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Nokia 6700 Classic Mobile Phone
In the world of elegance and poise, it’s not always easy to find electronic gadgetry that accentuates the tone for the same for those with shallow pockets. And I stress on the latter portion of that statement as I’m sure the cynics would bring up handsets like the Vertus or Armanis, but that’s not something that an average user could afford. So enter Nokia’s 6700 Classic, a premium handset that looks as great in your hand as it does in a showcase. But even though the price is still within the grasp of a regular mobile user, looks aren’t everything. With that in mind, here’s my opinion on the 6700 Classic.
Form Factor
The Stainless Steel encased 6700 Classic is without doubt a stunning handset. It’s refined, elegant, suave, clean cut with slim sleek lines, very well weighted to give you that extra feel good factor and it’s a bloody finger print magnet like no other handset I’ve come across so far. That last bit is one of the handset's design flaws in my opinion. While it pretty much defines its elegance, the fact that I had fingerprint smudges all over it (including the rear) after a single phone call did not bode well with me, at all. The body also tends to lose its perfect sheen after a while with nominal usage as you’ll start to notice small scratches all over it. That’s what tends to happen to Stainless Steel after constant usage. And believe me you’ll notice the marks - they’re hard to miss.
The handset is very well laid out. The keypad is comfortable to use. On one of its slim sides you’ll find the volume/zoom keys above the camera button that’s also on the same side. The microSD card slot is located under the rear panel which I would usually have an issue with, but in this case It makes sense to have it out of the way. A flap would mess with the ‘mojo’ of the handset's sleek exterior. Nokia has gone with an oddly shaped proprietary USB/handsfree socket at the bottom. The good thing is, it’s fully compatible with a normal microUSB cable.
Irrespective of the smudges and small scratches the 6700 still looks pretty damn classy in your hand or just parked on a desktop. The weight it bears is just perfectly suited for comfort and so you’ll always know you have it on you in your pockets.
Features and Performance
Interface
Running on a Symbian OS with the latest Series 40 UI, you will notice subtle changes in the handset’s functionality from previous S40 devices. The active desktop can seem quite overloaded if you don’t take the time to sort it out and establish what’s relevant to your daily usage for shortcuts widgets etc. The UI on the whole is smooth and I love the color options for the themes as well as the few new tweaks incorporated into the handset. I still don’t like the roundabout method of setting up your GPRS connection manually if your service operator doesn’t send them to you automatically. I use Loop and believe me it’s a humongous problem just getting them to send you an SMS with the settings.
Media
I’ve always been a little partial to the S40’s music player and so far there have been but very few disappointments. I’m happy to say that the 6700 isn’t one of them. From the tone quality to the 5 band customizable graphic EQ settings (with adjustable presets as well), loud speakerphone and the comfortable earphones, there’s nothing you’ll miss with the 6700’s music player except for the absence of a 3.5mm handsfree connector. It uses a proprietary slot to keep the handset’s design as slim and sleek as possible. Acceptable formats include MP3, M4A, AAC+ and WMA.
The built in FM radio (with RDS) worked out pretty well too. Reception was just a little weak in some areas, but quite good on an average. It took about 17 seconds to locate and save all nine channels as presets which is a little long but it’s a one time thing. The voice recorder is also quite good. It has a decent amount of range which means you can comfortably leave it on a desk (at least 2 feet away) for pretty clear voice memos. That proves the microphone is also good enough for speakerphone calls.
It’s compatible with 3GP and MPEG4 video formats. I seriously hope Nokia plans to get more video codec support, though I don’t see it happening anytime soon. Video playback is pretty good and although the display is bright and handles colors really well, it’s still a little too small to watch a feature length video. It’s not too much of a strain for short clips though or YouTube for which Nokia preloaded a handy widget.
Connectivity
With a handset like this that looks like it could be a CEO’s best friend the absence of Wi-Fi makes a little difference. It’s got everything else from 3G connectivity to basic EDGE/GPRS support as well as Bluetooth for data transfer and A2DP for use with s Stereo BT headset. So why not include Wi-Fi?
