Nokia 6260

The 6260 was one such hotly anticipated device, touting Symbian functionality in a twist-and-fold form factor.

Design

Classic, executive designs have always been a hallmark of Nokia’s 6000 line. The 6260 is no exception. Marketed as a business phone, our unit arrived in a nondescript grey with a simple dotted pattern adorning the front. An external display was conspicuously missing.

Internally, the phone recycles the 176 x 208-pixel, 65K-color TFT seen in the 6600. Although such a display was considered splendid then, Nokia seems to be lagging in color depth as Korean manufacturers have since introduced dual 262K-color screens.

Regarding buttons, the keys are laid out in a counter-productive manner. The numerical and answer/reject call buttons are positioned high up on one half of the unit while the rest are positioned under the screen on the top half. We found it nearly impossible to single-handedly access the latter keys for texting purposes.

Manufacturing workmanship is disappointing on three counts. Firstly, the buttons are wobbly and reminded us of plastic bubble wrap. Secondly, when the clamshell is closed, the top half is occasionally unaligned with the bottom half and can swing either side by approximately 2mm. Thirdly, unlike Korean clamshells which generally sport robust construction, the 6260 has a cheap, plastic feel to it.

One of the main selling points of this phone is its twist-and-fold capability which according to the marketing pitch allows for “three exciting modes to match your every move”. These are the work mode, which basically is just opening up the clamshell and using it normally; the camera mode, where users turn the fold from work mode such that the screen faces either left or right; and finally, the browse mode, which has the screen displayed outwards when the clamshell is shut. Save for the novelty, we found little use for implementing such a mechanism. Browse mode is particularly redundant since it offers no extra benefit compared with the work mode.

Features
The 6260 fares better where features are concerned. Operating on the Series 60 platform, the mobile comes preloaded with Quickword and Quickpoint for viewing documents attached to emails. Additionally, its functionality can be extended by installing third-party applications. The menu system is fast and responsive unlike the earlier Nokia 7610 which suffered from occasional lag.

Users can take still images or video clips with the onboard camera but shutterbugs should keep in mind that the quality is limited by the VGA sensor. Again, camera tweaks are sparse.

Sound-wise, the phone sports MP3 playback and a radio. Output is generally resonant and clear, but like its 7610 predecessor, the 6260 offers only mono MP3 playback.

This mobile also offers "push to talk" capability, which was first introduced in the Nokia 5140. While we laud the usefulness of such a function, it remains unsupported by local operators.

Connectivity, Reception, Battery Life And SAR
The 6260 scores when it comes to connectivity. In addition to GPRS and Java support, this handset also offers serial, infrared and Bluetooth connectivity. Bluetooth worked flawlessly when we paired with a Sony Ericsson HBH 65 headset.

During the review period, we had no issues with reception and voice quality. The 760mAh battery lasted close to four days on moderate phone use.

The highest Specific Absorption rate recorded was below 2.0W/kg, which meets international requirements concerning exposure to radio waves.

Conclusion
While its features are superior to most clamshells in the market, its disappointing build quality renders it a poor contender against those of Korean manufacturers. Consequently, if form outweighs function in a clamshell for you, it would be best advised to look elsewhere.