Nokia 6205 (Verizon Wireless)

Calls and speakerphone: As for call quality, this wasn’t the loudest cell phone we have ever used and during calls we found that we had to increase the volume via the side control buttons. While callers said they could hear us well, we were often cut off mid-sentence when two people were talking simultaneously. However, the speakerphone on this cell phone is loud and easy to find. There’s a dedicated button to access it on the left side of the 4-way navi-key. Simply press it at any time and it’s activated.

Audio playback: We found playback of songs we downloaded from Verizon Wireless’ V Cast service and our own MP3 and WMA files sounded clear, but a tad tinny through the cell phone’s built-in speaker.

Menu/Phonebook: This is one of the more straightforward menu interfaces you’ll find on a cell phone. If you’ve used a Verizon Wireless cell phone recently, you’ll have no problem using the Nokia 6205 from the moment you pick it up. If not, no worries, the menu is easy to navigate and everything is where you think it should be. However, we should note, all the fun applications can be found under the Get It Now menu.

We particularly like how easy it is to use the phone book. You can store 500 contacts in the phone book, each with 5 phone numbers, 2 e-mail addresses, and a picture – sorry, there are no slots for address info. You also might notice a diamond with a cross in it at the top of the screen, which indicates that you can make e911 calls even if you don’t have service. If you want to send text messages, you’ll find that option under messaging. You can even insert a smiley into messages. In addition to text messaging, you can also do chats and mobile IM.

Camera/Video: The Nokia 6205 sports a 1.3-megapixel camera and a flash. The easiest way to access the cell phone’s camera feature is to press the camera button on the right side of the four-way navi-key. You can also access it from the menu. Another nice plus is that you can easily switch between video camera and camera modes just by pressing the dedicated camera button when in the application. You can use the camera to snap random pics or even use the self-timer to take self portraits. We should note, however, the external display does not automatically do double duty as a view finder. That said, since there’s no dedicated camera button on the cell phone’s spine, you’ll never have to worry about snapping pictures of the inside of your purse or pocket. As for photo options, you can choose between six settings (normal, aqua, black and white, sepia, and green), adjust brightness and white balance, and choose a capture mode (landscape or portrait). About those photos, they came out quite crisp and colors were vibrant. As noted, you can also take short videos, though the end-product isn’t nearly as good as the photos.

Music: As noted, listening to songs played through the cell phone’s speaker or a stereo headset is acceptable. While you can shuffle and repeat songs, as well as create playlists, there’s little else this cell phone offers in terms of audio-centric controls. The cell phone has 58MB of memory, so if you don’t store a lot of pictures and videos, you will be able to save about 15 to 20 songs on this Nokia. The cell phone will play back Windows WMA, Apple AAC and MP3 music files. If you get an optional cable and software, you’ll be able to transfer music files to the cell phone using Windows Media Player, or you can just copy them onto an optional MicroSD card into the Music folder and get music onto your cell phone that way. The Nokia 6205 will support up to a 4GB MicroSD card.

Bluetooth: We were able to easily pair this Nokia cell phone with the Plantronics 925 headset. Call quality using the headset did not diminish. If you tend to use a Bluetooth headset to make/receive calls more, this cell phone won’t disappoint. We should note that the Nokia 6205 lacks support for Bluetooth stereo.

Look and Feel: One thing is for certain, the Nokia 6205 is easy on the eyes with its baby blue and brushed silver color scheme and large mirror (which incidentally masks the external display when the cell phone is in standby mode). It almost feels like it would be a great summer cell phone since that’s the kind of easy feeling you get when looking at it. Additionally, on the outside of the display is the camera lens, flash and a tiny speaker. Rounding out the cell phone’s spine are a one-touch access button to the voice dialing, a slot for a MicroSD card, 2.5mm headphone jack, volume keys and the micro-USB port for connecting the charger. About that micro-USB port, the cover is a little difficult to open, so you might want to leave it open if you just got a manicure. Surprisingly, the sides of the cell phone don’t attract fingerprints despite its shiny finish – a definite plus.

The internal and external displays are bright and large so viewing the screens in most lighting conditions is easy. Read: You can still see the screen in bright sunlight, but it tends to appear a bit washed out unless you press a button to activate the back light. Since the internal display is flush with the cell phone casing it attracts fingerprints and face smudges fairly easily. We often found ourselves wiping off the screen. On the plus side, we found this cell phone comfortable to hold during long calls, and easy to find in a purse.

Keypad: The Nokia 6205 maintains the silver color scheme internally as well. Surrounding the keys is a brushed metal border that keeps fingerprints at bay. The black numeric keys are large and well spaced, making misdials an infrequent event. While the keypad is definitely what we’d call slick, it’s far from slippery. We particularly appreciated the dedicated speakerphone button located just left of the 4-way navi-key. The placement and size of the OK key might make you think you’ll repeatedly hit the wrong button when navigating the cell phone’s menu; thankfully, that’s simply not the case.

Unfortunately, this is an area where the Nokia 6205 just seems to run out of steam. We could barely last an entire day without needing to recharge the battery. This was even the case when we just used it occasionally to make a few five-minute calls and send some text messages. Though this doesn’t sound promising, the nice thing is that when the cell phone’s battery icon flashes empty you can still complete a call. On the plus side, if you have the appropriate USB cable you can connect it to your computer to charge the cell phone.