Nokia Cell Phones

Sales package:
Handset
Wired stereo-headset (HS-82)
Charger (AC-6)
Li-Pol battery (BL-6P)
Micro USB data cable (CA-101)
User Guide
Software CD

The story of this model is very remarkable and has much to do with how the company's vision of its product line-ups development changed over time and what expectations the company had for its future phones. By summer 2005, over at Nokia they had grown unhappy with the way their product design had been going, and this resulted in Frank Nuovo resignation. This event was followed by, if not dramatic, but still a substantial revision of the product creation approach, which allowed the line of "slim" devices to emerge - the development of these solutions commenced in the middle of 2005. Back then, the company, already lagging behind both Samsung and Motorola, the trailblazer in slim phones, began looking into the ways of rolling out similar offerings.

They started off with a bunch of models, one of them was codenamed Lynn (today known as the Nokia 6500 Classic). Christian Riise managed the product, whose development kicked off in August 2005. First results and a rough spec sheet had shaped up even before September 2005 ended, after this point they engaged themselves in the development of the hardware department, as well as design. The image of the device was finalized by December, and its first designs employed plastic. In February 2006 this device was tested out on a focus group in Moscow and several other cities. Apart from this model, they also showcased designs of the Nokia 6300 and a couple of other handsets. Curiously, when the users put Nokia 6300 and Nokia 6500 Classic head to head, it was the latter that came out victorious, as it seems a tad classier.

The Nokia 6300 is positioned as a designer solution, but at the same time it belongs to the Connect - Contemporary category in Nokia's books, like the Nokia 6500 classic. While the former device has been pushed under the motto , the latter has had a couple of aspects highlighted, with materials, rather than design, being the centerpiece of the ad campaign. The maker doesn't trick us, claming that the device is made of metal - indeed, the top part is made of anodized aluminum. And, no matter how you look at it, on the top, metal is everywhere. At the same time they claim every device has unique front polishing to it, there are no two models that look alike. I readily believe in this as well, but in real life conditions, you can barely spot the difference in metal polishing, all 6500 Classic look resembling. The entire underside is a kind of a "shoe" dressing up the handset's innards. This solution has already been used for rugged Nokia's phones, for example, the Nokia 5100 and its successors. This part of the casing enjoys only moderately thick plastic. The antennas are also located here, even though such lay-out doesn't seem normal, it is successfully utilized in many other phones, for example, from Motorola.

The handset ships with a 830 mAh Li-Pol battery (BL-6P). As the manufacturer puts it, this cell can keep the phone up and running for 215 hours in standby or provide 9 hours of talk time. In Moscow the battery time averaged 2 days at 2 hours of calls and up to 5 hours of music. It takes the battery about 2 hours to charge up from empty to full.

The model has received a camera model absolutely identical to that of the Nokia 6300 with no substantial changes. That's why we are taking the camera review and sample shots from the respective write-up. This handset has a 2mpx camera (CMOS) which is not that much by today's standards, but it is still pretty enough for a mid-range model. Nokia has decided not to bank on the camera department, so as far as the 6500 Classic is concerned, it is more of an optional feature. That's why the camera module that was selected for 6500 Classic is one of the cheapest out there, and provides average quality, if not to say meager. In poor light conditions, this camera won't snap good photos, that's for sure - its exposure time increases and every movement of your hand leads to a blurry image in the end.

The volume of 72-tone polyphony is enough for almost all environments. The 6500 Classic also does fine on the reception front, as it stands up to all other phones of the current generation. The vibro alert is average strength-wise, but can be still felt while the handset is in pocket.

This is the key offering for Nokia, so the maker's substantial marketing activities come as no surprise. In the vast majority of European regions, it retails for around 320-350 Euro, whereas in Russia it sells for 650 USD or more. The phone has been positioned as a fashion-savvy solution in the first place - its target audience is not really into mobile powerhouses.

Over the month of our quality time with a commercial unit, we couldn't a reason to fault its coating or performance. However, our handset had some problems with the "shoe" which didn't fit the upper part of the casing very well - in fact, there is no one else to blame for this but us, and we couldn't fix this, regrettably. Short of that problem, we didn't notice any other flaws with the 6500 Classic.

The 6500 Classic is an pleasant phone to use. It doesn't really qualify as a music-minded solution, even though it does okay on the music front. The list of its direct competitors has only the Sony Ericsson W880i, but the latter has been around for a while now, whereas the Nokia 6500 Classic has the momentum behind it.

Belgiquemobile ©

www.interstar.ua ©

Mobilvilag.hu ©

Mobilvilag.hu ©