Hands-on with the Nokia 6120 Classic

by Chris Ziegler, posted Aug 30th 2007 at 8:08AM

Remember the good ol' days when life was simple, global GSM phones had two or three bands, and Nokia's S60 devices had four digits? Yeah, us too -- and we've gotta admit, there's a nostalgic little piece of us that's delighted to see that Nokia hasn't abandoned S60 outside of its Nseries altogether. The 6120 Classic is a great incognito smartphone; the casual observer would never suspect it to be anything more than a run-of-the-mill S40 device (albeit a particularly attractive one). It's small, the pearlescent white shell looks fantastic against the chrome accents, and the screen's bright. If there's anything negative we can say at a glance, it's that the phone's soft keys are a little awkwardly placed, causing us to hit the Menu and C keys accidentally on several occasions. Hit the gallery to see how Nokia does a four-digit smartphone up right!

Thanks to the good folks at Wireless Imports for the hookup!

Gallery: Hands-on with the Nokia 6120 Classic

Filed under: Handsets, Nokia, Symbian, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS

Tags: 6120, 6120 classic, 6120Classic, candybar, features, hands on, hands-on, HandsOn, nokia, s60, symbian

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

KokoTee @ Aug 30th 2007 9:32AM

This phone is rare by that means that it actually look damn good on white imo.

Neutral

eJay @ Aug 30th 2007 1:43PM

Chris,

I couldnt reach you but I noticed you had an iPhone there. I have an iPhone and was REALLY liking the 6120 classic. If you had a choice would you keep your iPhone or the 6120 classic? I couldnt find your email so thats why I posted it here.

eJay

Neutral

Chris Ziegler @ Aug 30th 2007 1:55PM

eJay, I'm not sure there's a clear-cut answer to that. The iPhone and 6120 are very different devices, but if S60 appeals to you, the 6120 is a solid midrange choice, particularly considering how small it is.

Chris

Neutral

Jorge @ Aug 30th 2007 3:19PM

Is that a 3.5mm audio port on the bottom?

Neutral

clawster @ Nov 11th 2007 7:24PM

no, it's just a 2.5mm. i was disappointed, but hey, 2.5mm-3.5mm converters are cheap. though, they don't fit if you've got a plastic case around the phone! otherwise, it's awesome, i love mine!

Neutral

Robert @ Aug 30th 2007 10:40PM

I highly suggest this phone and Wireless Imports. I bought mine about a month back, the black version is just as sexy. Anyways, it runs great off of T-Mobile in US. Yes, you do need a 2.5mm converter for headphones but the phone does come with a pair of their own that are not too bad. RSS reader for checking Woot! and Engadget. Gmail app, which runs amazingly well. You're able to sync with POP. S60 runs smoothly, little or no latency. There are so many freeware apps, I suggest: Yahoo! Go, Gmail App, Yeigo for AIM, Nokia Maps, S60.com and WidSets. It's a lot smaller than what you would assume so be prepared for that if you buy this device. The only gripe I have is the camera, it's so-so, but still a lot better than most camera phones out there. If you're new to Symbian, there's also a help program preloaded that has been very useful. Web browsing is amazing, as well, fast and you're able to see the whole webpage. I recommend this phone for people with good eyes, the screen is a bit small for browsing but it isn't painful. Also, Nokia has a set-up wizard. Just pop in your SIM card and use the set-up wizard. Took about 5 seconds and I was up and running. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! If you have any other questions please ask.

Robert

Neutral

dak @ Sep 1st 2007 10:09AM

Robert, thanks for your comments; I've been looking at 6120 since it was first announced and have now decided to buy it instead of other S60 devices. I'm on T-Mobile USA too so it's good to kinow it works well with that network.

DK

Neutral

Ah Computers... @ Aug 30th 2007 11:16PM

Hi there

I just loined the 3g world sporting a nokia 6120 and a little white lifeboat attached to my Mac which allows me to sit in a beautiful park and try to delve into the labyrinth of s60...

The 6120 seems fab but I would really like to do 2 big things..

1 Get rid of or alter those annoying menu traps that can have you surfing the www when you least expect it.. The Launcher and planet 3 in the bottom corners and the handy menu bar at the top... Has anyone had luck with these demons??

2 Get my contacts from my lovely (but sadly non 3g) Sony Ericson z550i.. The data transfer system prefers to ignore non Nokia handsets... The z550i does not like to confer with the mac so Mac may not be the interpreter I'd hoped for...

Many thanks

Neutral

Justin Williams @ Sep 4th 2007 5:50PM

Chris-

Awesome phone, isn't it? I just got the exact same one (from Wireless Imports, too) last Thursday. My only issue is with 3G setup for the AT&T network. I am in SF, home of the 3G network, but am currently running on EDGE. Any tips? Thanks.

Neutral

Maya Feba @ Sep 14th 2007 3:41PM

Hi Justin,

I have the exact same issue.
I live in a 3G area, and cannot get UMTS to work.

Any luck?

Neutral

David Brooks @ Sep 25th 2007 2:36AM

I had this phone for a while (recently stolen in the ATL airport... ugh) and I had the same issues, and finally found out why. AT&T has not yet rolled out UMTS/3G service on the 850MHz band, yet! Their entire 3G infrastructure to date is running on their 1900MHz towers, with the exception of only one market in the United States, that being Oklahoma City. Don't ask me why.

Of course the phone only supports 850/2100 UMTS, so unless AT&T decides to roll out UMTS on their 850MHz towers, 3G users with only 850MHz radios are out of luck. :( I currently have a person who works for AT&T looking into whether or nor AT&T will be migrating UMTS service from 1900MHz towers to 850MHz, or turning up any new 850MHz UMTS service at all.

As of the current date, though, we'll have to deal with EDGE. :(