Introduction
Competition in the mobile industry is fierce, and there are a number of manufacturers who are chasing hard the number one position that has been held for so long by Nokia. Not one to rest on their laurels, Nokia are slowly re-aligning their handset line up, including a new naming culture for their devices which should make it easier for consumers to know more about the phone before they purchase. Handsets will be designated by a single letter which will indicate the market focus of the device, whilst the number of the phone will show the level of technical specification. The existing N Series and E Series device names will be retained, and these will be joined by C Series and X Series. Two handsets have been released by Nokia in the X Series range so far, the X6 and X3 and we’ve had an X3 in the office over the last couple of weeks to review. The X Series focuses mainly on social entertainment, so with this in mind let’s take a more in depth look at the Nokia X3.
Design
Hardware: The Nokia X3 is a compact, lightweight handset, weighing in at just 103g and measuring 96 x 49.3 x 14mm. The X3 is a slide style phone, and the spring on our review model was firm, with the handset opening and closing with a satisfying sense of solidity. In the closed position, from the front of the device there is a 2.2 inch TFT display, which supports up to 256,000 colours. This is lower than usual on Nokia devices, where 16 million colour TFT displays are much more common. Because of this, the display looks a little washed out, and isn’t so great outside in bright light, either.
Underneath the main display is a large 5 way D-Pad style Navi key, flanked by two soft option keys and send/end call keys, a very familiar key layout on Nokia devices. With a nod to the entertainment aspect of the handset, down the left hand side of the main display are three shortcut keys for controlling media playback on the phone. The three keys offer play/pause, fast forward and rewind options, and from standby pressing on the play key will activate the last used music app, either the music player or FM Radio.
Around the edges of the phones are various buttons and connection ports; on the lower right side is the camera key, which activates the camera from standby and doubles up as the image capture button, whilst at the top right is a volume rocker key which operates in many menus. During music playback and calls the key raises and lowers volume, and when using the camera it operates as a zoom key. On the top of the phone is the charging port, a Micro USB connector and a 3.5mm audio jack for plugging in headphones to the handset, whilst down the left of the phone is the Micro SD memory card slot and a loop for attaching a lanyard. At either end of the phone, top and bottom, are situated the stereo speakers.
The keypad is a standard 12 key alphanumeric layout; completely flat, the keys are etched into the keypad, and separated with vertical and horizontal lines etched between the numbers. Even so, the keypad is comfortable to use, and all but the most addicted texters should be able to use it without any problem. The microphone on the handset is located at the bottom left hand corner of the keypad, which would suggest the sound quality for people you call would be better if the phone was slid open, although whilst testing this with friends when making calls it proved to be a negligible point. A nice touch when the keypad is slid open is the lower speaker grill curves round the bottom of the phone into the lower part of the keypad, a design that actually looks quite good.
Around the back of the phone there is little to see, other than the camera lens situated at the top of the phone. The back cover itself is made from a matt plastic, and feels a bit flimsy when removed from the phone, but once in place it feels solid enough, in overall keeping with the feel of the X3 in general. The back part of the phone that is exposed when the slide is open also has a brushed metal look, which is in keeping with the overall style of the phone, using the same material as used for the keypad. In use the phone does feel a little plasticky, but the construction is generally solid and there are few creaks or wobbles.
Software: The Nokia X3 runs on the latest version of the standard Nokia S40 operating system. S40 as an OS has been with us for a few years now, and has manfully carried the Nokia trademarks of simplicity in use. Over the years as mobile phones have developed and extra features added, S40 has received a few tweaks and upgrades, with the current latest version in use being the 6th edition.
From the main homescreen display on the phone, Nokia have the easily recognisable Active Standby layout, which separates the screen into four sections. These sections can be accessed by pressing up or down on the Navi pad; the sections become highlighted, and you scroll through each one to select the option you want. On the Active standby screen the top line is allocated to five shortcuts, which can be changed by accessing the customisation menu; underneath the three other sections contain shortcuts to defined services or applications, which again are easily changed through the main options menu. There are so many customisation options with this menu that it is very easy to store all your most accessed applications and services right there on the main display, so that you may never have to enter the menu again! However, if it all becomes too much and you prefer a more minimalistic, less cluttered look, the Active Standby screen can be easily disabled in the settings.
Disabling the standby screen however does not diminish the opportunity for shortcuts; directional presses on the main D-Pad can be set as shortcuts, which again are easy to set through the options menu. So for example, a left press on the D-Pad opens a new message, whilst up opens the camera, down can open contacts and right open the calendar, and so on. Shortcuts can also be set to the two soft option keys from the main standby, including accessing the GoTo menu, which offers even more shortcuts to other features and phone settings. It can seem a little overwhelming, with so many shortcuts and options, but that is one of the main benefits of the S40 interface; a fluid, flexible menu system that is easy to customise, and can easily be laid out in a manner that suits your own needs, allowing you to get to the features you want with the fewest key presses possible.
