Semi-Review Of The Nokia 6680 3G Smartphone
And finally, after a lot of software and random postings about this phone, Here is my semi-biased semi-wholeseom uncoventionally short review of the Nokia 6680.
I am biased towards Nokia and Samsung phones, and that won't change anything I know, but I will remain accurate. When I was doing research and reading around before buying my new phone, I found reviews, and the web in general, to be a valuable resource of information. I also found the web to be a centralized area for general morons to argue about all kinds of devices from phones to computers to amplifiers, about things they don't know, or haven't read properly. I will try and just say what I know for sure, thus, accurate as possible...
Note that you can click on the images to see larger versions :)
6680 Software:
This was covered in my previous blog. Go figure.
6680 Look & Feel:
I love it. Plastic and chrome. Transparent buttons, that work smoothly. 5 Way navigation button that works great in games, and isn't clunky. The camera on the front, does however needs a wipe after several phone calls, since it does get smudgy, but this is totally acceptable. The chrome around the side of the phone always has that cold and solid metal feel, and also aids grip quite a fair amount, but these also tend to gather fingerprints. The phone in its whole, is quite solid, and I can't comment too much on the general built, since Nokia actually always built solid phones.
The only drawback to the slide-open camera on the back is the slider itself. It is sturdy, and there nothing wrong with its operation, but it does feel "hollow" when you hold the phone in your hand, like while making calls or typing text messages. The slider is a good idea nevertheless, protecting the 1 MP lens cover.
On the righthand-side of the phone, along the chrome line, you will find the power button, and below that, the latch for the Dual voltage MMC, which was supplied with my phone. (64 MB)
On the left hand side, only the one button is found, which is used for activating the loud speaker during calls, and summoning the voice commands.
On the top, theres an obscure looking slot. This is the loudspeaker, which has quite an amazing quality. For MP3 and movie it doesn't sound all that good, but there is always the included stereo headset if you get serious about this. Also notice the LED looking component on the front-left-top of the phone. This is a light sensor, which adjusts your LCD screen's brightness according to your ambient light. It also turns on the keypad backlight when you go into a darker area. I really enjoy this feature, it is handy indeed.
The bottom is easy. The traditional Nokia power female plug, for the charger, and next to it the pop-port interface, where you can plug all your enhancements into. The stereo headset goes in there as well, which is quite wierd, since the phone then hangs upside down in your pocket if you listen to music. A USB-pop-port cable is also supplied, which came in useful since I don't have a bluetooth-usb adapter for my computer yet.
6680 Front & Back:
Looking at the 6680 from the back you will only see the slider, a nokia badge and the clip-button to open the battery cover and sim compartment. This is how it should be, since this is where I put my phone down. On the back.
The front was basically covered in the above section, but to extend on it, it looks good. One of the better looking phones in its class. I really like appearance of the 668x,6630 and 6670. The keypad has slightly slanted keys, meaning you have to get used to typing with it, but it does get comfortable with some practice. I find that '2' is onyl pressable using the tip of the finger. Other than that, there is your standard Series-60 keys, with the navigation keys, and its neighbours, being programmable for standby mode shortcuts.
The Active-matrix LCD display is a standard Series60 sized 176x208 pixels screen, boasting with 262,144 colours, and enough brightness and contrast to make even mummy proud. No critique from this persperctive.
6680 Camera(s):
I have had many people compliment me on this smartphone, and about two of them saying that two camera is "dumb". I came to the conclusion that they are clueless...
With 3G hitting our grounds now... why NOT two cameras? The back camera (left,slider open) is your 1.23(?) megapixel camera, with flash. The only you will use when you actually photohraph things, and take snapshots of people. It behind the phone, so you can actually see and take pictures with ease.
The front camera is for video calls, this is only a vga camera (if I am not mistaken) and since you DON'T want to stare at the back of your phone while making video calls, it was smartly and logically placed in front. What is so hard to understand about this? I have a friend or two who regularly ask me to send an MMS with a "now" photo of where I am, which I then execute, using the front camera. I like my two cameras thank you very much.
6680 Final Thoughts:
Some final issues I would like to share is the common fact that the nokia 64 MB default MMC corrupts data from time to time. If you keep backups using the included and freely available software (Nokia PC Suite) then it does not really matter, but it is an annoyance of note. I have read that a few people have experienced this but it is not common. My firmware is 2.04, and I will get this upgraded by Nokia to 3.04, this might just fix the bug.
