Nokia 6600

Click for more pictures of the Nokia 3100 and 6600.

The 7650 was too bulky; the 3650 had that impossible keypad; both sported an assortment of features. Nokia's latest smart phone, the 6600, sheds the excess weight and goes sane on the buttons. While it still boasts some awesome functions--Bluetooth, MMS, a 65,000-color TFT display, and the staple integrated camera--what really impresses is how well Nokia has implemented these.

Horizontally Challenged
The 6600 isn't as heavy as the bottom-heavy 3650, but it's still rather broad around the middle. We are, however, inclined to forgive this girth and the 125g weight because of its solid build quality and generous display. The buttons are responsive and conventionally laid out. Unlike the plasticky appendages we've seen in the past, the 6600's mini-joystick is firm but sensitive.

The 6600 uses Series 60, Nokia's implementation of the Symbian OS. For the most part, the icon-based interface is intuitive. But strangely, old messages from the SIM card aren't recognized by name.

Full-featured
The 6600 is easily one of the most feature-packed Nokias ever. But what really impresses us is the quality of implementation. The Nokia display, which has come in for a lot of criticism in the past, finally impresses in the 6600. It's still not as bright as a Samsung, but this 176 x 208-pixel screen beautifully showcases any wallpaper you can throw at it.

The polyphony is average when it comes sound quality, but Nokia does well by accepting MIDI files as ringing tones. Before you start dumping your personalized melodies into the phone, note that such tones can turn out a little soft.

The Nokia implementation of Bluetooth proved to be more than adequate when it comes to desktop synchronization. We used the PC Suite to copy our contacts and appointments from Outlook, while transferring wallpapers and ringing tones using the File Transfer service.

Shooting Star
What also surprised us was the image quality from the integrated camera of the 6600. Even indoor shots, at 640 x 480-pixel resolution, were quite focused when viewed on the desktop. It's good to see that after a the latest crop of camera-phones appear to be pushing up the envelope in this aspect. The 6600 is also capable of shooting 176 x 144-pixel videos with sound.

The phone comes with a good 6MB of built-in memory, but 32MB more on the included MultiMediaCard. Other features include triband and an integrated handsfree speaker.

Reception And Battery Life
The reception of the Nokia 6600 is good. We couldn't find fault with voice quality either. However, battery life was good, not great, with the phone's 850mAh battery lasting three days of usage.

Conclusion
The 6600 costs an auspicious but pricey S$888 without a line, or S$688 with a two-year contract. Size-conscious users won't be too pleased with this phone's exterior, but others will find a quality handset inside.

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