Solid feature-loaded phone
Written: Mar 12 '03 (Updated Aug 24 '04)
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Pros: Great reception, good size and weight, plenty of useful features
Cons: low profile buttons
The Bottom Line: Good piece of hardware,loaded with useful features
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| MECobb's Full Review: Nokia 6360 |
***UPDATED 24 AUGUST 2004, SEE END OF REVIEW***
I bought this phone to replace my very tired Nokia 6100 series, which was a durable, reliable workhorse of a phone. I beat the tar out of it, and I definitely got my money's worth. I'm a big guy with huge hands, and therefore cant effectively use many of the silly little phones on the market today. Besides, I look at my phone as a business tool, and have no use for neon faceplates, games, glowing antennas and the like.
I have been quite happy with my 6360. A summary of the good points and the few minor negatives:
Reception: AT&T Wireless provides, in my opinion, the best quality service in the Silicon Valley, and the 6360 has only improved things. The 'dead spot' down the street from my kid's school is gone!
Form Factor: The 6360 is the same length as my old 6100, but notably thinner and lighter. While I found the fatter 6100 slightly more comfortable to hold (again, big hands!), the 6360 fits nicely in a pocket without any problem. The length keeps the microphone close to the mouth for better clarity. Somewhat larger screen for easier viewing.
Battery life: I've only had to recharge this phone after extended headset use, which sucks the charge out of any phone. Other then that, battery life seems quite good.
Menus: Typical Nokia menus, which I happen to like. Easier to get at the buried commands that you may use a lot via voice prompts, discussed below.
Address book: New (at least to me...) for Nokia is nested entries within the address book. You can now store multiple phone #'s, and addresses, too, under a single heading. I have found this to be a major improvement
Features: Wow!!
-Infrared beaming is great- I was able to beam all my contacts from my Palm Pilot effortlessly.
-Voice dialing works with a single button touch, and a very nice audible prompt. I've found it to be quite accurate, though short voice prompts (for me, dialing "home") have required some re-records. A two or three-syllable voice command seems to work best. You can have up to 20 numbers with voice-activated dialing, which has been more then adequate for me. Up to five command functions can be activated by voice as well. Works better then my expectations.
-Voice recorder. The feature that I've needed for years and didnt know it!! You can record multiple voice memos, totalling three minutes. Set an alarm and you will be reminded of the memo later. I have this as a voice-activated feature-- touch one button, say 'memo', and I can record a note. I use this daily!
-Bells and Whistles: OK, I admit that the ability to download custom ringtones is pretty cool, and the 6360 can hold several. There are a handful of games, for those who care about such things, and a datebook as well.
A few minor negatives:
-The phone real estate lost due to the bigger screen means smaller buttons, closer together. Still adequate for me, but I preferred the 6100's buttons. The buttons are very low profile- almost flat, which I'm sure makes for a slicker look, but not ideal for dialing. Again, even with my meathook-like hands, these are within my tolerance, and MUCH better then the smaller Nokias.
-The 6360 is so light that it FEELS somewhat flimsy. I have no reason to think that it is, but compared to the hefty 6100, it comes across this way. Time will tell, but given my experience with Nokia, I'm not overly concerned about this.
Bottom line-- good phone with a lot of useful features. If you want a silly toy with a digital camera, online games and cutesy faceplates built in, this is probably not the phone for you. But if you want a good performing piece of hardware with some very well thought out features, look no further!
***UPDATE***
I've been living with this phone for a year and a half now, and despite the fact that it's pretty low-tech by current standards, I stand by my 5-star rating, but have a few nits to pick that I will share:
- Finish: After about 6 months of use, some of the silver highlight started to rub off. Big deal, eh? I dont care, but someone might. If you do care about something like that, you're probably not considering this phone anyway.
- Volume: There is no way to adjust the volume on busy signals or 'no signal' tones. If you put the phone right up to your ear and get the good old 'fast busy' noise, its gonna be loud. This happens to me about twice a week, and every time I feel like a monkey in a lab experiment that keeps touching the electrified button trying to get a pellet of food. Or maybe it was Homer Simpson. Its a flaw in the phone, but maybe I should have this one figured out by now!
- Earphone jack: WHEN IS NOKIA GOING TO DUMP THEIR CRUMMY LITTLE CUSTOM HEADSET JACK CONNECTOR?? I have the worst time keeping a headset plugged in, to the point that I rarely use one. If and when California requires mobile phone drivers to use headsets while driving, I will have to dump this phone in the SF Bay. Until then, though, I can live with this.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 80
Recommended for: Adventurous Technophiles - Tough and Durable
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Epinions.com ID:
MECobb
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Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 2 members
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