Nokia X6: Music and more

The Nokia X6 is an interesting device in many ways. It may not be the best device on the market in many areas, but the total offering that the manufacturer has included in this device is nothing short of impressive. In fact, this may be the most complete smartphone deal you will find on the market.

The technology inside the X6 is not revolutionary in any way. The dominant feature is of course the large 360x640 capacitive touch display, first of it's kind for Nokia. For other parts of the hardware and software this product clearly is a close cousin to the best selling 5800XM, and the rest of the Nokias touch-enabled lineup. The X6 runs the Symbian S60 v5.0 software platform, which is not very convenient or intuitive, but is loaded with features and can perform any task imaginable. Camera is a nice 5mpix unit and the device has an internal GPS receiver for positioning and navigation. The sales pack also contains proper over-the-head cushioned earphones, which produce nice audio quality for music and are excellent for teleconferencing with loud and clear vocals and sensitive mic.

The X6 is bundled with the device is the 1 year unlimited music plan Comes With Music, which allows you to freely download songs from Nokia's music store to your phone or to your PC over the contract period. And even after the offer ends, the songs are yours to keep! How much you can download in a year? That's a one hefty bonus, if you look at the pricing on iTunes or CDs in the markets.

And the unlimited offers don't end there. The X6 is eligible for Nokia's free life-time navigation offer, and with the large display and nicely sensitive GPS receiver, this is one of the better features in the phone.

The Symbian platform, while not being fashionable at the moment, can also deliver a good Internet experience. E-mail features are top notch and Nokia's web browser is KHTML/WebKit -based, just liked the over-hyped browsers of Apple iPhone or Android based phones. A good selection of 3rd party applications are available if you wish to extend your device's online features further.

The downsides of the X6 come from the fact that it's hardware and software a slightly out of date. Running graphics intensive software on the high resolution display demands a lot from the CPU, and sometimes the device experiences some slowdowns during processing. As already mentioned, while the Symbian is able to perform every task imaginable, with or without 3rd party apps, it's user interface lacks the flashy visuals or latest usability ideas seen in other vendors' touch devices.

Still with all aspects considered, the X6 delivers a whole lot of bang for the buck (or euro) you are investing. Loaded with features and service, which are currently unmatched by any other device on the market. It is not the sexiest phone on the market, but should not be overlooked in purchasing decisions.

Full specs and details at: Nokia.com

Nokia 5730 XpressMusic

Another device from the pre-Xseries era which I decided that is worth a quick introduction is the 5730XM. This is the only full-QWERTY device is the XpressMusic range, and as such a bit of an odd ball in Nokia's portfolio.

With dedicated music keys and full keyboard for email and web surfing, this device really is a jack of all trades. If you investigate further you will notice that it actually is a close cousin of the more famous E75 business phone, only covered in shiny black plastic - which somehow reminds me of Darth Vader! However, the specs are identical to E75, so is the physical concept, and the released firmware versions are aligned.

What is not aligned is the price tag. While E75 was originally priced around 479€, you could get this secret twin brother for around 100€ less, and this is exactly why we want to higlight 5730XM on this blog. High-end QWERTY mobile internet device for 100€ less - that is a good bargain. Specs are nice with 3.2mpix camera (optical focus) and GPS location in place. Therefore this device should be eligible for the Nokia's new life-time free navigation offer.

Get the details at specs from: Nokia Europe

Nokia 5630 XpressMusic

The 5630XM is a device from the pre-Xseries era, but due to some special characteristics it is still worth introducing on this blog. It is a very compact device and attractively priced, currently below 180€ in our local market. Bundle it with an operator plan, and you may get it dead cheap. So based on the size, looks and price you would easily place this device in the lower mid-range. The 5630XM however is a real devil in disguise, and quite possibly your cheapest option to get a high performance smartphone.

What is mostly missed by media, and consumers alike, is that the 5630XM actually carries Nokia's current high-end hardware platform, and on the day of it's release last spring, it actually represented the cutting edge. The device is actually powered by Nokia's 600MHz hardware platform, you can only currently find in devices twice as expensive (E72, 6710 Navi...). As a result the device is very responsive, performs all tasks in a snap, browsing the web is a breeze and e-mail is no problem for it either. All this in a light weigh and ultra-compact form factor that fits conveniently in your pocket. And while the device is small, the numeric keypad has fairly large and nicely responsive buttons that are accurate and comfortable to use. As a bonus, this is one of the greenest mobile phones on the market.

The only thing lacking is a GPS receiver, so in order to use this for navigation requires an external Bluetooth GPS dongle. The camera is a fairly modest 3.2mpix unit with fixed focus, but on the positive side it operates very quickly. Perfectly suitable for your snapshots in good light conditions.

Get the details and full specs from: Nokia Europe

Welcome to Nokia Xseries

In september Nokia made an annoucement of new series of mobile devices titled as the Xseries, and to back that up they introduced two models: X3 and X6.

Nokia has been struggling with device naming conventions for years. They started up with four-digit model numbers which ranged over the years from 1xxx to 9500. Later in the game Nokia wanted to distinguish their high end models by creating the Nseries for devices with focus on cameras and multimedia and the Eseries targeting for the email and business users.

But as years went on and Nokia kept rolling out impressive numbers of new products, they again created new subcategories for different niche devices, such as XpressMusic, Navi, Classic or Slide. While they had big hits in all these device categories and subcategories, it was evident that the naming conventions would need to be reworked totally in the near future to reduce complexity, making it more easily digestible for the potential buyers. In the new naming model the letter (X) represents the device category and the number (for exp. 3 or 6) how it is placed on the price range. The change in naming convention seems to be gradual, as during the fall 2009 they announced the first Xseries phones, but also a large number of devices still following the older conventions, such as N900, 6710 Navi or E72.

The Xseries can be seen as the continuum of former XpressMusic product line, which included the very successful 5800XM. They are characterized by strong focus on music, youthful designs and bright colored details. The new series is started with higher low-end model X3, that is a rather basic device with a slick design and convenient dedicated keys for music playback. The X6 goes to the higher mid-range with a large capacitive touch display, and bundled with the Come With Music deal - a one year of unlimited music downloads from Nokias Music Store.

This blog focuses on the Nokia Xseries range of phones, providing you with the latest news, information and updates.