Before we start our review, i think it should be clear that we are talking about an S40 device here. A phone which is supposed to be just that , a communications device. S40 devices exist for the sole purpose of providing flawless calling , texting abilities while offering little more. With the C3 and its modern S40 compatriots, Nokia has attempted to extend functionality by offering a homescreen in the same vein as S60 v3 devices. Software options included onto the phone include the essential web browser , email app , social client , facebook app , music player.
By now you all must have seen the myriad unboxing images / videos from around the internet, if not go check out this particularly well done unboxing by our good friend Clinton Jeff . Unlike conventional reviews , we'll be taking a look at the phone in terms of usability and what we think of it. So with that set aside , lets go ahead with the review.
The C3 is Nokia's first S40 based QWERTY device and indeed it seems to have been developed to compete with India's homegrown market of low end QWERTY devices. The cellphone is solid to hold and feels great in the hand. It definitely feels to come from the same heritage as the E71`and E72 but the differences are equally apparent. The plastic front is a testimony to the fact that this is through and through a low end phone. It took just a few days for prominent scratches to start appearing on the front panel of the phone and to say that it becomes irritating is an understatement. Protecting the screen of the C3 with a scratch guard should hence be a priority for all prospective buyers. On the other hand , the battery cover on the back phone is made of aluminium and truly feels great. The matte finish really does make it look good. Over all we were fairly satisfied with the build quality though we wish that the front plastic was a bit less scratch prone. The screen is 2.4" with QVGA resolution and looks great. Sunlight readability is also adequate.
As you can see above , the camera lens is surrounded by a silver bezel. Though the lens is small (being just a 2MP camera) the design is such that it allows a large amount of light to enter the lens and as such it takes pretty nice images during adequate light conditions. Next to the lens opening is the speaker which is surprisingly loud.
Coming to the homescreen , you see the next generation of the S40 user experience which takes more than a few cues from S60 v3. Gone is the blank front with spartan details and changeable wallpapers in the name of customization. The C3 brings with it homescreen widgets. Sure, you can't install any third party homescreen widgets but atleast its a start. Some of the useful widgets include the customary shortcuts widget , favorite contacts and the WLAN scanner. It is possible to have upto three of these on the homescreen.
Inside the menu , the C3 has the standard grid of icons like just about every other Nokia. Nothing much to see there other than the S40 interface styled to look like S60.
Something which a lot of users complain about is the lack of multitasking on S40. No , S40 still doesn't offer it but instead gives you an alternative which *should* make it a bit easier. Case in point , the homescreen social widget. The widget updates your social networking information automatically and does not require to be switched on as it baked into the firmware itself. So with the social networking taken care of , you can run a J2ME application alongside.
Messaging is an integral part of this phone and it provides a reasonable good experience. You
get the threaded messaging just like that on the latest Symbian 3 phones and can input emoticons as well. The email client performs incredibly well for an S40 device. It supports multiple inboxes and works with works with POP3, SMTP, and IMAP4 protocols. As it supports SSL , you can use your Gmail account with it. Email set up is simple and just requires an id and a password.
That pretty much settles the OS part of the phone. This phone really left me with a mixed bag of feelings. Yes, the phone is rather excellent and is easy to use. The battery life is top notch and audio quality is great too BUT the phone has been priced to compete with the 5230 which at just a little more than the C3 offers a touch screen and a proper smartphone OS. Why won't the consumer just go in for that ?
Final Impressions
If you are in the market for a cheap , solid , easy to use QWERTY enabled phone , the Nokia C3 makes for a solid choice, else there are better options in the market not counting those in the Nokia stable itself. It would certainly make for a nice phone to gift to your mom or girlfriend especially in that pink color. But would i buy it ? No , not a chance.
By now you all must have seen the myriad unboxing images / videos from around the internet, if not go check out this particularly well done unboxing by our good friend Clinton Jeff . Unlike conventional reviews , we'll be taking a look at the phone in terms of usability and what we think of it. So with that set aside , lets go ahead with the review.
