Nokia 6230 Review
*img132.exs.cx/img132/144/623010tj.jpg<--Available Colors
The Nokia 6230 is another of Nokia's long line of candy-bar style cell phones. The looks seem to be a cross between the 3100/3120 and the 6610. But this cross has resulted in a phone that is both, sleek and classy. Looks apart, this is a feature-filled offering from Nokia.
Design:
*img147.exs.cx/img147/9397/623032gh.jpg<--Keypad Layout
As mentioned earlier, the 6230 has a candy-bar design that is typical of Nokia phones. When Nokia are not experimenting with new designs, they stick by their candy-bar design. The phone is not very big and those who have used the 6610 or 6100 will find that this phone is similarly shaped. The keypad layout is really good. The keys feel great when used and the keypad merges with the design of the phone. Handling the menu is via a 5-way direction pad. Some people might be put off by the direction pad as it is quite easy to press one of the directions instead of the Select option. The left function key is used for a shortcut menu which can be configured to have options such as IR, Bluetooth, writing text messages, etc. I found this very handy and is similar to the function on SE phones like the T630. The right key is used to access phonebook options. The screen is a 65k active matrix TFT display and has a resolution of 128x128. The display looks a little small compared to the 176x208 displays on Nokia's Symbian phones, but looks gorgeous. The battery cover is a little hard to remove and the camera lens is protected because of the small plastic cover. It is available in Tin Grey although you could find the black color model in the grey market. You can get Xpress-On covers to change the look of your phone.
Performance:
Nokia has stayed away from Symbian for this phone and has instead gone for the Series 40 UI. This is version 2 of the same UI that powered numerous Nokia phones including 6610, 6100, 6800, etc. The lack of Symbian and the small display are the phone's only handicaps. Otherwise, it has everything you could ask for. Lets look at each aspect separately:
1. Display Capabilities: Great display and you can set wallpapers and screensavers of your choice. The light dims automatically although this setting can be changed. This time, Nokia offers users a choice in the way the Menu is displayed: List (other Series 40 phones) or Grid (a.k.a. SE). This is a good option as the Grid display makes it easier to access menu options. But since the display shows the operator logo and indicators over the wallpaper, users are forced to use light colored wallpapers else nothing will be visible on the display. Nokia should consider something like SE where the logo and menu options are highlighted with a different color so as to make sure they visible.
*img147.exs.cx/img147/2443/623024fd.jpg<--Display when Dark Wallpaper is used
*img147.exs.cx/img147/3494/623060an.jpg<--Grid Menu
2. Sound Capabilities: This phone is capable of producing 24 channels of polyphonic sound through its very loud speaker. You should never have any trouble with the loudspeaker-it's loud and clear. Now this phone is great news for people who want music on their cell phones: It gives users FM radio and an MP3/AAC player (My reason for choosing this phone over the similarly priced 6600). FM output is obtained only when the headset is connected. You can also listen to FM via the loudspeaker but then you won't get stereo sound. The music player is pretty good although output is only mono. The phone comes with a complimentary song, "Strange Transmissions" on its memory card. You also get a graphic equalizer on this phone. Options such as Random and Repeat Play are also available. You can also set songs as ring tones. Call quality is great and the signal strength on par with other Nokias.
3. Connectivity: A plethora of options are available on this phone. You have EDGE for Internet speeds upto 236.8kbps and it supports WAP 2.0 and comes with an xHTML browser. Bluetooth and IR are also available. Bluetooth works flawlessly-I tried it out with my T630 and had no trouble connecting and sending data. The IR, though, gave me trouble. I was unable to connect my phone to my laptop using IR in spite of repeated attempts. In contrast, the T630 never gave any trouble. However, it might be some oversight on my part; I will give it another shot.
UPDATE:
I finally managed to get it working!! I tried it with Oxygen Phone Manager II and it gave me the same problem. So I checked the help file of Oxygen, and it said that I should set the speed of the IR port to 115.2kbps instead of the 4Mbps I had initially set it to. That solved the problem!! Currently, downloading songs!!
