Nokia 6300 review: The slim Finn

Nokia 6300 is the new Nokia star in the Series 40 3rd Edition line. It attacks with conservative design, miniUSB, and a slim body with steel plates.

Key features

• attractive yet conservative design
• 16M colors TFT display with QVGA resolution
• Series 40 3rd Edition user interface
• 2 megapixel camera
• microSD memory card slot
• FM radio
• standard miniUSB connector
• 2.5 mm audio jack
• Bluetooth with A2DP profile support

Main disadvantages

• prone to fingerprints
• no UMTS support
• unsatisfactory camera performance
• portrait orientation of images taken with the camera
• videos taken at QCIF (176 x 144 pixels) resolution only
• side keys are difficult to press
• no Infrared port

 
Nokia 6300

The famous Finnish mobile manufacturer has been long expected to launch a new high-end, classic-look phone with state-of-the-art functional menu to substitute the enormously successful couple Nokia 6230 and Nokia 6230i. The first try in this sense came a year and a few months ago with the presentation of Nokia 6233. However, its rounded body was accepted rather coldly by common users. Until today, when we meet Nokia 6300, the model many proclaim to be the real successor of Nokia 6230/6230i. Reasons are numerous. Nokia 6300 has a modern slim look, not spoilt by unnecessary decorative elements, a highly functional menu, and brilliant keypad and display.

 
The 6300 held in hand • size comparison to a key and a credit card

Nokia has also gone on a diet

Slim phones are fashionable these days. Quite understandable, isn’t it? Who would prefer to carry a device that fills up their pocket with an unpleasant bulge? Obviously, Nokia has also had to go on a diet as this new model is 6 mm thinner than Nokia 6233. Here are all its parameters: 106 x 44 x 12 mm. Nokia 6300 weighs merely 91g, which, given its steel plates, is another admirable achievement.

Nokia 6300 comes in a decent black & silver combination. Everything that is silver is made of steel. Black areas are made of glossy plastic material. The display and the functional part of the keypad are located inside a black frame that stands out over the surrounding surface a little. As a result of this, Nokia 6300 notably resembles Nokia 3230.

Nokia 3230 – similar, indeed

The phone construction benefits a lot from the significant amount of metal material used on it as these make it extremely solid. Nokia 6300 did not give out a single creak, not even under strong pressure. The battery cover fit in perfectly too. Yet, glossy materials have also been applied, which brings along inevitable drawbacks: fingerprints remain visible on almost the entire phone surface. And then if your hands tend to sweat excessively, you may not even manage to ever clean your mobile. Fingerprints are clearly seen on the keypad, the display, and all plates.  

Illumination alerts of all important events

Due to Nokia 6300’s slimness, its sides lack many control elements. The left side, in particular, is absolutely bare. On the right you will find a dual volume control button, only functional if pressed strongly or moved by one’s nail. The camera control button is not situated here, because the rear plate of the phone covers the sides.

All-side view at Nokia 6300

On both sides, where the rear plate finishes and the dark bottom surface begins, are located two oblong info LEDs covered by white plastic material. They alert you about missed calls or received messages by blinking in expressed blue. If necessary, the LEDs can be deactivated from the menu.

   
A LED on each side of the body

On the top of the body you will see a switch-off button, which can also be used for fast switch between ringing profiles. And here comes the main surprise hidden in the bottom: a standard miniUSB connector instead of Pop-port (used by Nokia in almost all previous models). The advantages are more than obvious: any cable, even a digital camera one will be enough to establish a connection between Nokia 6300 and a computer.

The bottom side of the phone with its USB connector • with a stubborn protecting cap • switch-off button

The miniUSB connector is protected by a solid cap that fits so perfectly and holds so firmly, that at the beginning of the tests it took us some time to find out how to open it. Opening the cap is a rather problematic process and it could really create difficulties during the first few weeks of usage of the phone.

 
Simultaneous connection of both earphones and charger • earphones of average quality

Besides the miniUSB connector, in the bottom you will also find two round slots. The smaller one serves the charger, while the wider one is a 2.5mm audio jack used for connecting the headset. It is a pity that Nokia did not elaborate a connector by a millimeter wider so that any type of earphones could be plugged in. The other two oblong slots are made for a microphone and a wrist band (the latter gets hooked onto a projection beneath the rear cover).

Your name on the rear plate

The rear plate offers little interesting. Its top part is made of black plastics, in which the glass of a 2 megapixel camera is mounted. The camera lens is framed in white and slightly embedded for protection. We recommend that the lens is polished and fingerprints are cleaned before every use of the camera. A Nokia logo is located above the camera, while on its right there are 9 round holes that let the sound of the loudspeaker out. Unlike Nokia 6233, Nokia 6300 has no stereo speakers.

 
Camera lens is not protected • next by it is the loudspeaker grill

The rest of the rear plate consists of solid steel battery cover, on which anything – from a phrase to a graphic logo- can be engraved. For example, our tester phone is decorated with MobilMania’s website. For the moment, however, it is not clear what the cost of this service will be. We have been told that it would be offered free to the first 50 customers by key mobile retailers.

     
You can have any kind of text or logo engraved on the rear plate of the phone

The rear plate is easy to remove even though it sets in pretty firmly. Hidden under it is a BL-4C type Li-Ion battery with a capacity of 860 mAh. According to Nokia official website it is able to provide power for 210 minutes of calling time or 348 hours of stand-by.

However, our guess is that no matter how little you use the phone, you will need to charge it every second or third day. The SIM card lies (not too firmly) in a bed under the battery.

The rear cover removed • memory card slot beneath the rear plate

Nokia 6300 has a memory card slot located under the rear plate, on the left – a happy solution allowing memory card changing without switching off the device. The slot is for microSD cards; one such of 128 MB capacity is directly available with the purchase of the phone, whose internal memory is otherwise rather limited (approximately 7.5 MB).