Nokia 6600 Review

The Nokia 6600 is one of the best phones out there. It has everything—the Symbian OS for e-mail, MMC support, streaming video, a camera and video recorder, and Bluetooth. Business users will appreciate the small size and features Symbian delivers. Consumers will love it because it's simply a very cool phone.

Sleek camera phone that supports video streaming from the Web and runs on the flexible Symbian OS. Bluetooth.

Lacks out-of-the-box MP3 support. No flash for camera.

Network: GPRS
Operating System: Symbian OS
Bluetooth: Yes
Notes: 6MB built-in memory and 32MB MultiMediaCard included; 65,000 colors; 640-by-480 camera resolution, up to 4 hours estimated digital talk time, up to 8 days estimated digital standby time; T-Mobile USA network.

The next-generation Nokia camera phone is an ideal blend of both useful and cool features. Offering everything from streaming video to Symbian e-mail, this hot phone is fully loaded.

Wrapped in a sleek-looking 4.4 ounce package, the 6600 includes a crisp 2.1-inch screen, Bluetooth and IR ports, a VGA camera, MMC support, and Symbian OS 7.0.

This phone is clearly a step up from Nokia's previous high-end camera phone that ran Symbian, the 3650. We like the number pad on the 6600, which has a conventional lay-out and is comfortable to use—much better than the awkward circle format of the 3650. We also find the 6600's joystick a much easier way to navigate than the four-directional pad found on the 3650.

Although the 6600 supports MMC media, which is a plus, the slot is located behind the battery next to the SIM card—so you have to turn off the phone and remove the battery to get to the memory card. The Siemens SX1, a similarly configured phone/PDA combo, offers a much better solution: Its slot is external and located on the side of the phone.

The 6600, like the SX1, uses the Series 60 interface, which is very popular and easy to use to scroll through the PDA-like functions of the phone. The phone runs Symbian 7.0 and includes new features like RealOne, which lets you stream audio and video clips from the Web to your phone. However, to play MP3 files, you must first download a player compatible with the Series 60 interface from a third-party seller such as Handango (www.handango.com).

Pictures taken with the 6600's VGA caera looked a bit washed out, but are fine for viewing on a phone screen or e-mailing to friends. Because this is a GSM phone, the pictures are e-mailed as an attachment, which is an easier process than with Sprint phones, where users have to access the Internet to download pictures to their phones. Video playback was a bit choppy, and viewing time is limited to 9 seconds, so you'll probably use this feature primarily for sending MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) messages. Storing media isn't a problem: The phone has 6MB of internal memory, and the bundle includes a 32MB MMC card for the camera's expansion slot.

Aside from MMS, the 6600 supports SMS as well as POP and IMAP e-mail. The e-mail function on the 6600 was fairly easy to set up and use. Calls made with the 6600 were clearer than those on the SX1, and although the screen on the 6600 is slightly smaller, it is crisper and brighter.

Whether you're a business professional or a consumer just looking for a cool camera phone, the 6600 has you covered.