The browser doesn’t have any new tricks. For those who prefer it, you can choose to use Opera’s version that’s also part of the features set. It’s optimized to handle the display. Social Networkers will be pleased to find widgets for Facebook, MySpace, MSN Messenger and Share on Ovi all present for uploading images or staying in the loop with online friends.
The Downloads section is also available for getting more content for the device however the lack of an Ovi Store shortcut is a little odd. The handset is also easily capable of setting up your POP/IMAP email accounts.
The 6700 is also equipped with its own GPS antenna that gets support from the net through A-GPS. The new Maps application is so much better than the previous version with very clear cut options to choose from. It does take a quite a while locating satellites but once it’s ready, it’s easy to use and quite handy. Of course it’s a three months free try-and-buy situation as usual but you can’t have everything.
Misc. Features
The handset is equipped with a few other relevant functions besides the regular World Clock, Converter and other Organizer applications that include a Stopwatch and Countdown Timer. Then there are quite a few games pre-loaded with the option to add more. Voice Commands can also be allotted to features. They aren’t extremely receptive and considering the noise level in the city it’s not always easy to get the handset to easily recognize what you’ve told it to do, so to speak.
Camera
The 6700’s 5 megapixel camera comes with an LED flash and video recording that goes up to a 352 x 288 pixel resolution (VGA at 15 frames). Settings are bare minimum and include White balance, Brightness level, timer and a few effects. It lacks geotagging although the handset has a GPS antenna.
Image quality is quite good. There's a fair amount of clarity with most images taken in regular lighting conditions. Low light images aren't too great though and are quite average.
Battery
The battery life of the 6700 on a single charge, on an average, provided me with over two days of nominal usage. Standalone talktime was just a little over 4 hours which is pretty damn good. With GPS active you can expect to drain the battery a lot quicker than usual. In fact for some reason it drained the battery almost twice as fast as some other GPS enabled handsets.
The Bottom Line
With a price tag of Rs. 13,599 (MOP), the 6700 offers quite a bit in terms of usability and exquisite design. I still think Wi-Fi should have been part of the picture but it’s still a good enough handset without it. The best part is its form gives it a really expensive look at an affordable price. A real class act in my book and quite worth the money.
Form Factor
The Stainless Steel encased 6700 Classic is without doubt a stunning handset. It’s refined, elegant, suave, clean cut with slim sleek lines, very well weighted to give you that extra feel good factor and it’s a bloody finger print magnet like no other handset I’ve come across so far. That last bit is one of the handset's design flaws in my opinion. While it pretty much defines its elegance, the fact that I had fingerprint smudges all over it (including the rear) after a single phone call did not bode well with me, at all. The body also tends to lose its perfect sheen after a while with nominal usage as you’ll start to notice small scratches all over it. That’s what tends to happen to Stainless Steel after constant usage. And believe me you’ll notice the marks - they’re hard to miss.
The handset is very well laid out. The keypad is comfortable to use. On one of its slim sides you’ll find the volume/zoom keys above the camera button that’s also on the same side. The microSD card slot is located under the rear panel which I would usually have an issue with, but in this case It makes sense to have it out of the way. A flap would mess with the ‘mojo’ of the handset's sleek exterior. Nokia has gone with an oddly shaped proprietary USB/handsfree socket at the bottom. The good thing is, it’s fully compatible with a normal microUSB cable.
Irrespective of the smudges and small scratches the 6700 still looks pretty damn classy in your hand or just parked on a desktop. The weight it bears is just perfectly suited for comfort and so you’ll always know you have it on you in your pockets.
Features and Performance
Interface
Running on a Symbian OS with the latest Series 40 UI, you will notice subtle changes in the handset’s functionality from previous S40 devices. The active desktop can seem quite overloaded if you don’t take the time to sort it out and establish what’s relevant to your daily usage for shortcuts widgets etc. The UI on the whole is smooth and I love the color options for the themes as well as the few new tweaks incorporated into the handset. I still don’t like the roundabout method of setting up your GPRS connection manually if your service operator doesn’t send them to you automatically. I use Loop and believe me it’s a humongous problem just getting them to send you an SMS with the settings.
