Nokia C3 review: SNS love
Gsmarena have posted their review of the Nokia C3. Here are the phone's key features, main disadvantages and their final impression.
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* S40 is outdated, never mind the visual updates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
Since the Industrial Revolution things have been getting a whole lot cheaper. They aren’t quite as pretty as hand-crafted items, but they work, quite often better than their more expensive counterparts.
So, the Nokia C3 is not an Eseries top dog. But it works – when it comes to messaging, it’s hard to find a fault with it. We mustn’t downplay the exterior either – the Nokia C3 is quite a looker with its tapered edges, metal back and glossy front.
Throw in Wi-Fi support and the Contacts and Messaging keys, which are similar to the Eseries keys, and the Nokia C3 is beginning to look like a mass-market Nokia E72.
That’s not accounting for the software limitations though. The Nokia C3 is strictly for messaging, there’s no office document support. And no multitasking means you can’t keep Skype (or Fring, etc.) running in the background. And even if you could, the J2ME versions of those apps don’t support voice calls, just IM messaging.
And so we circle back to messaging. While Ovi Chat isn’t all that popular, G-Talk is – and apps like Fring take care of Skype, Yahoo, Windows Messenger, ICQ, AIM chatting.
The Communities app handles the social aspect of messaging – Twitter and Facebook let you stay in touch with all your friends at once, not just one at a time. Communities and Chat can work in the background, keeping you always online.
The Nokia C3 offers a package that is almost impossible to find at this price point – QWERTY, Wi-Fi along with IM and social networking integration for less than 100 euro is a steal.
Probably the strongest competition is the iNQ Chat 3G – a QWERTY-enabled bar with IM and SNS in mind. It doesn’t have Wi-Fi but it comes with 3G and native Skype support.
Another one that’s very close to the mark is the LG GW300. Wi-Fi is missing here as well and its camera is just 2MP, but it supports multitasking and comes with a pretty good Facebook app.
Also in the running is the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 – it’s got SureType instead of the regular QWERTY variety, and like the Nokia C3 it relies on 2G/EDGE and Wi-Fi. But there’s a major gap between the C3 (the iNQ Chat 3G too) and the Berry. The Pearl 8120 is a business phone complete with a document editor – but no IM and SNS to get in the way.
The Nokia E5 is a full-featured smartphone alternative that will be targeting a completely different set of users. The two phones may look very similar, but E5 trades up to Symbian on a 600MHz processor, 3G with HSDPA and a 5MP camera. Until then, the Nokia E71 and E72 will have to do. If you don’t mind the older hardware, you can go for a Nokia E63 too.
Affordable messaging on the go is what the Nokia C3 excels at. The quad-band GSM and Wi-Fi enable voice calling and Internet access across the globe and C3 also gives you the right tools to stay in touch with friends and family. The nice styling and focused feature set at a price young people can afford will draw customers to the stores.
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
Since the Industrial Revolution things have been getting a whole lot cheaper. They aren’t quite as pretty as hand-crafted items, but they work, quite often better than their more expensive counterparts.
So, the Nokia C3 is not an Eseries top dog. But it works – when it comes to messaging, it’s hard to find a fault with it. We mustn’t downplay the exterior either – the Nokia C3 is quite a looker with its tapered edges, metal back and glossy front.
Throw in Wi-Fi support and the Contacts and Messaging keys, which are similar to the Eseries keys, and the Nokia C3 is beginning to look like a mass-market Nokia E72.
That’s not accounting for the software limitations though. The Nokia C3 is strictly for messaging, there’s no office document support. And no multitasking means you can’t keep Skype (or Fring, etc.) running in the background. And even if you could, the J2ME versions of those apps don’t support voice calls, just IM messaging.
And so we circle back to messaging. While Ovi Chat isn’t all that popular, G-Talk is – and apps like Fring take care of Skype, Yahoo, Windows Messenger, ICQ, AIM chatting.
The Communities app handles the social aspect of messaging – Twitter and Facebook let you stay in touch with all your friends at once, not just one at a time. Communities and Chat can work in the background, keeping you always online.
The Nokia C3 offers a package that is almost impossible to find at this price point – QWERTY, Wi-Fi along with IM and social networking integration for less than 100 euro is a steal.
Probably the strongest competition is the iNQ Chat 3G – a QWERTY-enabled bar with IM and SNS in mind. It doesn’t have Wi-Fi but it comes with 3G and native Skype support.
Another one that’s very close to the mark is the LG GW300. Wi-Fi is missing here as well and its camera is just 2MP, but it supports multitasking and comes with a pretty good Facebook app.
Also in the running is the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 – it’s got SureType instead of the regular QWERTY variety, and like the Nokia C3 it relies on 2G/EDGE and Wi-Fi. But there’s a major gap between the C3 (the iNQ Chat 3G too) and the Berry. The Pearl 8120 is a business phone complete with a document editor – but no IM and SNS to get in the way.
The Nokia E5 is a full-featured smartphone alternative that will be targeting a completely different set of users. The two phones may look very similar, but E5 trades up to Symbian on a 600MHz processor, 3G with HSDPA and a 5MP camera. Until then, the Nokia E71 and E72 will have to do. If you don’t mind the older hardware, you can go for a Nokia E63 too.
Affordable messaging on the go is what the Nokia C3 excels at. The quad-band GSM and Wi-Fi enable voice calling and Internet access across the globe and C3 also gives you the right tools to stay in touch with friends and family. The nice styling and focused feature set at a price young people can afford will draw customers to the stores.
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