The first thing that strikes you about the Nokia 6120 Classic is just how tiny and light it feels in the hand. If you're accustomed to chunky Series 60 models like the Nokia N70 or N73, you'll be amazed that this 89 gramme lightweight packs in nearly all of their features and a some more besides.

For instance, the Nokia 6120 Classic (the 'Classic' is there to distinguish it from an older analogue Nokia with the same four-digit number) supports HSDPA as well as 3G connections. That means that it is capable of downloading data at up to 3.6Mbps - provided that your phone carrier supports it.

Our handset was locked to the 3 network and though they have promised full-speed HSDPA support (as opposed to 1.6Mbps on T-Mobile, 02 and Vodafone) we were unable to find a signal in central London. Nevertheless HSDPA - or 3.5G as it's also labelled - will definitely be big by the end of the year and this handset should make the most of it when it does appear.

The Nokia 6120's display is a bit small - inevitably - but it's reasonably high resolution (240 x 320 pixels), bright and photos and videos especially look good in 16.7 million colours.

There is another big difference between the Nokia 6120 and its chunkier Series 60 stablemates such as the N73 and N70 - the interface on the 6120 is much quicker and more responsive. Switching between applications could cause an N70 or N73 to pause annoyingly - but the 6120 gets things done without delay. It feels more like a phone rather than a operating system - which is a good thing.

On the downside the keypad felt a little cramped and lacks the Edit (pencil) and Shortcut keys found on the N70 and N73. For the most part the multi-function hash key is a usable substitute but for certain applications - such as any screen capture software - the absence of the Edit key is critical.

In use we also found some problems in texting, particularly as the smooth flat surface of the keys could easily make a slightly midirected finger slide onto an adjacent number. But after a few days we grew accustomed to them and the typos slowly faded away.

The 2.0 megapixel camera is equipped with a proper flash rather than an anaemic LED but its performance was disappointing in both daytime and low-light usage. In bright light we found that the shots varied rather too much even when the conditions were unchanged - so a scene could be over-exposed and then too contrasty within a few frames.

The flash performance was also underwhelming - the flash was bright, admittedly, but photos taken with it tended to feature a greenish tint that made the subjects look a little bit like Shrek. Be under no illusions, this is a phone first and a still camera a long way behind.

However the video performance of the 6120 was impressive - the camera records MP4 video at a sizeable resolution of 320 x 240 pixels although the frame rate is pegged at 11 FPS. The images are impressively detailed and the true colour capability of the CCD makes them more realistic than most mobile phone clips.

As a phone the 6120 performed admirably, with loud and clear sound quality and excellent reception. The phone feels pleasingly solid in your hands with none of the plastic squeaking that tends to accompany 'better value' (ie cheaper) phones.

The battery life was a little disappointing - especially compared with larger Series 60 siblings such as the N73. We didn't come close to matching Nokia's claimed 10 days' standby and three hours of talk time. This is not a phone that you'd be comfortable keeping apart from a charger for more than three days.

But despite the battery life and underachieving still camera, Nokia is onto a real winner with the 6120 Classic. Its state-of-the-art connectivity and small but well-formed casing come with fully-fledged Series 60 smartphone capabilities. And the little fella is fast - both in terms of responsiveness and download speeds. It's a phone that redefines the look, shape and feel of Nokia's Series 60 phones for the better. Classic by name and classic by nature? We shall see...

Nokia 6120 technical specifications