Those Flashin Lights Come From Everywhere!!! (Nokia 3220)

Member Name: mushtaqquraishi

Product:	Nokia 3220
Date:	22/08/07 (474 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: customizable back case, lights

Disadvantages: rubber come off, babyish, boring after a while

Nokia 3220

I have been longing to write an exceptional review ever since I have joined this wonderful community and this is where I sensed the opportunity to do so. This review is all about my experiences of the Nokia 3220, the flashing and fun ‘kids’ phone. I previously owned this phone and I now definitely know enough about it to review!

Appearance
The Nokia 3220 is a basic candy bar phone, with four pieces of rubber stuck to the sides. Only from the rubber can you see the wonderful lights shown by this phone. The keypad is made of a rubbery texture.

First thought
My first thoughts when using this phone were ‘how exciting’. It was the first ‘fun’ type of phone I had seen and I instantly wanted it, wondering how the lights worked and how fun it would be to have them around.

Keypad
As I said previously, the keypad is made of a rubbery texture and for many this will be inappropriate due to the numbers scratching off. But then again, how many of you using this phone are kids or teens that don’t really care about such simple things?

Switch On
It is very easy to switch this phone on. As with many Nokia’s, you do not have to press the red button for 5 seconds. Instead, at the top right hand corner of the phone, there is a little button, which you have to press for a few seconds before the phone switched on. Sometimes, it can take longer, because you are not pressing exactly in the correct place, but the chances of this happening are minimal.

Menu
The menu for this phone is easy to get around and there are lots of features you can access from the menu. Here is a list of the menu and it sub contents:
1 Messages>Create message, Inbox, Outbox, Sent items, Saved items, Instant messages, E-mail, Voice messages, Info messages, Service commands, Delete messages, Message settings, Message counter.
2 Call register>Missed calls, Received calls, Dialled numbers, Delete recent call list, Call duration, GPRS data counter, GPRS connection timer.
3 Contacts>Search, Add new contact, Delete, My presence, Subscribed names, Copy, Settings, Speed dials, Voice tags, Service numbers, My numbers, Caller groups.
4 Settings>Profiles, Themes, Tone settings, Light settings, Personal shortcuts, Display settings, Time and date settings, Call settings, Phone settings, Connectivity, Security settings, Configuration settings, Restore factory settings.
5 Gallery>Graphics, Images, Video clips, Tones, Recordings, Themes, Prog. Key.
6 Media>Camera, Voice recorder.
7 Organiser>Alarm clock, Calendar, To-Do list, Notes, Synchronisation.
8 Applications>Games, Collection, Extras.
9 Services>Home, Bookmarks, Download links, Last web address, Service inbox, Settings, Go to address, Clear the cache.
10 Orange Plus>Call Orange, Information, Group text, PAYG*.

As you can probably see, I bought this phone from Orange, therefore ’10 Orange Plus’ may not be the same on all phones and could be replaced with the network you buy it from.
I know that the above menu list takes a considerable amount of space, but then wouldn’t you rather know exactly what the phone holds before you go and dish out your well earned money on it?
I will now go through SOME of the features and parts of the menu above, giving you the facts and some of my previous experiences as well. Enjoy…

Messages
Messages from this phone as with others are extremely easy to send. Just write your text, enter the number and wait a few seconds for it to send. The only possible problem I can see any user having with sending messages from the phone is the fact that sometimes you may type a letter in wrong even though you think you pressed the button the right amount of times. Don’t worry; it happens to everyone, even me so if this does happen, just delete the last character and carry on. This only really happens when you get so confident at using this keypad to write messages that you become to quick for the phone itself and therefore it doesn’t realize what you are trying to type. By the way, if you are unfamiliar with or do not like the sound of using ‘Predicting Language’ text messaging as they call it, you can easily change this and use the normal text input by accessing the settings section.
Photo messaging is also available on this phone. You can send a photo that you have taken from your phone, to another number and phone. Just view the image you would like to send and from the options click send via multimedia and which number you want to send it to.

