The Nokia 6126 Pros:texting on keypad is fast
external screen is bright and large
keys are slightly raised for good tactile feel
Excellent Internal Screen resolution and color depth.
Press button to open
Slim enough to shirt pocket
Reliable on call signal
Music player can be used while multi-tasking other phone operations without slowing down software.
When using headphones with a Nokia adapter, audio quality is very good.
Micro SD slot under back cover, where you don't have to remove the battery.
Pairs well with Bluetooth devices
Fast power up and power down times
Nokia 6126 Cons:
poor placement of exterior, volume power camera rocker buttons, not tactile enough to feel, you have to visually find them most of the times.
Needs a side access for micro SD card
no back light timer adjustment
Battery talk time and standby time is not good.
Navigation speed through menu is just O.K. Faster than Motorola, slower than Samsung.
Speaker phone audio quality is not as good as with other phones. (High frequency audio drop off) Speaker volume is just O.K.
Ear piece volume is slightly low, and needs to be centered just in the right spot over ear canal to hear.
Camera photo quality is not good, (video noise)
Using the low light option seems to reduce video noise at the expense of slow shutter speed.
Still image color is not accurate.
Can't categorize music play lists
Background: I was not eligible for the upgrade yet, so that meant I had to purchase a phone at retail price (without the contract) which would have run up upwards of $300 and more. So I got this phone (unlocked) as a gift, and the switch-over was relatively easy and trouble-free. I copied my address book from the 6102i onto the SIM card, and when I moved the SIM card to the 6126, the address book was there (taa-daa!). What I was not able to move were the photos I snapped with the old phone. Those I had to send via email, which I saved onto a microSD card and then was able to move to the 6126 (it has a microSD slot, which read the 1Gb card easily).
Features: I have always liked Nokia. This phone is no exception (except one which I will discuss later). It is a clam (ie. flip) phone and is almost as slim as (but slightly lighter than) my Motorola RAZR. I like the menu layout of the Nokia. The camera is up to 1.3 Megapixel resolution (settings of 1,024x1,280, 960x1,290, 600x800, 480x640, 240x320, and 120x160). The photos are decent in daylight, but not too great in poorly-lit areas (but that goes for every camera phone I've ever encountered).
I like the black and silver coloring. No external antenna (sweet). The button on the side to open it is extra (not necessary). The internal display is nice and large, and colorful. I like the navigation keypad. The textured covering on the rear flap is different (I like it, and is about 50-50 with my friends).
There were plenty of hands-free features. There's a speakerphone, which is loud enough to be used outside, Bluetooth for connecting to a headset or for sending files, as well as voice dialing and commands. There is POP3 and IMAP4 e-mail support, audio messaging for sending voicemails directly to another cell phone, and USB cable support (I haven't used this yet).
There is a large 1,000-contact phone book has room in each entry for five phone numbers, e-mail and Web addresses, a job title and a company name, work and home street addresses, a birth date, etc. The SIM card can hold an additional 250 names. Other extras include standard stuff: vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, calculator, voice recorder, a calendar with reminders, notepad, stopwatch, and an alarm clock.
Hands-free features were plentiful, as well. There's full Bluetooth for connecting to a headset or for sending files, plus voice dialing and commands and a speakerphone. For hard-core emailers, there is also POP3 and IMAP4 e-mail support.
I tested the quad-band GSM phone in San Francisco/Bay Area using my existing Cingular wireless service. I got the same quality as the old Nokia 6102i phone. Call quality was decent.
Now, for the negatives. A minor drawback with the design is that the MicroSD card slot is located behind the battery cover. Although, you don't need to remove the battery itself, but you do need to remove the cover. My other beef is with the battery life. The 6126 has a rated talk time of 3.4 hours and a promised standby time of 10 days. When I maxed out the talk time, I got about 3.5 to 3.75 hours talk-time (impressive). Because I am always on the phone, it is hard to guage the standby time. However, when I paired and activated the Bluetooth, and connected with a Nokia BH-900 earpiece (By the way, the BH-900 earpiece is sub-standard compared to the Motorola HS850, but that is another review altogether) that is when I got a feeling about the battery life in standby. For half a day of minimal use (20 min max), and standby the rest of the day my battery is now at 20-25% capacity. When I turned off Bluetooth, I was able to go a full day with some use and still have over 50% battery capacity. So it seems that when the Bluetooth feature is activated it is eating up more battery juice (which makes sense). I have yet to find a control that tells the phone to automatically turn off Bluetooth when there is no active device around.