The 64 MB included is both too small for REAL use, and "probably" also plays a role in the corruption, so buying a 256 or 512 MB card from a good supplier with decent branding, can't hurt. With SmartMovie you can fit quite a few hours of video on even just a 256 MB MMC. Do remember that the 6680 uses the new dual voltage MMC's, so make sure the one you buy is a DV MMC reduced size .
As mentioned before, I have covered most of the third party software I have installed. About Nokia's own software (included) I can't complain. The personal information management tools is basic, but works. QuickOffice is sufficient for viewing attachments in your email. Adobe Reader is valuable, to me at least, I like keeping reading material on my smartphone.
The games, well, the ubiquitous "SnakeEx". (Better get those third party games out...)
I recommend you click these links now to see some detailed specifications:
Nokia 6680 Specs
Series 60 Specs
The rest is just fine, everything works... Everything does the trick. The power behind it all, is installing your own software. Why not use it. Symbian is great, The Nokia 6680 is awesome.
Why not?
Specification:
Operating Frequency: WCDMA 2100 / GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
Band Functionality: WCDMA / GSM
Enabling Technologies: XHTML, HTML, MMS, Java MIDP, Symbian OS 8.0 a, Series 60 Platform
Dimensions: 108.4 x 55.2 x 20.5 mm
Weight: 133 g
Specifications
Operating Frequency: WCDMA 2100 / GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
Band Functionality: WCDMA / GSM
Enabling Technologies: XHTML, HTML, MMS, Java MIDP, Symbian OS 8.0 a, Series 60 Platform
Dimensions: 108.4 x 55.2 x 20.5 mm
Weight: 133 g
Display
Resolution: 176 x 208
Color Depth: 262144 Colors (18 bit)
Keypad
Grid key mat
2 labeled soft keys
5-way scrolling
Camera
1.3 megapixel camera w/ 6x digital zoom
VGA front camera
Memory
Heap size: Memory allocated dynamically
Shared Memory for Storage: 10 MB
Max JAR Size: Memory allocated dynamically
PS: All pictures taken with my Fujifilm A330
PS 2: I cannot comment on price. In south africa this phone costs about R5000 at the moment, but since I got it subsidized on a Vodacom contract, I only had to cought up R2100. It is all up to you.
I am biased towards Nokia and Samsung phones, and that won't change anything I know, but I will remain accurate. When I was doing research and reading around before buying my new phone, I found reviews, and the web in general, to be a valuable resource of information. I also found the web to be a centralized area for general morons to argue about all kinds of devices from phones to computers to amplifiers, about things they don't know, or haven't read properly. I will try and just say what I know for sure, thus, accurate as possible...
Note that you can click on the images to see larger versions :)
6680 Software:
This was covered in my previous blog. Go figure.
6680 Look & Feel:
I love it. Plastic and chrome. Transparent buttons, that work smoothly. 5 Way navigation button that works great in games, and isn't clunky. The camera on the front, does however needs a wipe after several phone calls, since it does get smudgy, but this is totally acceptable. The chrome around the side of the phone always has that cold and solid metal feel, and also aids grip quite a fair amount, but these also tend to gather fingerprints. The phone in its whole, is quite solid, and I can't comment too much on the general built, since Nokia actually always built solid phones.
The only drawback to the slide-open camera on the back is the slider itself. It is sturdy, and there nothing wrong with its operation, but it does feel "hollow" when you hold the phone in your hand, like while making calls or typing text messages. The slider is a good idea nevertheless, protecting the 1 MP lens cover.
On the righthand-side of the phone, along the chrome line, you will find the power button, and below that, the latch for the Dual voltage MMC, which was supplied with my phone. (64 MB)
On the left hand side, only the one button is found, which is used for activating the loud speaker during calls, and summoning the voice commands.
On the top, theres an obscure looking slot. This is the loudspeaker, which has quite an amazing quality. For MP3 and movie it doesn't sound all that good, but there is always the included stereo headset if you get serious about this. Also notice the LED looking component on the front-left-top of the phone. This is a light sensor, which adjusts your LCD screen's brightness according to your ambient light. It also turns on the keypad backlight when you go into a darker area. I really enjoy this feature, it is handy indeed.The bottom is easy. The traditional Nokia power female plug, for the charger, and next to it the pop-port interface, where you can plug all your enhancements into. The stereo headset goes in there as well, which is quite wierd, since the phone then hangs upside down in your pocket if you listen to music. A USB-pop-port cable is also supplied, which came in useful since I don't have a bluetooth-usb adapter for my computer yet.
