Nokia has had a strange time with its mobile phones in recent months. With R&D facilities that like to create the weird and wonderful, it was with great trepidation that we took a look at the 6660. To our surprise however, the phone is probably one of the nicer "leisure" phones Nokia produces.

Our quick take

Talk time isn't great - two to four hours. This may be because of the large screen that the battery has to power, that said with a suggested standby time of 150 - 240 hours that shouldn't really be the case.

The only other complaint of this phone is its size. If you're looking for something that will fit into the smallest of bags or the tiniest of pockets then this certainly isn't for you. However if it's a large, bright colour screen you're after then this works a treat.

Once upon a time products had none of the combo madness that we see today, they did one job well. Nokia seems have tried to take this on board. The 6600 is obviously the "large screen" phone and because of that, it succeeds in the task at hand in spite of the neutered talk time.

Nokia 6600 - 4.0 / 5

FORAGAINST
  • Triband
  • Big screen
  • conventional keypad
  • Measly Talktime
  • slightly bulky

The first thing that strikes a chord is the size of the screen - almost two thirds of the entire phone handset. Other noticeable assets are that the keypad is actually designed like a traditional phone (something of a rarity for Nokia at the moment) and a helpful button to access the Symbian menu system saves time and multiple button pressing.

For the multimedia fans the 6600 comes with a built in camera. The 2x digital zoom allows you to get closer into the action and when actually using it makes for better portrait shots. Recognising that the majority of us take pictures in the pub when slightly inebriated, Nokia offers a nighttime setting. This is not to say they have gone as far as actually providing a flash, but the setting does lighten the picture.

Inside, the phone offers the usual array of applications, everything from calendars to games. Java applets are supported through the Symbian OS and this makes for a never-ending supply of software to suit your needs.

Apart from the Tri-band GSM networks the phone is also Bluetooth compliant and means you can use it with the wireless headsets in the car.

To recap

Power management could have been better but if you need a big screen phone and don’t have long conversations, this is worth a test drive.