to sell to a wider range of customers is easier said than done, so let’s see what the Wildfire has to offer. By the way, choosing a name that’s so much catchier is a good way to start.

We’re back after the break with a spin and a closer look at the HTC Wildfire exterior.

Mobile phones go scalp hunting: The Red List

Introduction

Last week we walked with dinosaurs. We followed phones in their search of the perfect size and shape. We’ll now take another step away from our usual routine and look back at the gadgets that lost or are about to lose in the survival of the fittest. Mobile phones are no longer a commodity – but a necessity. And they’ve made other, less fortunate species, expendable.

Indeed, the times when it was enough for a mobile phone to make calls are long gone. We demand and expect the best service for our money. So, today’s handsets will do so many things that only a couple of years ago required using several different devices.

Remember the times when you had to carry a pager, a street payphone card and a personal organizer at all times to keep in touch? Now the cheapest of phones will do the job and is actually better at it.

Today we look at all those tools that we no longer need as long as we have our trusted cell phone at hand. Some of them have evolved to adapt to life at the bottom of the food chain, others have quietly disappeared.

We’re about to remember devices once considered indispensible, now fearing extinction at the hands of mobile phones. Some of the items on this red list will be missed it seems – others we were more than pleased to throw in the dumpster. But that’s the way of evolution: you need to crack a few eggs to make an omelet.

Some of the conclusions were pretty much expected (the death of devices like personal organizers was obviously only a matter of time), while other were somewhat surprising (wristwatches took a major hit too).

So, full of fond memories of the good old times, we start our tour after the break. First on our list is the forerunner of the SMS – the pager – a single click down memory lane

Nokia C6 review: A playful character

Introduction

Yesterday’s high-end is the new midrange we like to say. The Nokia C6 has almost exactly the same features as the Nokia N97 mini but hangs a big Sale sign. Time to shop for high-end features off high street.

The C-series are trying to distill the Nokia knowledge and experience into a lineup of simple and affordable phones. There’s a bit of everything there: from cheap entry-level handsets to smartphones that border on the Eseries and Nseries.

Nokia C6 official photos

And Nokia is in no mood to relax it seems. The C-series went from one to six in almost no time, and a C7 may as well be on the way. Now, technically there is no number four –but that’s one number Nokia isn’t really fond of. Anyway, if there ever was to be a C4 we just know it would’ve been dynamite.

Being a C-series phone, you can expect the C6 to be a decent all-rounder. And it is. There’re no mind-blowing features but there’s nothing major missing either. And what isn’t there (e.g. document editing) can be easily fixed with the right app.

Key features

• 3.2" 16M-color resistive touchscreen of 640 x 360 pixel resolution
• Symbian OS 9.4 with S60 5th edition UI
• Slide-out four-row full QWERTY keyboard
• ARM 11 434MHz CPU
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• Tri-band 3G with 3.6Mbps HSDPA support
• 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and VGA@30fps video recording
• Wi-Fi and stereo Bluetooth v2.1
• GPS with A-GPS and free lifetime voice-guided navigation license
• microSD card (16 GB supported, 2GB included)
• Built-in accelerometer for display auto-rotation, turn-to-mute
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Smart dialing
• Stereo FM Radio with RDS
• microUSB port
• Web browser has full Flash support
• Good audio quality
• Office document viewer

Main disadvantages

• Display performs poorly under direct sunlight
• The S60 touch UI is clunky
• Doesn’t charge off USB
• Average loudspeaker performance
• No DivX or XviD video support out-of-the-box
• No office document editing (without a paid upgrade)
• No camera lens protection

These days, communication over text-based channels is bigger than ever – SMS, email, Twitter, Facebook, IM to name but a few. And they have a certain advantage over voice calling. They’re cheap, or absolutely free, even when you’re reaching someone on another continent

Nokia C6 pays us a visit

Text-based messaging is important. But as good as touchscreen input methods are getting (especially with clever tricks such as Swype), there’s just no match for a good hardware QWERTY keyboard.

There isn’t as much pressure on the Nokia C6 as there was on the N97 duo. The C6 is not a top-tier device – it’s a high volume device instead. You know, the one most people end up buying after deciding that the dream device costs too much.

So, how close exactly is the Nokia C6 to the N97 mini? Jump to the next page to find out how the hardware of both stacks up.