14 DAY TRIAL // T-Mobile enlarges its range of mobile phones with Nokia 3555, an affordable low to mid-end clamshell with 3G capabilities. The handset will also be available in the US via AT&T, as announced a few months ago, and now FCC approved the UMTS 1700 MHz version of the phone too, so T-Mobile is ready to offer it to its subscribers.
Nokia 3555 is the little brother of Nokia 6555, another 3G clamshell that can be bought from AT&T for only $50 (with a two year contract, otherwise its price is $200). The 3555 model looks a lot like 6555 and has about the same dimensions, so, when open, it becomes quite a long device. Furthermore, Nokia 3555 has features similar to the ones packed in 6555, therefore we have MP3 and video player, Bluetooth, microSD card support, polyphonic ring tones and so on.
What makes 3555 less appealing than 6555 is the fact that it has a smaller display that only supports a 128 x 160 pixels resolution. Moreover, the clamshell's built-in camera is a 0.3 Megapixel one that will surely not be able to offer photos at a decent quality. The camera included in Nokia 6555 isn't great either (1.3 Megapixel), but it's definitely better, so a similar one should have been packed in Nokia 3555 too.
Currently the fourth-largest mobile operator in the US, T-Mobile tries to offer 3G to the masses by introducing affordable phones with this feature. Although there are no details about the price of Nokia 3555, it's quite possible that the handset will come for free (with a T-Mobile contract, of course). Well, 3G for free doesn't sound bad at all, but the little screen Nokia 3555 has could make users turn away from this offer. We'll see about that in a few months, after the phone hits the market.