Calling
Calling is also very easy from this phone. Enter your number and press green. Again, I have found this a very basic thing to do and cannot offer any help if you can’t work this out. The only problem I had was the fact that sometimes signal was very weak and therefore it wouldn’t let me ring anyone. Just move into another place and signal should become stronger again. Signal really depends on the network. I must say the signal on Orange is quite good, but other networks such as ‘O2 or T-Mobile’ may be better, therefore there will be less chance of you not being able to call someone when you really need to.

Searching Contacts…
Searching for a contact is another easy feature to use on this phone. Simply go into Contacts>Search and then type the first letter of the contact you are looking for. Then scroll down until you find the number. If you have loads of contacts, then instead of only typing the first letter of the contact you are looking for, try typing in the first few, which should cut your search down or in many instances take you to that particular contact straight away. Talk about easy!

Add new contact
To add a contact just type there number in from the home screen and click add contact. Then type the contacts name in and save. Simple.

The rest of…Contacts
One other thing I have to mention is the usefulness of being able to interchange your Sim contacts and Phone contacts. If you do not know this then here it is. You can store contacts on your sim card so that if you change your phone but keep the same number or sim then you can keep your contacts. If you store your contacts on your phone then if you phone gets damaged or lost, all your contacts go to. But if someone’s going to steal your phone then why would they take the Sim out? Anyway, on this phone, you can view either your sim contacts or your phone contacts or both. So if you keep all your important contacts on your sim and the unimportant ones on the phone, this is a useful and easy way to filter them out.

Gallery Images
To view any sort of media that you have on your phone, go to gallery and then pick what you want. You can pick from images, videos, tones and recordings.
More about images, videos and tones next but to record all you have to do is click record from the gallery and you will be able to record whatever you want whenever you want. The recordings are generally good quality.

Media Camera
The Camera on this phone is 0.1 mega pixel (I think). This isn’t great compared to today’s new phones but they cost a bomb, so who’s complaining. Anyway, the actual pictures come out just fine if you intend to use them for your phone only. If you want to use the camera to send pictures to an email address then print, think again. There is no point. The quality isn’t THAT good and so if you really want good pictures; you may as well by a digital camera. This camera is very basic and is good enough for just capturing the moment. You can also use night mode on the camera, if it is very dark and you need a bit of lighting up. All you have to do to take a picture is go onto the camera and click capture. The image will be sent to the images folder in media.

Video
I would say that the video’s created by this phone are slightly worse than the pictures. The videos seem quite fuzzy when played back. They also take up a lot of the memory for the phone so a couple of videos and you cant save anything else on your phone. If you can, try and stick to photos. They are better and take up less space.
By the way, all you have to do to take a video is ‘capture’ and then ‘stop’.

Organiser- Alarm
I know this will sound sad, but ahead of all the camera and tones and even lights, I think the organiser is the most useful thing on this phone. There is an alarm clock and calendar, two of the things you need most in your day-to-day life, that’s if you’re busy of course! The alarm clock is very good. You need to set the time and reason for your alarm and the phone does the rest. At the time of the alarm, a very loud tone will play out and the flashing lights will help get you awake as well. In fact, I found that when I used the alarm from this phone, I woke up only 5 minutes after I needed to. That is quite good for me seen as when I use the traditional alarm clock, I just switch it if and sleep on! The alarm clock is very useful and works well, so if you want a good alarm clock, go ahead and get this phone.

Calendar
For all the birthdays, meetings, dates, everything you need to remember, this is the one. You just set when and what you need to remember and the calendar will store it. You can view what you like from the calendar and when day comes and you have almost forgotten about your Uncle Bob’s birthday, your phone will come to your saviour, ringing and flashing to its delight and reminding you that you must get a card and present. If it wasn’t for the calendar, I may have missed everything that meant something, from detentions at school to the all-important Liverpool game in the Premiership. Sad…I know!

