By Damian Koh
17/01/2008
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/mobilephones/0,39051199,40643400p,00.htm

While the thin-phone trend has been going on for some time (first with the Motorola Razr V3, then with the Ultra Edition series from Samsung), Nokia has been slow to adopt this form factor in its phones. It chose only to introduce the 6300 in late 2006 as one of its slim offerings. Subsequently, the success of the 6300 has led to the Finnish mobile phone giant to introduce more lanky handsets. That can be said even for its enterprise range of devices such as the E51, but that's another story.

One of the most promising phones to date is the 6500 classic that fits into the super-slim category alongside the likes of the Samsung Ultra Edition 8.4 and the Sony Ericsson W880i.

Design

Although the 6500 classic is positioned as a design-centric phone, what really strikes us is its lean form factor. Certainly, there's much to like about it. At just 9.5mm, it is the slimmest Nokia phone we've come across so far, even thinner than the 2630 at 9.9mm.

While it may not be as thin as the Samsung Ultra Edition 5.9, the 6500 classic looks sleek and rests comfortably in the hand. We favor the anodized aluminum frame in the top-half of the phone which gives it a solid feel, though some people may find the lower-half cover (that slides out for the battery and SIM card) a mite plasticky. Like most sub-10mm cellulars, it should also fit easily in shirt pockets and small bags.

On the ergonomic front, the alphanumeric keypad is average in size. The keys are lit in white and that goes well with the black/silver color scheme of the handset. There's a tiny, raised strip of silver bar below each button that helps to separate the rows of keys, though we find it more distracting than its actual purpose. Bumps like these usually represent the area that can be pushed, but on the 6500 classic, the area to tap is, in fact, above the raised edges.

That said, the buttons are generally easy to press and provide reasonable tactile feedback, so it wouldn't bother most users unless they have really big thumbs.

While we like the idea of a single micro-USB socket on the 6500 classic which gives the phone a more streamlined profile, providing just one port for charging, data connectivity and audio makes it impossible to multitask. For example, we cannot synchronize the data on the phone while using the wired handsfree headset. The data cable, if lost, would also be more troublesome to replace compared with one that uses a more standard mini-USB connector. The convenience is that the bundled data cable trickle charges the handset when plugged into a PC.

Besides the 2-megapixel camera, LED flash light and onboard speakers on the rear, there's really not much to talk about. You won't even find dedicated volume keys on this handset--the directional pad takes on this role instead.

Features

The 6500 classic should not be confused with the 6500 slide. While both versions are based on the Series 40 (5th edition) user interface, the 6500 slide is relatively more bulky but offers better features. These include a 3.2-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, FM radio and a microSD expansion slot.

The 6500 classic, on the other hand, features a 2-megapixel camera without an expansion card slot. What's on hand instead is 1GB of onboard memory (about 920MB is available to the user), which will probably suffice for storing snapshots or a decent 230-song (4MB each) music collection. However, like the 6500 slide, the classic model doesn't offer a huge leap in terms of features, even though the interface appears more refined and user-friendly.

A closer comparison would be the earlier 6300. One of the key enhancements of the quadband 6500 classic over the 6300 is the addition of 3G (WCDMA 850/2100MHz), which now allows users to roam in places like Korea and Japan. The greatest disappointment, however, lies with the lack of video call support.

Nokia didn't include an ambient light sensor for the 2-inch QVGA screen on the 6500 classic, so the panel stayed evenly lit as we moved between different lighting conditions. The LCD also remained readable under the sun, but there's no option to adjust contrast or backlighting.

The onboard music player is the typical standard app available, with support for AAC, eAAC+ and MP3 formats, though it plays videos as well. Nokia could have called it a multimedia player which would have been more appropriate. Tracks are sorted by playlists, artists, albums, genres, while playback options include shuffling or repeating tracks, customizing the equalizer and stereo widening. It is also possible to change the player's skin with any of the three preinstalled themes. A pity the set doesn't come with FM tuner.

Unlike the 6300, Nokia has marginally improved the imaging capabilities of the 6500 classic by packing a pair of LED lights. Our contention still lies with the missing autofocus feature. That said, the 6500 classic was never meant to be a strong imaging solution like the Nseries. Image quality is nothing exceptional (as one would have expected) and borders onto mediocre. In our tests, the camera faltered under dim lighting conditions even with the LED lights.

Several image sizes can be selected including the maximum 1,600 x 1,200-pixel resolution. The length of video recording is limited only by the capacity of the built-in memory. Video resolution, however, is still a measly 176 x 144 pixels (in MP4 format), just sufficient for viewing on a small screen. Basic camera features such as timer, flash settings, color effects and white balance are available to the user.

Preinstalled apps on our test unit included a Unit Converter, Opera Mini browser, Presenter, Download, Search and World Clock. Games comprised Golf Tour, Rally 3D, Snake III and Sudoku. The 6500 classic also packed a handsfree speakerphone, A2DP profile for connecting wirelessly to Bluetooth stereo cans and a choice of black or bronze colors. Both shades are very attractive and should appeal to most users.

Performance

Nokia rates the 830mAh Lithium-polymer battery for up to nine days on standby and 3.5 hours of talktime. With moderate use of calling, texting, snapping of pictures, we got up to two days of use (maximum of 2.5 days) without having to reach for the charger, just slightly shorter than the 6300.

Audio quality during calls and on the speakerphone was also good. In addition, we liked the snappy response of the phone which didn't exhibit too much lag in between.

Conclusion

It's hard not to fall in love with the 6500 classic. With a better feature set and a sharper look, the 6500 classic is a great successor to the 6300. Despite some shortcomings like a lack of video call capabilities and sub-par image quality, the elegant design should more than bowl you over.

If that doesn't, alternatives like the Samsung Ultra Edition 8.4, Sony Ericsson W880i and the LG Shine (KE770) are worth looking at, too.