Good as a phone, and nothing else. (Nokia 2630)

Member Name: senaiboy

Product:	Nokia 2630
Date:	15/05/09 (32 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Clear, crisp voice over the phone . Lightweight and slim.

Disadvantages: Besides that, there's nothing else good about it.

First of all, I'd like to say I got this as a 'secondary' phone from Orange UK, and I was only going to use it for calls. This is my review after a few days of having it (might update again if needed, but i don't think my opinion will change much). I own a Nokia 3100 and a W850i, so that'll roughly give you an idea of my comparison.

The good points.
1. Relatively cheap for its features, comes with Bluetooth capabilities, VGA camera with 4x zoom, and FM radio.
2. For the few times I have made calls using this phone, I have found the voice to be very crisp and clear over the phone, which impressed me.
3. Very lightweight and slim as well, and is definitely easy to carry around.
4. Comes along with its headset in the box.
5. Able to play mp3 files (I only needed one - for my ringtone!)
6. 65k colours, 128x160 screen is good enough for its functions. Colours are clear and vibrant.
7. Above average battery life. But I doubt it can last longer than 2 days after extensive usage though.

The bad points.
1. The OS is too slow. Perhaps it's due to Orange's branding, but the phone takes literally a second at times to respond to the button I press. Unlocking the keypad is a big pain due to this, as I need to press, wait one second, press, and wait another second before it unlocks. However, this might be just Orange phones.
2. Its camera belongs to the 1980s. VGA camera takes rubbish pictures, very grainy and out-of-focus, might as well not include it and cut the price by 10 pounds. Frankly, don't even bother asking about its video capabilities.
3. FM radio is basically unusable. Searching for stations takes forever, and woe be you if you decide to scroll through the frequencies (takes a full second to 'register' the frequency - even when it's just static. try going thru every 0.1Hz at this rate to find a station). Probably this slow due to branding.
4. Dismal memory. Said to be 11Mb, but mine (due to branding by Orange again I guess) only has 6Mb free when it arrived. Forget bout putting in more than one mp3.
5. It's dual band (might limit roaming capabilities).

Bits of info.
SMS capacity: (1300 and counting .. don't think there's a limit)
Battery life with very little usage (standby): ~5-7 days
Battery life with normal usage: ~3 days
Reception: Average
Features: Calendar and recurrent(!) alarm are pretty useful. Includes an 'Expense Manager' and a unit converter, which I don't use. Unfortunately the phone are not good for games, so you might need another reason to keep you busy while waiting.
Sound: Can be VERY loud. Which is a good thing.
User-friendliness: Quite good. Plenty of customisable shortcut keys, but 'Call' and 'End Call' buttons are all you need anyway. Buttons are soft but i feel the surface to be too smooth - my fingers tend to slide over the buttons when SMSing. Contacts are easily accessible in the address book, but adding recipient for SMS needed an extra button-press more than SonyEricsson phones (not dreadful, it adds up when one does SMS a lot).

Conclusion.
If you are looking for a phone with no frills, this is it. Only good for calls and SMS. Ideal for people who need to be contacted only when necessary.
If you even for a moment think of getting it for its 'extra' features, cross this phone off your list.

NOTE: Similar review written by myself on Ciao.co.uk before this.

Summary: Works great if you only need a phone. Its extra features are not even worth talking about.

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