Nokia C3-00 > Reviews (20)

I’m no phone expert – I’m somewhere comfortably in the middle in the scale between phone novice and phone pro. Therefore, my needs from a mobile phone are not as basic as some nor as advanced as others. When I purchased my most recent phone a couple of years ago I had fairly simple requirements – ease of use, fairly slimline looking, some internet capability and good for text messaging (this being the feature that I use most often).

I purchased the Nokia C3-00 in navy blue – it is also available in slate grey and hot pink – and it currently prices at around £70.

THE LOOK

The phone is slimline (13.6mm) and rectangular in shape, just larger than the palm of my hand in size (length = 115.5mm and width =58.1mm). The predominant features when you look at the front of the phone are the screen and the full QWERTY keyboard underneath this. The screen is quite a decent size (2.4 inches). The back of the phone is basically a large removable door to allow access to the battery and SIM card. Above this is the lens for the camera. The phone has a shiny finish on the front face but is matt at the back.

FEATURES

The phone features a 2 Megapixel camera which can also be used for videoing. It also has internet capability so you can have access to email etc. It also contains a music player which can play music in various formats including MP3 and it also connects to FM radio. The phone also has some games installed (Sudoku, Block’d and Bounce Tales) as well as the capability to download more. It also has Bluetooth capability as well as basic phone functions – calls and texts.

CAMERA

The camera is only 2 Megapixels which is quite low in comparison to many phones on the market. Despite this fact, I have never had a problem with the camera function and find that my pictures are usually very sharp and clear. The camera is easy to operate, using the central phone button to both zoom in and out and to capture images. It features 4x zoom, which has always been adequate for my needs, and has a minimum focus range of 50cm. There is also a self-timer option, with delays of 3, 5 and 10 seconds. I have never personally used this option as I don’t see the need to as I tend to just use my phone camera for snaps rather than serious photography.

The downside of the camera for me is that there is no flash. When a room is not well lit, the camera does perform rather poorly – capturing very little. What it does capture is usually dull and blurry too so you can really only use this is daylight or well lit rooms.

The video camera function also works well and videos are clear and sound quality is good. Your photos can also be stored in ‘favourite’ sections to help you file them and they are also recorded on a timeline so you can see when photos are taken. A memory card can also be inserted into the phone to ensure lots of photos can be stored.

CALLS AND TEXTS

The call and text functions of the phone are very simple to use. There is a full keypad of keys so numbers to call can just be punched in and the green button pressed.

In call, there is the option to place the phone on to loudspeaker so you can use the phone handsfree.

The full QWERTY keyboard means that texting is simple – you just text as you would type, pressing each individual letter key. The keys are quite small so, when you first start using the phone, it canm be quite tricky to get the hang of. I was forever punching the wrong key by accident as I struggled initially with the small size of the keys. This definitely meant that I was a lot slower with texting initially and I did find it quite frustrating. Once I was used to the key size, this was no longer a problem and it is now second nature to me.

A good feature of the SMS texting is that they are displayed as conversations. Therefore, if you are texting the same person, you are able to look back at the previous messages and recount the conversation.

BATTERY

The battery life on this phone is really good – one of the best that I have had. It supports a large amount of calls and texts and my phone usually only requires charging once or twice a week. It also charges quickly using the charger supplied – which plugs in to the top of the phone.

OVERALL OPINION

As I have said, my needs and requirements from a phone are pretty basic. I like the camera feature and easy to use calls and texts, but I have little requirement for internet access or Bluetooth. That said, on the occasions when I have used these features, they have been easy to operate and quick and efficient to use so I have no complaints. The phone is perfect for my needs and suits me very well. The phone itself is pretty robust and has good keypad locking – very handy with an inquisitive toddler around. Once I was used to the small keys on the keyboard, I got used to the phone very quickly and love that I no longer have the need for annoying (and sometimes embarrassing!) predictive text.

The phone may not have all of the functions and features of other phones on the market these days but, at such a reasonable price, it does have the basics and the camera is more than sufficient for capturing pictures. For me, it is reliable, works well and is easy to use – perfect!