When this reviewer got the Nokia 5070 a year ago, it was, personally at least, the ultimate budget phone. It may not have possessed any of the latest features such as Bluetooth and music player, but it was cheap and good. Now, with the Nokia 3120 classic in hand, the bar has certainly been raised for budget phones. The handset doesn't look or feel cheap.
Design
The black metallic casing gives this Nokia a look stylish enough to appeal to a wide spectrum of users. Its metallic frame ringing the edge of the phone gives an overall assuring feel that comes across as solid and impact-proof. The only gripe we have here is its black and glossy body which is a fingerprint and dust magnet. So be prepared to wipe down the handset every time you whip it out to use.
Size-wise, the 3120 (at 111.3x45.4x13.4mm) is two-third the width of the 5070 making it a good fit in the hand. A rubber back casing provides a good grip. However, there was a trade-off for the phone being small; we found the keypad was positioned slightly too low for comfortable use. Nokia probably had to squeeze this down to make way for a display screen that sits over half the phone's length. That said, the buttons were big and easy enough to text on.
Like most Nokia handsets, there's a directional button at the top centre of the phone, which sits rather flush on the surface and may take some time getting used to especially for those with large digits.
Features
For a basic phone, this candybar packs some pretty decent features targeted at the masses. There's a 2-megapixel camera with flash, though as with all budget camera phones, don't expect startling clear snaps, particularly in low light. Interestingly, the 3120 classic comes with a front-facing VGA camera for video-conferencing via 3G, not something we would have expected to find in an entry-level model.
Nokia has also packed on-board Bluetooth, so transferring music and images will be easier among friends. There's no data cable provided in the retail unit though.
There's 24MB of internal memory (about 20MB is available to the user), which is absolutely insufficient if you plan to store lots of pictures and music files. Fortunately, this comes with a microSD card slot at the back of the phone to expand to an extra 4GB.
The 2-inch display is big enough for watching your videos and view pictures without straining your eyes too much. Even under bright sunlight, we found text and pictures still legible.
Performance
Music reproduction was good, although the equaliser wasn't impressively powerful enough. It hardly makes any difference when switching between rock, pop, jazz and classical equaliser. When played through the loudspeaker, it sounded flat to our ears.
Call quality was loud and clear, although ringtones produced through the loudspeaker tended to be a tad soft, causing us to miss a few calls as a result.
Nokia rates the phone's battery life at 12.5 days on standby and three hours 20 minutes of talk time. In actual use, which comprised making calls, photo-taking, text messaging and listening to the radio, the phone lasted a good five days before the next charge.
Conclusion
At AU$299, the phone is certainly worth the money. Although the camera is just 2-megapixels, it's hard to find a more handsome budget phone out there with 3G, Bluetooth, and MP3.
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andrewtp21
10/10/2008, 12:49 PM
rating
8/10
I just got one on Optus $19 cap. I pay an extra $5 per month for the phone making it $120 over 2 years. It is replacing a Nokia 6233 which I was very happy with, except for having no front-facing camera for video calls, and no flash. This new phone seems to have all the features of the latter but has more memory capacity, camera has flash, + front camera for vid calls, and is smaller. Transferring my stuff including contacts, calender appointments, music, etc was a breeze via bluetooth, and my old sd memory card slotted straight in.
Pros: Slim form-factor, good feature set, great value.
Cons: Only mono speaker, only mono earbud. non standard USB cable size.
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Jani
25/09/2008, 02:50 PM
rating
10/10
I got this one and i just love this phone. I got nothing to complain
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JacquesS
04/09/2008, 05:30 PM
rating
10/10
This phone is easy to use and doesn't look too bad. For a cheaper phone it's packed with a lot of features. Great buy if you ask me!
Pros: User friendly and easy to use, nice design, a lot of features
Cons: Takes a while to get use to the keypad
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col
02/09/2008, 01:35 PM
rating
7/10
Does anybody know if this is out now or what.I have seen it on GRL mobile i,m glad i didnt buy that, der.Anyway i hear rumours of $249 to $329 and the GRL prepaid was $199 , will it be a vodafone prepaid perhaps
Pros: Looks Ok , has decent size keys etc and good battery life , too many today are overkill and have poor battery life.
Cons: Is it out Yet and Prices.
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lisa
20/08/2008, 11:50 AM
rating
8/10
Not the sexiest phone around, but does the job and then some
Pros: Up to 4gb memory, takes nice pics, comes with lots of games preloaded, light and thin design. Easy to use
Cons: shell looks cheap
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Ashish Senapati
18/07/2008, 04:27 AM
rating
10/10
GR8 handset for the price tag... good built...sexy features...and a gr8 display !!
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Jackitos
14/07/2008, 11:01 PM
rating
10/10
Wooahh.
First commenter.
I really want to get this phone, although I dont know if its good or not, at telechoice, its $249 with optus, telechoice.
The review seems good, although the model isnt a good one.
Please help me.
MSN:
jacky_rox333@hotmail.com
MYSPACE:
www.myspace.com/jackykwok
Pros: N/A
Cons: N/A
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