Nokia 3230 review: description, features and reviews

The Nokia 3230, which was announced on November 2, 2004, was the first smartphone to be classified as a middle class phone. Nevertheless, it has rather rich functional equipment: support for EDGE, Bluetooth, PTT, there is a camera and radio.

Nokia 3230: user specifications

The main advantages of the smartphone, marked by users, is a good enough for its time data transfer speed from GPRS-class 10 and EDGE-class 5, 1.3-megapixel camera, slot for memory card RS-MMC, the replacement of which does not require turning off the phone, Presence of the built in radio, the editor of images, the master of adjustment of ways of data transmission, MMS and e-mail messages, high quality of assemblage.

The main disadvantages are the inability to use a standard size MMC card, excessive key rigidity, limited by one minute of voice notes, periodic problems with connecting headphones.

Although the Nokia 3230 is positioned in the middle class, there is no difference from higher-end phones when using it. The reason is that the smartphone uses the Symbian Series 60 OS , which is identical to the operating systems of more expensive phones. Although the expected transition to the eighth version did not happen.

Familiar design?

The smartphone combines the design of Sony Ericsson and classic Symbian OS. The phone was offered in two colors: black and wine-red. The search for replaceable coatings was in vain. The front grille is securely screwed. Consequently, neither the keyboard nor the display is accessible to the user. Cover for Nokia 3230 is not included. It should be purchased separately.

Sturdy construction

Using a non-removable cover suggests that the design of the device should be good - and it turned out. The phone is really very compact and durable. During the whole testing period, his Nokia 3230 did not make a single squeak. And only a hint of a squeak was heard at the effort to remove the back cover. The camera lens is placed very successfully. It is built into the top of the back cover and does not bulge out of the phone's surface even by a millimeter.

Do not remove the cover unnecessarily. The reason is that the smartphone is loudly cracking, which is very unnerving. If you still need to remove it, it is better to press it under the lens. There is a memory card slot, so the opening will be more smooth. However, do not expect that the lid will give in the first time.

After a successful attempt, you can see the battery and memory card slot. To install the SIM card, you must insert it under the slot mentioned above.

The memory card can be removed even when the phone is switched on. The device will simply notify you about its removal and closing of all applications. There may be problems - a smartphone sometimes reports the absence of a SIM card and reboots.

The Nokia 3230 battery has a lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 760 mAh, with a company hologram confirming the originality of the device. According to the manufacturer's official data, the battery supports up to 4 hours of continuous calls and up to 150 hours of standby time.

Rounded parallelepiped

On the photo, the phone seems to be smaller than it actually looks, although the size of 109 x 49 x 19 mm is not that big. Weight (110 g) users are not very satisfied, finding it unnecessarily large. Perhaps this is a fee for sound construction.

At the bottom of the device is a standard Pop-Port connector, to which you can connect a data cable, as well as a stereo headset Nokia HDS-3, included in the phone. The charger input is located near the connector.

Display: clean quality

Screen Nokia 3230 innovation has not undergone, as in previous models of Class Series 60, all the same 176 x 208 pixels and 65 536 colors. The backlighting is uniform throughout the viewing area and is noticeably brighter than that of the Nokia 7610.

The intensity of the glow can be changed within the general display settings. Users consider the steps between the intensity levels too large. In the same menu, you can customize the splash screen. There are two of them: date and time or text. The phone pre-installed 4 themes, which completely change its design.

Keyboard: Tough

The user's keyboard was disappointing. Before learning a set with one hand, you need to learn how to hold a smartphone. The keys protrude above the surface high enough, but they are too low, which makes it possible to press the button after bending the finger. In addition, the keyboard is harsh and requires a lot of effort.

Even worse is the function buttons located next to the display. The buttons for receiving and clearing the call are good, but the rest are too hard. Each press is accompanied by an audible click. Two function buttons located below the display are used to start the desired application.

The main control element of the Nokia 3230 is a five-way joystick in the middle of the function buttons. Although the navigation keys are more convenient, the joystick of this model is pleased. They are easy to manage, it works for sure. In standby mode, the joystick is programmed to perform 4 actions. The movement to the left starts recording a text message; Right - opens the built-in calendar; Up - opens the photo and video, pressing or moving down translates into the address book.

The backlighting of the keys is uniform.

In addition to the standard control keys, you can also use 2 special buttons - on and operate with call profiles, which are traditionally located at the bottom of the phone. The last one is quite tough. On the left is the button for activating the PTT function.

Memory: is it enough?

The phone has 6 MB of internal memory. Even if this is not so little, other Symbian smartphones have already been taught to higher values. Along with the built-in memory, the device is supplied with a reduced-size MMC RS DV card with a capacity of 32 MB.

