Release Date: Available Now - Released November 2007
2G Network: GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900 - US VERSION (GSM 850 / 1800 / 1900)
Size: 107 x 45 x 13.1 mm, 59 cc
Weight: 81 g
Display Type: TFT, 256K colors
Display Size: 1.8 inches
Display Resolution: 128 x 160 pixels
Ringtone Types: Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Ringtone Vibration: Yes
Phonebook Memory: 2000 entries
Call Records Memory: 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls
Memory Slot: MicroSD
GPRS: Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
HSCSD: Yes
EDGE: Class 10, 236.8 kbps
3G: No
WLAN: No
Bluetooth: 2.0 + A2DP
Infrared Port: No
USB: MiniUSB
Messaging: SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
Browser Type: WAP 2.0/xHTML
Games: Yes + Downloadable
Camera Pixels: 2MP
Camera Resolution: 1600x1200 pixels
Battery Type: Standard battery, Li-Ion 820 mAh (BL-4C)
Stand-by Time: Up to 280 h
Talk Time: Up to 3 h
I should mention however that the Nokia 3110 Classic is almost identical to the Nokia 3500, just replace the newer 2 megapixel camera with a 1.3 megapixel on the Nokia 3110 and you have a device that is slightly more expensive, but that also offers more impressive photo capabilities.
Design and construction
Looking at the front of the device users will first notice at the top portion the units earpiece which is placed right above the devices 1.8 inch screen. Looking below the display users will find the main control button and the standard cellular phone alphanumeric keypad. The first part of the keypad features a soft key and call key on the left side followed by a nicely laid out D-Pad in the middle, and finally a soft key on the right which features an end key directly below it. Below the softkeys and D-pad is a simply laid out and standard 12 key keypad.
The sides of Nokia 3500 classic are placed for simplicity, in fact the left side of the device features no button, ports, or anything else, while the right side of the unit features only the devices Volume Rocker at the top right side.
The top of Nokia 3500 Classic is where the cell phone places the power key. The key is used for alternating between device profiles and for turning the unit on and off.
Next the bottom of the phone features several different hardware applications. On the far left side is the microphone pinhole, followed by the charger plug, next followed by a 2.5mm headset jack, and finally the devices USB Port. This may seem like alot to place in one spot, but it does help the phone keep its clean look with clean lines.
Finally we come to the back of the Nokia 3500 Classic. The units backcover offers no protection for the devices 2 megapixel camera, however it does feature a loudspeaker grill that is both good in design and use.
Overall the Nokia 3500 Classic offers an excellent build factor, the battery cover was well held in place, the opaque plastic on the back of the unit kept fingerprints at bay, and it had a nice feel to it. The only issue was the front panel which was a fingerprint magnet and required constant attention.
Display
The display on the Nokia 3500 Classic features a smaller 1.8" display that outputs a small 262k color display. The screen also features a low pixel output at 128 x 150. The display was probably my least favorite part of the unit, it was poor on the eyes, many of the icons had a grainy feel, and the screen seems like it would belong on an actual classic device, rather than a unit produced for 2008. While some of the contrast was adequate and I could see okay in sunlight, I still find the grainy effect the screen left to be a bit overwhelming.
CALL QUALITY
While some budget handsets offer beautiful designs, it is usually not their main mission to impress on the eyes, but rather to accomplish one objective and to accomplish it well, that objective is of court call quality. In terms of this objective the Nokia 3500 classic was excellent, teh call reception was never a problem, even in my small town that only features 1 cellular tower and often lends itself to static. Voice quality was great both on my end and from what my friends tell me on their end as well. Voices came through loud, and the quality offered excellent results.
In terms of ringer quality the device was surprisingly loud, actually its probably loud enough to hear in almost any situation. The vibration on the device however leaves something to be desired, but still vibrates well enough to catch most calls.
USER INTERFACE
The S40 platform suffers in part due to the units low screen resolution, and in part due to the complicated user menus. I solved the complicated menu structure in part by configuring my own menu options, which i'll admit was a welcomed ability on this particular device. I did find some of the icons hard to read, if not almost completely impossible which was a real shame.
In stand-by mode the unit shows all of your typical settings such as the signal strength, battery indicator and time. Unlike the main display it was actually pretty easy to read the stand-by mode.
One tip: Change the font color within your display to whatever is easiest on your eyes, the platform on the Nokia 3500 Classic gives you 42 font colors to choose from and I found many of the non-standard font colors to be easier to look at.
One issue I had was the number of available view modes, on other S40 devices there was a wide selection to choose from, however because of the limited display output on the unit users have only two choices, the 3x3 grid and a 4 icons at a time option, meaning less customization for users.
