Nokia 6260 review: Symbian in a flip

Here it comes: a clamshell smartphone with Symbian Series 60 - Nokia 6260. It features a revolving high resolution display, a memory card slot, radio and an MP3 player this time. Read more about this loaded phone in our review.

Nokia is entering the realm of clamshell phones very fast. We celebrated the first 7200 model half a year ago, then there was nothing for a long time and now it's a storm: 6170, 2650 and now the new Nokia 6260 is coming up. Till the end of the year a new clamshell Nokia phone will come, the stylish 7270 model.

 

Nokia 7200

Nokia 6170

Nokia 2650

Nokia 6260

Four contemporary Nokia clamshells 

The tested Nokia 6260 is not interesting only because it's a clamshell. Mainly, it's the first smartphone with Symbian OS, betting on this kind of construction. It's a Series 60 device, which appears similar to Nokia 6670, 7610 or 6600 from the functions point of view.

This time the pictures are larger than usual, you will be able to see the phone in details. If they open in a small window, you can enlarge the window by double-clicking on the title bar.

Nokia 6260: a totally angular clamshell

Too much empty space

I like clamshell phones of the European producers; I described my arguments in the Nokia 6170 review.The new smartphone can shake hands with 6170. The design is again plain and angular, freshened up by a group of details:

• dots on the front label again in Nokia 6170 style
• small embedded label with an LED control light
• black piece on the side with a camera lens and buttons
• a pad under the keypad
• clamshell hinge revolving in two directions

The phone design is conservative, but still stylish enough. It's coming on the market in dark and light variants. This mobile is not meant for users who enjoy extravagance; it's more like a business mobile phone.

Front and side views on the phone

Nokia didn't take advantage of the most important potential of the flip phones - having the possibility to make a small phone with large display and comfortable keypad. Well, the display is huge and even the biggest finger will find every key, but there is too much empty and unused space, which makes Nokia 6260 to be a big and quite heavy phone.

There is a lot of free space on the phone's surface

Let's compare the size and weight of Nokia 6260 with similar phones:

 

Phone	Size	Weight
Nokia 6260	102 Χ 49 Χ 23 mm	130 g
Nokia 7610	109 Χ 53 Χ 19 mm	118 g
Nokia 6600	109 Χ 58 Χ 24 mm	122 g

 

Except the thickness Nokia is the smallest one of these phones, but we've expected a clamshell to be smaller and lighter . It's a phone that you'll feel in your pocket and probably never wear it on the neck, even though there is an eyelet for a strap in the right upper corner. Besides, after opening the phone's length will double and the bottom part of the phone will fetch up somewhere in front of your vocal cord. Therefore the microphone can be placed high in the hinge.

Comparing the size of the phone

To compare, let's a look at the size and weight of the expected Panasonic X700, which will be also a smartphone with Symbian Series 60 OS. Its dimensions are 87 x 47 x 24 mm and it weighs 95 g - that's more like a right size for a smart clamshell phone.

The smart Panasonic X700 (According to Panasonic it might come out in November, but delay is possible)

 

Nokia loves dots

The phone covers are made of matte plastic, only the lucent label on the front part is shiny. Mark the details: dots are printed not only under the label; a rough raster is also etched on its surface. There is also an embedded label with the producer's logo and a diode that blinks yellow to alert you of an incoming call. This diode lights also during the charging.

Front label decorated with dots • mark the drawn and etched points • blinking diode reports an incoming call

The phone has no front display and this can't be compensated by a small diode. The diode is not blinking with incoming messages and it won't tell you anything about missed calls as well. But Nokia 6260 offers a solution. If you turn the top part of the clamshell by 180 degrees and close it back, main display appears on top. One of the advantages of the flip phones is the protected main display, so I don't know whether most people will use the phone in that way. Moreover, the call control is not quite easy in this case.

Voila, a front display!

Nokia has no replaceable covers but still I have some objections against the construction. The battery cover is moving, but that's a detail that you probably won't notice in normal usage. There is also a looseness, allowing the cover to move to sides in closed position. With flip phones of a normal size, you wouldn't even recognize it, but Nokia 6260 is above the average, so the move is noticeable. That's why you can also hear a soft creak when you press the phone. The cover has three positions for opening: two positions in dead centers and the third is right in the middle while both parts of the phone are perpendicular. Only in this position there is a noticeable looseness that causes the display to move by itself forward and backward almost by ten degrees. An important fact is that this position is default for turning the display before shooting. The mobile is supposed to be held as a camcorder and the shaking display is not satisfactory. The construction disappointed me a bit.