The C3 is Nokia's first S40 based QWERTY device and indeed it seems to have been developed to compete with India's homegrown market of low end QWERTY devices. The cellphone is solid to hold and feels great in the hand. It definitely feels to come from the same heritage as the E71`and E72 but the differences are equally apparent. The plastic front is a testimony to the fact that this is through and through a low end phone. It took just a few days for prominent scratches to start appearing on the front panel of the phone and to say that it becomes irritating is an understatement. Protecting the screen of the C3 with a scratch guard should hence be a priority for all prospective buyers. On the other hand , the battery cover on the back phone is made of aluminium and truly feels great. The matte finish really does make it look good. Over all we were fairly satisfied with the build quality though we wish that the front plastic was a bit less scratch prone. The screen is 2.4" with QVGA resolution and looks great. Sunlight readability is also adequate.
As you can see above , the camera lens is surrounded by a silver bezel. Though the lens is small (being just a 2MP camera) the design is such that it allows a large amount of light to enter the lens and as such it takes pretty nice images during adequate light conditions. Next to the lens opening is the speaker which is surprisingly loud.
The keyboard on the C3 is generally great but we did get the feeling that it was a bit extra soft and mushy for our tastes. However typing on it was never an issue. We would rate it just a step below the awesome keyboard on the E72. The negative point due to the mushy feeling which made us feel that something was off but was never an issue while actually typing. We're confident that sms addicts will really enjoy texting using the qwerty. Above the keyboard are a few shortcuts for oft-used apps / services. The nicely sized D-Pad is full configurable and so are the three keys which flank either side of the keyboard. Two of these are specifically marked for contacts and messaging but it is a simple matter of going through the settings to change these to apps of your choice.
The C3 is powered by a 1320 mAh BL-5J battery. 1300mAh for an S40 device is huge but when you realize that even a modern Nokia smartphone like the N8 comes with just a 1200 mAh battery, you know that you can expect monster standby times from the C3. Our tests were right in line with our thoughts as a fully charged C3 lasted over a week for us on standby. Active usage could not drain the battery in anything less than two days so Nokia has been very accurate ( conservative is what we'd say ) while stating that the C3 will deliver atleast 7 hours of talktime. Even if you couple in WLAN usage , two days of battery life should never be a problem.
Coming to the homescreen , you see the next generation of the S40 user experience which takes more than a few cues from S60 v3. Gone is the blank front with spartan details and changeable wallpapers in the name of customization. The C3 brings with it homescreen widgets. Sure, you can't install any third party homescreen widgets but atleast its a start. Some of the useful widgets include the customary shortcuts widget , favorite contacts and the WLAN scanner. It is possible to have upto three of these on the homescreen.
Inside the menu , the C3 has the standard grid of icons like just about every other Nokia. Nothing much to see there other than the S40 interface styled to look like S60.
Something which a lot of users complain about is the lack of multitasking on S40. No , S40 still doesn't offer it but instead gives you an alternative which *should* make it a bit easier. Case in point , the homescreen social widget. The widget updates your social networking information automatically and does not require to be switched on as it baked into the firmware itself. So with the social networking taken care of , you can run a J2ME application alongside.
Messaging is an integral part of this phone and it provides a reasonable good experience. You
get the threaded messaging just like that on the latest Symbian 3 phones and can input emoticons as well. The email client performs incredibly well for an S40 device. It supports multiple inboxes and works with works with POP3, SMTP, and IMAP4 protocols. As it supports SSL , you can use your Gmail account with it. Email set up is simple and just requires an id and a password.
That pretty much settles the OS part of the phone. This phone really left me with a mixed bag of feelings. Yes, the phone is rather excellent and is easy to use. The battery life is top notch and audio quality is great too BUT the phone has been priced to compete with the 5230 which at just a little more than the C3 offers a touch screen and a proper smartphone OS. Why won't the consumer just go in for that ?
Final Impressions
If you are in the market for a cheap , solid , easy to use QWERTY enabled phone , the Nokia C3 makes for a solid choice, else there are better options in the market not counting those in the Nokia stable itself. It would certainly make for a nice phone to gift to your mom or girlfriend especially in that pink color. But would i buy it ? No , not a chance.
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