Nokia 2650 Review

“Nokia's latest budget number (Nokia 2650) sees the...”

Written on: 19/02/2006 by Calse92 (19 reviews written)

Good Points
Cheap
LED glow
Good games
Easy to use
Good battery life

Bad Points
Awkward hinge
Lack of features

General Comments
Nokia's latest budget number (Nokia 2650) sees the finicky Finns trying another take on the clam-shell style they held off on for so long. It folds, much like any other clam-shell does, but this one has a weird rubberised inner skin that spreads across the keypad, over the hinge and around the screen, which gives it a very organic, tactile feel. It's a bit squishy, but at least you can't get any crud stuck down the sides of the buttons, and there's a rather attractive LED glow from beneath the keypad.



When the phone is opened, the hinge sits proud of the handset, which feels a bit awkward at first, though it actually helps to balance the thing in your hand. That rubbery inner skin seems to stop the phone closing properly too. Mine resigned itself to sitting slightly ajar after some intensive opening action. Unusually, the SIM slides into a slot on the side, via a little rack which is a bit flimsy, so you wouldn't want to be removing it often.



Nokia's standard 4,096-colour screen is okay, but it won't impress anyone, unless they happen to have spent the last two years herding yaks on a remote Mongolian steppe. There's no camera either (although the handset can receive MMS messages), but on the plus side, the pre-loaded games are pretty good, with perennial favourite Bounce, as well as Water Rapids and a new Soccer game.



Add Nokia's enviable ease of use and reliability, plus the exemplary battery life of three hours' talk time (300 hours' standby), and you've got a very good, if basic, little phone.