Right in this position the part with the display has a big looseness in forward and backward directions

Four modes of the phone

Considering the possibility for opening and turning the display, Nokia 6260 features four mechanical modes:

• Closed: normal closed clamshell
• Work: normal open clamshell
• Looking through: the display is turned so that it can be seen in closed position
• Camcorder: the display is turned by 90 degrees

Four modes: closed, work, looking through and camcorder

A fifth mode appears, when the display is turned on the outside and a bit tilted from the middle perpendicular position. As you can see on the picture, this position is useful for typing on a bluetooth keypad, which you can get as accessory. Its own weight sometimes closes the phone because there is no locking.

Bluetooth keypad can be bought in addition • I won't tilt the phone further, it would get closed

It's possible to turn the display in both directions: to the left you can turn it by ninety degrees (this position is used for self-portraits); to the right the display lets you turn it by 180 degrees so that you can close it to the phone.

Display handling

 

Memory card hot swap

On the edge of the front part there are two apertures with a loudspeaker beneath. The phone uses it for ringing and for a loud handsfree as well. The right side is occupied by a double-button for volume control and the camera key. But if the phone is open in Work or Looking through mode, the same key is used for accessing the Push to talk function.

Speaker's apertures are on the front and on the side • buttons on the right side

The camera lens and the invisible infrared port are placed on the left side of the phone. Top part is the place for the Pop-Port connector and the charger slot. Placement of the system connector is quite untraditional; usually we can find it in the bottom part.

Camera lens on the left side • there is also an infrared port below that, in the black piece • Pop-Port connector on the top part

Nokia 6260 is using a standard Li-Ion battery BL-4C. Official duration values are up to 144 hours in standby or 240 minutes of talk time. Charging takes about hour and a half.

Battery cover is a thin plastic shell • a look at the battery under the cover and memory card slot

You can get the Reduced Size MMC memory card without switching the phone off. After N-Gage QD it's the first smart Nokia, which doesn't need to be turned off during card replacement. The handset is delivered with a 32 MB card. SIM card slot is solved quite untraditionally; you get the SIM card out by using an inconspicuous slider.

Two phases of SIM card holding: inserted • moving the slider slides out the card

 

Split keypad

After opening the clamshell the display appears approximately in thirty degrees angle under the pad. The phone is stable and not loosing balance. In the right upper corner there is a small switch button that certainly doesn't need to be embedded this way. The buttons of the flip phones are protected and there is no risk of pressing them unintentionally.

The switch button is embedded

The display has exactly the same parameters as e.g. Nokia 7610 or 6670. It's active, sized 35 x 41 mm and displays max. 65K colors in the standard 176 x 208 pixel resolution. No complaints about the quality of the display, it's even brighter than the older models.

But what is that below the display? A block of function keys. They don't share space with the numeric keypad in the bottom part - Nokia has moved them up. I thought that this might be a problem and I was sure about that after the first couple of hours of testing the product. Nevertheless, it didn't take me a long time to get used to it.

Function keys are separated from the "normal" keypad

The user should hold the phone a bit higher than usual but that's not a trouble. I would say that from the ergonomics point of view it's even useful. It's not necessary to hold a heavy phone in the bottom part so that its weight works as a lever towards palm. Just hold it in its gravity center, place your forefinger in the back on the hinge and your thumb can easily reach both top and bottom keys. On the preproduction unit the display moved a bit by pressing a key but the tested production piece is solid enough.

I won't praise the keys much. Except the oddly split left part of the functional block, they are big enough, but not really well settled in some cases. If I don't press some of these keys precisely, they got stuck to the others; and some are rustling a bit.

The key for accessing the main menu untraditionally splits left side of the functional block • keys are big enough • microphone is hidden in a hollow hinge

Numeric keys illumination is stronger

 

When the keys aren't needed

The way to control the phone is, except the unusually split keypad, the same as with other smart Nokia Series 60 phones. You can find the same keys and the same graphical interface there. Because Nokia 6260 is using Symbian version 7.0, you can adapt all graphics by Themes. Three of them are straight in the phone, next themes you can find on the Internet and install on the phone.

Four different graphical themes: three of them are standard and the last one is downloaded

Due to the fact that the phone has no front display, it's reasonable to set the phone not to accept incoming calls by opening the clamshell. The auto answer setting is useful only in case when you use the phone with the display on top; but then you have to turn it every time you need to use the keypad and I think it'll bother you soon. Moreover, in closed position it's not possible to lock the keypad.

