Among the assortment of Nokia there is also a music phone - Nokia 3250 XpressMusic. The device has a 2-megapixel camera, built-in radio, Symbian 9.1 OS, support for microSD memory cards and a wide range of accessories.
At one time, Nokia launched a real temptation for music fans, as well as for all those who are inclined to buy objects that delight others. The above smartphone replaced the famous 3230 model, repeating its keyboard and design. Nevertheless, you should pay attention to one very important detail: the Nokia 3250 is not just another example from the series “take a successful device, add some colors and a couple of new functions and start selling it as a new model”. This gadget is the first phone on the market to feature Symbian OS 9.1, and that says a lot.
Dimensions and appearance
As follows from user reviews, the device looks quite large. Objectively speaking, its dimensions are 104 x 50 x 20 mm and the weight of 115 grams does not allow calling it a compact phone.
In any case, the Nokia 3250 is not a smartphone that you can easily carry in your pocket. As follows from user reviews, the most popular is the pink color version of the device. For those to whom it seems too bright or solid, one of three other options is suitable - green, black or silver.
Architecture
The build quality of the phone is presented at a very high level. All elements of the case are bonded very well and give the impression of very high strength. In other words, the Nokia 3250 is one of the best security phones in the mobile phone market. The sides of the device, including those that form part of the lower rotating segment, are made of metal. They cover all parts of the case so firmly that accidental damage is simply not possible. On the other hand, if you ask yourself how to disassemble the Nokia 3250, you can spend a lot of time on this.
The only elements that “violate” the metal side of the phone are the Pop-Port cap, charger connector and latches on the back cover. The Pop-Port cover is made of hard rubber and contains a company logo. Nevertheless, it is not fixed well enough, and this is one of the significant shortcomings of the smartphone. Nokia 3250 is a music phone that requires frequent use of plug-in headphones, and the need to regularly remove the cover significantly reduces all the advantages of using.
The back cover of the device can be opened by pressing the above latches located in the lower region, which look like rectangular areas. The back cover has a huge glossy Nokia logo. After the cover is removed, you will see a BP-6M lithium-polymer battery, which is significantly larger than that available in other 60 series phones. The developers officially announced 245 hours of operation of the Nokia 3250 (the battery has a capacity of 1100 mAh) in standby mode and 180 minutes of talk time. As follows from user reviews, one battery charge is enough for 10 hours of listening to music.
Screen
Unfortunately, Nokia developers did not use a QVGA display in this model. Nothing has changed in comparison with the Nokia 3250, but the display, however, now displays 262 thousand colors. Everything else is the same - a resolution of 176 x 208 pixels, a surface of 35 x 41 mm.
Compared to other Nokia models with Symbian OS, version 9.1 brings with it several innovations, such as a larger number of icons and a much smaller font, which seems to require a higher resolution than the model under review.
Control
The control keys are located directly below the display. In addition to two context keys and a pair of red and green buttons that control the call, there are several other keys borrowed from previous smartphones with Symbian OS:
- The key is to access the main menu and activate the manager for running programs.
- Pencil for working with the clipboard.
- Correction of the reset button.
- Basic control buttons.
The silver joystick is the main control element of the device. Clicking on it is necessary every time to confirm your choice. As follows from user reviews, the joystick is quite difficult to manage. Getting used to working with it is not impossible, but it certainly requires effort. The correction keys are too small, so it is very likely that you mistakenly press the wrong button. Also, some user reviews indicate that sometimes after an incorrect keystroke the Nokia 3250 phone does not turn on. The white screen and other problems continue until the reboot.
Innovative features
Nokia 3250's alpha-numeric keypad is by far the most attractive element of the phone. It is worth recalling that the Nokia N90 was the only Nokia model whose parameters include the element “housing with a swivel segment”. However, the Nokia 3250 is equipped with a similar design. In addition to the standard keyboard, its swivel segment also has a 2-megapixel camera and four control keys for the built-in music player.
In the lower part, the device rotates in one direction at an angle of 90 ° and in the other direction - up to 180 °. It can be rotated in four cycles. The fixation in each of them is clear and is accompanied by a pleasant muffled cotton. In addition to performing certain functions, the appearance of the turn is also very interesting and resembles the famous Rubik's Cube.
Keyboard
Basic numeric and letter keys work very well. The rubber layer guarantees excellent adhesion between them and the user's fingers. The keyboard is so well designed that it allows you to enter text at a very high speed. All keys are equipped with a white backlight. However, the left side of the buttons seems to be lit slightly less than other parts of the keyboard. Overall, however, the Nokia 3250 backlight can be rated above average.
If you turn the left side of the keyboard toward you, you will see the lens of the built-in camera. This position is ideal for taking self-portraits. The camera is activated from the main menu. If you turn the keyboard completely away from you, the camera application launches by itself. If you rotate it to 360 °, you will see four buttons in front of you that are equipped with automatic lighting. They control the music player.
Incompatible Applications
Nokia 3250, whose firmware is different from previous models, is the first smartphone with version 9.1 of Symbian OS. It comes along with various innovative features, but also with one very significant drawback: the platform is not compatible with older applications. According to user reviews, when you try to install several programs on your phone, the same error message is displayed every time: "Download is not supported by the system."
This restriction complicates the situation, as program manufacturers will now prepare new versions of their products, while users will spend extra time searching for these new versions, downloading them, pre-registering, etc.
In the middle of the display you can see the general active standby mode, which first appeared in the Nokia 6681. The Nokia 3250 has six icons for quickly activating frequently used programs (instead of five in previous models). All icons can be customized according to user preferences. Below this panel you will see the events of the day on the calendar or the first event of the next day. The number of incomplete tasks, the name of the corresponding MP3 file (if it was recently played), as well as the radio frequency indicator / station (if the radio was active) are displayed in the same area. In addition, all the blocks listed above are active, that is, by marking them, you can instantly go directly to the calendar, task manager, MP3 player, radio, etc.
There is one flaw at the same time. All tasks performed in active standby mode are controlled by a joystick that limits functionality. They can be turned off to quickly open frequently used applications. However, standby mode is deactivated. In this case, the Nokia 3250 looks like an old smartphone.
Menu options
The main menu is displayed in the standard form - in the form of icons. Initially, all smartphones had signs of a 3x3 matrix. The Nokia 3250 has four of them. The matrix of its menu consists of 4 rows and 3 segments.
The menu can also be displayed as a list of items. Icons represent various applications and can be hidden in folders up to the first menu level. They are also redistributed as needed by the user, so frequently used applications are displayed on the top line.