September 27, 2005
Nokia 3250
Do a triple take with the Nokia 3250 phone. One twist of the wrist and it becomes a music player with memory expandable up to 1 GB for up to 750 songs. Rip tracks from your CDs using Nokia Audio Manager and then transfer them from your PC to your phone. Use the stereo headphones provided or plug your own headphones into the 3.5 mm jack in the headset.
Twist again and it's a 2-megapixel camera. Snap in landscape or portrait mode and get up close with the 4x zoom. Store your photos and videos on your phone and then upload them to your mobile blog with Lifeblog.
Twist back and it's a smartphone. Take calls on five continents, browse over EDGE, and get creative with all the imaging and music software packed inside.
Whichever way you twist it, there's a lot happening inside the Nokia 3250 phone.
Nokia 3250 Reviews
Hardware Zone previews the Nokia 3250 and finds, "Equipped with a 2.0-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, USB 2.0 support and powered by a Series 60 Smartphone operating system, the Nokia 3250 can be beefed up (software wise) to double up as a PDA, gaming deck or an elementary mobile office - all these possibilities coming from a midrange mobile phone."
Infosync World previews the Nokia 3250 and comments on the phone's camera: "Then, of course, there's the camera. Although not equipped with Carl Zeiss optics and autofocus like the N90, still shots turned out pretty well - and the camera also shoots video with aplomb although the resolution is a poor CIF; 176 x 144 pixels is nothing to write home about. Its screen, on the other hand, is of the typical superb Nokia variety with a resolution of 176 x 220 pixels; bright and crisp, yet a tad pixelated as compared to the aforementioned N90."
AllAboutSymbian reviews the Nokia 3250 and says, about the phone's camera capabilities: "The camera itself is 2 megapixels (1600 by 1200), the same as on the N70, although picture quality seemed (subjectively, see below) a little lower, with cheaper components (unsurprisingly) being used. This is perhaps backed up by the MMS-quality video capture, a slight disappointment perhaps now that we're starting to see Nokia Nseries smartphones come with 352 by 288 pixel recording facilities, but again it has to be remembered that this is a mass market phone and not a high-end unit for convergence-obsessed geeks like me."
Infosync reviews the Nokia 3250, and finds the 2-megapixel camera to be average: "Rotate the swiveling keypad of the 3250 ninety degrees in the opposite direction of that used to access to the music player, and voil�: up comes the interface of a 2 Megapixel camera which produces entirely average stills and video. Naturally, this feature also relies heavily on the otherwise excellent screen, which with its medium resolution unfortunately also exemplifies why the 3rd version of Nokia's Series 60 platform - which sees its debut in the 3250 - is better suited for devices with QVGA resolution screens or above."
Cellphone9 had a chance to get a hands-on look at the Nokia 3250, and finds the twisting mechanism doesn't work that well when it comes to the camera: "Tilting the bottom half perpendicular to the screen makes it a bit uncomfy for taking shots since the “shoot me!� button is naturally programmed as the 5-way joystick. If you use your right hand, you’d feel awkward. If you use your left hand, you’d cover the screen. Of course you can always shoot using the standard candybar mode but you’d have to press buttons instead of flipping the phone - which is like, the coolest thing"
Trusted Reviews reviews the Nokia 3250 and comments on the phone's camera: "The 2-megaixel camera’s lens sits on the bottom right edge of the handset. You can use it without swivelling the number pad section at all, by running the camera software from the 3250’s menu. The screen turns into a viewfinder in landscape format, so that you orient the handset longways and then shoot pictures and video and access the various options via the mini joystick and softkey buttons. ... But you can also call the camera into play by swivelling the number pad through 90 degrees to the left or right. Again you hold the handset longways, and swivelling one way points the lens towards you, the other points it away from you."
Pocket-lint reviews the Nokia 3250 and writes, "It also has an impressive 1GB of storage on board, which allows you up to 750 music tracks, although if you are snapping away with the camera at full resolution this obviously drops. ... The good news is that it all feels very solid, and initial concerns over the twist mechanism feeling loose proved to be unfounded. And while the handset is on the large side, it’s not overly heavy."
MobileBurn reviews the Nokia 3250 and writes, "The menu system in the 3250's camera function looks dated and not as user friendly as the ones found on recent S60 phones. Unlike the intuitive and user-friendly menus found on the recently reviewed N71, accessing any option has to be done by first clicking on the left soft key. ... Overall, the pictures taken with the 3250 were of decent quality. Some outdoor shots were actually pretty good, provided that there was enough lighting. Indoor shots suffered in terms of sharpness, and there were quite high levels of noise when pictures were taken indoors with artificial lighting. If you are lucky, some of the pictures might be good enough for print."
