Nokia brought back a fighter of a phone in the 3120 Classic, this lightweight phone still held its own against some of the newer Nseries on its own. Coupled with 3G, this basic looking device packs a punch of its own underneath the hood.
Design
The 3210 Classic’s design is not nearly as impressive, that’s not to say we hate it. It’s just that the design is decidedlyaverage , although it did share similarities with the 3100 series, which is the 3210’s predecessor. The phone fitted great into our hands and had a good tactile feel to it.
The 3210 Classic’s design is not nearly as impressive, that’s not to say we hate it. It’s just that the design is decidedly
In the upper left corner of the front panel of Nokia 3120 Classic we find the secondary video call camera. Next to it is the earpiece. The 16 million-colour QVGA screen and the sweet looking keypad will get their due attention a little later in the review.
The bottom of the 3210 Classic has the microUSB slot, hidden under a small plastic lid. Next to it are the string eyelet, the charger plug and the 2.5mm standard audio jack. 2.5mm jacks aren't nearly as widespread as the 3.5mm variety but there are still enough headsets and adapters available. The right spine has a volume rocker and it’s a good upgrade for this particular candybar.
Texting is a joy with the 3210 Classic, with big, easy to press keys reminiscent of the older Nokia devices where texting was king. The navigational central keypad is a modern touch on this older device. The D-pad is also an interesting addition which gives the phone a much better UI interface.Opening the back of phone reveals the battery, and the MicroSD, which allows up 8GB, is strangely placed here as well, on the left spine underneath vertical of the battery pack. While it does allow hotswapping, popping open the rear cover is not exactly a time-saving act. Nokia’s top button still serves as a profile changer, and turns the phone on and off. We loved the fact that the button is large enough, and does not require fitness to manage it.
Features
The device runs on the S40 5th edition, the S40 has been around for quite some time and frankly the 5th edition felt no different. We are pretty much used to the OS, and didn’t take too long for us to get the hang of it. More importantly, the S40 is stable and we didn’t suffer any restarts or lagging throughout the review. If the S40 gets a little too drab, favourite icons and the entire layout can be changed easily on the main menu.
The 3120 comes with 24MB worth of internal memory plus a MicroSD slot that supports up to 8GB.
Web browsing is done through Opera Mini, and is our preferred choice over the Nokia propriety browser; it’s much more intuitive and much easier to key in the text.
The video player of Nokia 3120 is compatible with 3GP and MP4 formats. Videos can be played in fullscreen mode, as well as fast-forwarded or rewound. The possibility to remove the soft key captions to make better use of the full screen mode also improves the viewing experience. The S40’s music player is also seen and heard here. The music player is among the nice applications of Nokia 3120 Classic. It has very nice looks and good all-round functionality, including a good number of formats supported and album art.
The music player is controlled by the D-pad but we felt that the dedicated music keys aren’t badly missed. Besides all the typical functions, the music player of Nokia 3120 Classic also sorts songs by artist, album and genre. A2DP profile is supported, allowing listening on wireless Bluetooth earphones. The device’s FM radio supports RDS. On to the 2.5mm headphones, it wasn’t so much the quality of the audio, rather Nokia’s decision to go with the less-prominent 2.5mm jack that caught our attention. If you are an audiophile with 3.5mm headphone, then you might have to settle for Nokia’s headphone.
PIM
The 3210’s PIM extends to alarm clock, calendar, to-do list, notes, calculator, countdown timer, dictionary and stopwatch.
Connectivity
The 3210 Classic is powered with quad-band functionality (GSM850/900/1800/1900), the 3210 also supports 3G which allow downloads up to 384Kbps. The device also comes with EDGE and GPRS. The review unit didn’t come with a micro-USB plug so we had to improvise with a Motorola connector -which managed to fit in the usually exclusive Nokia ports. We would have loved if the connector doubled as a charger.
Camera
The camera is rather average 2.0 megapixel, the LED flash is weak, usable with close range objects only. The lack of a dedicated camera button is a bit of a pickle when it comes to operating the camera. The confirm button of the D-pad, feels unnatural when we had to snap a photo off in landscape mode.
Image quality is well… average, in favourable weather decent images can produced, sharp enough, with fairly good colour rendering. Indoor photos still have that gleaming aura surrounding it, and are especially noticeable with fluorescent lights. The camera speed has also left something to be desired, at the highest setting -1600x1200 will take a long time before the camera saves the picture.
The video recording on the 3120 isn’t too impressive but it does manage a decent CIF resolution. The videos are recorded in 3GP format.
Games
The 3210 comes with five pre-installed games which are Backgammon, Highroller Casino, Rally 3D, Snake III, and Sudoku. Most of which are pretty self explanatory, however we did find Highroller Casino to be most exciting - which probably explains our propensity for gambling. But the game is easy to get a hang off and fun to play, there are five games, 5 card draw, video poker, blackjack, hold’em and its tournament variant.
Verdict
The Nokia Classic 3120 is worth noting that the device is easy to handle, and has great functionality. It’s not much to look at and the specs aren’t terribly impressive but you would get more than a bang for your buck. The 3120 retails for about RM790 and certainly pushes itself as being more than just a basic phone.
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