Nokia 3230 review: Smartphone for the masses

Communication: any possible way

No matter whether you'd like to communicate with a nearby or distant environment, Nokia 3230 offers you plenty of options to choose of. There are three available methods for local communication: a USB connection, an infrared interface and Bluetooth. By using these options you will easily and - most of all - quickly synchronize contacts, calendar notes or any other items. As for distant synchronization, Nokia's choice has fallen onto SyncML.

Connection item • Bluetooth • a list of familiar devices • modem options

If you feel like conquering the world, the phone provides you with mobile data transfers. The maximum speed to be reached by using the GPRS technology Class 10 is 80 kbps. As for EDGE, it is Class 5 with a maximum downlink of 118.4 kbps. The odd thing here is that EDGE can be used for downloading only - a limitation, which Nokia mentions on its web site.

I have already mentioned the fact that there is no installing CD delivered together with the new phone. The PC Suite for Nokia, which enables for communication between the mobile phone and a computer, has to be downloaded from the web page of the manufacturer. I did several tests with PC Suite 6.41 and all types of Bluetooth communication ran without a single problem. Where Nokia 7610 would sometimes give me hard times and would deny cooperating, the 3230 would run promptly, showing no signs of complications.

Conclusion: what could we possibly add?

I am satisfied by Nokia 3230 in terms of design. The silver stripe framing the whole front cover is very elegant and does not spoil the overall representative outlook of the phone. Since we are still talking about a middle class phone, it must be pointed out that this model's functional equipment is considerably above the average standard. One of Nokia 3230's great advantages is the EDGE technology. The combination of the latter and the built-in operating system is very interesting indeed and will be difficult to resist when looking for the right phone.

At the same time Nokia 3230 gives us plenty of reasons to complain. The tested version turned out to be full of errors; hence Nokia 3230' overall evaluation will depend to a great extent on the quality of the final version of its software. And since the phone is already in the distributors' pricelists, its developers may have to quicken their step. The official price is expected to be somewhere below 400 Euros incl. local taxes. I am sure, however, that the phone will be possible to find for less and what is more - its price will be gradually falling.

Competition

Among its own siblings the biggest competitor of Nokia 3230 seems to be Nokia 6600. The 3230 model offers a lot of additional functions, while the 6600 model has the advantage of a relatively price-friendly phone due to its age. Within the same price category two other phones - Nokia 7610 and Nokia 6670 could be forecasted as competitors for they are comparable with Nokia 3230 as far as functional options are concerned.

As for the rest of the competition, a certain alternative choice could be Siemens SX1. Even though its starts to notably grow in age, this is the only present-day smart phone of the Series 60 class, which offers a combination of stereophonic radio and a MP3 player in the same device.

Content of the standard package

• A handset
• A battery BL-5B, Li-Ion 760 mAh
• A standard charger ACP-7 (in particular countries also a travel charger ACP-12)
• Stereophonic earphones Nokia HDS-3
• A memory card of the Reduced Size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC) type with a capacity of 32 MB
• User's manuals and further documents