Nokia C6-01 review

First of all, Nokia C6-01 is a Symbian^3 handset that is not to be confused with the inferior slider keyboard-wielding Nokia C6. The new Nokia device is slated to be released in the month of December.

This compact touchscreen smartphone offers integrated social networks, an 8 megapixel camera with HD video and three customisable home screens. The device offers full-touch glass display and multiple status updates at once.

Looking to capitalise on the mid-range market, the Symbian^3-powered Nokia C6-01 offers a 3.2-inch capacitive touch screen experience without the slider keyboard of the C6. Whilst both phones have very similar names for reasons unbeknown to us, the handset on review is leagues apart in terms of functionality.

Whilst it lacks physical QWERTY keys which may be off putting, the C6-01 maintains Wi-Fi connectivity for all your internet needs, as well as HSDPA for faster downloads of media content like music and video. There is also a powerful 8 megapixel camera with a flash for your photography needs and the usual Nokia Ovi store support for apps and games.

Underneath the metal casing is a ARM 11 680MHz processor, 3D Graphics HW accelerator. In the numbers game it is not the fastest, especially compared with the 1GHz CPU found on the N8, but we found only the most intensive games and websites caused noticeable slowdown.

There is no use in having media if it can't be stored, so the included 2GB microSD card is a welcome, albeit measly, addition. And on top of that is an even stingier 340MB of internal memory.

Thank god, then, for the microSD slot, which allows you to bulk up the C6-01's storage to a much more impressive 32GB.

The 3.2-inch, 640x360 pixel, screen is made up of 16 million colours, and thanks to capacitive technology, button presses register nicely, and the display is suitably crisp, vivid and detailed.

Even with the capacitive touch screen, presses do not always register, though, and this is made worse by the need for double taps. Often, we would try to bring up the options and it would take a few attempts.

With that said, scrolling between screens may not prove as responsive as that of a more expensive smartphone, but it is still easily adequate, and a double click does have the advantage of minimising accidental presses of the wrong app or whatever.

In terms of the Internet, the browser coupled with the landscape mode ensures browsing the web is enjoyable. The display is clear, and websites are reasonably punchy to load. You can pinch to zoom, too, which is another feather in its cap.

However, certain websites we tested stopped the browser dead for over a second or two, as if it had crashed (it hadn't). It wasn’t that much of a pain, though. Once fully loaded, scrolling down is just a bit jumpy, not completely unusable and as slow as you might think, and a small price for a significantly cheaper handset.

To improve your personal use, holding down on the screen lets you add custom widgets. They can be anything from messages, mail or the calendar to specific websites, apps and games.

The simplicity of simply holding down then clicking ‘Done’ when a selection is made is both simple and intuitive, and a highlight of the OS. Six entries can be added on each of the three pages, making a respectable 18 possible. Unless you really intend on book marking literally everything you use, the number should be more than sufficient.

For typing messages, the virtual keys are responsive, and large buttons make pressing them easy in portrait mode - a recognisable number / letter layout is presented. In landscape, the virtual QWERTY pops up, which is sensibly laid out but a tad annoying to use if you have large fingers.

Slight tactile feedback and practice lessens the issue, but we would still prefer plastic or metal keys to virtual ones, any day of the week.

One thing we do really like is the copy and paste function found when using the browser where you simply drag your finger over the text you wish to copy. For us, this more computer-like system is very welcome.

In fact, the whole OS is rather well thought out, as adding attachments to messages is just as intuitive. You can't really get simpler than pressing a paper clip and then selecting the type of file you wish to include and this logical system presents itself throughout the latest version of the Symbian OS.

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