Nokia 6500

Slim Nokia 6500 Classic's worth the wait

AFTER lagging behind the likes of Samsung and Motorola in the slim phone market, Nokia is finally in the thick of the action with the 6500 Classic. At 9.5mm thin, the 6500 Classic would be one of the thinnest Nokia phones ever, and Nokia has really done a good job at it.

My first impressions - simply classy and elegant with nice clean lines and curves. Apart from the micro USB port at the top, there are no side buttons to disrupt its minimalist aesthetics. Its sleek look is achieved with polished anodized aluminium and black glossy plastic with touches of chrome.

The anodised aluminium on its top half gives it a solid feel and heft, while keeping it lightweight at the same time.

The glossy plastic lower half, however, is a fingerprint magnet.

The 6500 Classic's beauty extends to its display as well. Nokia has outfitted it with a 240 x 320 pixel display that is excellent, with razor-sharp text. Even the smallest font size is easily readable. Pity it's just a 2-inch display; another half-inch would have been

perfect. The phone's standard numeric keypad layout has keys that are a little too small and flat.

Even though the keys have raised bottom edges, they are still rather hard to press even for ladies. I had to resort to fingernails for best results. It comes with 3G and 1 GB internal memory, but no expansion slot.

One final minor shortcoming is the micro USB connector. As it's also a charging, data synchronising and audio connector, you can't listen to music when you're charging the phone.

FINAL SAY

A definite head-turner, the Nokia 6500 Classic is excellent if you want a chic-looking phone that does its job well. It's also a splendid choice as a weekend phone.

By Tony Lim, who works in the IT industry.