Nokia 603 Review

The 603 is living proof of the fact that Nokia isn't going to let go of its Symbian platform. At least not just yet. The company is still providing an ample amount of updates to it, probably more than what an average Android phone receives. With the latest partnership with Microsoft, Nokia has got even more offerings to its Belle platform. But does all of this mean that the Nokia 603 is a good buy? Read on to find out. 

Brilliant display

Design and Build Quality

From their Lumia series to even their low-end smartphones, Nokia has always insisted on a phone that is built to last. No creaky panels, no cheap plastics, no flimsy looks. The Nokia 603 follows that exact same code of conduct. It looks like a carbon copy of the Lumia 710, but that’s definitely not a bad thing. The phone has a matte finish on the back and is covered in a complete black outfit that exudes class. It’s definitely one of the more stylish phones we have seen in this price bracket. Let’ s have a quick tour of the device. 

Connectivity options

At the top, we have the 3.5-inch IPS LCD display, which has a resolution of 360 x 640 pixels and a 210 ppi density. There’s the usual bunch of sensors – the accelerometer, ambient light sensor and proximity sensor placed atop. Three physical buttons are located below the display and with the slim form factor, they’re pretty easy to access. The lanyard eyelet is located at the bottom right, just above the back cover. The volume rocker and the dedicated camera shutter is located towards the right. The keys have a good feedback and can be accessed without changing one's grip, but it would have been better, if the camera shutter button protruded a little from the body. On top, the microUSB charging slot, 3.5mm headphone jack and power button are located. A 5MP camera and the speaker grill are located at the back. The microSD card slot is located underneath the cover and not the battery and is hot swappable. However, it’s important to note that this phone has a micro SIM card slot, so in all probability  you’ll have to acquire a new SIM from your operator, if you’ve not made the switch to a smaller SIM card already.

Speaker grill at the back

Back to the build, the 603 might not be the sleekest or lightest of handsets in the market, but it’s definitely got the curves, the smoothness and that feel to it that makes it stand out in a crowd of tons and tons of plastic phones in the market. For other companies manufacturing phones in the same price range, there’s always Nokia to learn from.

Brilliant viewing angles

Features and Performance

Interface

The 603 is powered by a 1GHz processor and has 512 MB of RAM and 2GB of internal memory. Like with the 700 and the 701, Belle is super quick and lag free to use on this smartphone. It’s matured a lot from the early days to become a powerful, fully customizable and fast operating system. With the latest FP1 update, a couple of additions have been made and they’ll be covered in the subsequent sections. The best part is that even with memory intensive apps running in the background, the interface holds strong and is pretty lag free. There’s a slight hint of slowdown when you change screen orientations, as icons load up in the landscape mode, but it is not something we’re complaining about. 

The interface

Typing on the 3.5-inch screen may be a slight problem for those with chubby fingers, because even though it’s a 3.5-inch screen, it’s longer than usual, just like the other Nokia Belle phones. However, it’ll be something you will get used to eventually. Alternatively, Swype is available as well.