Nokia 6280 review

The first thing you'll notice on the Nokia 6280 is its large screen, which at 35x45mm is one of the biggest in the sub-smartphone category

Nokia's sturdy big-screen slider is as close as you can get to a smartphone without stepping up a class

Nokia may be the market leader in mobiles, but its reputation has been forged on solid, reliable candybar units rather than the fashionable flip-phones and sliders of its rivals. But the 6280, one of Nokia’s first forays into the slider market, is no fashion victim.

This solid, sturdy slider is certainly a heavy-duty mobile, both in terms of functionality and sheer physical weight, and with 3G capabilities, a wide range of connectivity options, good internet tools, capable media player and a 2-megapixel camera, is as close as you’ll get to a smartphone without stepping up to the N-series.

The first thing you’ll notice on the Nokia 6280 is its large screen. Its 240x320 resolution is the same as the similarly specified Nokia 6233, but at 35x45mm is one of the biggest screens available in the sub-smartphone category, and shows off the 262,000 colours to great effect.

Beneath the screen are the navigation and main selection buttons, used to access the phone’s main functions and user-set shortcuts. These are solid and offer a reassuring click in response. The four-way navigation key is a single silver square, set around the central selection key, and stands proud of the five other keys so there’s no danger of pressing a selection key by mistake.

The front fascia slides up with a positive click to reveal the keypad. The keys are small without being difficult to press, and a metal bar between the three columns means you’re unlikely to press the wrong key. The top row's 1-2-3 keys are a little close to the bottom of the slider, but this is a minor complaint.

The edges of the 6280 feature a volume rocker, the memory card slot, an infra-red port, a push to talk hotkey (largely redundant in the UK as no networks offer the service) and the camera hotkey. This activates the 2-megapixel camera, turning the huge screen into a viewfinder, with the hotkey becoming your shutter key.

The camera captures images from 1600x1200 right down to 160x120, and out of doors the colours are excellent. As with many phone cameras, indoor shots are not so good – the LED ‘flash’ is largely ineffective and the Night mode is just a slow exposure that requires very steady hands to work effectively.

The video capture resolution of 640x480 is also one of the highest available, and the quality of both video and sound is excellent. The capture resolution drops to a more manageable 128x96 if sharing videos and photos by MMS is your thing.

Other media utilities include a capable music player with equalizers, bass boost and the ability to stream to a Bluetooth loudspeaker adapter or headset. You’ll also find an FM radio with room for up to 20 presets, and a voice recorder. An earphone/hands-free cable comes in the box, and the 6280 also boasts a good quality and surprisingly un-tinny loudspeaker.

One disappointment is the 6280’s poor built-in memory. At just 5.5MB, you’ll only get a handful of high-res photos, quality games or full-length MP3 files on board before the out-of-memory messages appear. A 64MB miniSD card comes bundled with the phone, however, and if you intend to make the most of the phone’s multimedia features, this format supports card capacities of up to 2GB.

The business capabilities of the Nokia 6280 can’t be underestimated either. You’ll find all the usual calendar and contacts features, and these can be synched with your PC or Mac using the supplied USB cable and PC Suite software, or even via Bluetooth or infra-red. The latest incarnation of the Series 40 operating system also features the active standby option, borrowed from Nokia’s Series 60 smartphones. This gives fast access to your favourite functions and displays upcoming calendar appointments and notes on the screen during standby mode.

The 6280’s big screen is perfect for browsing the mobile web, and its Email application lets you answer emails just as easily as you would a text.

All these functions do take their toll on battery life, and on busy days it’s best to keep a charger or spare battery to hand. There is a power-save mode, of course, but when this is activated the backlight shut-off is frustratingly short, and there’s no way of adjusting this.

For users looking for a feature-packed mobile but not yet convinced of the need for a smartphone, the Nokia 6280 is an excellent choice.