What have we here, another candy bar from Nokia? But is this ‘Classic’ handset as classic as a Wispa? We took a bite out of one to find out…
Classic is exactly the right word. The design of the Nokia 6220 Classic is old-school, looking like the basic Nokia handsets of years gone by. It’s the form factor you immediately think of when someone says the word Nokia… And while it might not look all wizzy when compared to today’s modern fashion phones, under the hood there’s plenty going on.
Naturally, it comes complete with applications you’d expect to see as standard these days, such as Facebook, and the ability to check your email. It’s not hard to write a normal email on the phone and thankfully there’s none of that “Sent from my Blackberry” nonsense should you be working out of the office but don’t want everyone to know. The device can even read your messages out in its best Stephen Hawking voice.
Thanks to Nokia’s promise to add GPS on all its phones there’s also a useful Maps feature. The 6220 knows where you are thanks to the GPS (even when you’re indoors, beating most auto sat-navs in our experience) and puts this info to good use. The feature we like best is the search function. Type “pub” into the box and it’ll find drinking establishments in your vicinity. You can follow onscreen with the basic Maps package, but there’s also an optional door-to-door walking route system available to try before you buy.
Internet browsing is a cinch as it’s very easy to bookmark things and search for those blazing answers to the burning questions you just have to know right now. The screen uses an arrow similar to a mouse on a PC to navigate across the clear 2.2-inch TFT QVGA screen (with 240 x 320 pixel resolution). This pointer automatically jumps to highlight items as it approaches them, so it’s easy to press buttons and fill in text boxes. It’s well-known that Nokia does a lot of useability testing and this is one feature that seems to have benefitted. You won’t miss a touchscreen if that’s what you’re used to using, which is a pretty good compliment for any system.
The usability also works well between different programs. So, if I’m in the photo gallery and I want to add a pic from my Facebook, I click the Internet Explorer logo, open the photo in Facebook, click the option Save To Gallery and it appears back in that application and can be saved on the screen, matched to a contact or more.
As for your own photos, there’s a 5-megapixel camera with a flash and shutter that’s fast (unlike the latest HTC models). Images can be shared easily online once they’ve been snapped, without waiting for a cable connection with your PC.
Memory-wise, the phone only comes with 256MB of Flash as standard, but we bunged an 8GB memory card in holding plenty of music. That allowed us to set different ring tones for different people.
One area we don’t normally have a problem with is the build quality of Nokia’s devices. However, in the case of the 6220 we reviewed, the back refused to close properly half-way through our test. That left it raised with a gap and spoiled the handset’s simple good looks.
Honestly, if you’re not a Nokia fan there’s nothing new here that’s likely to win you over. You’re better off trying an N series phone if you want those kind of features. However, if you’re a Nokiaphile, this is an ideal device. It’s a sophisticated version of those handsets from days gone by and has plenty to keep up with today’s needs, without being too flashy.
VERDICT: 8/10
If you’re looking for new and upcoming handset reviews on mobile phones, like the nokia n8, visit http://blog.dialaphone.co.uk/2010/06/29/no-nokia-n8-until-summer/.