Nokia 3250 review: Rubik's phone

Symbian like any other

Most call functions have remained unchanged. All features we know from previous Nokia phones are more or less the same. There are few novelties: the quality of the sound is brilliant; the earphone produces clear and strong sound; the loud speaker is unusually powerful. Calls can be recorded, but records are once again limited to a mere minute. The opposite side is alerted about the fact that the call is being recorded by a peep sound played every 3 seconds.

Calls/sound files recorder

 
Entering a number straight from the stand-by display

Received, missed and dialed calls are saved into independent folders of the Log application. Call details include date and time. If calls are executed from or to one and the same phone number, they appear in the call overview as one single call accompanied by the date and the time of the last try. Calls can be made, messages can be sent, and numbers can be saved straight from the Log. The Protocol keeps a record of the duration of the calls and the transferred data too. This function can only be activated from the main menu though. It is not available directly from the stand-by mode. In the main menu you will also gain access to a detailed log, which stores plenty information about all activities provided with the phone like calls and data connections, for example. Unfortunately, there is no option for export of this information out of the phone. The log stores information for a standard period of 30 days.

   
Thomas is calling • call detail • detailed information about executed calls

Phonebook uses shared memory due to which it can fit almost unlimited number of contacts and phone numbers. Along with first and last name, each of which is stored in an independent folder, each contact entry can contain the following fields: company, function, nickname, mobile phone numbers, fixed phone numbers, video call numbers (Nokia 3250 does not work in UMTS), fax numbers, pagers, emails, websites, notes, full street addresses, date of birth. As you can see, the amount of details that can be assigned to each contact is immense (I myself counted 38 fields). Besides, it seems that in a single contact entry Nokia 3250 is able to fit in even the incredible 100 phone numbers.

  
Gradual searching in the phonebook • new contact entry and working with it

What way you will access the phonebook depends only up to you. Set it up yourself. As usual, it is located on first position in the active stand-by mode, but there is no problem to assign it to one of the context keys. Once you get into the phonebook, simply write the initials of the last or the first name you are looking for. The phone then adjusts selection on its own.

Jan-No-vak-is-call-ing

All contacts from the phonebook can be dialed by voice. You do not need to make a record of your own voice tag as Nokia 3250 recognizes any voice. This application is spectacular, indeed. When you press the respective key and pronounce the name of the person you want to call, the phone first shows the person, then reads their name with a mechanic voice and eventually starts to dial the number marked as default. Each phone number in the phonebook can also be assigned a shortcut key.

Callers are specified by images, while contact groups are filtered by ringing melodies. Reverse organization is not possible. Filing name contacts into groups helps you filter calls using ringing profiles. Nokia 3250 has six standard ringing profiles and one special ringing profile to use in offline mode. More profiles can be additionally created. Within each profile you can set up a special ringtone for each of the following fields: calls, messages, emails and chat. Volume, vibration, keypad sounds and filters are setup here as well. You can even set the phone to alert you about incoming calls by pronouncing the name of the caller (of course, if it's a part of the phonebook). This way you know who is calling you without even having to look at the handset. In fact, this explains to a certain extent why the phone lacks the option of specifying callers by ringing melodies.

Profile settings

No significant modifications are visible in the message application, either. When you write SMS, MMS, emails and instant messages you can use T9 dictionary to insert text faster. Images attached to MMS can be automatically reduced to the size suitable for a multimedia message.

  
Message editor

Email account works with SMTP, POP3 and IMAP4 protocols. It first downloads message headings through POP3. To download an entire message you have to first mark its heading.