Nokia 6630 smartphone

Nokia 6630 is a dual mode smartphone, which can operate on both the 3G and GSM tri-band networks, which makes it ideal for taking advantage of 3G services and for global roaming. Although this mobile phone has a candy bar type of design, it does have the slightly unusual shape of being rectangular at the display end and rounded at the keyboard end, which is perhaps a little reminiscent of Nokia’s 3660 model.

Nokia 6630The excellent features of the Nokia 6630 include Bluetooth™ wireless connectivity, EDGE and GPRS data technology, a WAP 2.0 and XHTML/HTML browser, video calling (see below for limitations), MMS multimedia messaging, video capture download and playback, video and audio streaming, MP3 player, RS-MMC memory card slot, voice memo recorder, speakerphone for hands-free conversations, Symbian series 60 platform, Java™ enabled, voice control (for up to 50 phone numbers), and an e-mail client.

In common with most smartphones the 6630 has a high-quality display, which is a bright TFT type of active matrix LCD, with an impressive resolution capability of 176 x 208 pixels. Although the colour reproduction does not attempt to match the state-of-the-art 262k screens, which are available on a few recent phone displays, it still comes in at the perfectly acceptable standard of 65,536 different colours. The screen is likely to figure quite a lot in your use of this phone, not only for viewing menus, but also for watching videos and inspecting the results of your camera shots. The menu system has the Nokia “Go to” facility, so enabling you to add your own particular shortcuts, and these will then take you immediately to your favourite functions.

One of the selling points of the 6630 is its 1.3 megapixel camera, which produces much better picture quality than the VGA cameras on other phones. Although the integrated camera might not be up to the standards you would expect from a dedicated digital camera, it is still a useful tool for taking pictures of an acceptable quality, and these can then be enlarged to the standard postcard size. Two high-resolution sizes are available of 1280 x 960 pixels and 640 x 480 pixels, and there is also a choice of three picture qualities (high, normal and basic). The zoom control provides up to 6x magnification, and it offers a smoothly graduated increase or decrease, without big jumps or steps as you zoom in and out. As usual, there is a timer to help with the taking of self-portraits, and a night mode for when the light conditions are too dark for normal exposures; selecting night mode will lengthen the time of the exposure. One of the camera’s special features is its sequence mode, and when using this setting it is possible to capture up to 6 images in a rapid succession.

The multimedia capabilities of the Nokia 6630 are greater than for many other mobile phones, offering you the chance to capture up to one hour of video in a single take. If video and audio streaming are more your interest, then there is a RealPlayer™ provided, and the usual file types are all supported, such as MPEG4, MP3, AAC, H.263, 3GPP, and AMR sound. This phone even has its own versatile Video Editor, for when you need to insert or remove sections of video, add sound clips, add some special effects, or handle the transitions between the clips. Clearly, you can prepare quite a complex sequence of clips to make a longer documentary, with the additions of a new sound track and other effects, such as colour and slow motion, to create an impressive finished product. This phone provides some powerful opportunities for editing video, as it also can with still pictures, and it goes further than many other phones would dare to attempt.

It is also possible to create your own movies (or muvees as Nokia calls them), which are short edited video clips that contain video, music and text - a sort of short multimedia extravaganza. Using Quick Muvee, you can choose a default style with its own set of font style, colour, music and pace. Alternatively you might prefer to use Custom Muvee, and select your own video and music clips, images and style, and you can also add an opening and closing message. These muvees may be optimised for MMS and sent as messages if you wish - something to really impress your friends with!

Being MMS enabled, the 6630 provides plenty of capability to send and receive a variety of multimedia messages - that combine image, video, text and voice clip - and you may exchange these messages with compatible phones, computers or PDAs. The phone can automatically resize the megapixel images so that they fit into the MMS message format. The maximum file size supported for MMS is 300 kB, which allows you to send a video clip of up to 30 seconds in duration. However, many networks restrict the maximum file size to 100 kB, and so this feature will only be useful if you are exchanging long video clips by MMS with a contact who can receive this 300 kB file size.

