Nokia 6300 review

Nokia is renowned for easy-to-use, simple mobile phones, but its recent line-up of high-end handsets has left some people very confused. The Nokia 6300, however, gets back to basics -- combining modern design with good old-fashioned simplicity.

It's currently available at Carphone Warehouse and most of the major network providers for free on a monthly contract. Alternatively, you can buy it SIM-free for about £205.

Design
You may have thought the days of mobile phones sturdy enough to beat a mugger about the head with were over, but the 6300 feels very solid indeed. It's made from a combination of tough stainless steel covers and glossy, expensive black plastic.

Fortunately, the 6300 is more Van Damme than Schwarzenegger and comes in at a hard but slim 12mm deep. It's comfortable to carry around in a jacket or trouser pocket and unlike other metallic handsets it doesn't feel that heavy.

The 6300's 320x240-pixel (QVGA) colour screen displays up to 16 million colours and is good for viewing photos, watching videos and reading text messages or emails on. Measuring a relatively large 30mm wide by 40mm tall, you won't need to squint when looking at it.

The keypad's large, easy to use buttons make a nice change from the fiddly things we often see

We were relieved to see the 6300's keypad features large keys, making it easy to use. Our only niggle is that the four-way navigation key above the keypad feels a little on the thin side and can be awkward to press.

At the bottom there's a small charging port that fits the new Nokia chargers, a 2.5mm headphone jack and a mini-USB port that lets you connect the 6300 to your PC, which means no more searching for the proprietary Nokia USB cable.

One noteworthy design feature is the blue lights on either side of the 6300, which glow when you have an unread text message -- hardly essential, but we like it nonetheless.

Features
Nokia has kept it very simple on this handset and opted for the straightforward Series 40 user interface. This means it's very simple to use and easy to understand, particularly if you're upgrading from an old Nokia phone.

One tap of the menu button underneath the screen and you're straight into the menu. You can view the menu as a grid of icons, as tabs or as a list. You also have the option to rearrange the icons so they're in the order you want them.

The four-way navigation button opens the customisable menu, but it can be difficult to press the right direction

When you hover over an icon in the menu for long enough, a pop-up window appears explaining what that icon is for. The menu gives you access to, among other things, the 6300's media applications.

The 6300 boasts a camera, a music player, a video player, an FM radio and a voice recorder. The 2-megapixel camera on the back lets you take still photos or shoot video and there's the option to adjust several settings, including a timer and night mode.

We're disappointed, however, that there's no auto-focus or flash on the camera as it means that photos come out blurry if you don't hold the 6300 very still, and while there is a night mode, taking pictures in very low light isn't really an option.