Nokia 6500 Classic Review

Nokia has introduced a new thin S40 handset to the market.Nokia says that the polished finish on each individual 6500 Classic will be different, making sure that no two phones will be exactly alike.

The handset measures only 109.8x45x9.5 and weights just 94 grams, judging after these numbers we can say that the phone will easily fit into any pocket.

Even if the phone is called Nokia 6500 Classic ,it's not a Classic phone at all , and the first thing that makes it different from a classic phone is it's slimness as the phone has a thickness of just 9.5 mm.At a first look you might think that you're holding a remote control for a stereo system.

The phone comes with a sales package containing : The handset,a set of wired stereo-headset (HS-82) , charger , Li-Pol battery (BL-6P) , micro USB data cable (CA-101) ,user guide and the software CD.

The phone's keypad is pretty difficult to use and it needs a few days to get used to it.The handset's buttons are made of plastic and lit in white, which is well-visible in various environments. Even if you need a few days to get used to the keys , the buttons are easy to tap and very responsive.

As for the display the new Nokia 6500 Classic has a QVGA display, powered by the TFT technology with 16 million colors, and a resolution of 240x320 pixels.The screen has a 2-inch diagonal, 31x41 mm. The manufacturer hasn't included any type of backlighting adjustment, i.e. the screen is always evenly backlit, which allows saving a bit of battery charge. Nevertheless the user is enabled to choose standby screensaver and backlighting mode (on/off) - in the latter case the information will remain visible while indoors but only at certain angles. Apart from that you can turn off the screen, so that it will turn black with no information being displayed on it. In light of the display having a mirror layer, it doesn't fade in the sun and ensures that all data will remain readable.


The handset has no memory card slot but the manufacturer has fitted the handset with 1 Gb storage and this will be enough for most consumers.The handset has a 830 mAh Li-Pol battery (BL-6P). As the manufacturer claims it can keep the phone up and running for 215 hours in standby or provide 9 hours of talk time. It takes the battery about 2 hours to charge up from empty to full. The Nokia 6500 classic uses a new microUSB slot placed on the top end.As long as the data cable is connected, the battery will be recharging automatically.

The device supports USB 2.0, and the data transfer speed can reach values around 500-600 Kb/s. You can pick USB Mass Storage, PC Studio or the modem mode. Depending on your choice, the handset starts recharging the battery.

 

The 6500 Classic comes equipped with Bluetooth EDR-enabled version 2.0. The Bluetooth implementation is really good and we didn't encountered any problems with it.The stereo-headset also works fine with the 6500 Classic.The device supports all of the important profiles. The 6500 Classic comes with a unique configuration of dual-band WCDMA support on top of its more conventional quad-band GSM/EDGE support. This candy bar handset supports the normal 2100MHz band used in Europe and much of the rest of the world, as well as one of the two North American UMTS bands: 850MHz. This means that the 6500 Classic should be able to get EDGE data on any GSM network, and manage 3G UMTS connections in most parts of the world. The SAR level for the 6500 Classic - 0.87 W/kg

Main Menu

The main menu reproduces the one found in Symbian devices.This includes nine icons and the one that the operator may add : Messages,Contacs,Logs ,Gallery(File Manager) , Media , Organizer,Aplications,Games,Web Browser and Settings.The user has the liberty of arranging the menu after he's on desire.

Multimedia

Even thought the Mp3 player can't match the ones found in more expensive music phones,we can say that it's easy to use and has all the basic functions.The interface of the MP3 player can be changed with the help of themes and the phone comes with four preinstalled themes. The sound quality isn't one of the best , but overall it's pretty good for a phone from this range.

Camera

The phone has a 2 megapixel camera (CMOS) which is pretty enough for a mid-range model In poor light conditions, this camera won't snap good photos.The following resolutions are supported: :
· 1600x1200;
· 1280x960;
· 800x600;
· 640x480;
· 320x240;
· 160x120.

Two lower resolutions were added for creating photos that would fit as wallpapers for display. Three JPEG compression types are supported: basic, normal, high.
The shutter sound can be disabled, also there is a 8x digital zoom, but there is no reason to use it.Some effects can be applied to the already made photos, should they be used initially - it is up to you to decide. Such effects as False Colours, Greyscale, Sepia, Negative, Solarize are available.

Below you can see two photos taken with Nokia 6500 Classic :

For those who love to shoot a lot of photos at once, there is special mode for you - camera makes up to 3 shots at a time, all settings remain similar to those selected for the single shot mode, including the resolution. There is an auto-timer for self-shots.
The handset allows recording video in 3GP format, available resolution - 128x96 pixels, or 176x144 pixels. There are three recording quality settings available. You can limit a recording's length, but it also can be unlimited, so you will keep recording until the memory runs out.Effects can be applied for video just as they can be applied for photos, they are all the same.


The handset comes pre-installed with a number of themes that do make the difference in terms of how the menu looks.


The standard suite of applications includes Unit Converter, Nokia Sensor. Select markets might also get some other games and applications. Java can be uploaded over the air or directly into the memory bank, no caps on file size.

Conclusions


The 6500 Classic has a fine reception, and is a very pleasant phone to use.The battery life is pretty good and the target for this mobile are people that need a normal phone for daily use.The price of the phone is around 320-350 Euro.

Below you can watch a couple of videos about the Nokia 6500 Classic :