Nokia 6280 review: High-class slider

Data and communication: Wi-Fi is the only missing option...

Pros: easy installing of Java applications • good pre-installed games • EDGE and 3G • easy data connection setup • free PC Suite

Cons: no minimizing option for Java applications

Nokia 6280 offers MIDP 2.0, which is fast enough. Here are the results of the JBenchmark test: 1831 (version 1), 253 (version 2). Right now I am not able to provide you with exact information on what programs Nokia is going to place on the memory card of the 6280 model. In the handset alone I found three games and three applications. As I already evaluated the applications in the chapter on time organizing, let me now write a few words about the games:

• Golf Tour: easy to control golf game with two fully-equipped golf courses
• Rally 3D: a car rally, also easy to control
• Snake III: a new version of the classic snake. My opinion is that the brilliant graphic characteristics of this game have been achieved at the expense of certain practical aspects.

Application menu (including memory card icon) • list with games

Any additional games or applications can be saved into phone's internal memory or on its memory card. As for JAD and JAR files, they may simply be downloaded onto the memory card (by the use of a reader, for example) and then started straight from the phone. No installer is necessary. The maximum size of this application is 500 KB. Running midlets are not possible to minimize. They get closed instead, which is quite a pity.

Four by three

There are four different technologies for establishing internet connection in Nokia 6280: dialed data transfers, GPRS, EDGE, and the WCDMA third generation networks. All of them may come in handy in work with email client, MMS, Push to talk, or video streaming.

Nokia 6280's internet browser opens both WAP and internet pages, but as you may expect, their text versions are preferable. The browser is simple. Inside the view menu there is an option, which allows for switching to a full-screen mode. On all events, selecting the smallest possible font (out of three possible options) provides you with space that is more than enough.

All four technologies mentioned above can also be used for establishing internet connection from a PC. Nokia 6280 gets connected to a computer through an USB cable, through the infrared port, or via Bluetooth. The latter is available in its 2.0 version and thus supports the following profiles: DUN-GW, FT-Server, HandsFree-AG 1.0, Headset-AG, OPP-Client, OPP-Server, and SIM Access-Server. The infrared port can be deactivated manually, which is new.

Connection properties can be setup manually, but you may find it more comfortable and faster to use the Internet Connection program from the PC Suite. All you need to do here is select a modem (for example, Nokia 6280 USB, which gets created automatically), select an operator and press the corresponding button.

If you have PC Suite installed on your computer, you don not need to install anything else, because Nokia uses the same program in all its current phones. There are no changes in PC Suit functional menu, either.

Nothing less than a smartphone next time?

Nokia 6280 is brilliant, no matter the fact that if it suffers certain crucial drawbacks, which would surely discard it if it entered a direct competition with top-class camera phones. Some of you may dislike the fact than Nokia 6280 is not a smartphone. Others will refuse to work with a phonebook of a limited capacity. Some may not like its sliding construction, others surely feel phobia to Nokia's logo. To me, the most important features of Nokia 6280 are its speed, its brilliant display, and its excellent user interface (except for the active stand-by display).

The new user interface of third generation Series 40 is quite similar to the one used in smartphones, with icons being almost identical. It is evident that Nokia has made the first step towards unifying the control of its devices. The question therefore is: "Will there be a top-class mobile phone without an OS anymore?"

Let's not forget the competition. Inside Nokia's camp, there are Nokia 6230i (which is inferior) and smartphones (better than Nokia 6280). Sony Ericsson K750 as well as all models related to it may also be considered possible competitors. In terms of functionality, however, it is Sony Ericsson W900 that seems to be the main rival of Nokia 6280, for these two phones have been evaluated with precisely the same mark according to our mobiles catalogue. Samsung is able to compete with its D600 model. Siemens SXG75 is a potential competitor as well. Motorola does not have a device functionally comparable to Nokia 6280. The same holds true for the rest of the phone manufacturers. Smartphones play on completely different level. Their exceptionality is a matter of fact. In this sense, any smartphone (for example Qtek 8310) is a very strong competitor for any camera phone in general.

Conclusion: Nokia 6280 is a brilliant mobile phone. It is perfectly equipped, fast, and attractive. And there is no doubt that the decrease of its price is only a matter of time.