Here's something I learned a couple of weeks ago -- a cellular phone will not survive a trip through a washing machine. I figured that out after I left my Sony Ericsson T226 Cellular Phone in my pants pocket and it got washed. Fortunately, everything turned out fine -- the nice folks at Cingular charged me $75 to replace my very clean (but waterlogged and nonfunctioning) Sony with this dandy Nokia 6010. I prefer the Nokia in almost every way and I'd even go so far as to say this unit is ideal for someone wanting a basic phone with a couple of handy features.

Before I describe the Nokia 6010, I should mention I hate cellular phones. They mostly annoy me, but I'm stuck with one for work because -- much to my chagrin -- it comes in handy from time to time. When people talk about connecting to the Internet, taking photos, playing games and all that rot on a cell phone, I tend to ignore them. Such things don't interest me. I want something that will allow me to place a call when I'm not at my desk at my office or at home. The Nokia is particularly well suited for all of that, so I'd say this is a fine little item.

Now, I realize my requirements seem small, but the Sony didn't meet them extremely well. My biggest gripe about that Sony phone was the small keypad. The phone was very, very small and had buttons to match. So, half the time I was jabbing at them with a thumb nail because it was too easy to hit the other buttons otherwise. That problem is pretty much cleared up with the Nokia. Why? Because it's big. It's 1990s big, in fact, and I'm almost surprised it doesn't come with a whip antenna. The phone is 4.5 inches tall 1.5 inches wide, and that leaves a lot of surface area for a decent keypad. Sure, it would have made for a better flip phone, given the size, but I'll not gripe about this one at all. The buttons are nice and large, and that's all that counts to me.

The large size also helps eliminate another problem I had with the Sony. See, the Sony -- being a small unit and all -- was too tiny to get much attention when it vibrated. There just wasn't much phone there to shake around. That's different with the Nokia. If it's resting in my pocket, it's hard to miss the fact a call is coming in even if I'm in a place that's too loud to hear the ringer. And, it's got a decent speaker in it, so it's a simple matter to turn up the volume so the ringer will get noticed under most circumstances.

And, the large size is nice to because I can hold the base of my phone near my mouth. I always did feel odd talking in that tiny Sony because the thing only came down to around my jaw. That's just a strange feeling that's really hard to describe.

You also get a nice, bright color screen on this. I don't care about color at all, but the numbers on the screen are large and easy to see (a necessity when engaging in the socially-unacceptable practice of making a call while weaving through rush hour traffic). At least I've got some decent wallpaper on the screen. I chose a dandy electric guitar, and that suits me fine.

Oh, and there are some people who like to play games. The Nokia comes installed with some crude little titles that provide for nice, short diversions. Nokia seems to love the idea of flying as there's one game on the phone called Air Glide in which the player is supposed to glide around a screen, pick up various bonus items and land while avoiding a huge bird. There's also Sky Diver, a game in which the player tries to coast through rings and open a parachute before hitting the ground. I don't care for either of those games. However, the Bowling one is fun, as is Backgammon. The graphics are crude (think of early Macintosh games, but in color, and you'll get the idea) but effective. Instructions are provided on the phone for each game, and control is a snap on all four of them due to the large buttons on the phone. Want more games? You can download them should you get a wireless Internet connection (more on that later).

Back to the topic of making phone calls, however, the reception is very good on this unit. I realize that may have more to do with Cingular's service than the phone, but I've had no problems going across the state with this phone. Also, I haven't had any problem with not being able to hear the party on the other line, even when the signal strength bar on the phone is low. The battery life seems fine, too, but I can't swear to that as I simply take it off the charger in the morning, wander around with it all day and then slap it back on the charger at night. I've had no problem with battery life, but I really haven't pushed the issue yet, either. Cingular claims the battery will hold up to 330 minutes of talk time. I haven't tested that theory, and I doubt I'll ever have to do so.

The menu system is very nice, complete with entries for games, applications, your contact list and etc. Even the factory installed games and such can be deleted if you want, and adding numbers to the contact list is easy enough (I hate the entry method for names, but don't we all -- trying to use a nine-key pad for every letter in the alphabet is annoying). It's easy to get at the list of numbers and hit a button to dial them.

Voice mail is easy to set up, too, and I was able to get it going in just a couple of minutes. Accessing it is a snap. Again, that might have more to do with Cingular than Nokia.

Now, this phone does come with it's share of flaws. First of all, the ring tones that come with this thing are downright horrible. You get some miserable, fruity little ditties and a lot of teeth-grinding rings that are downright annoying. Want to download more? Sure, you can do that! Just get an Internet connection. Yes, you need an Internet connection for more games, more applications, more wallpaper and etc., etc., etc. To me, buying the ability to log on to the Internet to check e-mail and such is like flushing money down the toilet. It's too bad the ring tones stink so bad, because I'm pretty much stuck with them. Oh, and you've got to set up instant messaging, too. There's another service I hate, so I can't comment on it. I can't imagine typing in messages on that keypad, however (going through the process of hitting the "2" button twice to make the letter "b" and such is for the birds).

Also, the instruction manual is horrible. Figuring out how to do easy things like turn down the ringer volume with the manual is a chore. It's easier just to scroll through menus and figure it out on your own. Fortunately, this isn't a terribly complex phone, so you'll probably be better fooling around with it and figuring out how to use the features, regardless.

You've got to beat the right hell out of the power button to get it to work, too. I suppose that's by design, but it is annoying. The power button, once you get the hang of it, is handy, however. You hit it so jump between modes ("silent" and the like).

With the exception of a few minor annoyances, this is a pretty good phone. I like it a lot better than the Sony, anyway, but that's mostly because it's a larger unit that doesn't feel like a toy. For basic use, this phone probably provides everything that most people need.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 75
Recommended for: World Travelers - Works Anywhere and Everywhere!

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