Nokia 6500 Slide
RATING
Pros
- 3G
- 3.2 megapixel camera
- Excellent build quality
- Big keys
- Tv-out
Cons
- Chunky design
SUMMARY
Stylish feature-packed mid-range 3G mobile phone. Excellent build quality, stainless steel scratch-resistant body, nice big buttons and a real smooth spring-loaded mechanism. A good lower-cost alternative to the Nokia N95.
Review
The Nokia 6500 is a stylish chunky feature-packed mid-range 3G mobile phone. Excellent build quality, stainless steel scratch-resistant body, nice big buttons and a real smooth spring-loaded mechanism.
The Nokia 6500 slide is thinner than a Sony Ericsson K850i and also the Nokia N95. If you don't mind a thicker than average slider mobile phone, then the Nokia 6500 Slide is highly recommended.
Design
The Nokia 6500 Slide has a stainless steel body (with scratch-resistant coating) - can be cold to touch. Black plastic is at the top and bottom of the phone. Slide the front panel up to reveal the glossy black plastic keypad.
The 6500 Slider weighs in at 123 grams - it helps give the phone a good solid feel. The build quality is excellent. The spring-loaded slider is smooth and solid.
Nice big keys: The stainless steel selection, navigation, end and call keys, are big. The central navigation OK key is surrounded by a rim. All the keys are very easy to use. Magic bonus points to Nokia.
The black plastic keypad has big flat keys. Again, no problems using them. The number keys have white backlighting. The microphone sits in between the left of the 4 and 7 keys.
Stiff volume key: The volume key (also used for Push-to-talk (PTT) is stiff. The key is very flat too - a case of style over function.
Wrist strap eyelet: Remove the back cover to insert the strap through the hole (top-left).
Hot-swappable memory card: The microSD memory card slot sits beneath the battery cover above the battery. The microSD slot supports up to 4 GB. The battery cover is easy to remove - a battery cover release button sits at the top of the phone.
2.2-inch 240 x 320 screen: Good quality, up to 16 million colours. The screen has no brightness setting. Instead, the Nokia 6500 uses its ambient light sensor (top front, left of the earpiece). A rubber strip sits along the bottom of the screen offering a bit of grip when sliding the front up.
Connectors: A microUSB, 2.5 mm jack and charger connector are on the top of the phone.
Features
3.2 Megapixel Camera
Nokia describe the 3.2 MP camera as an "enthusiast quality" - an admission of pretty good quality, but not their best. The phone uses Carl Zeiss optics - there's no lens cover.
The 6500 has a double-LED flash. Not as bright as a Xenon flash, but brighter than the single LED flash found on most camera phones.
3.2 megapixel resolution gives photos of 2048 x 1536 resolution. The image quality is good. Likely not quite as good as one of Nokia's high-end N Series phones. Most consumers should be happy with the quality.
The camera has auto-focus - the camera button on the right side of the Nokia 6500 sets auto-focus. There's macro mode, 8x digital zoom, quality settings, self-timer, ISO, multi-shot and white-balance settings. Take photos in landscape mode.
640 x 480 Video Capture: Supports up to VGA video capture (15 frames per seconds (fps)). Other settings include 352 x 288 (CIF), 176 x 144 (QCIF), 128 x 96 (SQCIF).
Front-facing video call camera: The tiny 176 × 144, 15 fps video camera is located to the right of the earpiece (number 9 in the image).
Web browsing
OK. Decent download speeds on 3G networks. You can use the bundled Opera Mini browser to browse the Web. Text input is never great without a QWERTY keyboard, and there's no Wi-Fi support.
Tv-Out
You can view Nokia 6500 Slide content on a TV screen. The 6500 Slide package includes a Tv-out cable. Plug in the video and audio inputs, connect the TV-out cable to the enhancements connector (2.5 mm jack) at the top of the phone, then select the appropriate AV channel on the TV. Supports both PAL and NTSC.
View your videos and images, play games, browse the Web or make video calls using your TV screen.
Music player, FM Radio
The music player supports MP3, MP4, AAC, eAAC+ or WMA files. The music player offers all the standard stuff - playlists, artists, genres, albums, videos, loops, equalizers, favourites, playback and customize the player with skins.
The loudspeaker is fine, similar to Nokia's other phones. The supplied earphones are also acceptable. Plug in your own better quality earphones. Plug a 3.5 mm adapter into the 2.5 mm jack.
Visual Radio with RDS: Connect the stereo headset (earphones) to listen to the FM radio. As with most other mobiles, the headset contains the antenna. It's basic stuff. It does the job.
Messaging
As well as SMS, MMS and Email, the Nokia 6500 Slide also supports Nokia Xpress audio messages and flash messages (text messages are instantly displayed upon receipt.
Summary
The Nokia 6500 Slide is a very decent feature-packed, lower-cost alternative to the Nokia N95. If you're looking for something more slender, consider the Nokia 6500 Classic candy bar phone.
Nokia 6500 - Slide vs Classic: The Nokia 6500 Classic is slimmer, has a candy bar form factor, has a 2 MP camera (the Slide has a 3.2 MP), and the Classic is also a little cheaper (£50 cheaper) on SIM free and PAYG.
The 6500 Slide has better video capture resolution, 0.2-inch larger display, and a memory card slot (no card slot on the Nokia 6500 classic - just 1 GB internal memory).
= coming soonFeatures / Specifications
* confirm features at manufacturer's Web site.
3.8 x 1.8 x 0.6 inches
4.3 oz
- 2.2-inch TFT
- 240x320 pixels
- 16700000 colours
- 20 MB phone memory
- microSD memory card (4 GB max)
- Quad-band (GSM 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 Mhz)
- EDGE
- 3G (UMTS 2100 Mhz)
- Talk time: 6 hours
- Standby time: 320 hours
In The Box
Nokia 6500 slide, battery, charger, stereo headset, 256 MB microSD Memory Card MU-27, USB cable, TV-out cable, CD ROM, user guide.
Connectivity
- Bluetooth 2.0
- USB 2.0
- TV-Out
- Video calling
Camera
- 3.2 MP Camera
- features: Autofocus, macro mode, 8x digital zoom, quality settings, self-timer, ISO, multi-shot and white-balance settings
- VGA video resolution
- 15 FPS video capture
Messaging
- SMS, MMS, Email
- Push Email
Entertainment
- Games: High Roller Casino, Golf Tour, Rally 3D, Snake 3
- FM radio
- Visual Radio
- RDS Radio
- Music Player
- Video Player
Internet
- WAP 2.0 browser, Opera Mini browser
Installed Applications
- PictBridge
- PIM: Organiser tools
- Voice dialling, voice recording
Prices
Prices coming soon.
TAGS: 3g, music, slider phones
Useful Links
| Official Site: | Nokia 6500 Slide |
| 6500 Slide Support: | User Manual |
| Visual Radio: | Visual Radio |
| YouTube Videos: | Nokia 6500 Slide Videos |
| Images: | Nokia 6500 Slide Images |
