Nokia 6220 review
About 10 months after its unveiling, a cell phone from the Finnish giant has finally arrived in Italy, combining a classic design (an evolution of the 6610) with functions useful both for work and leisure time, with a special eye on data transmission.
Indeed, this new 6220 offers triband GSM connectivity enriched by HSCSD technology (which, as many know, doesn't work in our country), GPRS and, above all, EDGE, the evolution of 2G networks that promises download speeds of up to 118.4 Kbps and which TIM is about to launch as support for UMTS.
Aside from this, reading through its technical specifications reveals features such as: a reduced weight of less than 80 grams, compact dimensions of 107x45x19 mm, the use of interchangeable covers to change its color and possibly offset the effects of bumps, a 128x128 pixel display with 4,096 colors, an 850 mAh lithium battery, vibration, an organizer, games, customizable polyphonic ringtones, SMS with T9, a WAP 2.0 browser, SIM Toolkit, MMS, Java (with 256 KB of memory), an IrDA port and call functions, voice commands and voice memos, all managed through the well-tested Series 40 interface.
Furthermore, to stand out from the competition, the 6220 offers an MP4 player (to play clips up to 100 KB in size), a built-in speakerphone, stereo FM radio, Mobile Wallet (a memory area where all the data needed for electronic transactions via WAP can be stored), the SyncML protocol for syncing personal information with a remote server, an e-mail client, Pop-Port connectivity, SMS chat, Presence-Enhanced contacts (which, for example, make it so that if we're called while in a meeting, and we've set a usage mode accordingly, the phone automatically sends an SMS to the caller registered in the address book with this function, to let them know we're unavailable to talk), Digital Right Management for managing copyright on content downloaded via WAP or MMS and, finally, a camera with CIF resolution, that is, 352x288 pixels.
We're now in a position to understand its strengths and weaknesses, starting precisely with the latter.
First of all, it seems to us that on a phone so devoted to data transmission, Bluetooth would have been more than welcome, as it amplifies connection potential with PCs and PDAs (not to mention the very convenient headsets), with the added advantage of not having to connect cables or bring the various devices close together to get them within range of the infrared beams; the camera, moreover, has a resolution sufficient only for sending photos via MMS or using them as wallpaper, a VGA sensor would have been decidedly better.
Now the strengths: it's a Nokia Series 40, and that means ease of use, reliability and customizability; the Pop-Port connection guarantees the use of compatible accessories of every kind, both current and future; with a cable or via IrDA, 118 Kbps (theoretical) is quite a good speed, and so the Internet truly becomes mobile at last; compactness, lightness, a variety of functions, photos and radio really make the 6220 a perfect companion for the whole day, also thanks to more than satisfactory battery life; equally good, finally, are reception and audio quality, which are ultimately the most sought-after characteristics in a device whose primary job is making calls!
To conclude this buying guide, it seems superfluous to point out the target audience of the Nokia 6220, a cell phone that offers a lot (at an objectively fair price) and that is already ready for the near future, but above all one that will remain up to date at least until the release of its successor, the 6230, presented by Nokia at the end of October and equipped, in addition, with a 65,000-color display, a VGA camera, Bluetooth, an MP3 player and expandable memory with MMC cards.