Nokia 6120 classic review: Down-to-earth Symbian

The elegant case of the new Nokia 6120 houses a feature rich smartphone, which has all the reasons in the world to become a bestseller

The new Nokia 6120 Classic belongs to neither the multimedia N Series, nor the business E series of the Finnish brand. Good at the essentials, it's set of features can't be clearly linked to a particular target of users. The "Classic" attribute refers to the phone's conservative design. On the other hand, Nokia 6120 features functions far more sophisticated than what you'd expect in this price category. The piece we tested had been delivered to us by Vodafone thus its software is modified according to Vodafone's requirements.

   

Key features

• Conservative and elegant design
• Impeccable construction
• Symbian 9.2, S60 3rd Edition graphic upgrade and Feature Pack
• Remarkable size and weight for a smartphone
• 2-megapixel camera without autofocus
• Instant response of user interface
• Brilliant QVGA display with reflexive surface
• 35 MB of internal memory, microSD card slot
• GPRS, EDGE, HSCSD, UMTS, HSDPA
• Document viewer: Quickoffice and PDF
• Bluetooth with A2DP support
• Solid and robust body
• MiniUSB connector
• Very good keypad
• Voice recorder with 60-minute limit

Main disadvantages

• No Wi-Fi
• No "pencil" key
• Susceptible to fingerprints
• No indication of missed events after certain period of time
• Navigation and operation keys not ergonomic enough

Chromium enclosing black

Nokia 6120 impresses with its conservative, adornment-free design. The unobtrusively elegant and compact handset has two color versions: black and pearl white. The chromium trim is an especially attractive highlight on the black one we tested. The Nokia 6120 puts on no shows; it looks like just another basic phone. Market success is staked on precisely this combination of regular looks and spot-on capability. Despite the all but orthodox use of materials, dominated by standard plastic, the Nokia 6120 stands out with its conservative elegance. Durable and solid, the phone is meant for heavy workloads.

 
Robust and compact, the new Nokia 6120 has a truly classic look

Nokia 6120 is sure to surprise you when you hold it in hand for the first time. It is doubtlessly the smallest and lightest Symbian smartphone on the market. Measuring 105 x 46 x 15 mm and weighing 89 grams, it scores very high in direct comparison to the famous Nokia 6300 (whose dimensions are similar: 106 x 44 x 12 mm).

The most prominent element on Nokia 6120 is the chromium stripe running along the sides of its body. It's wider at the bottom, creating a nice frame for the front to stand out. Round edges dominate the shape and most of the elements of the exterior. The D-pad is chromium-plated too, and so is the framing of the front camera lens and the earpiece. The last silvery bit is the area around the main camera lens on the back. The rest, which is to say most of the surface, is glossy black. Fingerprints are hence an inevitable consequence. They are most likely to appear around the display and on the entire back panel. A good deal of wiping up will be needed every time the phone gets used. Possibly, fingerprints will be less of a problem for the pearl white version of the 6120.

The matt chromium frame along the sides of the casing

A single key is to be found on the top of the handset. The power key has the usual range of powers: it turns the device on and off, switches between profiles (incl. Offline mode), activates phone lock and keypad lock (the standard combination of left soft key + asterisk will do too). The bottom features all connectors - the miniUSB port, 2.5 mm jack, and the charger port. On the left you will find the monospeaker grill and the microSD memory card slot. On the right are the volume rocker and the camera key. The back of the phone nests the main camera lens alongside a pleasingly powerful LED flash.

  
A monospeaker on the left, alongside the cover of the memory-card slot

  
The right side houses the camera key and the volume-control key. All connection ports are at the bottom. At the top is the power key: typical of Nokia, it's multifunctional.

  
The material around both camera lenses looks like chromium.

The rearside edges are slightly beveled, making for a pleasantly comfortable grip. The plate holds firmly and gives out no strange sounds even when pressed strongly. Under the rear plate is the Li-Ion BL-5B battery with 890 mAh capacity. The battery life of Nokia 6120 is impressive. To give you an example, a daily average of 5 minutes of calls and 20 SMS requires charging every four to five days. More demanding jobs, including active internet browsing in UMTS, will surely reduce durability to 2-3 days, but even so the phone does great. Charging takes about 2.5 hours.

 
SIM card is not fitted in the best possible way.