Nokia C3-01: Average Looking but Feature Rich

Just last week, we saw why the X3-02 is a really good handset for the average mobile phone user. Today we look at the C3-01 which in many ways resembles the X3-02. The design of both handsets is very different but otherwise most of the features and specifications of the X3-02 and C3-01 are pretty much the same. So what does the C3-01 have to offer to its users?

Say hello to the C3-01

Design and Build Quality
As mentioned earlier, the C3-01 looks like a completely different mobile phone if you have to compare it with the X3-02. The basic candybar form stays the same, however the edges of the C3-01 are curved and it weighs a little more than the X3-02. The handset has a metallic matte finish throughout except the keypad which is plastic. The overall grey gives the handset a professional look but the functions speak otherwise.

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No shortcut keys for music or SMS

The 2.4-inch screen has a decent 240 x 320 pixels resolution which looks pretty good for the size of the display. The brightness of the screen is quite good and the colours are quite nice as well. Below the screen, there isn’t any dedicated music or SMS keys like the X3-02, rather it houses two keys for making and ending calls. The keypad is the normal T9 design without any change made to the *, 0 and # keys. The volume rocker, screen lock and the camera button on the right are well placed and easy to use. Although the mini-USB port on the top might feel awkward for some, there’s not much of a problem while connecting it to a laptop or PC.

The build quality of the mobile is really good. The phone does not boast of any ruggedness. However, it does have a solid feel to it. Overall, the design and build quality of the C3-01 is really nice.

Features
Interface
Here’s where the similarity actually shows. The C3-01 runs on the same Symbian OS, S40 platform 6th edition. So there’s not much of a difference between how the two function. The touchscreen is resistive and responds really well. Transitions between menus and options are all very fast and apart from a couple of occasions where it lagged a bit, overall operation is really smooth.

Well built but doesn’t have a trendy look

The homescreen is the same as before, where you have the options to customize and select shortcuts that you usually use. You can add a maximum of three shortcuts and below the homescreen, the quick launch bar lets you add four more shortcuts. So the user has a total of seven shortcut options to select from, which is a pretty wide range.

Media
While the piece that we received for review did not have bundled earphones, we still checked out the sound quality with external ones. This feature, just like previously, does not disappoint at all. The mids seem to be almost perfect and the highs sound good as well. The base seems to be a little low but that’s not too bad. The C3-01 has a Stereo FM Radio with RDS which also sounds good.

Volume rocker and other keys are well placed

The C3-01 supports one less video format than the X2-01, that is the XviD format. However, the 2.4-inch screen is still too small to actually watch videos and we recommend that you don’t really use the phone for videos in particular.

There are three pre-loaded games on the C3-01 and you can also download more games and other themes or apps from the pre-loaded Nokia Ovi Store.

Connectivity
The regular connectivity options of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are present and the C3-01 is also 3G-enabled so you have some great connectivity options right there. The phone is also EDGE/GPRS enabled for those who cannot completely avail of 3G services. Something we did notice was that the speeds on EDGE were pretty neat and although not superfast, they weren’t slow at all. The phone also has a mini-USB port for interfacing it with a PC or laptop and transfer rates are quite decent.

The C3-01 has a Nokia Communities app which lets users access Facebook and Twitter from that same app. Although not the best out there, the app still does the job.

Miscellaneous Features
Regular features like the To Do list, Alarm Clock, Calendar, Voice Recorder and even more are all present in the C3-01. Obviously if a user wants to download some app, they are always free to do so from the Ovi Store.

5 megapixel camera with LED flash

Camera
The C3-01 has the same camera as the X3-02 with a 5 megapixel lens and can shoot pictures at a maximum resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels. The one extra feature that this phone’s camera has over the X3-02 is that this one might just get some better images in darker backgrounds thanks to the LED flash. Apart from the flash, the image quality is pretty similar to that of the X3-02 and yet again there’s not much you can actually speak of.

Very average indoor images

The camera can also shoot videos in a 240 x 320 pixel resolution at a frame rate of 15 fps.

Comparatively better outdoor shots

Battery Life
Even after speaking for around two hours and some slight music and internet usage, the phone can last till the end of the day. One thing to be noted is that the talk time spent on the phone was not continuous, but even then you can fully charge the C3-01 and the phone will last you throughout the day.

Verdict
Probably one of the toughest decisions to make is whether a user should actually buy the C3-01 for Rs. 8,000. The phone costs about Rs. 400 less than the X3-02 and the features are almost the same. There’s a slight advantage of the LED flash but that’s only if you’re really hell bent on taking pictures in the night. If you’re more for looks, the X3-02 is a great option. This one on the other hand, is a very average looking version of the X3-02.