The Nokia 6060 is the latest entry into the low-end mobile market, which seems to be gaining popularity despite the influx of several advanced multimedia handsets. Nokia has got it almost spot on with this number, combining sleek and stylish looks with a user friendly interface.
The 6060 is a clamshell format and its design really impressed us. The phone is finished in a gloss black sturdy plastic, with chrome trim along the sides creating a business-like look and feel. Despite being a low-end handset, at first glance of the 6060 you definitely wouldn't think this is the case. It looks and feels like a much more expensive phone and the build quality is commendable. In particular, the flip mechanism worked well without any problems to report. Even the antenna, despite being external, was stylish and compact and its sleek black lines blend smoothly into the top of the unit. Despite this, we'd still prefer an internal antenna and we were disappointed with the lack of an external screen. Although this was excluded to keep costs down, we think it should have been incorporated as it is always handy to see who is calling or check the time without having to flip open the phone.
To compensate for the lack of a screen, Nokia has included an interesting feature on the 6060. A unique horizontal LED strobe light is present on the front of the handset. It looks like a thin red strip of plastic, rather than a light. The light flashes frequently when the phone receives a call or message. This is not as good as a screen would have been, but an interesting idea nonetheless.
The 6060 flips open to reveal a sleek keypad and simple, yet stylish control layout. Nokia has kept it user friendly - a 4-way navigational pad is surrounded by two selection buttons and Answer and End Call keys. The navigational pad and keypad are gloss black and chrome to match with the exterior of the phone, whilst the rest of the buttons are matt black and provide a nice touch to the unit. The keypad is extremely comfortable - not too small or cramped, it is spaced out well and is a joy for messaging, so SMS users will definitely be pleased.
The 6060 houses a 65k colour internal screen which measures 128 x 160 pixels. The screen isn't bad in any sense, but we would have liked to seen it upgraded to a newer and crisper 262k display, which seems to be the norm at the moment for new handsets. Once again, this is a cost issue and although it is difficult to juggle cost with quality, a better screen would have suited this model, particularly as it has a range of background wallpapers and themes to display.
The 6060 allows MP3 and MIDI files to be used as ringtones, although there is no USB cable included in the sales package, so you'll have to purchase a cable if you want to utilise this feature. Other features include WAP 1.2 over GPRS, a hands-free speakerphone, a host of PIM applications (calendar, to-do list, expense manager) and a 500 name phonebook. The phonebook supports both multiple entries and the ability to assign pictures and photos to an entry, although with no camera on the 6060, uploading images to the phone would be a tiresome process. The 6060 is also a breeze for messaging and includes support for standard SMS, MMS and email messaging. Of course, T9 predictive text input is provided and we had no issues with keystroke lag or speed. Combined with the sleek keypad, messaging is definitely one of the finer features of this particular handset.
Battery life was slightly above average, with Nokia claiming 150 minutes talk time and up to 400 hours standby time. Because the phone doesn't have a host of multimedia features such as a camera, the battery lasted almost four days (with light use) without needing a recharge during our testing.
