The Nokia 6610 was my first ever phone. By the time I bought it, big sturdy devices were everywhere, and small plastic ones were still a novelty. The 6610 didn’t give the impression of being very solid, yet it never squeaked or creeked like the N81, the cover paint didn’t peel off the second day I got it like the N76, the corners weren’t easily eaten by frequent drops like the N95. The 6610 lasted me 3 years, I never changed its cover, it has kissed the ground more times than I care to remember, I never paid more attention to it than I would pay attention to a pair of old sports shoes, yet today it still looks like I bought it one month ago.
Why did I remember my 5-year-old 6610? Because today, I was lucky enough to get my hands on a Nokia 6500 Slide only for 30 minutes and to say that I was blown away is more than an understatement. To be honest, just today morning, I went with a friend of mine to a local phone shop and I mocked the 6500 Slide when she asked about it: I said it was S40 (she’s an application girl) and I said that it was one of those pretty devices. Oh how wrong I was! Three hours later, I was stuck in a classroom when a colleague sitting next to me, pulled her 6500 Slide device out of her purse and sent an SMS. Being the curious girl that I am, I asked her to hold the device and there I was, struck by a speedy racing car.
The 6500 Slide isn’t one of the most solid devices I have ever held, it is the MOST solid. I truly can’t find words to express the way it feels in your hand. The metallic finish is dead sexy, but it is also sturdy, scratch resistant, easily cleaned and not even related to those fingerprint and grease magnet materials used on the N81. The little plastic used on it is a very elegant black material that looks like it can take a lot of beating and still come out victorious.The 6500 Slide has a slider form factor, and the slider mechanism blew me away as much as the material used on the device. It’s snappy, glides very easily in and out, doesn’t wobble or giggle in any given position. I was fascinated by it, and kept opening it and closing it, like I would with a toy. I really had trouble giving the handset back, as my hands had already fallen in love with it.
I know now that I would recommend it in a blink to any casual mobile device user, looking for good value for money. The 6500 Slide is an elegant, solid, S40 device. It has 3G and a 3.2MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics, and is guaranteed to make you fall in love with it the moment you hold it. This piece of art won’t break, change colors, peel off, squeak, creek, attract fingerprints or give you any of the nightmares as other recent Nokia devices do.
In short, as the title of this post says : the 6500 Slide is how ALL devices should be built. I would give it an easy 10/10 regarding build-quality. It just doesn’t compare to any other Nokia handset on the market right now. I just couldn’t believe my eyes (nor hands) when I held it. The same company that flopped the N81 big time, the N76 even bigger, the E90 and the N95, the same company that had me despair that it would ever build a solid handset again, has released a device that could put all their flagships to shame.
If Nokia can get it right on the 6500 slide, why not port this success to the Nseries and Eseries? Aren’t these supposed to be the best market devices? Aren’t these the most popular handsets? Why jeopardize their success by dressing them up with a cheap plastic cover? Why let the public think that the company couldn’t put together a good handset on the outside, as well as the inside? Why do so when you KNOW and you have PROVEN that you CAN do it?