I will say that the menu worked quickly which is a standard on S40 based units, and I didn't notice any freezing, lagging, or restarts on the device, which was to be expected on such a simple and straight forward unit.
Messaging
The messaging function on the Nokia 3500 Classic was acceptable and offered 5 messaging types.
Starting with the most basic of messages the SMS message, it was easy to find where the unit really shined, the editor allows users to type in a receipent, choose them from the phone book, or select a caller group. Overall its well organized and easy to use. The unit also features a fully loaded T9 dictionary and a message length with a very acceptable 1000 characters.
The next messaging focuses on MMS messages. For some reason the unit has three seperate editors, one that places messages in a slide format, another that places them in fields, and finally an music editor. Personally I liked the slides option, but I strongly believe that the editors are put in place to allow users the option to find which editor works best for them. The MMS option allows users to send photos, contact card, and events from their onboard calendar. Each option can send and receive up to 300kb, don't worry however about making sure the MMS messages are within that data rate, the phone automatically scales down the messages to fit the size allocated.
Next we come to the email client, which features a java based application, an odd choice compared to other S40 devices, its a little clunky and not fun to look at but it does competently allow users to connect to their email providers such as Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc. The email application also allows for different views, whether you choose the whole message view or headers only, it gave a feel similar to the outlook display options.
AUDIO
The Nokia 3500 classic uses a music player similar to the Nokia 5300 MusicXpress. Sure its a little outdated, but it does a decent job overall. The device also support a wide range of audio formats that inclue MP3, MIDI, AAC, AAC+ and the WMA format. Just like most players on the mobile market music can be sorted by artist, album, and genre, and multiple playlists can be create.
The device also support the A2DP Bluetooth Stereo output that worked great with a Motorola S9 Bluetooth A2DP headset with overall good sound quality. If you prefer a more traditional approach the unit also features a 2.5mm standard audio jack, I would have liked to see the more widely 3.5mm jack, but either way its something that can easily be corrected with the use of a 2.5mm to 3.5mm audio jack.
While the A2DP supported fairly decent music, I must admit that the clarity on many songs, especially songs with alot of bass or treble tended to sound slightly distorted, while the volume was sometimes still hard to hear even on the highest volume level, it really seemed to depend on the song I was listening to.
I did find the FM radio tuner that automatically searched for local stations to be a nice option. I could store up to 20 stations and it was simple enough to figure out the program.
CAMERA
The Nokia 3500 Classic features a 2 megapixel camera with a resolution spectrum that can carry up to 1600 x 1200 pixels. The device doesn't feature a flash, which means low light picture taking produces almost unusable pictures. The camera settings are a little clunky, you basically have a white balance option, three settings for picture quality, and color effects and sequence shots.
The images taken from the devices camera were easy enough to see, but the quality was of average use, but only when the lighting was natural or at least not too dark. The color quality on the camera provided colors true to their originals and sharpness levels that were on par with other camera phones in the same price range. The auto focus actually got in the way during certain shots, such as close up and macro shots which often appeared blurred and out of focus.
Video recording on the device was barely passable and created blurred images when the camera was panning or tilting too quickly and the sound quality wasn't the best available.
CONNECTIVITY
There are actually quite a few connectivity options for the Nokia 3500 Classic. The unit features a USB connection via miniUSB which makes for easy file transfers. The unit also features Bluetooth version 2.0 with A2DP Bluetooth Stereo support which makes for excellent bluetooth music streaming, and the unit features the GPRS/Edge internet connection for fairly quick speed,s although 3G would be nice, even on a lower end cellular device. The unit overall has a nice host of connection options for every type of situation.
Internet
The Nokia 3500 Classic features a pretty standard WAP browser which works well with HTML pages. The browser allows users to change basic settings such as how images are handled, and the font size of images, while rendering pages in an easy to read style. Personally I stand behind what I always stand behind in my reviews, use the Opera Mini browser which actually comes installed on the unit and you will find a more user friendly experience, which renders quite quickly on the Opera Mini interface, even with GPRS/EDGE connectivity the Opera browser zooms along at a decent pace.
CONCLUSION
Overall the price is right on this classic design with classic features, the connectivity is well thought out, the camera is good considering the low end nature of the device, and the easy to use design makes the unit feel more like a phone than a miniature computer that we've come to expect from other high end devices. Personally I felt that the phone was lacking in display quality, and some of the user menus were clunky and hard to look at because of the display resolution. Of course for the price some options were unexpected and welcomed such as the Opera Mini Browser, some of the devices Audio options such as A2DP, and the ability to change many of the devices display settings to make it at least semi easier on the eyes. Overall for the price the phone lives up to its abilities, even if it doesn't exceed them.