rapid7
07-13-2005, 07:02 AM
I have been using my 6230 for more than 15 months... love this phone , but kinda getting bored with it. So, I was looking to upgrade my phone. Looked at 6230i, 6630, 6680 & 6681. After reading many reviews ... finally bought 6681. It arrived today, played it for about < 3 hrs. Thought I will post my review here if anyone like me trying to upgrade their 6230
One of my main reasons for upgrading to 6681 was ... active standby & series 60 OS. I have considered 6630, but didn't go for it because its bit fatter than 6681 & also it doesn't have active stanby also it doesn't have a camera flash.
When Nokia announced their N series, thought I will wait to get N91 or N70. But decided not. Because N91 will be heavy & also didn't like the look of it. Moreover it will be expensive ~$850. N70 will be same as 6681 as far the features goes, expcept the 2MP camera & extra cam in the front which we dont use in USA. later I was tempted to wait 6270, but it is series 40 also the phone is big.
Anyways ....
I would like to compare 6230a(FW 5.24, 900 version) with 6681(FW 3.10.6). I know that we cannot compare series 40 with series 60. But it might help some of you out there ... like me who is looking for some differences to upgrade their 6230 ...
1. Look & feel.
a) Body:
6681 looks great. It doesn't look big like in the nokia website. I was suprised to see the phone was only little bit bigger than 6230. Thickness is same as 6230. It feels mich better in hand. Nice sleek & stylesh design! Looks very professional!!!!
b) Key Pad.
6681 key pad is clear plastic. Looks cheap. But works great. Nice D pad. Due to clear plastic keys, it glows very well in the night. May be thats why Nokia designed clear keys
c) Camera slide
The slide looks firm. But slides easily when you try to take out of your pocket. You have to be careful. I guess it will take some time for me to get used to it. Honestly thought Nokia could have made the slide bit more tight & sturdy.
d) Weight
6681 is pretty light. Though it weighs about 30+ grams more than 6230, I didn't feel the difference in my hand as well as my pocket.
2. MP3 Quality
a) Through speaker:
6681 sounds clear & sound is more crisp. Volume is same as in 6230. However 6230 speaker is better for bass. 6681 has more treble. There is no graphic equalizer in 6681. However some of the symbian addon applications can do this.
b) Through headet:
Volume in 6681 is same as in 6230. The quality(bass & treble) are same in 6681 & 6230. I have tested this using HDS-3 headset & also modified HS-3 with Sony in ear plugs. Interestingly 6681 sound quality is same as 6230 sound quality when all its frequencies are set to high using 6230 graphic equalizer.
3) MP3 Application:
6681 has two MP3 applications. Real player & Music Player like in 6230. I like Music player better as you can skip, ff,rew the track using the D pad. As you all know 6681 doesn't have a dedicated volume key which I like it in 6230.
One good feature in 6681 is, you can search the track by name/album/artist in 6681. This is not possbile in 6230, you have to browse through all the tracks
Using real player in 6681, you can create your own playlists. It is really cool!
4) Call management
Calls are clear & voice is crisp in 6681 through speaker as well as headset. RF is excellent in 6681. While using Music player, if you get the call the track will be stopped when you answer the call. After you hang up, you will have to replay the track from the begining I think this is a bug. It is cool in 6230. The track be paused & played on its own when you hang up. Another wierd thing in 6681 is ... when you are listening to the MP3 using headset, if you get a call, the phone will ring through speaker as well as the song is played thorough the speaker even when you have the headset on Not sure if this is a bug or not. But, found to be wierd.
calls through headset in 6681 are better. You do not hear your own voice feedback much in 6681. The feedback is much more in 6230.
5) Speed
6681 menu is bit slower when you access it for the first time after you power up. But after that, it is as faster as 6230. May be 6681 slower by fraction of a second, which is hard to notice!!
6) Display
6681 display way too much better, because of the size & the colors. Colors are rich & crisp in 6681.
7) MP3 Ring tones
You can assign MP3s as ring tones easily in 6230. In 6681, the MP3 should be on the phones memory. It does not recognize if the files are on MMC card. May be this is a bug or other way to do it? Not sure.
8) Camera
There is no comparison here. 6681 has 1.3 MP with flash!!!!!!
9) KeyGuard
In 6230, you can set up to lock the keys with security code. You can also do the same in 6681, but when you lock the keys, it will prompt you to enter the security code ... every time you lock In 6230, it simply locks & asked for the code only when you try to unlock. However, in 6681, you can just lock the keys or lock the keys with security code. Where as in 6230, You cannot have both options at the same time. I mean, you will have to change the setup to have one or the other.
Other cool features in 6681...
**Active Standby. This can be turned off if you dont want it. Like during vacation/PTO. Nice feature!!
**Quick office aplications like Word, Excel, power point, Adobe reader etc.,
** MP3 player with play lists capabilty & search capability
** Contacts are sorted better with last name in series 60 & also the size of personal note in the contacts is huge. You can type lot of characters in there. In 6230, due to the limitation, it used to chop off my notes to the contact like directions etc.,
** Offline/flight mode: Means with this feature, I can play with it during the flight!!!
** USB 2.0, mean I can copy MP3s/Pics/Videos faster!
** Hot swappable MMC, pretty cool to change! In 6230, you have to turn the phone off to remove it to copy MP3s as it doesn't have USB 2.0
** lots of applications to play with in 6681 & I can add lot more..
However, I miss one good feature from 6230. Alarm clock repeat. In 6681(series 60), Alarm clock is not repeatable & also there are no repetetion days to set. You have to but an application to have this. Symbian could have put this in their default clock application.
