I recently upgraded my phone with AT&T Wireless after using my former Nokia 5165. The 5165 was great for my first phone and for a freebie, but it was not everything I needed. After much research, I determined that the 6360 would be everything I wanted and one that I would keep for at least a few years. Because of its assumed longevity, I decided that it would be worth the price.

As I am sure many of you have discovered, cell phones can be very expensive when you are not signing up for that “brand new” account. The ticket price on this phone was $149. Of course, I did not pay this. My husband and I discovered that AT&T has contracts with many companies to offer employee discounts on bills and phones. My husbands company does do this. Fortunately, we got an excellent rep who pointed this out to us (for the past year, we’ve been paying full price unnecessarily). You should check on that for your account the next opportunity you get. This discount saved us 50% on this phone. In addition, we received a $22 credit apiece on our account for being “long-time” AT&T users (1 year). This brought the price of our phones to $52.50 each. Still pricey to me, but better than the original cost.

First, the pros: I love this phone because…
1. Talk time - It has a lithium ion battery. This means that it will not die every other day like my other phone. It has actually lasted me 6 days (with full use – I talk approximately 40 minutes a day). This is approximately on par to the length they say it should last.
2. Size - The size of this phone is wonderful. It fits great in my hand with ease and without discomfort. My other phone was bulky and Nokia has put out a lot of smaller phones lately that seem to be too small for my hand and make it difficult to dial (my bosses each have one of the smaller phones and I use them often). This phone is longer and slightly wider, but slimmer than the other small Nokia phones. Perfect for me.
3. Weight – This phone is very light, even with the battery in. It’s a blessing for me as I carry a heavy wallet, palm and phone in my purse.
4. Safety – One of the features that made me want to purchase this phone was the voice dialing. It is very easy to set up and use and is quite sensitive to your voice (it responded well to my commands while I was driving with the windows open). You can even leave the phone locked and still use the voice command as long as you have a headset (one comes with the phone) that has an answer/end button and a Nokia connector. Another function that is useful to some people (but not me) is the automatic answer when the headset is in place. I don’t like this function because I tend to leave my phone in the car with the headset in and this would cause it to answer when I am not there. My husband (who travels on the interstate often), however, loves this feature, as he does not have to take his hands off of the wheel to press the answer/end button on his headset.
5. Ease of use – This phone is very intuitive for its users. It is set up with almost everything you could possibly need including task lists and calendar functions. It allows you to group callers under categories and subgroups (such as Friends/the Smiths) so that your phone numbers are more organized (under the Smiths you can add all of their cell/home/other phone numbers). It even allows you to assign different ring tones to each category and you can still apply a voice command to each individual phone number (up to 20 total). Although I do not use the calendar (as I said, I carry a palm), it looks easy to use. Finally, the IR is excellent. My husband often beams information back and forth to his palm and you can send whole subgroups of phone numbers to other people at the touch of a few simple buttons.
6. Clarity - It has excellent sound quality. I spoke with several people who thought I was on a land line because they could not here background noise. Also, this phone works everywhere. Even where my old phone did not. The internal antenna is very clear (and now my cats won't chew on it). It even works in the department stores. Nothing I have ever used works there.

The cons:
1. No lock out – Users who are familiar with Nokia phones are also familiar with the lockout function. This enables you to set a pass code on your phone so that, when you turn it on, you cannot access it without the code. This is a good anti-theft device if you remember to shut it off or if you lose your phone (it shuts off upon battery discharge). This phone has no such feature.
2. Personalization – I really liked the idea of personalizing my old phone with holograms and faceplates. Unfortunately, you cannot do that with this phone. It does have the express on capabilities. As a result, even though you can take off the old faceplate via 4 Nokia screws in the back (with a special screwdriver kit by Nokia) and replace it with a faceplate specifically made for the 6360, you are not allowed to do so. Doing so will void your warranty. This is why Nokia and AT&T do not sell the faceplates themselves.
3. Accessories – As this is a new phone, I am sure this con will alleviate itself; however, very few places carry accessories for this phone. Staples and Circuit City are the only ones who do so in our area. This phone does take the same connections for headsets and charges as the 5100/6100 series phones, so fortunately, headsets and charges are easily locatable with this piece of information. However, protective cases are not abundant. Presently, only three are made for this phone: An Ion silver belt clip cover made by Body Glove/Fellowes ($24.99/AT&T), A black leather cover without a protective plastic piece over the keys and buttons made by AT&T ($24.99/AT&T), and a Neoprene black swivel clip cover made by Body Glove/Fellowes ($19.99/Staples & Circuit City). Or, there is always the website. But for now, that’s all.

UPDATE: Two months after writing this review, I began to have problems with my phone. It began dropping calls and crackling for no reason. I called AT&T and they sent me out a replacement (neglecting to tell me it that they only replace with refurbished phones). The "new" phone I received did not work properly from the day I received it. The problems were all related to the headset connection. It crackled when ringing (only with the headset in)and produced a vicarious connection (the headset would stop working mid-call at times). These problems persisted no matter what brand of headset I used, leading me to believe it was the phone. Again, AT&T replaced it with another refurb, which seems to be working fine.

Even with these problems, I still believe this is a great phone. My husband bought the same phone at the same time and has had absolutely NO problems with his. He is tough on phones and this one has lasted longer than any other phone he's owned (and he is no easier on this phone). I honestly believe that my original phone was a fluke(as sometimes happens with manufactured goods). The second phone was most likely an incorrectly fixed refurb (as it didn't work from day 1) and the third phone seems to be working fine. And since AT&T has a great return policy on phones (the new phone overnighted, a return label for the old phone included, and only a $10 return charge on the FIRST replacement), I did not feel put out or inconvenienced in any way.

For these reasons, I will still recommend this phone highly and will not change my initial rating. I just felt that anyone reading ought to have all of the facts. But, I have to say, it's still the easiest phone I've ever used and I LOVE it.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 52.50