advertisement

Ask CNET Asia

Find Products

  • Brand
  • Price
  • Operating system
  • Phone type
  • Connectivity options
  • Touchscreen
  • Built-in digital camera?
  • Filter »

Buying Advice

Editors' Top 5s

CNET Features

 

Nokia 7250i

 Print    Email     Bookmark     Share

By David Chong
Jul 28, 2003

Nokia's new 7250i looks like the 7250, feels like the 7250, and smells like the 7250. So is the good Finnish company trying to peddle us a three-month-old model at the price of a new one? Not really. The 7250i certainly takes after its predecessor in both looks and features, but the difference is all in the details.

We've Seen This Before
In general, the 7250i breaks no new ground. The design is the same as the 7250's, which we found stylish a few months back but is looking a little worn now. As before, the chief selling point here is the integrated camera, which is positioned at the back of the handset.

Other staple functions remain, including the 4,096-color display, MMS, triple band capability, and polyphony. This phone communicates with the PC through the onboard infrared port, but Nokia's PC Suite is a prerequisite. This glaring limitation means that, once again, you cannot beam pictures or ringtones directly to a handheld or another mobile.

The 7250i also supports Java, with a few games already preloaded. Together to the oft-seen Bounce and Triple Pop games, the handset contains Red&Blue, a dismal Reversi clone.

One less-known function of the 7250 and 7250i is that the built-in speakerphone can be used for radio listening as well, which is a great way to share music with friends. Furthermore, the terminal can be set to turn on the radio automatically as an alarm.

Sprucing It Up
Other than Nokia's traditional scroll-based interface, the 7250i provides the added option of an icon-based menu. With the sheer number of features available in phones today, this new system helps reduce the amount of scrolling needed to access desired functions.

In our review of the 7250, we complained that the implementation of the built-in camera seemed rushed. Nokia may have been listening because the 7250i's biggest improvements come in the area of imaging.

The new night shot mode, first seen in the Nokia 7650, allows better pictures under low light conditions. The digital zoom feature, however, can only be used after the photo is taken. By deploying it, we can examine a stored picture more closely before deciding whether to delete it.

Furthermore, the 7250i incorporates a slideshow feature so your friends can enjoy your photo collection on your cell phone.

Despite such enhancements, the 7250i's passive-matrix display isn't ideal for taking pictures. Its slow refresh rate makes it a mediocre viewfinder. Thankfully, pictures turned out well-exposed and sharp when transferred onto a PC, although the 288 x 352-pixel resolution resulted in rather small pictures.

Conclusion
Some shops are selling the 7250i at S$638 with a two-year contract. If you're a new buyer, this competitive pricing means you should consider skipping the 7250 (which will be gradually phased out) to go straight for the 7250i. But it's another story for existing owners of the 7250--we think Nokia should provide software updates as a means of enhancing the value of its products.