Conclusion: The Nokia 6126 is a nice phone with many features. I only gate it 4-stars because of the battery life. This is a must, especially for a frequent traveler (like me) or those who use the phone/Bluetooth earpiece a lot. Nokia has to improve on the battery life, and this is easily done with a patch to automatically turn off Bluetooth when there are no Bluetooth devices around.I am a bit of a phone nut and love Nokia products. After using a Nokia 6230b with Cingular in Detroit and Virgin Mobile in England for over 2 years, I decided, now that Nokia offers a quad-band phone, it was time to upgrade.
Phone arrived on time and seemed like a very quality piece. Beautiful screen, well put together, etc. I used it for a few days and a few charging cycles. Here is what I found:
-Very poor battery life. I could not go a whole day on a charge with heavy use
-Very poor call quality. I could not carry on a converstation with people as the sound would cut in and out, ever with a full signal. I swapped my SIM back to my old 6230b and everything was fine.
-You need to position the phone just right on your ear or you cannot hear the caller on the other end at all.
-I learned that I really do not like flip phone (why are most phone flip anyways?)
-Don't really like the ultra small signal and battery meters
-I like Nokia's original test message input interface better than the new setup on 6126
So, I returned the phone. Amazon was great to work with and I got a credit quickly. I will buy from them again.
Yes, it is possible that my phone was faulty handset, causing the bad call quality but I did not want to go through the hassel of getting another one. Plus, some of the other negative told me it is not the phone for me.
Plus, the whole experience reminded me that the candy bar 6230b is one of Nokia's best phone ever (just needs quad-band)...
Now I just need to search for a quad-band candy bar Nokia to replace the 6230b...eventually.... Maybe a Nokia E50...Got the phone brand new for like $180. It's just sweet.
It's stylish (It does look way better than it appearred in the default image.)
It's powerful (Web surfing, built-in MP3 player-very good quality).
It's handy (You can sync with your computer and get the images, tones, wallpapers, screensavers, etc. for free. Unlike many other phones which bound to the carrier, only allow you to purchase them from the carrier with outrageous price).
The price is high. But it well-worth it. It's a quad-band. It's great for international travelers. You aint bound by any 2-year lengthy contract (ones that if you terminated, they would charge you like 200 bucks as for T-Mobile). Unlocked phones are pay-as-you-go phones. No more future fees.
Some people complain about poor battery life. I think they should change the battery. Chances are theirs may be defective.
Hmm, anything else? Oh yeah, this phone is not a everyone-has-one kind of phone like the Motorola RAVZ, so enjoy being cool.
Very good reception. I always have 5-bar signal.
Very good voice quality. You don't even have to use the speakerphone because the normal mode is loud enough.
The phone is a decent-budget one considered it's for high-end users phone. Among its family, the 6131 is better (only radio feature added, no more no less), but the radio is ridiculously expensive, you'll have to pay like 40 bucks more (for what? a radio? Hello?). The 6133, as everyone know, is a disaster because it's crippled by T-Mobile. The 6126 is a no-brainer.
And last but not least. It's a Nokia.First off I really like my new phone, but it did take a while to get used to after having Motorola's for the last 4 years. Battery life is the universal complaint and the reason for 4 stars.
Cingular and AT&T customers be forwarned, the company does not like that you can buy unlocked phones. Customer service stinks. I could not send multimedia messages and was informed since I did not buy from them, they could do nothing. And that my phone was junk, send it back and buy from them. I had researched this phone to make sure it was compatable in my area and was sold here also( for $50 to $100 more) and was unlocked.
Thanks to an AMAZON rep. I was referred to the Nokia website and I had my phone running in less than a minute! Thank you amazon. and Nokia website is great also! Cingular-GET OVER IT! This is one of many reasons I will never renew a contract with your company.
I am a work from home mother of 2. Not too tech savvy, but am trying to keep up. Love to text and MM message. But mainly got phone for camera and are satisfied.
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