BTW I paid $465 which is about $100 more than 6630 which is worth for me for the features I got in 6681!!!!
Thats all for now!!!
One of my main reasons for upgrading to 6681 was ... active standby & series 60 OS. I have considered 6630, but didn't go for it because its bit fatter than 6681 & also it doesn't have active stanby also it doesn't have a camera flash.
When Nokia announced their N series, thought I will wait to get N91 or N70. But decided not. Because N91 will be heavy & also didn't like the look of it. Moreover it will be expensive ~$850. N70 will be same as 6681 as far the features goes, expcept the 2MP camera & extra cam in the front which we dont use in USA. later I was tempted to wait 6270, but it is series 40 also the phone is big.
Anyways ....
I would like to compare 6230a(FW 5.24, 900 version) with 6681(FW 3.10.6). I know that we cannot compare series 40 with series 60. But it might help some of you out there ... like me who is looking for some differences to upgrade their 6230 ...
1. Look & feel.
a) Body:
6681 looks great. It doesn't look big like in the nokia website. I was suprised to see the phone was only little bit bigger than 6230. Thickness is same as 6230. It feels mich better in hand. Nice sleek & stylesh design! Looks very professional!!!!
b) Key Pad.
6681 key pad is clear plastic. Looks cheap. But works great. Nice D pad. Due to clear plastic keys, it glows very well in the night. May be thats why Nokia designed clear keys
c) Camera slide
The slide looks firm. But slides easily when you try to take out of your pocket. You have to be careful. I guess it will take some time for me to get used to it. Honestly thought Nokia could have made the slide bit more tight & sturdy.
d) Weight
6681 is pretty light. Though it weighs about 30+ grams more than 6230, I didn't feel the difference in my hand as well as my pocket.
2. MP3 Quality
a) Through speaker:
6681 sounds clear & sound is more crisp. Volume is same as in 6230. However 6230 speaker is better for bass. 6681 has more treble. There is no graphic equalizer in 6681. However some of the symbian addon applications can do this.
b) Through headet:
Volume in 6681 is same as in 6230. The quality(bass & treble) are same in 6681 & 6230. I have tested this using HDS-3 headset & also modified HS-3 with Sony in ear plugs. Interestingly 6681 sound quality is same as 6230 sound quality when all its frequencies are set to high using 6230 graphic equalizer.
3) MP3 Application:
6681 has two MP3 applications. Real player & Music Player like in 6230. I like Music player better as you can skip, ff,rew the track using the D pad. As you all know 6681 doesn't have a dedicated volume key which I like it in 6230.
One good feature in 6681 is, you can search the track by name/album/artist in 6681. This is not possbile in 6230, you have to browse through all the tracks
Using real player in 6681, you can create your own playlists. It is really cool!
4) Call management
Calls are clear & voice is crisp in 6681 through speaker as well as headset. RF is excellent in 6681. While using Music player, if you get the call the track will be stopped when you answer the call. After you hang up, you will have to replay the track from the begining I think this is a bug. It is cool in 6230. The track be paused & played on its own when you hang up. Another wierd thing in 6681 is ... when you are listening to the MP3 using headset, if you get a call, the phone will ring through speaker as well as the song is played thorough the speaker even when you have the headset on Not sure if this is a bug or not. But, found to be wierd.
calls through headset in 6681 are better. You do not hear your own voice feedback much in 6681. The feedback is much more in 6230.
5) Speed
6681 menu is bit slower when you access it for the first time after you power up. But after that, it is as faster as 6230. May be 6681 slower by fraction of a second, which is hard to notice!!
6) Display
6681 display way too much better, because of the size & the colors. Colors are rich & crisp in 6681.
7) MP3 Ring tones
You can assign MP3s as ring tones easily in 6230. In 6681, the MP3 should be on the phones memory. It does not recognize if the files are on MMC card. May be this is a bug or other way to do it? Not sure.
8) Camera
There is no comparison here. 6681 has 1.3 MP with flash!!!!!!
9) KeyGuard
In 6230, you can set up to lock the keys with security code. You can also do the same in 6681, but when you lock the keys, it will prompt you to enter the security code ... every time you lock In 6230, it simply locks & asked for the code only when you try to unlock. However, in 6681, you can just lock the keys or lock the keys with security code. Where as in 6230, You cannot have both options at the same time. I mean, you will have to change the setup to have one or the other.
Other cool features in 6681...
**Active Standby. This can be turned off if you dont want it. Like during vacation/PTO. Nice feature!!
**Quick office aplications like Word, Excel, power point, Adobe reader etc.,
** MP3 player with play lists capabilty & search capability
** Contacts are sorted better with last name in series 60 & also the size of personal note in the contacts is huge. You can type lot of characters in there. In 6230, due to the limitation, it used to chop off my notes to the contact like directions etc.,
** Offline/flight mode: Means with this feature, I can play with it during the flight!!!
** USB 2.0, mean I can copy MP3s/Pics/Videos faster!
** Hot swappable MMC, pretty cool to change! In 6230, you have to turn the phone off to remove it to copy MP3s as it doesn't have USB 2.0
** lots of applications to play with in 6681 & I can add lot more..
However, I miss one good feature from 6230. Alarm clock repeat. In 6681(series 60), Alarm clock is not repeatable & also there are no repetetion days to set. You have to but an application to have this. Symbian could have put this in their default clock application.
BTW I paid $465 which is about $100 more than 6630 which is worth for me for the features I got in 6681!!!!
Thats all for now!!!