6680 Front & Back:
Looking at the 6680 from the back you will only see the slider, a nokia badge and the clip-button to open the battery cover and sim compartment. This is how it should be, since this is where I put my phone down. On the back.The front was basically covered in the above section, but to extend on it, it looks good. One of the better looking phones in its class. I really like appearance of the 668x,6630 and 6670. The keypad has slightly slanted keys, meaning you have to get used to typing with it, but it does get comfortable with some practice. I find that '2' is onyl pressable using the tip of the finger. Other than that, there is your standard Series-60 keys, with the navigation keys, and its neighbours, being programmable for standby mode shortcuts.
The Active-matrix LCD display is a standard Series60 sized 176x208 pixels screen, boasting with 262,144 colours, and enough brightness and contrast to make even mummy proud. No critique from this persperctive.
6680 Camera(s):
I have had many people compliment me on this smartphone, and about two of them saying that two camera is "dumb". I came to the conclusion that they are clueless...
With 3G hitting our grounds now... why NOT two cameras? The back camera (left,slider open) is your 1.23(?) megapixel camera, with flash. The only you will use when you actually photohraph things, and take snapshots of people. It behind the phone, so you can actually see and take pictures with ease.
The front camera is for video calls, this is only a vga camera (if I am not mistaken) and since you DON'T want to stare at the back of your phone while making video calls, it was smartly and logically placed in front. What is so hard to understand about this? I have a friend or two who regularly ask me to send an MMS with a "now" photo of where I am, which I then execute, using the front camera. I like my two cameras thank you very much.
6680 Final Thoughts:
Some final issues I would like to share is the common fact that the nokia 64 MB default MMC corrupts data from time to time. If you keep backups using the included and freely available software (Nokia PC Suite) then it does not really matter, but it is an annoyance of note. I have read that a few people have experienced this but it is not common. My firmware is 2.04, and I will get this upgraded by Nokia to 3.04, this might just fix the bug.
The 64 MB included is both too small for REAL use, and "probably" also plays a role in the corruption, so buying a 256 or 512 MB card from a good supplier with decent branding, can't hurt. With SmartMovie you can fit quite a few hours of video on even just a 256 MB MMC. Do remember that the 6680 uses the new dual voltage MMC's, so make sure the one you buy is a DV MMC reduced size .
As mentioned before, I have covered most of the third party software I have installed. About Nokia's own software (included) I can't complain. The personal information management tools is basic, but works. QuickOffice is sufficient for viewing attachments in your email. Adobe Reader is valuable, to me at least, I like keeping reading material on my smartphone.
The games, well, the ubiquitous "SnakeEx". (Better get those third party games out...)
I recommend you click these links now to see some detailed specifications:
Nokia 6680 Specs
Series 60 Specs
The rest is just fine, everything works... Everything does the trick. The power behind it all, is installing your own software. Why not use it. Symbian is great, The Nokia 6680 is awesome.
Why not?
Specification:
Operating Frequency: WCDMA 2100 / GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
Band Functionality: WCDMA / GSM
Enabling Technologies: XHTML, HTML, MMS, Java MIDP, Symbian OS 8.0 a, Series 60 Platform
Dimensions: 108.4 x 55.2 x 20.5 mm
Weight: 133 g
Specifications
Operating Frequency: WCDMA 2100 / GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
Band Functionality: WCDMA / GSM
Enabling Technologies: XHTML, HTML, MMS, Java MIDP, Symbian OS 8.0 a, Series 60 Platform
Dimensions: 108.4 x 55.2 x 20.5 mm
Weight: 133 g
Display
Resolution: 176 x 208
Color Depth: 262144 Colors (18 bit)
Keypad
Grid key mat
2 labeled soft keys
5-way scrolling
Camera
1.3 megapixel camera w/ 6x digital zoom
VGA front camera
Memory
Heap size: Memory allocated dynamically
Shared Memory for Storage: 10 MB
Max JAR Size: Memory allocated dynamically
PS: All pictures taken with my Fujifilm A330
PS 2: I cannot comment on price. In south africa this phone costs about R5000 at the moment, but since I got it subsidized on a Vodacom contract, I only had to cought up R2100. It is all up to you.
posted by MarlonV at
7/04/2005 04:54:00 pm
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