Mobile Phone Review

The Nokia 6500 Classic (actually, Nokia insist on calling it classic with a lowercase "c" but it doesn’t seem right to us) is a relatively lightweight and slim 3G phone aimed at the mass market.

At just 95 grams, the 6500 Classic is light for a 3G phone. It is also only 9.5mm thick, and the attractive casings are individually polished to make them individual and are available in Black and Bronze colours.

So far, so good. The 6500 Classic is really pitching itself as a 3G fashion phone. But despite the confusing name, the 6500 Classic isn’t as sophisticated in most respects as the Nokia 6500 Slide, and it has trouble competing with the upcoming Nokia 6120 too.

There’s a 240x320 pixel display in 16 million colours, a 2 megapixel camera with flash, dual-band 3G (850/2100 MHz), an MP3 player and stereo output to wired headphones (the 6500 Classic does not appear to support stereo Bluetooth). The Nokia 6500 Classic’s battery gives up to 5.5 hours talk and 12.5 days standby time which is quite impressive (assuming those are 3G figures). One drawback on the 6500 Classic is the lack of video calling, and also the video capture on the primary camera is only 176x144 pixels.

One impressive feature with the Nokia 6500 Classic (apart from the looks) is the whopping 1GB of internal memory. This should be enough for most people, but it cannot be expanded with memory cards. Connect the 6500 Classic to a PC with the supplied microUSB connector, and you can use the phone as a sort of memory stick.

Unlike many other phones in the Nokia range, the 6500 Classic isn’t a smartphone. If you’re looking for a lightweight 3G smartphone from Nokia, then the Nokia 6120 is a better bet (and it’s a lot cheaper).

The Nokia 1200 (pictured right) is the latest in a line of ultra-low-cost basic phones from Nokia, that follows on from the Nokia 1110i and 1112 devices. It’s the most basic phone in Nokia’s range, and of course the cheapest.

You don’t get a lot of high-tech features with the Nokia 1200 - but what you do get is a very low cost phone that is extremely practical for many users.

The monochrome 96x68 pixel display is familiar from Nokia handsets of old (including the classic 6310i). It’s a lightweight handset at just 77 grams, but with a very impressive battery life giving up to 7 hours talktime and 16 days standby time on a full charge. The Nokia 1200 should be available in two different dual-band versions, 900/1800 MHz and 850/1900 MHz.

There are three pre-installed games on the Nokia 1200 and it also supports MP3-grade ringtones. There’s also a built-in flashlight and call manager to keep an eye on costs. The keypad is dust-resistant too, in order to protect the internal electronics. It’s not clear if the 1200 has a speakerphone function, although the 1208 and 1110 handset do.

Measuring 102 x 44 x 18mm, the Nokia 1200 is a fairly typical size for a mobile phone. The handset’s layout is clear and stylish and the best thing of all is that this very practical handset will only cost around €35 before tax and any subsidy.

There’s no camera, Bluetooth, expandable memory (although the internal memory of 4MB is plenty for this type of device), MP3 player (expect for ringtones) and the Nokia 1200 doesn’t support Java. But if you are looking for a low-cost phone, resilient  with excellent battery life then the Nokia 1200 certainly fits the bill.

The Nokia 1208 (pictured left) is basically just a Nokia 1200 with a colour screen - in this case a very basic 96x69 pixel CSTN panel in 65,000 colours. The screen eats into the battery life a little, with standby time down to 15 days but otherwise the 1208 is identical in every way. It’s only a little more expensive than the 1200 at just €40 before tax and subsidy.

Compared with ultra high-tech handsets such as the Nokia N95, the Nokia 1200 and 1208 models seem incredibly basic. But the Nokia 11xx series is one of the bestselling phones worldwide. Nokia are aiming the 1200 and 1208 in part at "emerging markets", and you can see that both handsets are designed to be durable and don’t require constant charging.. however these features appeal both in established markets as well as developing ones. You can expect the Nokia 1200 and 1208 to be two of the best selling phones in 2007 and beyond.