Nokia 6500 slide (Nokia 6500 slide)

Member Name: ecolier

Product:	Nokia 6500 slide
Date:	07/10/09 (44 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good mix of features, 3.2MP autofocus camera, TV-out

Disadvantages: No wifi, Slight overheating

The Nokia 6500 slide is a slider phone released in early 2008. It was announced in 2007 as part of the Nokia6500Series - which also includes the Nokia 6500 classic which has slightly less features. The 6500 series with its stainless steel design proved to be a success, and led to the 6600 series (consisting of the 6600 classic and the 6600 slide) and the as yet unreleased 6600i series.

--- the BASICS ---

The 6500s is a 3G phone characterised by a stainless steel design. It has some advanced features like an autofocus Carl Zeiss 3.2MP camera, TV-out connectivity coupled with the bread and butter of other phones including FM radio, turbo 3G internet, multimedia player etc. It runs on Series 40 operating system and is not a smartphone (i.e. it does not support 2 or more applications running at the same time). There is about 20Mb memory on board but microSD(HC) card support.

--- USABILITY ---

(Introduction)
The first thing one notices with the 6500s is that it is a sliding phones, and with any sliding phone the most important thing to consider is the build quality. I am glad to report that after nearly a year's use the slider mechanism still works well and does not rock side to side at all.

Being a Series 40 phone we should not expect any lag in performance - and the 6500s is indeed up to speed with loading times and switching on and off times.

The 6500s runs on Series 40 3rd edition and supports a reduced version of active standby. It displays the user's memo, events etc on the screen together with the music player and radio (when switched on).

The design of the phone is the selling point of this phone. It is covered in stainless steel front and back - except for the top and bottom ends of the phone. Because of this implementation the phone is heavier than other phones of similar size. This material, however, looks nice and is very fashionable. There is also a black version available utilising blackened stainless steel.

(Sound and Multimedia)
This phone runs the standard Nokia multimedia programme, with most video and picture formats supported. Sound playback is of adequate standards with the included 2.5mm headphones.

The phone supports microSD and the maximum size of cards available and recognised for the 6500s is currently 4Gb (It supports all microSDHC).

(Internet and Messaging)
The internet works well as it supports turbo 3G internet browsing. This allows speeds of upto 3Mbps when browsing - in reality it is around 1Mbps, which is reasonable. The browser is clear enough but there is no cursor built-in so clicking is a bit of a guesswork. There is no wifi in this handset so internet is via GPRS or 3G.

Text messaging is also easy thanks to the relatively large keys. As it runs on Series 40 users familiar with Nokia phones will be very at home with the interface. Basically you get the inbox, drafts, sent messages, broadcast messages etc. When you do receive a message you have to enter the messaging menu to view it - but you do get a small icon on the top right of a standby screen to remind you of the unread message.

(Screen and Camera)
A large 2.2" screen is present, which is adequate for the phone. It is nice and bright but is easily scratched - get a screen protector. The 16M colour is very similar to one with 256K colour with little noticeable difference.

The camera onboard is another major feature of the phone and is a Carl Zeiss lens 3.2MP autofocus. It has a variable amount of options more associated with photography like white balance but there are by no means comprehensive like N series or Cybershot range of Sony Ericsson phones. The resolution of 3.15MP produces 2048 x 1536 pixel images. In terms of video the phone is capable of VGA video recording but at 15fps and QVGA at 30fps.

--- CONCLUSION ---

I am very satisfied with the 6500s, it has some nice features and the build quality is good. The stainless stain design adds a few grams but is not a problem for me. I have heard lots of other people's complaints but I have not had any problems myself. There is perhaps a slight problem of overheating but most phones experience warming with calling anyway. Overall I would recommend this phone to others.

Box contents:
6500s phone
Headset - 2.5mm
USB cable (can NOT be charged when connected to computer)
Quick travel charger
CD-ROM

Summary: Good phone with a nice mix of features I would recommend to others.

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