Phone Features
* Twist-on design to access phone, camera, or music functions
* Play tracks and create playlists with the music player (MP3/eAAC+)
* Memory expandable up to 1GB for up to 750 songs of great quality stereo audio with the new, advanced eAAC+ digital audio codec*
* Share playlists with your friends over Bluetooth, MMS, or email
* Plug your own headphones into the connector jack in the headset cable
* Integrated 2-megapixel digital camera
* Turn and capture still photos or video in a single twist
* Share and publish your mobile memories via blogging
* High-resolution, 262,144-color display
Full Specifications
Operating Frequency
* Tri-band GSM coverage on up to five continents (GSM/EDGE 900/1800/1900)
* Automatic switching between bands
Size
* Weight: 115 g
* Dimensions: 103.8 x 50 x 19.8 mm
Display
* 176 x 208 pixel TFT active matrix 262,144-color display
* Size: 34.8mm x 41.1mm
User Interface
* 270-degree rotation (-90 and +180 degrees): Twist on text/phone access, camera, or music functions instantly
* Joystick, two softkeys, application key, edit and clear key, send (Push to talk key) and end key, ITU-T keys, power key
* Music keys: Play/pause, stop, rewind and forward
* Series 60 Platform on Symbian operating system
Music Features
* Manage your music and playlists with the music player (MP3/eAAC+) and control music with dedicated music keys
* Transfer music ripped from your purchased CDs from your PC to your Nokia 3250 phone with Nokia Audio Manager, Windows Media Player, or other PC software
* Share playlists with your friends over Bluetooth, MMS, or email
* Memory expandable up to 1GB for up to 750 songs of great quality stereo audio with the new, advanced eAAC+ digital audio codec*
* Plug your own headphones into the 3.5 mm connector jack in the headset cable
* Enhanced music features: Sound Check (equalizer, stereo widening, reverb, bass boost)
* Buy new music from Web services or download your own records from PC to enjoy hi-fi stereo music through high-quality headphones
* Formats supported: eAAC+, MPEG4 AAC, MP3, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, 64 polyphonic MIDI, RealAudio Voice, RealAudio7, RealAudio8, WMA
* Tunes Studio: Create your own ringing tones from the approx. 40 MIDI tones pre-loaded in the Nokia 3250 phone
* Visual Radio
Imaging Features
* Integrated 2- megapixel digital camera (1600 x 1200 default image size)
* Twist and capture still photos or video in a single twist
* Advanced camera modes: Still, burst, video
* Options for night, brightness adjustment, image quality, and self-timer
* 4x digital zoom
* Video resolution: 176x144 or 128x96 pixels (QCIF or SubQCIF), 15 frames per second
* Video services: Video capture up to 1 hour with microSD card; download, view, streaming
* Music keys double as camera controls: Zoom in and out, shutter key, stop
Multimedia Features
* Watch your videos or stream music videos from network using RealOne player
* Enhanced video editor: Edit your videos with master set of different effects and options and create new views with your own video content
Mobile Blogging
* Share and publish your mobile memories via blogging
* Upload content to Web or attach the content to your email or MMS
* Send your content over MMS or directly to friends locally via Bluetooth wireless technology
Messaging Features
* MMS OMA 1.2: Combine image, video, text, and voice clips and send as an MMS to a compatible phone or PC; use MMS to tell your story with a multi-slide presentation. The MMS OMA 1.2 specification allows you to send/receive messages up to 300 kB in size.
* Text messaging: Supports concatenated SMS, picture messaging, SMS distribution list
* Predictive text input: Support for all major languages in Europe and Asia-Pacific
* Email: Access your work and private email accounts; supports SMTP, POP3, and IMAP4 protocols
* Presence: Includes Wireless Village, Instant Messaging, and dynamic phonebook; know someone's status before you call
Memory Functions
* 10 MB internal memory plus expandable memory up to 1GB for 750 songs with microSD card
Visual Radio
* Listen to music and interact with your favorite radio stations:
o Find out what song is playing, who sings it, and other artist information
o Enter contests and answer surveys, vote for your favorite songs
o Download the songs you buy direct to your phone
* Find out more at www.visualradio.com
Nokia Sensor
* Nokia Sensor is a spontaneous, sociable application for spontaneous, sociable people.
o Express yourself to other Sensor users nearby by creating your own personal pages on your phone
o Check out the pages of people nearby and exchange Sensor messages
o Share files using Bluetooth wireless technology up to a range of ten meters.
* Download Nokia Sensor free of charge from www.nokia.com/sensor
More Applications
Nokia Audio Manager: Create and organize digital music files on a compatible PC and transfer them to a compatible mobile device.
Nokia Lifeblog Multimedia Diary: Create a diary of all your mobile phone's photos, videos, text messages, and multimedia messages. It's easy to browse, search, edit, and save - on both your PC and mobile! Find out more at www.nokia.com/lifeblog.
