Nokia 6300 mobile phone review

Full Review

Sometimes you just need a mobile phone that is just that: a mobile phone. Bearing that in mind, in steps the Nokia 6300, a mobile phone that doesn't complicate the matter. So does it work, or are you left wanting more?

The appeal here is to those who aren't in the convergence market. The phone might sport all the usual modern day phone features like included music player, or 2 megapixel digital camera, but there is no dedicated digital camera or music buttons, no shutters, and no "oh you've got to turn it this way to operate the camera". The 6300 is first and foremost a phone, which in this case is really likely to appeal.

The focus of the 12mm thin stainless steel and glossy plastic designed phone is on the simple, uncomplicated large keypad, and the larger clear 2-inch 240 x 320 screen that sports 16 million colours.

The only notion towards anything other than a phone on the hardware front is the inclusion of a headphone jack so you can plug straight in and listen to your tunes on the go.

Inside and the phone is just as simple, with Nokia striping out all the complication with the aim of making this easy to use.

In its quest for simplicity, Nokia has opted to the Symbian Series 40 operating system, the simpler of Series 40 and Series 60, and while it means that you won't have access to additional applications like SlingMedia's Slingplayer or Nokia's online over the air music store, it does mean that for users of older Nokia phones they will be able to get to grips incredibly quickly.

The 6300 might be simple in its approach but that doesn't stop it coming without plenty of features. On the multimedia front there is the music and video player supporting MP3, MP4, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, H.263, H.264 formats, an FM radio and the 2 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom which is capable of snapping stills and video.

Other tech specs include the option to expand the memory beyond the unit's internal 7.8MB of memory to up to 2GB with a microSD card, Bluetooth and EDGE compatibility for the promise of slightly improved web surfing speeds.

As for performance, the phone does well, offering an impressive battery life if you don't utilise the music player or digital camera.

However we did find the incoming call volume quiet, especially in busy environments compared to other handsets we've used.

Verdict

The Nokia 6300 is a great phone if you are looking for just a phone. Of course as soon as you step away from this remit and want better quality pictures, dedicated music buttons, or 3G connectivity then it all starts to fall short. However as the 6300 never professes to be anything more than just offering the basics this will please many a mobile phone user just looking to make calls.

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