Nokia X3 is the first cell in the new Xseries music phones by Nokia. The new series of phones offers brand new designs, improved functionality, multi-tasking and Ovi store. If you think that it is nothing unusual read on to find out more.
Nokia X3 pros:
+ 2.2″ 262K color QVGA display
+ Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
+ Stereo FM radio with RDS; Built-in antenna
+ Stereo speakers
+ Standard 3.5mm audio jack
+ 3.2 megapixel fixed focus camera
+ Up to 26 hours of music playback S40 user interface, 6th edition
Nokia X3 cons:
- No 3G connectivity
- Smallish display with poor viewing angles and sunlight legibility
- S40 interface feels clunky and out of date
- Some software bugs
The design:
Nokia X3 measures 96 x 49.3 x 14.1mm and weighs 103 grams. The cell phone is made of high quality and durable materials which shows at the first glance. Nokia does away with curves and goes with straight lines with its Nokia X3 phone. The front is a standard slider dominated by the 2.2-inch screen surrounded by red buttons. Below the screen is the D-pad used for managing calls. When you slide the phone open below the D-pad you can see the alphanumeric keyboard. All the keys are big enough and responsive so they are generally very comfy to use. The left side of the phone houses the microSD memory card slot, whereas the right side of the Nokia X3features the volume rocker and the camera keys. The top of the phone houses the microUSB port hidden under a cap and the 3.5mm standard audio jack. The biggest disadvantage of the Nokia X3’s design seems the screen, so if you are looking for something with a bigger screen have a look at Samsung OmniaPRO B7330, Sony Ericsson Yari.
Performance:
As always with Nokia the phone has great signal reception and in-call signal clarity. The smallish screen on the Nokia X3 disappoints with its poor viewing angles, small size and poor contrast. Even the direct sunlight legibility is disappointing for a Nokia. As the phone runs on the series 40 6th edition user interface is it highly customizable and fun to use. The user interface looks modern, it is responsive and quite quick. The phonebook can store up to 2000 contacts with 5 phone numbers and plenty of fields for additional information. Messaging is easy as always. The SMS and MMS messages share and editor which makes it easy to remember and setting up your email account on the Nokia X3 takes only a few seconds.
Multimedia:
The music player on the Nokia X3 is one of its best features which should not be surprising as it is a music mobile phone. The music player has all the essentials like album art, equalizer, support for plenty of file formats. Moreover, the sound quality is outstanding and almost matches that of an iPhone. The phone also has a radio with RDS and a built in antenna which means you do not need a headset to listen to radio.
The video player in the Nokia X3 is very simple. It does not support DivX, but only 3GP and WMV files. You can make screen captures and view videos in the full screen and that is basically it.
The 3.2 megapixel camera can shoot up to 2048 x 1536 photos and since it has no autofocus, or flash you can take photos only in daytime. Yet even in daytime the digital camera built in the Nokia X3 shoots only about average quality photos. The images tend to lack detail and there is often too much noise and when the noise reduction is on the overall image quality gets slightly worse.
Although the phone has no GPS the Nokia X3 comes with Nokia Maps which you can use for planning your routes. The maps are quite detailed and may prove useful. You can, of course, make use of a Bluetooth GPS unit to make your Nokia X3 work even better.
Selected Nokia X3 features and specifications:
S40 6th Edition
320 x 240 pixels (QVGA); up to 262,144 colours
Dedicated music keys, camera key
Micro-USB connector
3.5 mm Nokia AV connector
microSD memory card slot, hot swap, max. 16 GB
860 mAh Li-Ion standard battery
Music playback time (maximum): 24 h
Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900
Automatic switching between GSM bands
Flight mode
GPRS class A, multi-slot class 32
EDGE
TCP/IP support
Bluetooth version 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate
Support for PC synchronisation with Nokia PC Suite
Nokia Xpress audio messaging
3.2 megapixel camera
Image formats: JPEG
CMOS sensor
4x digital zoom
Full Focus
Focal length: 2.4 mm
Focus range: 50 cm to infinity
Automatic, daylight, incandescent, fluorescent
Video recording at up to 176 x 144 pixels (QCIF) and up to 15 fps
Up to 4x digital video zoom
Video recording file formats: .3gp, MPEG-4; codecs H.264
S40 video player
Video playback file formats: .3gp, .mp4, .avi, .asf.; codecs: H.263, H.264, MPEG-4, WMV9
Video streaming: .3gp, .rm
Landscape mode video playback
Music Player
Stereo FM radio with RDS support
Other recently reviewed mobile phones:
Sony Ericsson Satio, LG BL40 New Chocolate, Sony Ericsson Aino, Acer neoTouch, Nokia N97 mini, Sony Ericsson Yari, Samsung OmniaPRO B7330