4. Camera and Video playback: The camera on this phone has a max supported resolution of 640x480. Low compared to the megapixel wonders but the camera quality very good. The pictures a little fuzzy but I thought the quality was more than just acceptable. All the basic options such as Potrait mode, Night mode, etc. are available. The phone also records and plays back video. It is here that the small screen is advantageous: The videos look great!! The phone also supports streaming audio and video.
*img147.exs.cx/img147/5191/623055sb.jpg<--Camera
5. Others: The phone comes with 8MB internal memory and a 32MB MultiMedia Card. The MMC slot is not hot swappable. You have to remove the battery before changing cards. PC Suite is bundled with the phone as are some enhancements such as wallpapers and screensavers on the CD. Two games are pre-installed: Beach Rally II and Nokia Golf.
*img147.exs.cx/img147/631/623041xl.jpg<--MMC/SIM with back cover removed
The phone comes with a 850mAH Lithium Ion battery which is adequate for this phone. So far, it's been two days since I got the phone and the battery is still running well. And I have been playing around with the phone a lot. My usage includes some calls, some WAP, radio, music, trannsfering wallpapers using bluetooth, contacts using IR, capturing photos and videos as well. And throw in some games and you see that the battery holds up pretty well. But under very heavy usage, it will die out in a day. On the other hand, under lighter usage, it can go upto 4 days.
Conclusion:
All in all, I think that this phone is a great buy if you don't mind the absence of Symbian. This phone will appeal as much to teenagers as it will to business executives who like sleek phones.
Price: Rs. 15,500/- (Mumbai; don't flame me if you get it for less or for more)
Pros:
+ Plethora of features
+ Good battery
+ MP3/AAC player and radio
+ MMC slot
Cons:
- No Symbian
- Small display; problem with dark wallpapers
The sales package contains:
Handset
Battery
CD
Headset
ACP 12E charger
Manual, Quick Guide
32MB MMC
NOTE: All photographs courtesy www.gsmarena.com and Nokia
Specifications:
*www.nokia.com/nokia/0,8764,47676,00.html
*img132.exs.cx/img132/144/623010tj.jpg<--Available Colors
The Nokia 6230 is another of Nokia's long line of candy-bar style cell phones. The looks seem to be a cross between the 3100/3120 and the 6610. But this cross has resulted in a phone that is both, sleek and classy. Looks apart, this is a feature-filled offering from Nokia.
Design:
*img147.exs.cx/img147/9397/623032gh.jpg<--Keypad Layout
As mentioned earlier, the 6230 has a candy-bar design that is typical of Nokia phones. When Nokia are not experimenting with new designs, they stick by their candy-bar design. The phone is not very big and those who have used the 6610 or 6100 will find that this phone is similarly shaped. The keypad layout is really good. The keys feel great when used and the keypad merges with the design of the phone. Handling the menu is via a 5-way direction pad. Some people might be put off by the direction pad as it is quite easy to press one of the directions instead of the Select option. The left function key is used for a shortcut menu which can be configured to have options such as IR, Bluetooth, writing text messages, etc. I found this very handy and is similar to the function on SE phones like the T630. The right key is used to access phonebook options. The screen is a 65k active matrix TFT display and has a resolution of 128x128. The display looks a little small compared to the 176x208 displays on Nokia's Symbian phones, but looks gorgeous. The battery cover is a little hard to remove and the camera lens is protected because of the small plastic cover. It is available in Tin Grey although you could find the black color model in the grey market. You can get Xpress-On covers to change the look of your phone.
Performance:
Nokia has stayed away from Symbian for this phone and has instead gone for the Series 40 UI. This is version 2 of the same UI that powered numerous Nokia phones including 6610, 6100, 6800, etc. The lack of Symbian and the small display are the phone's only handicaps. Otherwise, it has everything you could ask for. Lets look at each aspect separately:
1. Display Capabilities: Great display and you can set wallpapers and screensavers of your choice. The light dims automatically although this setting can be changed. This time, Nokia offers users a choice in the way the Menu is displayed: List (other Series 40 phones) or Grid (a.k.a. SE). This is a good option as the Grid display makes it easier to access menu options. But since the display shows the operator logo and indicators over the wallpaper, users are forced to use light colored wallpapers else nothing will be visible on the display. Nokia should consider something like SE where the logo and menu options are highlighted with a different color so as to make sure they visible.
