If you follow the world of wireless phones you may have heard that GSM in North America is finally becoming the technology of choice and in a big way. Voicestream was the GSM pioneer in the USA, adopting the same wireless standard that the rest of the world uses. Other providers had been using technologies that were mainly USA/Canada only. Well now the big boys such as Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless are building GSM networks of there own and plan to introduce them within the next year or so.

So what happens to current customers? Many will have to buy a new GSM phone. Nokia understands that this may not be a desirable option for a lot of people. What Nokia has done for us is develop a phone that uses multi-networks, which they call GAIT. The new 6340 and 6340i use traditional USA/Canada wireless technology, namely Analog (a.k.a. AMPS) and digital TDMA but combines these technologies with GSM all in one phone.

I orgianlly had the 6340 which has the GSM 1900 mhz band, TDMA with both 800 and 1900 mhz bands and Analog. I have now upgraded to the 6340i which adds the GSM 850 mhz band to the others the 6340 already had. My provider, which is Cingular wireless, is now selling the phone and since the volume control switch on my 6340 was acting up I decided to buy a 6340i. The Cingular store took in my old 6340 as defective and just handed me a 6340i for free!

Performance: A
I'm using Cingular in Palm Beach County, FL, which uses the older TDMA technology for now. According to the rep at my Cingular store, GSM should be up and running here by August/September. Sound quality with the 6340i is excellent. The speaker volume is much better than on my two past Nokias, a 6160 and a 5165. There is no detectable hiss under any circumstances.

I actually prefer to use my 6340i to my landline because the Nokia is so much clearer. The 6340i has an equalizer to adjust the sound if you like. I honestly don't think it needs one and I haven't even bothered to play around with it. Unlike past larger Nokias the volume control is located on the side where its much easier to access. Older models forced you to use the scroll buttons located on the main keypad.

Reception is about the same as my other Nokias, which is to say excellent. I usually get between six and seven bars( seven is the max). Calls only seem to drop when I'm speaking to someone with a Sprint PCS phone so it must due to their poor network and not my phone. As far as talk time I average about 4 1/2 hours on a single charge and 11 days standby. That's way better than the 2 hours talk time and 6 days standby I got with my old 5165.

Features: A
Only a few short months ago the feature set on this phone would have earned an A but so many phones now have color screens, camaras and the like which makes the 6340i now slightly behind the times. However the truly important features are here.

The 6340i and its other 6300 series siblings finally offer an internal vibrate mode. This may not sound like a big deal but just try a 5165 or a 6160 with a vibrating battery. The vibrating is weak and the battery itself cost at least $30. The vibrate on the 6340i however is very strong and its nearly impossible to miss a call even in the noisiest places.

Like my old 6160 the 6340i includes a calculator and a calendar. When I downgraded to my 5165 I hadn't realized how much I missed those features. I'm now able to plan my entire week on the phone and have the phone vibrate to remind me of an important event. There are also ringing profiles that allow you to customize how your phone rings or doesn't ring as the case may be.

The 6340i also includes voice dialing and commands. You can assign up to ten phone contacts a voice dialing command. Plus you can program up to five general voice commands. I switch Profiles often and this feature makes it easy. Just hit the "names" button or the low volume button, wait a second for the chirp and say " silent" or whatever you are trying to access and voila, its that simple! Its great if you tend to use your phone while driving.

Also included are the usual Nokia games like Snake 2 and a new pinball game called Bumper. A new feature for the 6340i model is a screen saver that displays an analog or digital clock and the the current date. This is a nice touch and the analog clock looks classy.

Since the 6340i is a GSM based phone it uses a SIM card. The SIM card stores your provider information as well as your phonebook information on a tiny plastic card under the battery cover. So in a few years when it becomes time to upgrade your phone this will allow you to do so without losing any information plus you no longer have to face the annoying task or re-entereing your phonebook!

You have the ability to download ring tones, text message people, access the web and an infrared feature that lets you "beam" your business card to another phone. I guess a Star Trek style Transporter can't be too far off now!

Ergonomics: A
The 6340i is one of Nokia's largest phones right now. I feel that a larger phone is easier to use overall. The keypad layout is similar the outgoing 6100 series meaning there are two function keys toward the top of the main keyboard which allows you to access your menus and phonebook (which includes 500 contacts!) Below those are the Talk key on the left, the up/down scroll in the center and the end key on the right. All current Nokias use this same basic layout except for the 5100 series and the 3390/3395. The keys are large and generally feel good.

It is worth nothing the keys rattle when the phone vibrates so perhaps its best to use the Silent profile at the movies. This seems to be less of an issue with the 6340i model over the older 6340 for some reason. The internal antena makes the phone more comfortable in your pocket and there's nothing to snag your keys.

Overall: A
I guess you can say I'm now an official Nokia guy; four in a row and all are winners. The 6340i is a very relevant phone right now since Cingular and others are converting from TDMA technology to GSM and will one day shut down the old network. Purchasing a 6340i will allow you to keep your phone for a long time with no worries of incompatibility. But with the 6340i's superb performance, good feature content and user friendliness you'll want to keep a long time just because its so good

Recommended: Yes