It's possible to phone with the display atop, but it's kind of complicated because instead of pressing the red and green earphone button you need to find a row in the context menu. Searching in the address book is possible only with the arrow and of course you won't be able to write a message (there is no problem with reading messages). The same stands for other applications: if you don't need the numeric keypad, the phone with the display upside down suits the purpose.

Sort of a strange camera

Nokia 6260 with its construction adapted especially for photography pretends to be a capable camera phone. But it can take pictures only in 640 x 480 pixel resolution and even this resolution is not always available.

You won't believe that, but if you shoot in a "camcorder" style with the display turned by 90 degrees, it allows you to take pictures only in resolution of 480 x 360 pixels. Just if you turn the display upside down and close it to the keypad, you can get the 640 x 480 pixels format. Shooting this way is like using these old reflex cameras where you look in the finder from above. I don't understand the purpose of this limitation.

Like this you'll make a small picture • and like this a bigger one

Camera functions are still the same as before. Again there is no exposure compensation available, so users can't tune too bright or dark pictures. The 6260 model features 2x digital zoom only, a possibility to choose small pictures format to a directory and it allows you to take pictures in night mode. Photos can be saved either in the internal memory or on the memory card. It's possible to select three quality levels; the highest level has produces extremely big files (low compression). Whilst mid-quality level pictures in format of 640 x 480 pixels take 20-30 kB, high quality will take 160 kB in average.

Display by shooting with a normal open phone • after you tilt a display, also an image is adjusted; pity of the unused space, pictures could be in full resolution • camera context menu

Nokia claims officially that there is 6 MB of free memory in the phone, but two different methods showed that in fact there are 2 MB more. After the phone is switched on, there is more then 8.3 MB RAM available.

Multimedia files gallery • pictures overview • integrated file manager isn't a top class one

Quality of the pictures from the integrated camera is just average, same as with video that Nokia 6260 can record in 3GP format and in resolution of 128 x 96 pixels. Sample video.

Sample pictures

Three quality levels: from the best to the worst

Digital zoom demonstration

If you'll shoot camcorder style, you'll get just the small picture format

For text copying contemporary camera phones are still not good enough (bigger and smaller format)

Sample pictures in 640 x 480 resolution

 

Functions: quick flight

The review is now in the phase, which I'm starting to dislike: functions description. Nowadays phones are so uniform, that I am just repeating what I've already written. Nokia 6260 is a standard Series 60 mobile phone, the same as the 7610 model, and with some small exceptions is identical to Nokia 6600. Hence I won't describe all functions in details. If you want to know more about them, read the Nokia 7610 review. They are really identical from the functions point of view. But phones often differ from each other by sound quality during telephony. Nokia 6260 is not going to get good marks in this subject, because it can be heard quite strong noise of higher frequencies in the earphone. It's worse than e.g. with Nokia 7610 to which I can compare it straight to. Call volume is sufficient and loud handsfree is also well heard.

Entering a number • dialing a number • missed call notification

Address book and other databases can use up to 3.5 MB shared memory. The address book works with multi-items of course and it's possible to search in it by gradual writing of letters; also it can be synchronized with a PC. Nokia can play polyphonic melodies with 48 voices, but it's more impressive to use an MP3 file as a ringtone.

Searching in the address book • name detail • ringing profiles overview • profile settings (MP3 melodies)

 

Almost a music mobile

One of the key innovations comparing to the previous models is the choice of music functions. Nokia 6260 features an integrated stereophonic radio and headphones are delivered straight in the package. The headphones must be connected also if you listen to the radio over a loudspeaker because they work also as an antenna. It seems that the Pop-port connector is not well designed because it's not holding the plug really steady and sometimes the sound comes from the one earphone only. You can tune stations in range from 87,5 to 108,0 MHz, and you can save your favorite frequencies; tuning can be set to manual or automatic and a function for saving all accessible stations is also available.

I am sure you want to know more about the MP3 playback. The first point is that both earphones play and the phone doesn't take those as an unsupported accessory. That wasn't possible with previous Nokia 7610 and 6670 models(although some people said they were successful with that). Neither the integrated RealPlayer nor the Ultra MP3 program was able to play MP3 files in stereo - just mono. It's a pity, but the important thing is that in case of Ultra MP3 the sound quality is good enough.

Real Player • sound player

So, Nokia 6260 isn't still a full music phone, but the radio is useful and we can rate the MP3 player as usable.