Applications- Games
Games, games, games…what a waste of time. But when you’re stuck on the bus or waiting for the 45-minute late train, this is all you have to entertain you. Being a kids phone, games are essential and Nokia always seem to conjure up something to keep you happy. At first, when I see the games, I think…where is Snake? It isn’t on this phone; so if you want Snake, keep your 10-year-old Nokia. Of course this is a real letdown as Snake is the most exciting mobile phone game ever. But it isn’t on here. Instead there is Club Pinball. It is exactly like any pinball you have ever played, be it on your computer or the arcades. The only difference is the fact that it is on your phone and is accompanied by flashing lights. Yes the lights do help make this game and phone seem more interesting. At first, Pinball is rubbish but once you get started, it is hard to stop.
Phantom Spider is very difficult to use and understand but I think I have a way to win every time. The game itself will take some getting used to but you will have to stick around for ages, as it never seems to end. I won’t let you into anymore, just incase you’re about to buy this phone.
Adventure Race is a game all about using your fingers repetitively to take part in outdoor events such as running, kayaking, mountain biking and orienteering. You can take part on one, two or three day challenges. This game is very fun and you will forever be trying to beat your last score.
Dance Delight is basically a game, which tests your memory. You have to memorise the number and colour of the balls that appear in sequence and every time you get it right, there is another ball added to the sequence. Well, if you think it sounds bad at least they have made you remember the colours of the balls. Normal games just want you to memorise the number.

Ringtones
There are some set ringtones already on this phone, which are very vibrant, fun and accompanied by sequences lighting. The issue mainly questioned by people is whether the ringtones are loud enough. Well I have to tell you they are. You can tell when someone is ringing you. When the alarm goes it wakes you up and when you have something saved on your calendar, it’ll make sure you know. So there is no problem with the loudness.

Ease of Use
As with all Nokia phones, the menu and the phone are very easy to get around, whether you are a beginner or know phones like the back of your hand. If you know how to get to the menu (click menu!!!) then you will now your way around.

Lights
The lights are how this phone sells. There are many basic camera phones out on the market but this is what stands out on this phone. The lights are very good at the beginning but after a while begin to seem childish and boring. 3 months into getting this phone, I wanted a new one. I just got bored of the lights. Sometimes after a few months, they decide to stop working. When this happened, the ‘Orange Shop’ said that it was probably my own fault and they couldn’t do anything. The message is that of you want this phone simply because of the lights, don’t buy it. Oh yeah, the rubber bits on the sides seem to scratch off as soon as you buy the phone and six months later, all of a sudden, the rubber is messy and gone. So this lets the phone down as well. If you want a slick neat phone then go for the Sharp GX15 instead.

Cover Back
The fun factor is expanded when you realize that you can cover the back of the phone with a picture or background of your choice. If you have seen this phone, then you will agree that it looks pretty cool. In the box for this phone, they also give you a cutter, which you can shape your images to so that they fit in the back of your phone. I only used this to put in some Liverpool FC pictures that I had and I have to admit it did impress and look very good.

Orange World
As this is more to do with the network side of the things and not the phone I won’t go on about it too much but in simple words DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE FOR ORANGE WORLD. And do not buy any phone for Orange World. It is the most useless piece of junk I have ever seen. If you want phone on you Internet, go for the 3 network. Yes it doesn’t work a lot of the time because of rubbish network but it is free to browse and you can get video and music easily.

Orange
As I got this phone on contract with Orange, I feel it right to explain. Orange is not a very good network. If you have read my Orange contract review and pay as you go review, you will realize this. Earlier last year Orange scammed me when they sent me texts and charged me. PLEASE READ MY CONTRACT REVIEW!!! This contract wasn’t that bad, but the signal isn’t as good as one would expect. And the customer service when you ring up is terrible. So if you don want to go for a network, I wouldn’t recommend Orange.

Overall
The phone is very average overall and has all the basic features you would expect of it. Camera, Video to name but a few. The lights and exchangeable cover at the back are the selling points of this phone but do get boring after a while. I have to say that all features of this phone are satisfactory and for the short time I had this phone, I did enjoy using it. Please do not go out and buy this phone if you are over the age of 16 or 17, you’ll get laughed at. The price of this phone is about 50 quid on pay as you go, but if you can miss out on the fun factor and want a sleek, smooth phone, go for the Sharp GX15 instead. It costs around the same, has the same features but better quality and is on Vodafone only.

Please leave a comment on my review. If you have read my others you will realize that this is much more informative and I hope you like it.

Summary: good phone, easy to use, cheap

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