Symbian is not the fastest OS on the market. The model does not react immediately to pressing. But, in comparison, for example, with the Nokia 7610, the phone seems a bit faster. Its advantage is more noticeable when you start any application. This does not apply to saving images, which takes about 5 seconds, which is very long.

RAM is about 9 MB. The Jbenchmark application gives it a score of 2561, which is somewhere between the Nokia 6600 and 7610.

The setup wizard has become the standard for all modern mobile phones. Problems in its work did not arise. The installation itself lasts about 10 seconds.

Camera

The Nokia 3230 phone has a built-in camera with an effective resolution of 1.23 megapixels. Thanks to this, the photos reach a resolution of 1280 x 960 pixels. The format of recording images is JPEG.

The twilight mode was useful for conditions of poor illumination. A disadvantage is the presence of only a triple digital zoom and sharp transitions between the individual scaling positions. Photos can be viewed on the display or saved. The latter option leaves the camera ready for further photography.

In addition, the phone has an image editor that allows you to delete an unnecessary part of a photo or convert it to a postcard for sending as a multimedia message.

You can also shoot video, the duration of which is limited by the presence of free memory. On a 32 MB card, up to one hour of video can be recorded in a resolution of 176 x 144 pixels in H.263 format. Video can be edited by a special application - add frame borders, sound, etc. The result can be sent as MMS via Bluetooth or infrared.

Nokia 3230: Multimedia Review

Nokia equipped its new model FM-radio, as well as a music player. The radio produces a good stereo, but the MP3 player is mono only. It is a pity, because in the 6630 model the company has already demonstrated the ability to create stereo players.

Headphones can be used for listening to music, as well as for loud dialing in a car. They are connected via the Pop-Port connector. Despite the mediocrity, the sound was not so bad. Unfortunately, after a few minutes listening to the radio the jack began to jam and the sound turned to mono. As for the sound itself, neither the high frequencies nor the bass were too loud. But the quality of the Real Media Player sound is terrible.

In addition to the MP3 format, the player accepts AAC, AMR and Real Audio files. The phone handles not only H.263, but also 3GP, MP4, MPEG-4 video and Real Video. Real Media plays both local files and network streams. Multimedia is stored in the "Gallery", accessible only from the menu.

Using the model as an answering machine is difficult because the voice mailbox will not record messages longer than one minute. It's hard to understand, while the video recording time is not limited. Entries are saved in the Gallery. In addition, you can export them to a playlist or a list of music.

Telephony: typical Symbian

In the functionality related to making phone calls, there is no innovation. It does not differ from previous models with the Symbian system.

The speaker is mediocre. When talking with the connected handsfree, noise is heard. In teleconferencing mode, the smartphone does not switch between calls.

The names in the address book are stored in the shared memory, the size of which reaches 6 MB. Search in the address list can be made by typing the first letters of names. Individual records can be highlighted using a special call mode. The list can be sorted by last name and by name.

Message exchange

Here, too, nothing new. There is a T9 dictionary for quick typing when writing SMS, MMS, email or instant messaging. As for images inserted into multimedia messages, their size can be automatically reduced to the suitable for MMS.

E-mail has improved. It supports SMTP, POP3 and IMAP4 protocols. When using POP3, you can only download the message header; To download the entire text, you must select it.

One of the new features is PTT. Thanks to it you can easily communicate with other people over the network. The principle of operation of the application is similar to a walkie-talkie.

Internet: no problem

Nokia has already released several mobile phone models with its own browser for WAP, HTML and XHTML pages. The situation with the model 3230 is no different. The program is simple, but it performs the basic functions: viewing pages, supports JavaScript and a data counter. The latter, however, when the page is reopened, is reset.

Communication: by any means

Nokia 3230 offers many options for connecting the phone to the outside world, including three ways of local communication: via USB, infrared and Bluetooth. Thanks to it you can quickly synchronize contacts, calendar notes or others. As for remote synchronization, the company's choice fell on SyncML.

The maximum data transfer rate using GPRS technology is 80 kbit / s, EDGE - 118.4 kbps. Strangely enough, EDGE can only be used for downloading.

The installation disk with the software for connecting the smartphone to the PC is missing, the program must be downloaded from the manufacturer's website. There you can learn how to flash Nokia 3230 with it.

Decent middle level

Users are satisfied with the design of the Nokia 3230. The silver band that surrounds the entire front cover is very elegant and does not spoil the overall look. The functionality of the model is much higher than the average counterparts. The advantage of the Nokia 3230 is EDGE technology.

At the same time, there are many complaints. The official price of the phone at the release was 400 euros.