Nokia 6288 review
It was once cutting-edge – but the Nokia 6288 is now a solid workhorse for the no-frills brigade
Even in this age of mobiles with glittering feature sets and touchscreens, you still find people who say ‘Ooh, I can’t use anything but a Nokia’. Chances are, they’ve got a trusty old 6280 in their pocket, a Series 40 handset that also packed 3G.
If this is you, you’ve now got a chance to upgrade without the trauma of learning an entirely new handset. It’s been upgraded to the glossily-finished 6288, which brings upgraded firmware and an improved keypad.
Not so cutting-edge
The 6280’s specs were good when it first came out in early 2006 – a lifetime ago in tech years – but they’re pretty ordinary now. The 6288 has, though, addressed issues such as battery life that plagued its predecessor.
The joy of this phone is its big screen. Although there are higher-resolution models available now, it’s still great for web-surfing and taking pictures or video. Slide phones are particularly good for this as the hidden keypad leaves lots of space for a large screen.
The big screen
Even though the video resolution is only VGA, it really shines on this screen and even makes video calls look good – although if you see anyone actually making them please report them to us.
The slide mechanism is not as smooth as some of Nokia’s rivals and there’s a slight tendency for the phone to slip open, thus unlocking it. This can lead to buttock-dialling if it’s in your back pocket.
The music player, though not as slick as Sony Ericsson’s Walkman phones, is acceptable, handling MP3 and AAC tracks, as well as MPEG4 files. A supplied 512MB miniSD memory card is enough for a decent bunch of tracks.
The 6288 doesn’t have the sophistication of a smartphone – it’s Series 40 rather than Nokia’s more advanced Series 60 range – but this makes it simpler to navigate and you still get plenty of basic tools like alarm clock, stopwatch, to-do list, Java games, and voice recorder.
Talk is cheap
There’s also Nokia’s excellent FM radio and Push-to-Talk, the system that turns your phone into a super walkie-talkie, although this is a feature that’s best saved for special occasions.
With an unexceptional battery life and that iffy keyboard lock the 6288 is far from being Nokia’s masterpiece or a handset that’ll trouble the catwalks, but its cheap price and ease of use should earn it some admirers among the Nokia faithful.
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