Nokia C3 Review

The C3 is being advertised as the most compact messenger phone from Nokia. The phone drew a lot of attention when it was launched in the middle of this year in Indonesia. It is seen as a companion of the successful Nokia C5 but with capabilities of its own to bowl smartphone lovers over. It s targeted mainly towards the young segment which likes to stay connected via social sites, e-mails and messages. The C3 is getting attention as the one-stop social networking solution for mobile users. Does it deserve this attention or is this another marketing blitz from Nokia? Take a look at the Nokia C3 review and find out!

The C3 comes at a stage when Nokia has lost some of its sheen in the smartphone market. Stiff competition from Google Android phones and Apple iPhones has started to give Nokia makers sleepless nights in the recent months. Naturally, every action of Nokia is being observed more than ever before. Every Nokia handset is being seen with much expectation and attention. We too were curious to know if Nokia has offered anything new this time in its C3 handset. Go through a lowdown of the Nokia C3 specifications given below.

Nokia C3 Design

The Nokia C3 specs give you a seen-it-before feel. Looks wise, the Nokia C3 looks like a close cousin of the much-acclaimed and successful Nokia E72. But it can actually be called a stripped-down version of the latter. The looks are almost the same but the features have been reduced. That is to be expected, considering the price reduction that has also taken place. The C3 sports a very sleek design and measures 115.5 x 58.1 x 13.6 mm. It is only 114 grams thick that makes it very easy to hold for a long time. The ease of grip is a good thing for this phone that is being marketed as a great social networking handset. But the glossy outer shell attracts smears and finger marks which is not a very good thing.

The C3 comes with a full Blackberry-like QWERTY keyboard. The keys are fairly large and well spaced-out and we did not have any problem in typing.

The standard 2.4 inch Nokia C3 display shows 256K colors and comes with a 320 X 240 pixel resolution. We felt the display quality could have been better. A more pixilated screen could have produced sharper images and provided a better social experience. When you watch photos and videos you may want a sharper display.

Nokia C3 Features

As we have said already, the Nokia C3 is a stripped down version of the E72. Some of the features of the E72 have been removed to make the C3 a handset for budget phone buyers. Still, it has much to offer for an affordable handset. Check out some of the

Nokia C3 Multimedia

The C3 offers decent music playing capabilities for a budget smartphone. There is MP3 file support and you can load your favorite songs into the phone to hear them loud wherever you want. There is a 3.5 mm audio jack at the top that lets you enhance its sound quality. There is also FM Radio with RDS for lovers of music stations.

Nokia C3 Camera

The C3 is equipped with a 2MP camera at the back. It lets you shoot sharp 1600 X 1200 pixel images. The video quality is also good. You can record QCIF videos at 15 fps. We just loved clicking images in our garage. The photo as well as video quality is pretty good even in low light situations. For optimum quality, shoot only steady objects. Rapidly moving objects can produce blurry images. The Nokia C3 video is decent even though we felt the quality is not as good as in some rival phones in the same budget segment.

Nokia C3 Memory

Storage capacity is often a concern for social networkers who want to store all their songs, images and applications in one place. The C3 has lots of memory on offer for its users. Apart from the on-board 55MB memory, you also get a 2 GB microSD card. This can be expanded to up to 8 GB.

Nokia C3 Social Networking Capabilities

Now to the thing that really makes C3 an attention grabber. The phone is powered with a Communities application for Facebook and Twitter. Being a J2ME software, it has a sluggish loading time. But it integrates nicely on the homescreen and offers some pretty good features. But it is slow on speed and the fact that the phone runs on a slow processor and the Symbian 40 platform does not help matters either. You can download twitter applications like Twibble for a better tweeting experience.

A cool feature about the C3 main screen is that it is fully customizable. Social networkers can adjust it in a way so that the Twitter or Facebook feeds can be delivered live to the home screen. There are also dedicated keys to get immediate access to various social networking and messaging applications. Major messenger platforms like Yahoo and MSN messengers are available through Ovi chat. Surfing the net is also a breeze with the Opera Mini 4 browser.

Nokia C3 Connectivity

Good connectivity is a steady feature in Nokia phones and the C3 does not disappoint either. But we greatly missed the lack of 3G services. You have to fall back on WiFi, GPRS and EDGE for networking support. The Nokia C3 WiFi is of the latest quality and helps you manage your data usage admirably.

For those who still use a smartphone as, well, a phone the C3 can be a useful buy. The call quality is nice and the ring volume is loud enough for you to hear in noisy environments. But we had to also use the vibration mode in crowded places for best effect.

Nokia C3 Battery Performance

You get a 7 hours talk-time and 800 hrs of standby time with the C3. But on heavy usage, as we did to check the performance, the battery will provide a talk-time of around 5 ½ hours. That is okay by budget phone standards but should be improved if Nokia wants to stay ahead of competition.

Nokia C3 Price

The model is available for only 80 pounds or 100 Euros and around Rs 6000 in India.. The price it is selling at gives you personal satisfaction to a extent but not highly appreciateable.

Users of pricier phones may sneer at the Nokia C3. But we felt it to be a really compact messenger phone. The Nokia C3 specs are decent enough for a budget smartphone. The sleek design, good networking features and smart pricing are sure to make it much popular among young buyers. If you love socializing on the net, the Nokia C3 should snugly fit into your pocket.

One Response to “Nokia C3”

1. Tprotutorials says:

   December 16, 2010 at 6:30 pm

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...