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Nokia 6220 Classic
The 6220 is not a brand new handset in case you're wondering. It has been around for a little while now. With all the new handsets tumbling off the assembly line, I'm sure it's a bit difficult to keep track of what’s new and what’s not. I am speaking, of course, to the average mobile consumer and not the hardcore mobile maniac who keeps track of such things. So if you happen to be in the market for a new handset, this is a great place to get your answer. If you’ve seen the 6220 Classic on a shelf and are considering a purchase, perhaps this review will tell you if it’s worth your pretty penny.
Form Factor
The 6220 is a very average looking handset in a candy bar form factor. To be brutally honest, it lacks imagination and finesse. I was a little unhappy with the overall build quality of the phone - from plastic like finish to the camera lens cover slider - that didn’t function too well. Its rating in this review really takes a punch in this case. It comes with a 2.2-inch TFT LCD sporting a 240 x 320 pixel resolution, a secondary camera and a light sensor located above that. The keys are large enough but the Cancel (‘C’) key is a little too small and tends to be a bit of a problem when reaching for the key above. The five way nav-pad works just fine.
The volume/zoom keys are located on the same side as the camera’s shutter release key. On the other side is where you’ll find the microSD hot swap slot and a shortcut key that can be assigned to any function. It’s right below what I like to call Nokia’s Blue Star light that signifies GPS activity. The 5MP AF camera with its Carl Zeiss optics and xenon flash are located at the rear as I mentioned. A micro USB port with a 2.5mm handsfree socket and charging port are located at the bottom while the power key is located on the top.
Features and Performance
This handset operates on Symbian OS 9.3, with a S60 UI (rel. 3.2). With 128 MB SDRAM and an ARM 11 369 MHz processor it’s not a slow handset in any way. Internal memory is about 120MB with an option for expanding via microSD. The interface and it's navigation remains coherent with all other Nokia S60 systems. Unlike some of the newer models though, the 6220 Classic has no accelerometer for screen rotation. Nokia’s Text to speech apps like Message reader and Voice Command features are also present.
Media
With no standard 3.5mm handsfree socket you’ll be forced to use the bundled Nokia set that doesn’t bode too well with me and my ears. However, the music player is still quite loud and relatively clear as well. There are EQ presets available as well as the option to create your own setting with the use of a customizable 8 band graphic EQ. Other audio settings also include Loudness and Stereo Widening. A shortcut to Nokia’s – not yet active for us - Music store is also evident.
The video player (Real Player) is again, no different from other S60 enabled devices and of course the handset's large 2.2-inch display is quite conducive for watching videos with no issues. The handset is capable of reading MP3/AAC/MPEG4 audio file formats. The 6220 also has an FM radio that supports visual radio as well. Reception is fairly decent in most areas even while commuting. Unfortunately there’s no option for recording from there, although there is a separate voice recorder.
A couple of fun games like Marble Cannon and Need for Speed Carbon are preloaded for entertainment purposes. It also has a TV out option for which cables are provided.
Connectivity
The absence of Wi-Fi lessens the appeal of the handset a little more. Other than that, it comes equipped with support for all the average connectivity options – GPRS/EDGE, 3G with HSDPA, USB 2.0 and Stereo Bluetooth of course. The other features include Nokia's Bluetooth Phone Switch application from data transfer between compatible handsets and Sync for backing up data.
Other internet options include Nokia’s WidSet’s application, Search, Yahoo! Go, Pod Casting, and My Nokia. The Share Online application allows you to connect to Vox and Nokia’s M-Blog to upload data. It also supports PTT. Of course you can also configure your personal mail accounts like Yahoo! and Google using the Setup Wizard.
Nokia Maps 2.0 are present for GPS purposes. The handset also supports A-GPS and although at times it may seem like it's taking forever to connect and locate the satellites, it's nothing to get worked up about as most mobiles do tend to take a while to pick up a signal.
Business
The 6220 comes loaded with Nokia’s regular business features like Quick Office to access MS office documents. You’ll need to buy the license in order to edit or create new documents though. A PDF reader is also available and so is Nokia’s Active Notes that allows you to create multimedia notes with audio and video clips when required. Other regular features include a Bar Code reader, dictionary, calculator, alarm clock, converter and a calendar.
Camera
Nokia and Carl Zeiss seem to have a very sturdy relationship, and truth be told it’s been quite a good connection at that. The 6220 is quite in the league of the N82 with a camera lens cover, a 5 megapixel auto focus lens and a xenon flash. As I said earlier though, the slider for the lens cover is a bit of a problem and clashes a bit with the rest of the handset’s design. The features are quite the same as you’d find in any other Nokia 5MP or 3.2MP camera phone.
There are options for White Balance, adjusting the ISO level, exposure, burst mode and even a few relevant scene modes. The best part is that users can rearrange the settings in any order they prefer on the display.
Macro images look nice with colors remaining relatively good.
Battery
The 6220 will give you an average battery life of a little over a day and a half of usage. To be more specific - talk time is about 2 hours and 55 minutes, which is not too bad but not too good either. I’d expect more considering its price tag.
The Bottom Line
Priced at Rs. 17, 000, the 6220 is too simplistic a handset. It is, in my opinion a lower end and not a very well designed edition of the Nokia N82. The features may be almost identical but the form factor is what comes into account here if you have a decision. Taking into account all of the above, the 6220 Classic comes off as a rather generic handset. I don’t, however, like the build quality and truly expected more from the battery and with no Wi-fi the price is not very suited. On the other hand, the music player, camera and other functions are A-ok. I don’t believe it’s worth the price though all things considered.
