Nokia 1650

Designed to deliver a wide range of mobile features, the contemporary Nokia 1650 phone offers an aspirational design and practical features to help consumers balance their personal and professional lives. Supporting up to 75 local languages, the Nokia 1650 comes equipped with a flashlight, music-on-the-go via FM radio and MP3-grade ringtones. With an integrated application that allows for a pre-set time limit to be set for each call, the Nokia 1650 answers the need for cost control that is especially important in entry markets. Nokia estimates that the retail price for the Nokia 1650 will be around 55 EUR, excluding taxes and subsidies.

One of the cheapest Nokia handsets available in the current range, there are no illusions about the aim of this handset — simple talk and text. Offered as one of Vodafone’s prepaid handsets, the 1650 has an FM radio and a flashlight but suffers from poorly designed controls. The 1650 is a compact and lightweight handset, but feels reasonably well built considering the asking price. A good example of this is the rear battery cover: it’s easy to slide off but holds firmly in place and doesn’t rattle or creak when attached. The 1650 is finished entirely in a matte black plastic, while a gloss black bezel with silver highlights surrounds the display. The biggest issue with the 1650 is its controls. At first glance, they look acceptable — a soft green backlight accompanies each key to ensure it can be used in dim light, while a simple four-way navigational pad, two selection buttons and answer/end calls keys keeps things tidy and effective. Unfortunately, the buttons have an overly spongy feel, meaning they require a firm press to activate. For messaging, this means a slightly steep leaning curve, and the slight keystroke lag doesn’t help either.
The 1650’s display is small but adequate considering the target market. The screen has a resolution of 128x160 and supports up to 65K colours, though it has poor viewing angles and is difficult to read in direct sunlight. Thankfully, call quality is fairly good, while the hands-free speakerphone also works well and produces reasonable volume.
Features are sparse, but the built-in FM radio is a nice touch considering the price point. Conveniently, holding down the asterisk key for two seconds launches the radio application, though you’ll need to use the included headset as this acts as an FM antenna. The included HS-105 headset also doubles as a hands-free device and features a call handling button and shirt clip built into the cord. The radio offers reasonable but not outstanding quality. Auto-tuning is available by holding down the up button on the navigational pad, while up to 10 presets can be saved and then accessed by scrolling through using the left and right directional buttons or pressing a corresponding number on the keypad.

Nokia brings a compelling combination of form and function to the entry market with announcement of the Nokia 1650. This device is designed to give consumers more features and a higher level of design than would be expected from such an affordable device. "Whether the consumer is a first-time buyer who has little experience with mobile phones, or a more well-versed customer looking for a mobile phone for personal or business use, each will find what they need in the Nokia 1650," said Soren Petersen, Senior Vice President, Mobile Phones, Nokia. "Creating a mobile phone that combines an intuitive user interface and easy-to-use functions with an attractive design is at the heart of Nokia's entry market strategy."

Features :

• Display: CSTN, 65,536 colours, 128 x 160 pixels
• One Touch shortcut keys for SMS messaging, calendar, contacts, loudspeaker, and torch
• FM radio
• 32-voice polyphonic ringtones with MP3 grade sound
• Voice recorder
• Integrated handsfree speaker
• Messaging: SMS, picture messaging
• Icon-based phone book (200 entries)
• Speaking alarm/clock
• 3 games (Snake Xenzia, Beach Rally, Soccer League)
• Memory: 8 Mbytes user memory, up to 250 text messages
• Connectivity: 2.5mm headset connector
• Dual band (EGSM 900/1800)
• Size: 104 x 44 x 18 mm
• Weight: 80g
• Talktime: 8 hours
• Battery standby: 420 hours