Nokia X3 Review: Music X-three-M
Introduction
The Nokia X3 is our first glimpse into the new Xseries and we’re excited to see how things have changed since XpressMusic ran the show. And they have changed, the new angular look is a testament to that. The S40 on the inside has changed as well, throwing Ovi Store and basic multi-tasking into the mix.
Nokia X3 official photos
Currently the Xseries is composed of two completely different phones. The Nokia X6 is a touch phone running Symbian, and the X3 is an affordable Series 40 slider. It packs stereo speakers, excellent audio quality and a built-in FM radio antenna for a complete sonic experience. All right, we said affordable, so don’t go looking for top-notch gear beside the obvious full music package.
Nokia X3 introduces us to the Xseries
The Nokia X3 runs the Series 40 6th edition but it’s unlike any S40 handset we’ve seen before. For a brief, joyful moment, we thought Nokia have finally given in and added multitasking. The truth turned out to be different but still there were small steps taken in the right direction. And you should see what they’ve done with the Gallery – it’s only a notch bellow the S60 one.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and let’s take a look at the Nokia X3 pros and cons.
Key features
- Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
- 2.2″ 262K color QVGA display
- 3.2 megapixel fixed focus camera
- S40 user interface, 6th edition; rudimentary multitasking
- Stereo FM radio with RDS; Built-in antena (so it plays on the loudspeakers even if you don’t plug the headset)
- Stereo speakers
- Standard 3.5mm audio jack
- Up to 26 hours of music playback
- Bluetooth (with A2DP) and microUSB port
- microSD card slot (16 GB supported, 2GB included)
- Rich preinstalled application package
- Ovi Store, Ovi Maps and Ovi Share
Main disadvantages:
- No 3G connectivity
- Smallish display with poor viewing angles and sunlight legibility
- Slider action has an unpleasant plastic-on-plastic friction
- No accelerometer for screen auto rotation
- S40 interface feels clunky and out of date
- No true multitasking
- No smart dialing or an office document viewer
- A bunch of software bugs
- Video recording maxes out at QCIF@15fps
The specs look like nothing to be excited about but a shortish feature list never tells the whole story. So, think before you go “Nah, it sounds lame”, because you’ll be wrong about sound. We spent several days with it and now we’re ready to tell you the story behind those specs, the good, the bad and the ugly, the whole thing.
More Nokia X3 photos
Do we have your interest? Good. Jump to the next page where we open the box and take a look at the Nokia X3. After the hardware inspection we’ll try to explain what the deal is with this multitasking-but-not-quite situation.
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BlackBerry Curve 8520 Review: BlackBerry Lite
Introduction
With the Bold almost reaching perfection in the BlackBerry arts, new horizons need to be explored to keep the spark alive. The tall task to pioneer new territories (in BlackBerry terms anyway) falls on to the Curve 8520.
The new Curve has a price tag that’s easier on the wallet and – coming from a BlackBerry – that’s a welcome change of game plan already. But what makes this here Berry a shocker is… wait for it… music keys. Last time we checked features like that were teen geek stuff and we don’t know many teens are walking around with a BlackBerry in their pocket. Well, it’s certainly going to be interesting to see how BlackBerry’s attempt to woo this new demographic will turn out.
Key features
- 2.46″ 65K-color TFT landscape display of QVGA resolution
- Comfortable four-row full QWERTY keyboard
- Quad-band GSM support, Wi-Fi connectivity
- 2 megapixel camera with fixed focus
- 512MHz CPU
- BlackBerry OS v4.6 with responsive trackpad navigation
- Hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 16GB)
- 3.5 mm audio jack
- Decent audio quality
- Nice web browser
- Office document editor
- Smart dialing
- Dedicated music keys
- DivX and XviD video support
Main disadvantages
- Many features are unusable without a BlackBerry Internet Service account (plan)
- BlackBerry OS offers basic text-only submenus
- Mediocre camera performance and features
- No FM radio
- No 3G support
- No TV-out functionality
- Music keys are stiff and unresponsive
- No built-in GPS receiver
- Back panel is a fingerprint magnet
Most of the software-related shortfalls in the list above are shared by all other BlackBerries out there. The hardware disadvantages boil down to features that the 8520 needed to skip to fit budget. After all, the fancy stuff is in the more expensive 8900 Curve and 9700 Bold. So if you’re already ok with the 8520 Curve specs and you want to go for a BlackBerry device and service, you won’t find anything substantial to complain about here.
Obviously it took a few sacrifices for the Curve 8520 to keep that price tag within limits. The magnificent screen was ruthlessly trimmed down to the run-of-the-mill QVGA resolution. On a second thought though, that only puts it on a par with the screens on the Nokia E71 and E72 and we don’t see anyone complaining about them.
But how Blackberry and other makers define cheap are completely different things, so a commitment-free 8520 Curve fetches nearly the same as a Nokia E71. Now, that can’t be too good for the BlackBerry, right – especially now that Nokia are offering their paid Push Messaging service in quite a lot of countries.
As we see it, the only way for the Curve 8520 to escape constant comparisons to its Nokia counterparts is to find some way to appeal to a wider market.
But frankly, we’re a little skeptical whether one handset can convince the masses that BlackBerries are now as much about pleasure as they are about business. RIM have built a reputation on churning out no-nonsense corporate phones and it will take several more generations (and frankly, optimizations) for people to start seeing the company differently.
