CTIA Fall 2009
Nokia had only a few newer devices on hand at the event this year, one of which was the entry-level 6350 flip. This small feature phone carries forward very similar design language to that of Nokia's crop of low-cost clamshells. It has a smooth, rounded shape that is comfortable to hold when closed. It is small, light, and extremely pocketable.
There are are dedicated music controls on the front face of the device that also double as lock/unlock keys. The three buttons are a bit on the small side. The center play/pause button felt great, but the flanking rewind and fast-forward keys were very mushy. There is a tiny little display on the 6350 that shows basic status indicators and icons. It can be used as a watch to quickly check the time if you so wish.
There are several buttons on the side of the phone. The volume toggle feels comfortable and is easy to find and use. Travel and feedback of the toggle were just right. Below that is a hatch covering the headset jack. The jack is 2.5mm, which means it won't work with standard stereo headphones without an adapter. On the right side there's only a hatch covering the microUSB port.
Flipping the 6350 open, you'll see a keypad that could be made by no phone company other than Nokia. It has Nokia written all over it. The buttons are large, well-placed, and have excellent travel and feedback. The design of the keypad reminded me that Nokia does know how to get the basics right when it wants to.
The D-pad and other controls also felt good. I found it interesting that the 6350 has a dedicated GPS navigation button. Most devices leave access to GPS apps buried in the menu. For Nokia to bake access to the Navigation application into the hardware means that it considers that feature one of the phone's more prominent selling points.
As for the menu system, the 6350 runs Series 40 with the usual AT&T customization and icons. AT&T customizes Series 40 quite heavily, which means it looks more like a generic feature phone and less like a Series 40 device. You have to dig into the menus if you really want to find what makes this Nokia, er, well, a Nokia.
In all, the 6350 looks like a great little voice-centric phone for AT&T.
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