Form Factor
The 6220 is a very average looking handset in a candy bar form factor. To be brutally honest, it lacks imagination and finesse. I was a little unhappy with the overall build quality of the phone - from plastic like finish to the camera lens cover slider - that didn’t function too well. Its rating in this review really takes a punch in this case. It comes with a 2.2-inch TFT LCD sporting a 240 x 320 pixel resolution, a secondary camera and a light sensor located above that. The keys are large enough but the Cancel (‘C’) key is a little too small and tends to be a bit of a problem when reaching for the key above. The five way nav-pad works just fine.
The volume/zoom keys are located on the same side as the camera’s shutter release key. On the other side is where you’ll find the microSD hot swap slot and a shortcut key that can be assigned to any function. It’s right below what I like to call Nokia’s Blue Star light that signifies GPS activity. The 5MP AF camera with its Carl Zeiss optics and xenon flash are located at the rear as I mentioned. A micro USB port with a 2.5mm handsfree socket and charging port are located at the bottom while the power key is located on the top.
Features and Performance
This handset operates on Symbian OS 9.3, with a S60 UI (rel. 3.2). With 128 MB SDRAM and an ARM 11 369 MHz processor it’s not a slow handset in any way. Internal memory is about 120MB with an option for expanding via microSD. The interface and it's navigation remains coherent with all other Nokia S60 systems. Unlike some of the newer models though, the 6220 Classic has no accelerometer for screen rotation. Nokia’s Text to speech apps like Message reader and Voice Command features are also present.
Media
With no standard 3.5mm handsfree socket you’ll be forced to use the bundled Nokia set that doesn’t bode too well with me and my ears. However, the music player is still quite loud and relatively clear as well. There are EQ presets available as well as the option to create your own setting with the use of a customizable 8 band graphic EQ. Other audio settings also include Loudness and Stereo Widening. A shortcut to Nokia’s – not yet active for us - Music store is also evident.
The video player (Real Player) is again, no different from other S60 enabled devices and of course the handset's large 2.2-inch display is quite conducive for watching videos with no issues. The handset is capable of reading MP3/AAC/MPEG4 audio file formats. The 6220 also has an FM radio that supports visual radio as well. Reception is fairly decent in most areas even while commuting. Unfortunately there’s no option for recording from there, although there is a separate voice recorder.
A couple of fun games like Marble Cannon and Need for Speed Carbon are preloaded for entertainment purposes. It also has a TV out option for which cables are provided.
Connectivity
The absence of Wi-Fi lessens the appeal of the handset a little more. Other than that, it comes equipped with support for all the average connectivity options – GPRS/EDGE, 3G with HSDPA, USB 2.0 and Stereo Bluetooth of course. The other features include Nokia's Bluetooth Phone Switch application from data transfer between compatible handsets and Sync for backing up data.
Other internet options include Nokia’s WidSet’s application, Search, Yahoo! Go, Pod Casting, and My Nokia. The Share Online application allows you to connect to Vox and Nokia’s M-Blog to upload data. It also supports PTT. Of course you can also configure your personal mail accounts like Yahoo! and Google using the Setup Wizard.
Nokia Maps 2.0 are present for GPS purposes. The handset also supports A-GPS and although at times it may seem like it's taking forever to connect and locate the satellites, it's nothing to get worked up about as most mobiles do tend to take a while to pick up a signal.
Business
The 6220 comes loaded with Nokia’s regular business features like Quick Office to access MS office documents. You’ll need to buy the license in order to edit or create new documents though. A PDF reader is also available and so is Nokia’s Active Notes that allows you to create multimedia notes with audio and video clips when required. Other regular features include a Bar Code reader, dictionary, calculator, alarm clock, converter and a calendar.
Camera
Nokia and Carl Zeiss seem to have a very sturdy relationship, and truth be told it’s been quite a good connection at that. The 6220 is quite in the league of the N82 with a camera lens cover, a 5 megapixel auto focus lens and a xenon flash. As I said earlier though, the slider for the lens cover is a bit of a problem and clashes a bit with the rest of the handset’s design. The features are quite the same as you’d find in any other Nokia 5MP or 3.2MP camera phone.
There are options for White Balance, adjusting the ISO level, exposure, burst mode and even a few relevant scene modes. The best part is that users can rearrange the settings in any order they prefer on the display.
Macro images look nice with colors remaining relatively good.
Battery
The 6220 will give you an average battery life of a little over a day and a half of usage. To be more specific - talk time is about 2 hours and 55 minutes, which is not too bad but not too good either. I’d expect more considering its price tag.
The Bottom Line
Priced at Rs. 17, 000, the 6220 is too simplistic a handset. It is, in my opinion a lower end and not a very well designed edition of the Nokia N82. The features may be almost identical but the form factor is what comes into account here if you have a decision. Taking into account all of the above, the 6220 Classic comes off as a rather generic handset. I don’t, however, like the build quality and truly expected more from the battery and with no Wi-fi the price is not very suited. On the other hand, the music player, camera and other functions are A-ok. I don’t believe it’s worth the price though all things considered.
Specs
Nokia 6220 Classic | |
| Network | GSM 850/900/1800/1900, 3G, EDGE |
| Physical | 108 x 47 x 15 mm, 90g |
| Display | 240 x 320, 16m colors, TFT LCD, 2.2 inch |
| Memory | 120MB internal, MicroSD for external |
| Media | AAC+, MP3, 3GP, MPEG4, Voice Recorder, FM radio (visual radio) |
| Camera | 5 megapixel, AF, Xenon Flash |
| Connectivity | USB v2.0, Bluetooth with A2DP |
| Battery | 250 hrs standby, 2 hrs 55 mins talktime |
| MRP | Rs 17, 000 |