Nokia 6700 Review

Although the world's leading cell phone manufacturer has already pushed out a few touchscreen handsets, it's touch-sensitive portfolio remains relatively tiny, compared to that of some other companies, say Samsung. For good or bad, in this review we'll be looking at a new non-touch phone from Nokia - the 6700 slide. Our journey won't be boring though, as the Nokia 6700 slide is a smartphone, running the Symbian S60 3rd Edition operating system. Not only that, but it's also really pretty, has very good build quality and owns a 5MP AF camera with Carl Zeiss Tessar optics. So, let's not waste any more time and get down to business.

Here's what you'll find in the box:
• Nokia 6700 slide
• Charger
• 2GB microSD card
• Wired handsfree
• Way too short microSD cable
• Extensive user guide

Most of the Nokia 6700 slide's body is made of aluminum, giving it a solid and high-quality feel. In addition, Nokia has come up with a beautiful design, which looks incredibly stylish. Well, at least our silver color variant is stylish, but the Nokia 6700 slide also comes in many other colors, including red, green and blue, which look somewhat more youthful. The in-hand feel of the phone is what it's meant to be - superb, while the sliding mechanism works flawlessly.

The display on the Nokia 6700 slide measures 2.2 inches and has a resolution of 240x320 pixels, which is more than enough for the size. It has a light sensor for automatic brightness handling that we found to work okay. Still, when outdoors you'll have to shield the screen with your hand in order to get a clear view of what's going on.

The keys below the display are nice to use, including the two circular buttons for "home" and "delete" that give the phone a kind of retro appearance. Although a bit on the smaller side, the numpad is well-made and won't give you headaches. Its keys have a well-pronounced click, which makes it easy to feel when you've pressed them.

Surprisingly, there is no volume rocker on the Nokia 6700 slide. On the right side you'll find the two-step camera shutter, the second step of which could work better, and on the top are the 2.5mm headset jack, Nokia charging port and a wisely-hidden standard microUSB port.

A design element that is worth mentioning is that if you want to remove the aluminum back cover, you'll first have to open the microUSB and then press a key that releases the battery door. Although it's a rather unconventional solution, we can't help but admit we like it, as it is a nice touch that gives the phone even more sense of classiness.The back side lets you look at its pleasant-to-the-eye 5MP camera with Carl Zeiss Tessar optics and dual-LED flash.

Samsung B3410W Review

Samsung is one of the companies with really strong position in the affordable segment of the cell phone market. Following the rising demand for devices centered on text communication, the manufacturer has recently introduced the Samsung Ch@t B3410W. We cannot call it a brand new handset, since it’s a revamped version of the Samsung B3410 (also known as the Corby Plus) that has been available for some time now. The hardware specifications of both cell phones are almost identical, with but a few differences - the Samsung Ch@t B3410W comes with a built-in Wi-Fi module and newer version of the manufacturer’s proprietary TouchWiz interface.

Unlike the members of the Corby family, the Samsung Ch@t B3410W cannot be referred to as a device with youthful design. It looks austere and the only element that lands color to the buttoned-down design of the handset is its back panel. We do like the proper build quality of the cell phone and the plastic it’s made from does not feel cheap in your hand. There are no wobbly parts and the handset feels solid, not last due to its relatively hefty weight of 114gr.

Similarly to almost all other affordable models equipped with touch-sensitive screens, the 2.6-inch display of the Samsung Ch@t B3410W utilizes resistive technology and features low native resolution of 240x320 pixels. Its sensitivity is decent, but unfortunately, the image quality is far from awesome, with thin, unsaturated colors.

The slider mechanism is quite tight, but that doesn’t mean opening/closing the full QWERTY keyboard involves extra effort or isn’t fast enough. The keyboard itself is, however, not one of the handiest we have used – its buttons are large, but feature limited travel and are just not raised enough, which makes them relatively hard to press. You will probably get used to them in time and will learn what to do in order not to make too many typing mistakes, but using the keyboard will not get enjoyable for sure.