Media
I’ve always been a little partial to the S40’s music player and so far there have been but very few disappointments. I’m happy to say that the 6700 isn’t one of them. From the tone quality to the 5 band customizable graphic EQ settings (with adjustable presets as well), loud speakerphone and the comfortable earphones, there’s nothing you’ll miss with the 6700’s music player except for the absence of a 3.5mm handsfree connector. It uses a proprietary slot to keep the handset’s design as slim and sleek as possible. Acceptable formats include MP3, M4A, AAC+ and WMA.
The built in FM radio (with RDS) worked out pretty well too. Reception was just a little weak in some areas, but quite good on an average. It took about 17 seconds to locate and save all nine channels as presets which is a little long but it’s a one time thing. The voice recorder is also quite good. It has a decent amount of range which means you can comfortably leave it on a desk (at least 2 feet away) for pretty clear voice memos. That proves the microphone is also good enough for speakerphone calls.
It’s compatible with 3GP and MPEG4 video formats. I seriously hope Nokia plans to get more video codec support, though I don’t see it happening anytime soon. Video playback is pretty good and although the display is bright and handles colors really well, it’s still a little too small to watch a feature length video. It’s not too much of a strain for short clips though or YouTube for which Nokia preloaded a handy widget.
Connectivity
With a handset like this that looks like it could be a CEO’s best friend the absence of Wi-Fi makes a little difference. It’s got everything else from 3G connectivity to basic EDGE/GPRS support as well as Bluetooth for data transfer and A2DP for use with s Stereo BT headset. So why not include Wi-Fi?
The browser doesn’t have any new tricks. For those who prefer it, you can choose to use Opera’s version that’s also part of the features set. It’s optimized to handle the display. Social Networkers will be pleased to find widgets for Facebook, MySpace, MSN Messenger and Share on Ovi all present for uploading images or staying in the loop with online friends.
The Downloads section is also available for getting more content for the device however the lack of an Ovi Store shortcut is a little odd. The handset is also easily capable of setting up your POP/IMAP email accounts.
The 6700 is also equipped with its own GPS antenna that gets support from the net through A-GPS. The new Maps application is so much better than the previous version with very clear cut options to choose from. It does take a quite a while locating satellites but once it’s ready, it’s easy to use and quite handy. Of course it’s a three months free try-and-buy situation as usual but you can’t have everything.
Misc. Features
The handset is equipped with a few other relevant functions besides the regular World Clock, Converter and other Organizer applications that include a Stopwatch and Countdown Timer. Then there are quite a few games pre-loaded with the option to add more. Voice Commands can also be allotted to features. They aren’t extremely receptive and considering the noise level in the city it’s not always easy to get the handset to easily recognize what you’ve told it to do, so to speak.
Camera
The 6700’s 5 megapixel camera comes with an LED flash and video recording that goes up to a 352 x 288 pixel resolution (VGA at 15 frames). Settings are bare minimum and include White balance, Brightness level, timer and a few effects. It lacks geotagging although the handset has a GPS antenna.
Image quality is quite good. There's a fair amount of clarity with most images taken in regular lighting conditions. Low light images aren't too great though and are quite average.
Battery
The battery life of the 6700 on a single charge, on an average, provided me with over two days of nominal usage. Standalone talktime was just a little over 4 hours which is pretty damn good. With GPS active you can expect to drain the battery a lot quicker than usual. In fact for some reason it drained the battery almost twice as fast as some other GPS enabled handsets.
The Bottom Line
With a price tag of Rs. 13,599 (MOP), the 6700 offers quite a bit in terms of usability and exquisite design. I still think Wi-Fi should have been part of the picture but it’s still a good enough handset without it. The best part is its form gives it a really expensive look at an affordable price. A real class act in my book and quite worth the money.