Nokia 2610 Unlocked Cell Phone--U.S. Version with Warranty (Black)

This is a great, simple phone for those who just want a phone for making and receiving calls and text messages. Reception is quite good and battery life is great -I go days and days and days between recharges. However, the plastic cover over the display is tinted and mirrored so that it is virtually impossible to see the display outdoors in the daytime. Most phones, especially basic ones like this, are difficult to see in daylight conditions, but this one is impossible. It is so bad that am going to be getting a new phone, even though I will have to pay big bucks to do so. This is my fourth (or fifth?) Nokia phone and the first one that has disappointed me.

The 2610 had all the promise of a great upgrade that improved some of the issues I had with my GREAT 3120 and 3220 previous, and almost perfectly enjoyable, Nokia phones. But, alas they blew it with a couple of stupid and totally unnecessary killers.

First the GREAT things did with the 2610. They allow you to customize(assign)the navigation(arrow)keys to functions of YOUR choice. not theirs. They added a needed center button to the navigation keys. They replaced the infuriating proprietary NOKIA POP-PORT combination USB and HEADPHONE access port with separate STANDARD USB and HEADPHONE jacks. And they expanded the number and length of info that can be added to each addr book contact.

The killers for me? The USB port is not a PC Sync port. It CANNOT be used with Nokia's PC Suite sync software, or any other mfgs, to back up personal contact, etc info you so laboriously put into your phone. Nokia, if your reading this, without an IR or Bluetooth wireless connection on this phone, how is one to BACKUP their data on this otherwise excellent phone you put a USB port on??? Second, why to heck would you reduce the readeability of this phone in daylight by removing the ability to remove wallpaper(increases contrast) behind contact lists, remove the ability to choose a list in place of stupid miniuature unreadeable wallpapered icons in Menus, then add insult to injury by then decreasing the readeability in daylight with a non-removeable shade over the display.

FIX these things PLEASE so I can come back to you and this otherwise excellent phone.

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Pros:

Simple Phone, not a lot of bells and whistles.

Good battery life.

Sound quality good, although, occasionally, you do hear your own echo faintly.

Comes with speaker phone which is an important feature for me.

Customizable top two keys. I've set it to alarm clock, so my most useful feature is right on the home screen.

Predictive text typing is good. Remembers the non-dictionary words you used in the past and uses them, so a self-learning vocabulary.

Lightweight and Slim, so it fits nicely in the pocket.

Displays day and date along with the current time on the home screen (if configured). A useful feature.

Customizable Navigation Key assignments. You can assign whatever function you like to use when you press one of the navigation keys from the home screen.

Sending SMS text messages to multiple recipients with a single message.

Cons:

Impossible to see the display in the outdoors during the day. (BIG flop)

4-way navigation keys are cumbersome. Top and down is okay but for going left or right, the keys are buried between other keys and very hard to press, you almost have to resort to using the nail on your thumb to press it. Also the center navigation key is noisy and makes this cheap plastic clicking sound when you press it. It is the most frequently used key, so you have to settle for some noisy key operation. (During a meeting you can't text your friends to tell them how bored you are, because it will be too noisy, for example.)

Although this phone has the feature of Multimedia Messaging (MMS), if you buy it unlocked, this feature will not work with AT&T service. Everything else works e.g. SMS, Call Waiting, Call Conferencing, switching between calls etc.

There is a mini USB port on this phone, between the charger and the headphone jacks, but this USB port is for maintenance personnel, and cannot be used to sync data between your phone and your PC.

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I'd never recommend this 2610 because of the single issue that the display is unusable in daylight & barely marginal for inside viewing. It's a shame because the sound is good. Maybe that's why AT&T gives them away free hoping to get rid of them!

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Nothing fancy about it but, that's what he wanted. It's a great phone. Simple operation, which is also what he wanted.