If you're overwhelmed with all the large touchscreen phones coming out at the moment and yearn for something a little smaller, Nokia might just have what you're looking for. The Nokia 6600 Slide is an attractive compact slider, but is it a fashion phone with nothing to offer or is it a tiny titan ready to take on all your needs? It's available now for free with a contract on several mobile networks.
Design
The seductive Nokia 6600 Slide looks like a polished pebble and feels reassuringly heavy. Although it's a small phone it has a relatively large screen that displays text messages and pictures well. A few blue details, such as the blue navigation key, add a little flare to the already stylish phone.
Slide open the smooth mechanism and out pops a small but well-designed keypad. It's not the best we've ever used but it's good enough to write text messages on comfortably. Slide the phone shut and it will fit very easily in a handbag or stuffed in a pocket -- something you can't say for many phones.
Features
If you're looking for a phone that can do everything, stay away -- but if you want something that does the basics well, this could be it. Calling and texting are straightforward and Nokia's S40 interface is easy to understand, especially if you've used a Nokia phone before.
Built-in 3G means you can browse the Web at high speeds. The 6600 Slide comes with Opera Mini pre-installed, which lets you look at full Web pages in a similar way to the iPhone's browser. You can also use 3G to make video calls, but who are we kidding -- has anyone made a video call since the service came out?
A 3.2-megapixel camera on the back will satisfy your basic MMS and Facebook photography needs, and we were surprised to see how well it performed in low light. While the dual LED photo lights aren't as illuminating as a xenon flash, they did pump out more light than we expected, making night shots turn out fairly well.
A useful and unexpected feature is Nokia Maps, which comes pre-installed and allows you search for directions. The 6600 doesn't come with GPS so you can't pinpoint your location without using an external Bluetooth GPS receiver, but we still found Nokia Maps to be useful without it.
Performance
The Nokia 6600 Slide is a snappy performer that sounded good during calls and performed well when connecting to 3G. We didn't encounter any notable performance problems. Similar to the Nokia 6300, which we awarded with an Editors' Choice award, the 6600 Slide does what it says on the tin without causing any trouble.
Conclusion
All told, this is a simple phone with simple ambitions. While smart phone-users may scoff at its simplicity, we really liked it -- especially its style. A solid case combined with an easy-to-understand interface make this an understated gem that will deliver an enjoyable user experience.
Edited by Marian Smith
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Elite 24 February 2009
Good: Decent Elegant and Soft Look, Nice Camera, True Mobile Phone
Bad: Yet to discover something which I didn't look for while I was buying
Comment: For people, who wish to buy a pretty decent for maximum features of a mobile set. 3.2 Mega Pixel Camera is awesome. Video quality is not bad. Sudoku, Rally and Snake III are quite addictive to play for hours. Battery time is very reasonable. Even with frequent use, you don't have to charge every other day, in fact I have to charge after 3 days with normal usage. even with extensive usage (talking or playing games for hours) it can last for two days. One can use the integrated Nokia maps and can use the assistance of the network for navigation. Some keys at the edges are difficult to get used to but they never bother you later. There is nothing less for people who wish to listen their MP3's or multimedia applications. Those dying for a wifi or WLAN should know before hand that this mobile is not meant for them. For the features it has got, it is worth the price.
tradestead 3 February 2009
Good: sleek looking handset that combines high fashion with high technology.
Bad: only one colour to be choosen
Comment: The exterior of the 6600 Slide makes good use of metal, as it is covered with glossy steel and features an aluminum center button on the d-pad controller. Another unusual feature is the cellphone's build-in accelerometer, which allows users to do things like activate the time on the display or silence inbound calls simply by tapping on the cellphone twice.
http://www.tradestead.com
Suzanne Hayes 11 November 2008
Good: Nokia packaging
Bad: The keypad is very small
Comment: I have been looking forward to getting this phone for months and am very disappointed. The steel case marks terribly so looks messy all the time. The keypad is so small and the heavy - it is not balanced properly. The light setting do not appear to be able to be changed to ones own needs so you get about 2 seconds of not touching it before light goes out. I have sent mine back and now getting a samsung U900
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