Jul 12, 2012 11:12 AM
24891 Views
(Updated Jul 12, 2012 01:01 PM)
I needed a phone to gift to my younger sister. Her requirements were very basic- messaging, calling and listening music/ videos. As she is not internet savvy, I have to choose a very basic and user friendly phone for her that comes cheap but doesn’t look that cheap. There were many phones in market but I zeroed upon **Nokia C2-02 touch and type** having slider form factor.
*Basic specifications*
Screen: **2.6" 65K-color resistive touchscreen**
Operating System: **Symbian series 40**
Camera: **2 MP fixed focus**, 15fps video recording
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1, GPRS, EDGE, microUSB
Storage: 10MB internal, **32GB external support**
Others: Stereo FM radio with in-built recorder, Alphanumeric keypad
Features and functions
The phone is very well built and looks quite attractive with matte finish battery cover. It **doesn’t look cheap** like many other mobile phones in this segment. There are **only two physical keys provided** for volume control and screen locking. The slider works quite smooth but with time it may not work so smooth. The **USP of the designing is golden chrome plating at bottom** of this phone.
It is 17 mm thick with height and width of 103 mm and 51.4mm respectively. The **form factor is slider bar.** It has resolution of 320×240 pixels and weighs 115g. The **screen resolution is nothing to boast upon**.
The touchscreen is 2.6” and doesn’t seem small. Important point to remember is that it is **resistive touch and not so smooth** like the mostly used capacitive touchscreens. It will take some time to get used to it. It was horrible experience for me when I tried to use this phone after using iPhone and N8 (the comparison is totally invalid, considering less than 1/10th pricing).
There is **no touch keypad provided** in this phone so you have to use physical alphanumeric keypad on sliding the slider. The keypad is golden in color and looks awesome. The **keys are like a flat pad** and no gap is been provided between them but still it is quite comfortable typing on it.
The **phonebook and messaging feature are very basic** like any other Nokia phone.
The camera provided is **fixed focus 2megapixels without any flash**. It solves the basic purpose of photography. I very much missed the physical camera key.
The photos are neatly arranged as per the timeline and albums. There is **editing tool provided** that can perform all the necessary editing. The photos can be transferred via message, mail, Bluetooth or direct upload to web.
Nokia is still **using the old age Symbian**; the OS of this phone is Symbian 40 6th edition. The only advantage of this OS is that it is **very user friendly** and helps in better battery backup. It is like any other Nokia phone experience you have ever used in your life- the same icons and the same style. The biggest drawback is **inability to perform multitasking** and you have to close one app to work on other.
The speaker is provided near the camera and is **very loud for music playback**. It can playback mostly all the major audio formats. The music folder is categorized as per albums, artists, playlists and genres. There is n**o provision for changing the audio track, playing or pausing, when not in the now playing interface**.
The call quality and reception is great as expected from a Nokia phone. There is **3.5mm jack** provided for headphone and can be used with any standard headphone in market.
Video player of this phone **can only play MP4 and 3GP formats** and it will not play high-res videos. There are basic video control functions provided- play/pause & previous/ forward.
The phone **supports GPRS and EDGE**. The Nokia has recently improved its web browser on the track of Opera and compresses the webpages on loading. **The speed is ok considering the pricing, RAM and OS** and is just ok for web browsing- better for basic surfing. The browser provides flash based content surfing using flash lite feature but it doesn’t provide tabbed browsing. For better experience it is better to download Opera. **Pushmail feature** is also provided that is really great for this budget segment. Chat app is also there that supports Google Talk, Ovi Chat, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Chat.
There is **social networking app ‘Communities’** provided inbuilt with the phone that give access to Facebook, Twitter & Flickr. Nokia store can be accessed to download more apps. All the basic applications are provided such as calculator, voice recorder, to-do list, notes, timer, stopwatch etc.
It is provided with **Bluetooth feature and microUSB port for data transfer**. The shocking part was that charging feature is not supported via microUSB that is standardly used in almost all the mobile phones nowadays.
The **battery provided is 1020mAh and easily works for 2 days** with normal usage. Anyhow, Nokia is master in battery backups.
Pros
Stylish design with golden finish at the bottom.
*32GB memory support**.
2MP camera with 4X digital zoom.
EDGE and GPRS enabled.
Push mail feature
*Touch and type feature**.
Easy user interface.
Cons
*Resistive touchscreen** that will require a pointed object (pen, nail etc.) for functioning.
*Only 10MB of internal storage**.
No dedicated keys for camera or music playback.
*No navigation key or D-pad**.
Unable to perform multitasking.
Delicate SIM and memory card tray.
*Limited connectivity options**.
No Wi-Fi and 3G.
Verdict
This phone is the **only phone in this price range from a reputed manufacturer that has touch and type feature**. It performs all the basic functions required by a normal user. It cannot be misunderstood as smartphone and is *a big NO for heavy internet users*.
It is important to note that it should not be confused with Nokia C2-03, which is dual-SIM mobile phone with same looks and form factor.
It is **available at Rs.3365** at flipkart.com and can be bargained for Rs.3300 at any store near you.
It is *recommended depending on the following conditions
*Best suited for young girls** who need phone for basic purpose and basic internet usage.
Those who want a pocket friendly stylish phone.
Those who hate QWERTY keypad.
Those **who want touch feature in a budget phone** without compromising on brand.
It can be preferred if anyone is planning to own an extra phone aside a smartphone.
