Nokia 6600 New Look

Just the name 6600 brings back memories of days gone by, when the egg-like phone was the hottest new device in town. Ever since its launch, the phone had quickly gained immense popularity. It was perhaps the first precursor of a smartphone that anyone had seen. So naturally when Nokia recently announced the return of the good old dependable handset in a new avatar 6600i, I was quite excited. It better match up to its older cousin was my first thought. In the looks department, it passes muster. On first look, the phone looks quite stunning-thanks to the brushed steel body it sports. The black version doesn’t look that good though. The phone’s got nice contours and a slide out keypad. The desgin has that simplistic, yet elegent appeal that makes it more stylish than other flashy models. With a 5 MP camera with 8x zoom and dual-LED flash, the phone is designed for imaging and sharing. It is supposed to be manufacturer’s smallest 5 MP slider offering.

But the phone might disappoint when it comes to what it is. Or rather what is not. It’s not a smartphone – it’s just another Series 40 phone with a good camera. For it to hold a candle to the old 6600 and the place it has in our heart, it should’ve had at least something revolutionary. It does feature touch technology, but most likely, it’s limited to tasks such as answering or silencing calls. Other than an impressive camera, it’s got a microSD slot expandable to 16 GB, 3G support, and a bright 2.2 inch 240×320 TFT 16 million colour display. It can record video at in VGA at 15 fps and QVGA at 30 fps. The phone is supposed to be specially built to make better use of Nokia’s Ovi products. You won’t have to wait too long to get a feel of it since its slated to be available in the third quarter of 2009 for 200 Euros (around Rs. 13000).