The customisation features do not finish with just the standby menu, either. The main menu also offers a variety of viewing options, including single, list, grid, grid with labels and a tab view. All of these separate layouts have their own benefits, and are aimed at the individual needs of the end user. For example, I would give an elderly relative the simple single view, which shows one large icon on the display at a time, whilst for a more intermediate user the grid layout with labels would suffice, whilst a more advanced user may benefit from the tab view. The main point here is, there isn’t just one menu layout or option, and you can change the look to suit the user or suit your mood. It is just nice to have a choice in the matter.
Making Calls
Calls: In call sound quality on the X3 is very good, and the reception on the display showed to be very stable and solid throughout. The call menu on the phone can be accessed from the main standby screen by simply pressing on the green send key. This opens the All Calls section of the call log, which uses bright, colourful icons to show the status of calls, whether the number was outgoing or incoming. You can scroll through the list of numbers and when highlighted, simply press the green send key to call the number again, or press the option key and a pop up menu appears offering various options for that number, including sending the number a text, audio or flash message, editing the number, saving to a new or updating an existing contact, or checking the call time duration to that number. A more in depth call log is available via the handset’s main menu, which separates numbers into received, missed and called lists, plus you can also see a list of message recipients, plus a data counter detailing your time spent online. Very useful if you do not have an unlimited data plan, as is the message log which counts the numbers of SMS and MMS sent/received, useful if you do not have an unlimited SMS bundle. You just need to remember to set these each month when you hit your next billing cycle.
Phonebook: The Nokia X3 has a powerful phonebook, with ample room for thousands of contacts, with space to add a wide variety of information to each contact stored. Names can have a mobile, work, home and fax number, plus an email address and an image which is displayed when the contact calls. Further information can be included, such as a personal ring or video tone for that particular contact, plus address, birthday, general notes, formal name, nickname, job tile and company. If you have stored the address properly in the contact details, you can also choose the option to view that address location using Nokia Maps. Just select the contact, choose the ‘View on Map’ option, and Nokia Maps launches, after clarifying the correct address the Map will load and show the location of that address. A very useful feature, especially if you spend a lot of time visiting perhaps business clients, etc. Contacts in the phonebook can be viewed in three different formats, either a plain name list, as name and number or as name and image, and you can choose between viewing SIM contacts only, phone contacts only or a mix of the two. A voice dial option is also available which can be used without pre-recording if required, although it is recommended to follow the voice training set up. In practice it works rather well, and you can also use voice settings to change profiles, launch applications, etc.
Messaging
A capable messaging device, the X3 supports the traditional SMS and MMS as well as flash messaging, email, audio and instant messaging. The menu layout is familiarly Nokia, although the inbox is no longer listed as such, instead it is called conversations. Here you can view text conversations with each message wrapped by a speech bubble type design, and it makes following SMS conversations very simple. However, if you don’t like this new way of presenting text, you can easily switch back to the traditional inbox view, although personally I much prefer this new conversations layout. Email on the device is very easy to setup, I found all I needed to do was enter my username and password for my email account and the phone automatically added the other settings required. Considering the struggles I’ve had in the past setting up email on more complicated, smartphone style devices, this was a pleasurable experience and it is this kind of experience that will encourage people to use more advanced messaging features on their phone. When you have to mess around adding all the POP and SMTP settings manually it can put a lot of people off. Instant messaging on the X3 is handled via a separate application, and uses the OVI chat service. This service is also compatible with Google’s GTalk, and proved to be a useful distraction chatting with friends via IM when stuck on a train journey.
Media
Gallery: The Nokia X3 isn’t a great imaging phone, but nonetheless the gallery offers some useful options, as well as some fun extras. When you open the gallery menu you can choose to browse through your photos, music and videos or all content. Opening photos lets you then choose from all photos, albums or by timeline, which presents pictures in sequence according to when they were captured. Opening the photo gallery presents thumbnail images of photos in a three by four format, and you can browse the gallery via the thumbnails or by enlarging on an image then scrolling through one by one. I put over 300 photos on the Micro SD card, and pictures scrolled smoothly from one to the next. After selecting an individual image you can send it via MMS or email, as well as adding it to a photo album on the phone or editing it. Editing options include a simple crop feature, or you can add effects like a photo frame or clip art.
