Excellent clamshell for its price range

Sep 28, 2007 12:12 GMT  ·  By

Nokia never quite made it into the competition of bringing extra slim mobile phones. Their 6267 model looks as if they are not even trying too hard and are less interested in coming up with new designs for their devices. The developers just took the case of an older model, gave it a slightly fresher touch, put some average performances in it and then sent it out to face the world. Then what does Nokia 6267 hold special enough to impress anyone? 3G, for the starters. It's great to see a middle ranged handset equipped with this feature, although it holds few other talents.

The phone has a classy, business look, although a highly traditional one that has been covered in dust over the years. It's surprising when it comes to connectivity and data transfers, as it packs most types of technology in this field. Few might take their time to discover this, as the phone's large sizes take it out of the race from the beginning. It's a shame, as Nokia 6267 qualifies as one of the most evolved handsets from the middle range class.

Announced in mid June, the mobile phone has recently hit the market. It comes for EUR 240, before taxes and subsidies. Great price, especially if the customer stops to take a look at the specification list.

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Design

Nokia must be running out of ideas when it comes to clamshell phone designs. All the latest flip phones coming from this producer are part of one big and happy family, where unappealing features seem to come by default. It's not that the 6267 model has a terrible design, but just the fact that Nokia has used it once too many times until now, making it lose any bit of charm that it used to have at one time.

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Sure, any handset producer should make its own line of mobile phones bear an individual mark to set it apart from the devices of other producers. Nokia has overdone it, as the 6267 model is almost identical with older models, such as the 6080 and 6085, the 6555 also follows a highly similar design pattern. Nokia 6131 handset is the one that looks most of all like this one, although it lacks the playlist easy access buttons.

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The keypad proves to be the major advantage that comes to separate this model from all others. It might not be incredibly stylish, but it proves to be excellent for typing long text messages. The buttons wiggle a bit, but this adds to precision and takes away from its rigidity. This makes them feel extremely comfortable and oppose just the amount of resistance when pressed so that the user feels them, but does not tire even after using it for a longer period of time.

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At the dimension of 93.9 x 46.9 x 21.5 mm, Nokia 6267 proves to be way larger than most of its high end clamshell competitors. This makes it look bulky and less evolved than it really is. The phone feels huge in the pocket, especially because of its thickness. The first impression on the handset's design is that Nokia went to little trouble to make it perfect. Its body looks like it has been inflated and is now hollow on the inside. The impression comes from the rough, unpolished plastic case that the handset is built of, which also makes it feel rather cheap.

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Although it also comes in a lavander color, the phone has a rather manly design, due to its straight, slightly smooth corners and little consideration for sizes. The chrome accents certainly add to that with a sharp and strong effect. Unfortunately, they are prone to scratches and this was clear only after a few hours of use. This should make it look cheap and old after only a brief period of intense usage.

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Display and Camera

Nokia 6267 has two display screens, an excellent choice for a clamshell phone. The internal one is a TFT which supports over 16 million colors, and is 2.2 inches large.

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It is also capable of supporting a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels, which will prove great especially for web browsing. The secondary external screen is also a TFT, but supports only 262K colors and a maximum resolution of 128 x 160 pixels. It proves to be great, as it also shows tracks playing in the music player, aside from the basic date, time and calling functions.

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The phone's 2 megapixel camera is pretty good, as it also comes with 8x digital zoom. But what makes it great is the fact that it has a flash too, for taking high quality image captures even when the lighting is rather poor.

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The image capture maximum resolution is of 1600 x 1200 pixels, while the video one is of 640 x 480 pixels, a pretty high one when it comes to mobile phones.

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One interesting aspect about Nokia 6267 is that it allows the user to take captures both with the case open or closed. All that he has to do is press the side camera button when the shell is closed and the phone automatically displays the camera's view on the external display. This is possible with photo shots and video recordings as well, all by pressing the side button again to start/stop recording or just to take a photo. There is one disadvantage in this, as there is no additional information displayed other than the camera's footage. The user cannot know whether the phone is recording or not, for example, while the flash usually gives it away when a picture is taken. I'm not quite sure which the practical side of this capability is, but it's still a pretty nifty feature.

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The sample below has been executed under 360 watts of continuous tungsten light, especially created to test the quality of the camera module.

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Menu and Software

The phone uses Series 40 User interface with Active Standby, the best solution for a Nokia middle ranged phone that is not capable of supporting an operating system. It is the same menu as that used with other models, such as Nokia 8800 series or Nokia 7500 XpressMusic. The menu brings a large number of customizing options, even that of changing the menu items' arrangement in the grid according to the frequency that the owner uses them. Unfortunately, there are only a few themes to choose from and none of them is anything special or out of the ordinary.

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The 5-way navigational keys provide fast access to some of the phone's main functions, also making it possible to change the predefined links. One great feature is that the user can change the font's color and size, aside from the wallpaper and themes. Another customization possibility enables the owner to arrange its contacts in groups and set specific tones and images for each of them, along with detailed information.