With its 3G capability, it would be strange if Nokia did not include video calling as a feature of the 6630, and indeed the phone is capable of making video calls. However, there is a problem making 2-way video calls, because the 6630 only has one camera, and that is on the back of the phone (so you cannot see both the screen, and point the camera at yourself, at the same time). To get the functionality you would expect from 2-way video calls you need to purchase an optional accessory, the PT-8 Nokia Video Call Stand. The phone plugs into the stand and rests on it like on a cradle, and built into this stand is a second camera, which will then capture your image for the benefit of the person at the other end of the conversation. This is a bit of extra expense for the user, and it does make it quite awkward if you want to make video calls in the street, as the PT-8 stand is really a desk item (i.e. not something you might like to carry around in your pocket).

It is unavoidable that a smartphone operating system will put an increased demand on the phone’s memory, and this demand will grow when you run extra applications, so it is to be expected that the 10 MB of internal phone memory might need a little assistance. There is no need to worry, and it is a welcome sight to see that a memory card slot is located in the side of the case. This memory slot is convenient, because it allows you to quickly change cards when necessary, and as they are “hot-swappable” you do not need to switch off the phone when changing them (or remove the battery, as is the case with those phones that have an internally fitted memory card). The 6630 uses the small RS-MMC type of memory card, and a 64 MB card is supplied with the phone.

To satisfy the style conscious world of the mobile phone buyer, all models are now expected to have the capability of being customised to meet their user’s preferences, and the 6630 has great potential for being customised to exactly match what the user requires. It is possible to personalise the appearance of the phone’s display, as well as altering the sound of the phone’s alerts. You can change the themes, wallpapers, screensavers, colour palette, icons and ringtones in any ways you wish, and then download some compatible content to add yet more alternatives, so giving the phone your own unique fashion statement. A useful feature is to add a thumbnail image (maybe one of your own photos) and a ringtone to contacts, which will help to identify them when they call. Different profiles can also be set to customise the ringtones and alert tones to suit different events, environments and caller groups.

One of the main reasons to buy a smartphone is to take advantage of the many applications and games that have been developed for such devices, and these programs can be readily purchased to run on Symbian Series 60 phones. Being Java™ enabled also offers the 6630 user the opportunity to run the software programs that are designed for that platform. It is very easy to download suitable programs over-the-air from suppliers of Symbian/Java programs, and once the software is installed on the Nokia 6630 this could greatly enhance your phone’s potential as a more useful tool. By making a wise choice of what programs you buy, you can tailor your phone’s features to match your daily or lifestyle requirements, whether that be for work or leisure use.

Obviously the 6630’s data handling is a primary consideration for those who want to get the ultimate in performance from their phone. With the 3G, EDGE and GPRS technology that this phone uses, it will be possible to achieve the highest data transfer speeds, and this phone is capable of the fastest exchange of information currently available, i.e. something like Broadband speeds. There is a WAP 2.0 xHTML/HTML multimode browser onboard, to help you get the best results from your network’s data services, and this will offer the user the chance to access the mobile Internet while on the move. To add yet another useful feature, an e-mail client provides you with the means to access your normal e-mail correspondence while you are away from your computer.

When you need to link the phone up to other devices, such as a computer or PDA, then this model has the latest option of wireless Bluetooth™ connectivity. An alternative wired method is also available, by using a USB data cable to connect to the phone’s Pop-Port™ connector. Synchronisation is a practical way to keep your personal data safe, as well as to ensure your phonebook, calendar, etc contain the same information as that on your computer. Once you have established a connection to another compatible device, you can easily copy your data and files across by Bluetooth or cable. This phone also supports remote synchronisation via the network using SyncML, and it can exchange business cards when you want to share your details with your contacts.

The organiser features of the 6630 include a calendar, to do list, notes, world clock, alarms, calculator, unit and currency converter, and a wallet. A useful application is included, that might help the business user to achieve more productivity, this is the QuickOffice viewer, which with its QuickWord and QuickPoint tools will enable the phone to read standard Word and PowerPoint files. There is also a vibrating alert and T9™ predictive text input.

Nokia 6630 Smartphone specification

Nokia product page

Manual and phone support

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Last updated 30th January 2008, 14:39 GMT