Great reception, solid build, fast OS, good sound!!
Written: Jul 10 '05
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Pros: Call clarity, great reception, solid feel, fast and responsive OS
Cons: I really can't think of any, maybe price?? However you get what you pay for!
The Bottom Line: If you are turned off by the flashing lights, you can shut them off and still have a rugged small phone that sounds great and has top notch reception.
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| quietstorm52's Full Review: Nokia 3220 |
I have T-mobile as my carrier and live in Central Ohio. My previous phone was the Motorola V600 and I am so glad I made the switch to the Nokia 3220.
I wanted a clear sounding phone, with loud ringtones, an easy interface, and an alarm clock and this phone has all of those and more. It's cool that it has other gadgets like camera, video, and lights, but that isn't why I bought the phone. If I want a camera I will buy a digital camera, same with video camera and blinking lights.
I will get to the things that really matter:
- The size -
This phone is very slim and sleek, but just big enough to fit nicely in your hand when held to your ear. The rubber grips on the side are inter-changeable, and provide a solid and slip free feel to the phone. I'm a 27 year old male, and the phone is as long as 4 fingers placed together (minus thumb) side by side. It fits nicely in my pocket without weighing it down like my previous V600 did.
- Volume levels -
Wow, this is the loudest phone I have ever owned. The loudest and most piercing tone is the 'fire alarm' that is just a standard ring. I left the phone in the kitchen recently and went downstairs with the family and it went off. My mother thought it was a house alarm or the fire alarm (hence the name) because it was so loud even downstairs. There are a variety of ring tones, most being songs and anthems, however I stick to one. The loud shrill sound serves as as great alarm clock, too. One good thing I like about this phone, you can set your alarm clock to go off in the morning and then turn your phone off if you want to save battery life for some reason. Even though the phone is off, the alarm will come on right on time, and will ask you if you'd like to turn the phone on as well, with a snooze option, too!
- The feel -
As I said earlier, it feels very solid and durable. If I go to slip it into my pocket and drop it, I won't even be nervous, it's that solid.
- The reception -
I see all the online reviews for this phone, and 99% of them really don't talk about this area for some reason. I think reception is one of the biggest things to consider when buying a mobile phone. I am very happy to say this phone has EXCELLENT reception. I can be up on Lake Erie with 1 bar of signal and not hesitate to make a call because I know it will sound excellent and the call will not drop. In my apartment I get a full 7 bars and rarely drops below 5 bars. The calls are crystal clear on both ends. I've had people use my phone to call me and listened on their Samsung, and it sounded like a house phone. Deep bass, not "tiney" at all, very hard to tell you're listening to a person on a cellular phone. Like I said, if I see even 1 bar I know my call is going to go through and sound just as good as any.
- Display -
Nice color screen. Big enough for basic picture viewing, or for nifty screensavers. The user interface is clean and sharp. One of the nicest things about this phone is how fast the OS is, very very quick and fast. It tears right though the options and folders with zero delay. The few games this phone comes with look good on the display, too. There are about half a dozen "themes" to pick from, changing the menu colors from blue, green, brown, red, orange, and yellow. I personally like the blue.
- Battery -
About average. I usually leave it on all day and shut it off at night and I get about 5-6 days on a full charge. Nothing super impressive, but I suspect the lights have an above normal drain on the battery that other phones don't.
- Gimmicks -
Video camera: Easy access through the camera menu. Pictures are somewhat blurry. I didn't but this phone for the camera though. I emailed myself a video from the phone and it opened with quicktime and was blurred. One neat thing is the camera has night vision, so you can take videos at night or in the dark. hehehe... This works best actually in low light situations, like at a campfire or a dimly lit dinner. 15 seconds of video at high res, or 50 seconds at low resolution.
Lights: If you don't like them, you can turn them off very easily. Simple as that. if you think the lights are too childish and attention getting, you can turn them off in the display settings in 3 seconds. I like them, and have no problem with them. The grips light up and dance to music in 4 colors (red, green, yellow, orange)
Voice recorder: Record up to 5:00 of voice audio. This is good for taking self notes as reminders. Anything that you record as audio can be used as a ringtone or alarm clock ringer, too. I recorded Howard Stern saying "hey now!" and set it as the ring tone for one of my friends.
Housing/faceplates:
You can change and swap the outer casing of the phone to suit your styles with lots of different ones available online at ebay, etc. I like the black one that came with it over the white and blue one that came with it. The phone comes with 2 cases, and 2 backings to put on the back of the phone with different themes.
Etc: You can add images to your caller ID list. So when my girlfriend calls me, her picture is displayed instead of just her name and phone number.
- The On/Off button -
This is the first phone that has ever had it on TOP of the phone, and I really like that. It's hard to press, but it should be, as to not shut it off by accident. The phone also has keyguard, once activated you have to hit a 2-button code to "unlock" it. Good for times when you have the phone in your pocket so it doesn't start dialing people by itself. The phone will still ring when "locked" and you still answer it the same way. By default, it will lock back up after you hang up.
- Wrap Up -
I am happy with my phone, and am very satisfied with the signal and call clarity I get even with 1 bar of reception.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 150.00
Recommended for: Adventurous Technophiles - Tough and Durable
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Epinions.com ID:
quietstorm52
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Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
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