Nokia X6
Overview:
Nokia’s X6 is a welcome addition to the touch screen market bringing some great upgrades over it’s predecessor the 5800. It’s a nice compact multimedia device and packs some lovely features including a top class MP3 player, 5 megapixel camera, Ovi maps and much more.
Construction and Build:
The first thing that struck me when I got the chance to hold the X6 is it’s a lot fatter than it looks in the pictures. Nokia have obviously gone to great lengths marketing this device as a beautifully slim line phone. This really isn’t the case. Although it’s fatter than expectations it sure is narrower. All in all it’s a very good size for one handed usage.
The device feels durable and is finished off nicely. Unlike other touch screen devices that have such a wide screen the Nokia X6 looks as though it could take a bash or two and come out unscathed.
As expected with this being an xpress music edition handset we have a standard 3.5mm headphone jack included. Some other nice features are the dedicated camera keys which really help to show off the 5 mega pixel camera. I found the lock/unlock slide mechanism, located on the right hand side of the handset, very nice and comfortable to use just like on the 5800.
UI and OS:
Not much has changed on the operating system. Like all things Nokia the phone is easy to just pick up and use with a relatively low learning curve. For those of you who previously used the 5800 you really will notice very little change.
One major thing to note is Nokia’s free voice guided Sat nav and mapping application by Ovi. All Nokia handsets now have access to this feature free of charge and the X6 really shows it off beautifully. All maps are free of charge and can be downloaded straight onto the 16gb on board memory. Absolutely perfect if you’re taking a trip abroad and need to avoid high data costs!
One major let down during my experience with the X6 was the slightly inconsistent browser experience especially when dealing with anything to do with Flash player. The browser sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t, not what I wanted to experience. However, partly due to the large screen size, the Nokia X6 was still a decent internet browsing experience.
Camera:
The X6 boasts a 5 mega pixel camera. It’s not massive in terms of modern camera phones but it certainly holds it’s own against most touch screen mobile devices.
The dedicated camera keys really enable the user to capture some amazing shots and the dual LED flash comes in pretty handy also. The X6’s camera performs above average in most shooting conditions and is definitely a competitor in the camera phone market.
The video capture is superb, recording at 30fps. Once again the dual LED flash comes in handy when shooting in low light conditions.
Sound:
The sound quality in all aspects of the X6 is simply amazing. One thing that really stands out is the pure volume when playing music through the speakers. Nokia boast that this handset is as loud as legally possible without breaching any regulations. Pretty impressive really!
Conclusion:
All in all the Nokia x6 is a lovely device to use. It handles well and the software is pretty reliable. The touch screen really stands out and shows off how responsive it is.
As great as the Nokia X6 is it’s definitely not perfect. If it’s a great smart phone experience you’re after with great internet and email support then I wouldn’t really recommend this phone. Sure it’s great for multimedia and social networking but there are certainly some much better phones out there for your smart phone features.
However if you’re looking out for a superb multimedia device then the X6 may very well be for you. It’s most certainly worth taking a look at if you’re into your music and video!
Advantages:
- Quad-band GSM support
- Tri-band 3G with HSDPA support
- 3.2" 16M-color TFT LCD 16:9 capacitive touchscreen (360 x 640 pixels)
- Symbian S60 5th edition UI
- ARM 11 434 MHz CPU, 128 MB of RAM memory
- 5 megapixel autofocus camera with dual-LED flash
- VGA video recording at 30fps
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP technology
- Built-in GPS receiver
- 32GB built-in storage
- FM radio with RDS
- Bluetooth and USB (standard microUSB connector) v2.0
- 3.5mm standard audio jack
- Very good audio quality
- Proximity sensor for screen auto turn-off
- Accelerometer sensor for automatic UI rotation and motion-based gaming
- Stereo speakers
- TV out
- "Comes with music" edition gives you a year of all-you-can-eat music subscription
- Landscape on-screen virtual QWERTY keyboard
- Ovi Maps 3.0 Touch
- Further Ovi and MySpace service integration (direct image and video uploads)
- Most regional retail packages include a set of the great Nokia WH-500 headphones
Disadvantages
- X6 is still quite pricey (around 500 euro at the time of writing)
- UI is still immature with somewhat inconsistent user experience
- Touch web browser not quite polished and with dodgy Flash support
- No voice-guided navigation license
- No office document viewer preinstalled
- Doesn't charge off microUSB
- Very poor sunlight legibility
- Slow image gallery
- No DivX/XviD support for the video player
- No microSD card slot (as a connectivity solution)