*img147.exs.cx/img147/2443/623024fd.jpg<--Display when Dark Wallpaper is used
*img147.exs.cx/img147/3494/623060an.jpg<--Grid Menu
2. Sound Capabilities: This phone is capable of producing 24 channels of polyphonic sound through its very loud speaker. You should never have any trouble with the loudspeaker-it's loud and clear. Now this phone is great news for people who want music on their cell phones: It gives users FM radio and an MP3/AAC player (My reason for choosing this phone over the similarly priced 6600). FM output is obtained only when the headset is connected. You can also listen to FM via the loudspeaker but then you won't get stereo sound. The music player is pretty good although output is only mono. The phone comes with a complimentary song, "Strange Transmissions" on its memory card. You also get a graphic equalizer on this phone. Options such as Random and Repeat Play are also available. You can also set songs as ring tones. Call quality is great and the signal strength on par with other Nokias.
3. Connectivity: A plethora of options are available on this phone. You have EDGE for Internet speeds upto 236.8kbps and it supports WAP 2.0 and comes with an xHTML browser. Bluetooth and IR are also available. Bluetooth works flawlessly-I tried it out with my T630 and had no trouble connecting and sending data. The IR, though, gave me trouble. I was unable to connect my phone to my laptop using IR in spite of repeated attempts. In contrast, the T630 never gave any trouble. However, it might be some oversight on my part; I will give it another shot.
UPDATE:
I finally managed to get it working!! I tried it with Oxygen Phone Manager II and it gave me the same problem. So I checked the help file of Oxygen, and it said that I should set the speed of the IR port to 115.2kbps instead of the 4Mbps I had initially set it to. That solved the problem!! Currently, downloading songs!!
4. Camera and Video playback: The camera on this phone has a max supported resolution of 640x480. Low compared to the megapixel wonders but the camera quality very good. The pictures a little fuzzy but I thought the quality was more than just acceptable. All the basic options such as Potrait mode, Night mode, etc. are available. The phone also records and plays back video. It is here that the small screen is advantageous: The videos look great!! The phone also supports streaming audio and video.
*img147.exs.cx/img147/5191/623055sb.jpg<--Camera
5. Others: The phone comes with 8MB internal memory and a 32MB MultiMedia Card. The MMC slot is not hot swappable. You have to remove the battery before changing cards. PC Suite is bundled with the phone as are some enhancements such as wallpapers and screensavers on the CD. Two games are pre-installed: Beach Rally II and Nokia Golf.
*img147.exs.cx/img147/631/623041xl.jpg<--MMC/SIM with back cover removed
The phone comes with a 850mAH Lithium Ion battery which is adequate for this phone. So far, it's been two days since I got the phone and the battery is still running well. And I have been playing around with the phone a lot. My usage includes some calls, some WAP, radio, music, trannsfering wallpapers using bluetooth, contacts using IR, capturing photos and videos as well. And throw in some games and you see that the battery holds up pretty well. But under very heavy usage, it will die out in a day. On the other hand, under lighter usage, it can go upto 4 days.
Conclusion:
All in all, I think that this phone is a great buy if you don't mind the absence of Symbian. This phone will appeal as much to teenagers as it will to business executives who like sleek phones.
Price: Rs. 15,500/- (Mumbai; don't flame me if you get it for less or for more)
Pros:
+ Plethora of features
+ Good battery
+ MP3/AAC player and radio
+ MMC slot
Cons:
- No Symbian
- Small display; problem with dark wallpapers
The sales package contains:
Handset
Battery
CD
Headset
ACP 12E charger
Manual, Quick Guide
32MB MMC
NOTE: All photographs courtesy www.gsmarena.com and Nokia
Specifications:
*www.nokia.com/nokia/0,8764,47676,00.html
How about asking, DIGIT to invite us to do an Agent 002 for reviewing stuff............. 