 

Word and PowerPoint

I am not going to repeat myself about the messaging functions. Users can write SMS, MMS, emails; instant messaging client and T9 dictionary are also available.

Messages menu • selection for new message creation • writing an SMS • writing an MMS • instant messaging client

It's interesting that the email client supports some of the office formats. Word documents and PowerPoint presentations can be open straight thanks to the new QuickWord and QuickPoint applications. Also you can read PDF files, but the PDF+ application is just a trial version in the phone - after the third run you have to buy and register it.

Emails list • look at the PDF document (2x) • a Word document

Attachment in ZIP format • I installed a ProfiExplorer that handles ZIP files • you can attach a picture, of course

I'm not going to explain in detail the organizer functions also. You'll find in the phone the same non-repetitive alarm clock, same calendar with a month, week and day view, the same To-do list and notes. Also it offers a calculator, voice recorder (max a minute records) and a wallet for saving your secret information.

Alarm clock settings • clock and alarm clock • month, week and day view in the calendar

Event detail in the calendar • possibilities for entering an event in the calendar • notes and calculator • voice recorder

 

Demos are blocking the memory

Three games are installed in the phone for those who want to kill time: Bounce arcade, Card deck passions and Snake EX. The phone supports also Java MIDP 2.0 but the programs for Symbian OS are much better. I measured graphics possibilities of Java with jBenchmark, results matches the speed of related Nokia phones:

• jBenchmark 1.0: 2546
• jBenchmark 2.0: 161

You can connect the phone to a PC via a cable, infrared or Bluetooth. For data handling it's suitable to install a PC Suite, for example data synchronization works perfectly. After connecting to the Internet it gets clear that Nokia supports only GPRS class 6, which means 3+2 time slots. That's insufficient in some cases, support of EDGE mobile data transfer would have been useful in this case.

Bluetooth settings • GPRS data counter

Nokia added several programs on the memory card; you can run them three times before buying them. You'll find an ActiveDesk application that displays actual events right on the main display, a fax program MobileFax or PDF files browser that I've already mentioned. PhotoBase is an advanced bitmap pictures editor (mainly photos in the phone). Wayfinder program is used for navigation but you need a bluetooth GPS to use it. It takes many useful megabytes on the memory card, that's why I deleted it very quickly. There is also an additional game - RockitPinball.

Menu with the programs for trial • It's not a Nokia fault… • fax program • game demo

In the mobile's memory, on the card and even on the delivered CD I wasn't able to find the Opera Internet browser which Nokia added to its smartphones lately. The internal WAP browser can handle web pages but it can't reach the quality of Opera or NetFront, which would appear with next Nokia phones. The phone includes also a VPN client for a secure connection to a private company network.

Wap-Internet browser (2x) • VPN client • Push and talk control program; it's useless without your operator's support

 

Symbian clamshell - not for everyone

I was very curious about the new Nokia 6260 because it's the first clamshell among Symbian smartphones and I expected that it would be a different phone than all other. Nokia disappointed me at first time and I couldn't get used to it for a while - mainly due to the different keypad. But now I'm remembering what was on my mind. It's a very good phone - maybe the best in the class. Against other models it misses only a megapixel camera, on the other hand it features an integrated radio and it can be used as an MP3 player, partially.

A nice phone overall

I would reproach to Nokia 6260 mainly the missing front (mini) display, which is really a necessity in a clamshell phone. I have no good feeling about the hinge looseness in a perpendicular position and I still don't understand the different camera resolutions in various mechanical positions. But pros are prevailing and considering price and construction we can expect that it won't be a mass phone, which everyone around will have.

The greatest competitor of the new phone is Nokia 7610. It's stylish enough and almost identical from functional point of view; possible users will probably hesitate between these two mobiles. Those who want to save their money will probably get Nokia 6600. Comparing the price and the performance, the current king is Siemens SX1 - besides a radio it offers also a full-functional MP3 player, but it also has a very awkward keypad.

Summary: Nokia 6260 is a very good mobile phone for users, who are interested in functions and design as well, but it comes at a price.

Pros and Cons

+ design
+ loaded with functions
+ hot-swappable memory card

- no secondary display
- loose hinge in the middle position
- default photos in low resolution

 

Package includes

• mobile phone
• charger
• battery
• stereophonic headphones with handsfree
• RS-MMC memory card 32 MB
• CD containing software (mainly PC Suite)
• the users's guide
• warranty certificate