Nokia 6270 review: A bulky slider

Missing something?

The number of missed calls appears in a window on the main display. From here you can get to the corresponding log, where calls from the same number are grouped in one item accompanied by the date and the time of the last executed call. The same principle is applied for dialed and received calls as well. Each folder can fit in up to 20 items.

Dialled numbers list

And that is not everything. Nokia 6270 also offers a cumulative Calls Log, in which all call types, including multiple tries are organized in chronological order. You will also find a list of the recent Message recipients, as well as a counter for all sent and received messages.

Various messaging options

Nokia 6270 works with SMS, MMS, emails, and Push-to-talk. In addition, it offers two special types: sound MMS and instant SMS, which appear directly on the display.

When you start a new message, first you are offered the opportunity to enter the recipient's number and then you can start typing your message on a single line which get extended further down to the whole display as the message gets longer. Messages are sent in the background which is really nice.

Typing a SMS message • Starting a new email message

When asked to type the recipient, you may type their phone number straight away, select it from the phonebook, browse groups, or look it up into the list of people, to whom you have recently sent a SMS. The last option is particularly useful as people tend to write messages frequently to a limited group of contacts, which is in this case directly accessible. The editor counts down written characters and informs about the number of messages that will be sent. T9 dictionary is also there to assist you and offers an extensive vocabulary.

Notifications about SMS delivery can be activated both individually for separate messages and generally for all outgoing ones. They appear on the display for a while and then get saved into the phone memory. The Delivery reports are stored in a dedicated folder which makes their deleting quite easy when their time has come. Nokia 6270 features a new version of the MMS editor, which shows you the exact content of the message that the recipient is going to receive. So, making previews as in older Series 40 Nokia models is no more necessary. MMS can contain text, a picture, a sound clip, a video record, a business card, and a note from the calendar. Multiple-page MMS are available as well.

The email client in Nokia 6270 is a java application and thus takes longer to start. It is generally slower and it is not perfectly compatible with the rest of the applications in the phone. Nevertheless, the email client cannot be considered bad. It has POP3 and IMAP4 support. The email client copies email addresses from the phonebook and works with attachments. At the same time messages cannot be sent from the email field in the phonebook. This option is available for SMS and MMS only. Automatic download of email message is not available either.

Music in your ears

Even though music files can be directly played either from the memory, or from the memory card (respective folder is selected in the music player application), it is more convenient to transfer music into the phone using the Nokia Audio Manager, which is a part of the PC Suite. Here you can create playlists and transfer music straight into the mobile device through a USB cable.

The MP3 or AAC player integrated in Nokia 6270 is rather simple. The available controls are start/stop, fast forward, rewind, previous track and next track. If you minimize the player, the name of the currently running track appears on the active stand-by display. From active stand-by you can even choose to play the next track or fast forward or rewind the current without opening the player back. Repeating and shuffle options are available, too. The player allows listening music on a Bluetooth headset. Some sources of information on the Internet claim that the phone supports the A2DP profile for listening music on stereo Bluetooth headset, but currently Nokia 8800 is officially the only mobile phone of the Swedish manufacturer to support that Bluetooth profile. Having said that, connecting a stereo Bluetooth headset to the phone is indeed possible, but the sound is far from perfect.

The Music Player: main interface & playing in the background on the active standby screen

Video in Nokia 6270 is played within an application called Media Player, which also supports streaming and can also open pictures and play individual music files. Unfortunately, the Media Player is not capable of fast forwarding videos.

If you get bored with the music/media player, switch on the FM radio. Here you can save up to 20 broadcasting stations. In general, however, it does not offer any special functions, not to mention RDS. The radio can be turned on only when the headset is plugged in since its cable serves as an antenna.

The FM radio: storing a station & playing in the background on the active standby screen

Managing your multimedia files

The file manager is on a very good functional level. You can create folders, mark several or all files and then move them. A certain drawback is that you can't mark several files and then mass send them. You can sort the file list either by name, by date, by format, or by size.

You can view the picture files list either as a list with small thumbnails, as a list with details and larger thumbnails, or as a 4 x 3 grid matrix which offers the largest thumbnails.

You can view the pictures themselves in normal mode or in fullscreen horizontal mode and move through the files with the help of the D-pad at a pace of your choice.

Thumbnails with details • Viewing a picture in normal mode • Viewing a picture in horizontal mode

The phone allows you to zoom in the pictures to their original size or set their contrast. You can even print the images through direct USB connection. There is even a simple image editor which allows for basic functions such as inserting text, frame, clip art or another image to an already existing one. You can also crop the existing image.