I also installed about 30 video files on the phone, and although they were all in MP4 format, some of them did not play. I got the audio, but no video. The ones that did play looked ok, images were not too choppy and the sound quality through the loud speakers was pretty good. Videos didn’t jump, and playback was quite smooth. The main let down was the quality and size of the screen, the display on the X3 just isn’t up to the job of delivering quality playback, it is not clear enough and not big enough.
Music: On the X3 it is possible to listen to your own music played back via the media player, as well as listening on the built in FM Stereo Radio. The radio itself supports RDS, but more noticeable on the X3 is the inclusion of a built in antenna. This means it is possible to listen to the radio without the need of having the headset plugged in, although in areas where signal isn’t so good I found plugging in the headphones gave better reception. For example, at home indoors the local radio frequency is usually quite strong, but I couldn’t pick anything up with the built in antenna. I had no difficulty, however, with the headphones plugged in.
Music playback generally on the X3 is very good, and I found listening to music on the loudest setting to be too loud, and was more than happy with a lower setting. You can choose to browse through all songs stored on the device, or filter via playlists, artist, album or genre. The music player theme can be set to match that of the phone in general, or you can settle for the standard default layout. There is support for album art included, and during playback the light around the D-Pad Navi key pulsates in time with the music. Whilst in general multi tasking on the X3 is not possible, it is possible to leave the music player running in the background while you check email, or browse the web. From the music player just hit the end call key once and you go straight to the main standby screen, and from there you can open a subsequent application. Whilst ‘hidden’, the music player can be controlled by the external keys located down the side of the display for skipping tracks, play and pause, and for volume settings you can use the volume key on the side of the phone. There are various music playback options in the settings menu, including a shuffle option, repeat, equaliser and stereo widening. It is in the settings menu here that you can also set the theme options.
Camera and Video recording
The camera on the X3 is a standard, no frills 3.2 Megapixel affair. Captured images rank as ok, but not much better than that. If imaging is important, then the X3 is not the phone you would choose. The camera supports enhanced fixed focus, and there are a few settings in the options menu, such as setting a timer for photos and how long you can preview the image for, plus changing the effects and white balance. There is also an option to change the viewscreen from landscape to portrait view and back again, and camera sounds can be disabled through the menu system too. You can easily flick between camera and camcorder mode on the phone by flipping left to right with the Navi key, but in all honestly I wouldn’t bother, video recording on the phone is hardly worth while, with recorded images being good for nothing more than sending as an MMS. You certainly wouldn’t want to be uploading captured video to the web, the quality is way to poor for that.
Web Browser and Connectivity
Data connectivity on the X3 is restricted to just GPRS or EDGE, there is no 3G or HSDPA. As such, web browsing some sites can be painfully slow. The default Nokia browser gets the job done to an adequate level, but hidden away on the applications menu is Opera Mini. On a device like the X3 Opera Mini is the perfect web browser, and highly recommended for all web browsing activity on the phone. Opera Mini routes web traffic through the Opera servers, stripping out unnecessary junk in the HTML files and compressing the data so it is delivered quicker, and the layout of the browser seems to make better use of the limited 2.2 inch display. If you are going to web browse on the X3, the Opera Mini is the app for you.
Local connectivity on the phone is handled via a Micro USB port, which allows you to connect the device to a PC for transferring media to and from the device. It is possible to charge the device via USB, but it is a trickle charge, so not recommended for anything more than an emergency booster to top up the battery. The X3 also includes support for Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP support for stereo audio streaming. Nokia have consistently delivered one of the best Bluetooth experiences on all of their devices, and the X3 also fits that category. Connecting to another device, or PC, and transferring media is a simple operation, and should be held as a ‘how to’ guide for other handset manufacturers.
Summary
There is a lot to like in the Nokia X3; by its construction and design, it is clearly a budget handset aimed more towards the youth market, but that shouldn’t mislead you. In fact the X3 is a capable handset that would satisfy most people who shop for phones in the mid tier, the type of user who wants a functional device that is easy to use and looks good, whilst not necessarily offering all the bells and whistles of the top end feature devices. In general day to day use the X3 proved to be reliable and quick, with a commendable battery life and a good all round performance level. If it is let down in any area, it has to be imaging, the camera quality was not up to standard of even a mid range device. That aside, the X3 proved to be a delight to use, and would be a sound purchase.
Related Nokia X3 Links
- Compare the latest Nokia X3 deals
- Compare Nokia X3 pay as you go prices
- Read user Nokia X3 reviews
- Full list of Nokia X3 specs
- View gallery of Nokia X3 pictures
- Watch latest Nokia X3 video
Pingback: 7 Days with the Nokia X3 | Blog mobile phones