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The phone also includes a music player that is incredibly easy to use, even while the mobile phone is closed, through the dedicated keys on the front clap. Aside from this, it also brings some of the most basic applications that are supposed to help the user keep himself organized, such as an Alarm clock, Calendar, To-do list, Notes, Calculator, Countdown timer and Stopwatch.

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As Nokia 6267 also supports Java applications, the user has the chance of putting a large number of applications, which also includes evolved games. The phone supports ringtones in various formats, including 64 polyphonic MIDI, MP3, AAC/eAAC+, AMR audio clips. Moreover, videos can be used as ringtones, which adds a personal touch to the handset.

Communication

The phone works in UMTS / GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 networks, which makes it compatible to receive support from several networks out there. The greatest advantage that Nokia 6267 has to bring is that of connectivity and various solutions for data transfers. This is a 3G enabled handset, although it will not manage to bring the top speeds that this technology has managed to reach until now. The phone packs WCDMA 850/2100 connectivity, up to 384kbps and EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, which is supposed to reach transfers with speeds of up to 236.8kbps. When these don't suit best, there is also GPRS 850/900/1899/1900 up to 52.6kbps, as well as HSCSD (high-speed circuit-switched data) to transfer files up to 43.2 kbps. Tests revealed good data transfer speeds on EDGE network (147 Kbit/s download and 67 Kbit/s upload) as well as on the 3G network (294 Kbit/s download and 87 Kbit/s upload).

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The only thing missing is that of WLAN technology, as the handset also includes Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and USB 2.0. Another interesting feature that could save the user a great amount of money with the right data plan is that of email and instant messaging, as alternatives to SMS and MMS messages that are also provided.

Nokia 6267 also features a WAP 2.0/xHTML that looks great on the large screen. It's certainly not as rewarding as regular PC web navigation, especially due to the huge amount of time it takes for large pages to load. Still, when they do, the design is incredibly close to that of regular pages, optimized for mobile viewing. Trying to scroll down a page, or from one side to another makes this experience feel like trying to see the big picture through a larger key's hole, which might be frustrating at some point. Still, for quickly obtaining some critical information when in great need and with a PC nowhere around, who can stop and complain on the disadvantages when the great advantage of mobility is provided?

Processor and Memory

It includes only 30 MB of internal memory for the user to store personal files on. There is no possible way that this could be enough, which makes the microSD slot excellent, especially as it supports cards of up to 4 GB.

Multimedia

Nokia 6267 can be seen as a music phone, considering the extent that the producer provided to enhance the user's music listening experience. The external buttons on the upper clamshell that make playlist handling easier give it away. There are also some side volume buttons right next to the camera one. There are high chances for the user to get them mixed up sometimes, but the great news is that the camera starts when the clamshell is closed, but not when the music player or FM radio is running. Speaking of the FM radio, its reception is rather poor, as it fails to find stations that other devices manage to provide when asked to "Search all stations", although it works perfectly when the user sets the frequency by himself.

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The sales package includes a HS-47 Stereo Headset, a cheap solution for an average music listening experience that will impress no one. Sound quality is rather poor, far from what some of the most evolved MP3 players have to bring, making this mobile phone a middle ranged one even when it comes to its most important performance.

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Battery

The BL-5C 1020mAh battery is supposed to last up to 6 and a half hours of talk time and up to 300 hours of stand-by in the GSM network. That sounds pretty good, but things stand differently when the phone is actually intensely used or even left to rest, as the battery discharges quite fast.

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Impressions

Nokia packed some impressive performances in this middle-ranged clamshell. It should have been great, impressing, even overwhelmingly good for its price range. Still, it feels a bit dusty and with a dull, weak personality. How did this happen? It's mainly the result of a cheap-looking material used in a traditional, but elegant design combined with the lack of color and a more modern approach of its interaction with the user.

The Good

Some people might even like its design and bulky case as an alternative to all the anorexic handsets out there. Still, a great deal more users will love its large screen with great resolution, the cool camera and certainly the flash which manages to considerably improve capture quality. The fact that it can handle emails and instant messaging is also an advantage worthy of being mentioned, peaking with the fact that it is 3G enabled.

The Bad

Although smart and highly capable of handling a large number of communication needs, it still looks plain and unappealing. Nokia 6267 needs a boost of personality, something to make it stand in its appearance as well and take it out of the huge crowd of clamshells from this producer that all look the same. Moreover, if it aims at the title of a music phone, it could use some improvement in sound quality to boost it from "OK" to "great".

Sales package

Nokia 6267 handset Nokia Battery BL-5C 1020 mAh Nokia Standard Charger AC-4 Nokia Stereo Headset HS-47 CD-ROM containing Software User Guide

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Photo: Tudor Raiciu for Softpedia.com