Tunes Studio
Sound meter: Measure the noise level of the environment, such as at a football game or concert. The sound level meter is not meant for professional use.
Connectivity
* Bluetooth wireless technology
o Talk handsfree with a wireless Bluetooth headset enhancement
o Play wireless multiplayer games over a Bluetooth connection
o Synchronize your phone and compatible PC over a local Bluetooth wireless connection
* USB 2.0 full speed with mass storage profile
Browsing
* WAP 2.0, xHTML browsing over TCP/IP
Data Transfer
* EDGE: Class 10, download up to 236,8 kbit/s
GPRS: Class 10, download up to 62,4 kbit/s
Personal Information Management (PIM)
* Phonebook
* Calendar
* Notepad
* World clock
* Converter
* Calculator
* File manager
* Remote synchronization
* Active idle
* Messaging
* Browsing
* Platform security:
o Device integrity (no tampering of binaries and device settings)
o End-user privacy (protected access to contacts, calendar, messages)
o Controlling the access to sensitive operations or APIs, such as protecting network connections)
Games
* Punkwigs, Snakes
Call Management
* Speed dialing: Up to 9 names, with keys 2-9
* Last-number redial from dialed calls list (dial key brings out the dialed calls list)
* Automatic redial (max. 10 attempts)
* Automatic answer (works with headset or car kit only)
* Call waiting, call hold, call divert, call timer
* Automatic and manual network selection
* Caller identification with image
* Conference call (up to 5 participants)
* Vibrating alert
Voice Features
* Enhanced voice dialing
* Voice commands
* Automatic redial (max 10 attempts)
* Voice recording
* Integrated handsfree speaker
Digital Services
* Download music over-the-air
* UI Themes
* Downloadable Symbian and Java applications
* Game services including levels and sounds
* Ringing and alert tones: eAAC+, MPEG4 AAC, MP3, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, 64 polyphonic MIDI, RealAudio Voice, RealAudio7, RealAudio8, WMA
From the news release
The Nokia 3250, Nokia's newest music phone, grabbed the spotlight of Nokia Trends, an electronic music festival that took place in Berlin, Germany this weekend. This unique design twists to transform a traditional phone keypad into dedicated music keys. The Nokia 3250 stores up to 1 Gigabyte (750 songs) of high quality music and offers 10 hours of music play. In addition, consumers can take advantage of the Nokia 3250's two-megapixel camera and smartphone capabilities. The triband GSM 900/1800/1900 model is expected to start shipping in the first quarter 2006 with an estimated retail price of 350 EUR before subsidies or taxes.
"Nokia connects people to their passions - music - and as the world's largest manufacturer of digital music players, Nokia is leading the charge to make mobile music widely accessible. The XpressMusic feature brand, also introduced today, makes it easier for consumers to identify those Nokia devices which are specifically designed to listen to music," says Kai �ist�m�, Senior Vice President, Mobile Phones, Nokia. "One of the first devices to feature the XpressMusic mark is the Nokia 3250, which is going to stop music fans in their (favourite) tracks. Its unique twist design makes it quick and easy to switch between the music keys, the regular keypad and the camera mode."
By twisting the Nokia 3250 keypad 180 degrees, consumers can toggle between the music controls and the traditional phone keypad. The music player of the Nokia 3250 supports a wide array of digital music formats such as MP3, WMA, M4A and AAC, making it easy to load and transfer music. Additionally, songs can be downloaded over-the-air while on the go and favourite songs can be set as ringtones. The Nokia 3250 supports microSD memory cards of up to 1 Gigabyte with storage capacity for up to 750 songs. An FM radio with Visual Radio client complements the Nokia 3250's complete music package.
Drag and drop to manage your music
Using the Nokia Audio Manager software, users can convert their favourite CDs into digital music files, and "drag and drop" their personal music collections and favorite playlists directly from their computer. Headphones can be connected to the Nokia 3250 via the 3.5mm connector of the Nokia Stereo Headset-HS-20, making the list of available enhancements even longer. For the best audio experience, Nokia is working to ensure that the Nokia 3250 is compatible with a number of accessories from industry leading brands such as Bose�, Harman Kardon�, JBL� and Sennheiser Electronic.
The Nokia 3250 comes with a two-megapixel camera, which is activated in the landscape mode by twisting the Nokia 3250's phone's keypad 90 degrees. With a few simple strokes, images can be instantly shared with others via MMS, or printed on a compatible printer via Bluetooth wireless technology.
The Nokia 3250 is based on the Series 60 platform and Symbian OS, offering a broad set of features and messaging functionalities and enabling third-party application developers to create their own music applications. Those applications can be downloaded and installed on the Nokia 3250. Bridging smartphone capabilities with music on the go, the Nokia 3250 has a talktime of up to 3 hours.
See more from our Nokia Camera Phones category »
Posted by BJ at September 27, 2005 09:23 AM
