A Great BASIC Cell Phone -- Changeable Faceplates add fun!
Written: Apr 22 '03 (Updated Jul 02 '03)
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Pros: Small, lightweight, great reception, and usable features. Changeable Faceplates!
Cons: No vibrate mode; Cheap Plastic Casing
The Bottom Line: Basic cell phone with features you'll use every day.
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| briandalsmom's Full Review: Nokia 1260 Cell Phone |
My 15-year old is a busy person—so much so it seemed like he was always trying to find a phone to call me. Since I get a great discount on cell service through my employer I decided to get him service. Not wanting to pay more than I had to, I chose the “free” phone that came with the service—that’s how I ended up with this Nokia.
It’s a basic phone with basic features—perfect for my son. The on/off switch is a tiny button on the top of the phone—evidently this is quite common for Nokia phones but since this was my first it took me a few minutes to find it. Once on, you’re presented with the Start Screen—it gives you some vital information. On the left-hand side is a signal indicator—the taller the indicator the stronger the signal. The right-hand side has a battery indicator—same here, the taller the indicator the stronger the battery. The time is located in the upper right-hand column and from here you can access the menu or phone book (labeled “names”). This all seems logical but is totally different from my old phone.
From the menu you have several choices—you can do any of the following:
Lock the keypad to prevent accidental key presses (something I should use more often—I’ve pulled my phone out of my purse many times to see I’ve “called” someone).
Retrieve voice messages
Retrieve text messages
Use digital services (if you plan allows)
Change the ring/download new ones
Using the scroll keys located in the center of the navigation area, the keys to the left and right are for selecting options, you can navigate through the many menus as well as your phone book. There is a basic help menu as well—you access it by going to the menu item you have a question about and wait for about 15 seconds—the help information, if available, for that menu item will pop up—use the down arrow to view the entire contents and back button to return to the menu item.
SHORTCUTS
Everything is numbered so you can get an option quickly without going through all the menus and submenus. To access them press menu—within 3 seconds enter the first number of the menu function you want (shortcuts are listed in the user manual as well as on the phone itself in the upper top right corner of the screen). For example, if you want to change to the silent mode press, Menu-3-2. To write a message press, Menu-1-1. By memorizing your most-used options you’ll be able to change the settings with just a few key strokes.
BATTERY
Powered by a rechargeable battery—you’ll need to completely charge and discharge (leave the phone on until it goes dead) it two or three times before it will work at its full performance. Fail to do this and you’ll suffer poor battery life. Temperature extremes can also affect the ability of your batter to charge—allow it to come to room temperature before charging. Also, never leave your battery in the charger for more than one week—overheating can occur and ruin the battery. The standard charger that comes with the phone takes 24 hours on the first charge and then approximately 4 hours for mid-charges. There are faster options—a quick-charge will do it in 1-2 hours.
STANDBY/TALK TIME
Digital the talk time is 5 hours, standby is up to 15 days. Analog is 2 hours/2 days. If you treat the battery properly (see above) the standby time is accurate, at least it is for us.
PHONE BOOK
Allows you to do one-touch dialing. This phone stores up to 200 entries including e-mail addresses and physical addresses if you wish. You cannot however enter the same name twice-standard for any database driven phonebook. You can add, edit, search, and customize the phone book for your needs.
CALL LOG/TIMER
Lets you know if you missed a call, what calls you’ve received and also those you’ve dialed. It also gives you the total time connected—great for tracking your monthly usage (shortcut: menu-2-5). Be aware though that rounding off will occur so your bill will not match the call timer exactly. If you select to clear the timers it can’t be undone.
VOICE/TEXT MAIL
If your service plan supports it, voice/text mail is easy to use and access from this phone. There are several ways to retrieve it. You can set the way you’d like to be notified—icon only or icon with audible beep. Typing a text message is standard and uses the existing 12 keys to type. The maximum message length you can send is 160 characters. The length of the messages you can receive is dependent on your carrier.
PERSONALIZATION
There are many ways to make this phone fit you—chose the language you’d like displayed, the ring tone you like, and the accessories you prefer. You can also set “profiles”. These allow you to set the phone up for different circumstances—like when you’re in a meeting, the office, or hockey game.
For example, for a meeting you may want the phone to be silent and show only on the display that you’re receiving a call. Same for a movie theatre. However, at a hockey game you’ll want the ring tones at their loudest. Instead of resetting the features for each event, you set profiles prior and then when you need them select them with a few key strokes for predictable behavior.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Alarm Clock—you can even press a snooze key for a few more minutes…
Download Ringtones—you can download up to ten ring tones if your wireless service provider allows it.
Games- Comes installed with Snake II, Space Impact, and Pairs II. I’m not a game player but my son seems to enjoy these.
WARRANTY
1 year which begins on the date of purchase—does not cover normal wear and tear nor damage caused by dropping.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It works well in my service area—in places my old phone didn’t. The features are useful without a lot of extras that would have gone unused. Changeable faceplates add just enough fun for the teenager--we've found a site that sells the popular Nokia-compatible faces for $7.50 so he's stocking up (see below). You'll need a small tool to change the faceplate but most stores offer them for a nominal fee or you can purchase one at a regular hardware store. It's not easy to change the Nokia 1260 faceplate. Here's how I did it--unscrew the two screws at the bottom, place the phone keypad down on your thigh, on/off button facing away from you. Press down firmly toward your thigh will pushing toward the on/off button at the same time. That'll get the back off. Next flip it over and gently pull the bottom out and up toward the off/off button. It's not easy, but if you pry it off you'll break off two tiny pieces of plastic that hold the front to the back.
My only regret is that it doesn’t have a vibration mode. The sound quality is the same as my more expensive phone (see my review on the - Nokia 3590 and the Nokia 3560), and since it’s small and lightweight it fits easily in his pocket or backpack.
I got a new phone as well--it's a fancier phone with more features Nokia 3590 - only because the service I chose required it, otherwise I would have gotten this simple phone as well.
UPDATE: I bought accessories for this phone--great experience! Read the review at http://www.epinions.com/content_103805521540
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): free
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Epinions.com ID:
briandalsmom
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Member: Mom
Location: USA
Reviews written: 248
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