The last few days i have been a proud owner of Nokia C3. …and one line verdict is cool, beautiful , user friendly and the loud speaker is yeah very loud..
Let start from the beginning and how my super curiosity led me to witness what almost became …let say stampede. A few days after Nokia Kenya Launched Nokia C3 in Kenya, Safaricom had a massive offer of the phone at a half the price. And me being an early bird in town that day (7.00am) i thought i might have a chance of grabbing one. You know, smart phone at price level of Ksh.10k going for ksh.5k is quite a bargain. To start with, 7am is not early in Nairobi particularly when there is an offer in town. The line at I&M building that day at 7am was simply crazy. I gave up instantly but i had to spent like 5 minutes watching people scrambling and jostling on the line. The big muscle men pushing and shoving people aside just to be ahead of the pack…chaotic.
All that made me think, may be i seriously need to get the phone and see what is in it, that make people go ballistic.. Ok it is affordable, adding to the fact that it was on offer and at a half the normal cost but that still don’t tell the whole story. There are many good phones in Kenya retailing at Ksh.5k and below and well people pass them everyday. Now i think i have pretty good idea why..
1. Qwerty Key Board
If there is going to be a day when phones will take over completely from computers then i guess Nokia C3 would be among the origin of such evolution. Probably you are like me..you want to type a message with combination of all the letters, figures and symbols in this world and then you meet the monster called keypad…and you go grrrrrrrrrr , well, forget about that with Nokia C3. The phone structure..below the softkey panel, there is the full QWERTY keyboard, with its raised keys, that make it easy to access the correct keys while in use. Even people with giant hands and fingers still would find it comfortable and usable.
2. Connectivity and Internet
The internet can be accessed via Wi-Fi, and GPRS. The data transfer speed is enhanced with the EDGE support. Get a place with good Wi-Fi and you are good to go. Safaricom internet connection speed is also great but it depends on the place you are in or at. Zain connection does not vary but a bit slower than that of Safaricom if you are in a place where Safaricom has full network coverage. I have been a happy customer for the youtube videos, watch them without stress, no buffering at all.
The C3’s web-browser supports full HTML and as well as WAP 2.0. It also comes with preinstalled Opera Mini browser that allows faster browsing. It supports Instant Messaging for Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, Ovi Chat and Windows Live Messenger. Provides quick access to popular email accounts like Gmail, Yahoo mail, Hotmail, Windows Live and other email accounts (SMTP, IMAP4, and POP3). Nokia offer free Ovi mail account from phone directly. On top of that , it supports text, multimedia and audio messages.
Community widget
The Nokia C3 is a Social Network Service (SNS) enhanced , gives live update from Facebook and Twitter. Right a way on the phone screen, you are able to update you Facebook or twitter accounts.. I think this is why it is widely marketed as Social networking Phone.
3. Data Transfer
The data transfer can be done through USB v2.0 and Bluetooth. You can stream audio to Bluetooth headset wirelessly, thanks to A2DP support for Bluetooth
4. Camera
Be the judge on how good this camera is..Check the picture below, among the best shots i could get from several angles. The real deal is, it is equipped with 2 megapixel camera with a Flash, which captures images at a resolution of 1600 x 1200 pixels. The camera interface is same as other Nokia phones. The camera features Autofocus, self timer, 4x zoom, full screen viewfinder, white balance, color tones and viewfinder effects includes greyscale, sepia and negative. It can record videos at a resolution 320 x 240 pixel.
5. Multimedia
The C3’s multimedia supports MP3, WMA, AAC, eAAC, eAAC+ audio formats and video formats like MPEG-4, H.263 and H.264 video formats. The interface is simple and convenient to use. The sound quality is excellent. It also features FM Radio with RDS feature. Good stuff to have if you are a fan of the like of Maina Kageni, Mwalimu King’ang’i and their morning relationship victims stories or the OMG busted mind game by Shiko
6. Games
The C3 comes preinstalled with four games namely Sudoko, Diamond Rush, Block’d, and Bounce. This is to Magaribina who recently reviewed Nokia phone called Nokia doho…the snake game is not here too. I wonder if that disqualify it from being a genuine Nokia phone… Ching chong..
7. Other Applications
The other essential features of the C3 include voice recorder, Calendar, Note pad, To-do list, a timer, Calculator, unit & currency Converter, Voice commands, a world clock, vibrate mode, Flight mode, a 1000 entry phonebook and speaker phone
So what are the buts of this phone?
- C3 has an internal memory capacity of 55MB which is very low, i added five songs and the space is full. With it full i realize i can not listen to radio unless i clear the songs or add the external memory. The only upside of this is that it can accommodate 8GB of external memory.
- The camera is 2MP, not good, not bad. …Average is the word
- It doesn’t feature Document and PDF reader….missing link
- .no multi-tasking,
Final word…, looking for a phone which has a long battery life, does a bit of everything, looks and feels good and affordable pricing. Nokia C3 is the real deal….
Nice post
The more I read the reviews for the C3 the more I want to go for it. Good stuff!
this phone is good, i would buy it for the qwerty keyboard but for missing 3g, i dont see it much better that my 6300. And internal memory crap, why do they build phones with so low internal memory?
Thanks..and welcome
The last time i asked Dorothy about 3G, her point was that in Kenya, it is only Safaricom with 3g and even that you only get it at the city center and around westlands. So according to her most people use GPRS anyway, even with phones with 3g . I think from now on they have to change tack on that, as expected Zain and Orange are about to roll out their 3Gs and after that probably it will be possible to access 3G network almost everywhere in Kenya.
I agree the Memory.size ..is crap…
Quite a nice review. Am seriously considering the NokiaC3!
Very little difference with alcatel OT 800 which landed here last yr. But definitely nice if u dnt already own a full 'qwerty' k/board fone. Nice review still
The Alcatel OT 800 is actually cheaper at 7000 bob but it hasn't been marketed well.
I have not used it but i will look for it and compare. Kenya by far is a Nokia Nation, the other phone companies might have some better stuff but they get drowned by Nokia presence.
Let me know of the next offer.I need 2
ave got this phone its giving me superb service.thanx alot 2 Nokia team.
I have the OT 800 and its actually not bad.U dont get your updates on the screen but it supports multitasking although limited.U can minimize a java app to send a text.Nice review though.
as you make sure you get the nokia c3, make sure you point it here http://apps.facebook.com/pepeacash
How can i get the NOKIA C3? Whats the current price? am based in Kibwezi, with minimal travel to Nairobi…Rgds
key number 8 on my phone doesnot work while am accessing m-pesa,yyyy?????????????????????????????
how much is the phone c3 plz tell me 9000;500 in your customer shop .my name is amy kariuki else than 7000 plz iam in nairobi kenya
I am delighted by the phone nokia c3 pliz show me how to get it ,i am in samburu kenya