As first phone with an integrated camera to be delivered to the North America, the 3650 reflects Nokia's determination to offer a superior mobile imaging experience. Through its visual and dynamic features the Nokia 3650 expanded the superior imaging experience and MMS into the global market. The 3650 also offers PDA functionality with its extensive email support, calendar and contacts synchronization for most popular email and personal information management applications... [Continue reading Nokia 3650 Review]
Nokia 3650 User Reviews
1. Posted by johnnyspliff
Wed Sep 03, 2003 2:05 am
It has so many features. Here's a rundown on all the questions you might have. IF this does not convince you to buy it, nothing will.
These are all extracts from other posts that I have made.
" have had one major problem with it which made me get a replacement phone, but it was kinda my fault.
I have customised it exactly the way I want.
With my 128Mb mmc, I have over 50 songs, 10 music videos and a shedload of apps and games.
The bluetooth option is handy for connecting to another phone/pc (if you have an adaptor)
I have had no problems with the signal so far. I live in Ireland, and have had signal problems with other phones, but I have not lost signal yet!
The battery lasts me a day if I am constantly using it to play games, run apps etc.) This is only with heavy use though.
Normally it will last me 2 days, and that's making and recieving a few phone calls, listening to some music, etyc.) Just regular use. (I think the talk time is around 4 hours)
The camera is good enough for a smart phone, although there is no optical zoom. There is a program that you can get that gives you 10x digital zoom, which is good enough to use for double or whatever.
The video recorder is ok, although you can only record up to 10 seconds if you get the sound add on. There is a program however, to let you record as long as you want."
"there are programs available that allow you to view Microsoft Office Documents on your phone and the options of infra red, bluetooth and modem are great for business people with a laptop. "
"There is no OPTICAL Zoom, however there is DIGITAL zoom. The forthcoming Nokia 6600 has an optical lense which will allow 2x zoom with pictures and video.
But that's a while off yet. If you can hold out, I'd buy the 6600, but if you have to buy a phone right now, then the 3650 is the way to go. I know it's big, and the keypad takes a bit 0of getting used to, but it has so many features, you won't regret buying it.
There is a program called Camera FX which you can get for your phone, which allows zoom up to 10x. However this is digital zoom. It basically only enlarges a portion of the picture you want to take. However the more you zoom in, the more blockier and blurier the picture will get. I find it useful on 2x or even 4x (in the right conditions).
If you decide to buy it, take my advice and buy a 128mb mmc card with it. DO NOT BUY AN SD (SECURE DIGITAL) CARD! THEY WILL NOT WORK! ONLY BUY AN MMC CARD UP TO 128MB IN SIZE! Higher spec cards might work, they might not work. They are not officially supported. I've seen some that work fine and only give a couple of problems. I've seen some that won't work at all and one that messed upo my friends phone.
Other reasons toi buy a 3650:
Games:
DOOM (the original pc classic!)
GoBoy (A game boy color emulator)
MGS (Required to play MGS games. Some like Cobra Attack are excellent with great graphics.)
Frodo (A Comodore 64 emulator)
fMSX/S60 (An MSX emulator)
Prince of Persia (the original)
M.A.M.E. (coming soon. Play all the old arcade classics on your phone)
Applications:
CameraFx (the program I mentioned earlier)
Polyphonic ringtone Composer (built into the phone)
MP3Go (An mp3 player)
Phone Secure (If your phone gets stolen, just send a specific user set text message to the phone, and the phone will become locked. An alarm will sound. If the person changes sim cards, then the sim card number is sent to another phone of your choice. Great security tool!)
Opera (View internet pages on your phone. I mean HTML, not stupid WAP sites. And you can use your pc's internet connection via bluetooth, so your phone won't be charged.)
Total IRRemote (A remote control for your phone. Control almost every infra red device - tvs, hi fis, videos, dvd players. IF your device is not listed, you can program it)
ReadM (an e-book reader. Download books off the net and copy them to your phone to be read. Contains scrolling pages options and backlight always on feature)
MiniGPS (reads your currewnt cell location, so events can be programmed to happen when the cell changes to the one set by you. For example, you could set your phone to automatically turn on silent when you enter work, or to turn off when you enter church)
Then there's the options for bluetooth and infra red for connecting your phone to other devices.
There's a modem option so you can use your phone as a wireless modem for a computer or laptop.
Then there's video. The video recorder isn't great - yoiu're limited to time and sound. IF you want sound, you need to upgrade the camcorder with a patch off nokia's website. There's a program called ETI Camcorder whioch allows sound, AND recording as much video as your memory card can hold!
I have 6 full 7 full music video on my phone, 6 family guy clips, and 10 others. RealOne player does not play full screen, but PvPlayer (which you can download does). It was great watching Terminator 3 on my phone in full screen (phone turned on it's side). It took up 80 Mb of my memory card for good quality, but it was worth it. I had to delete it because I put music on it.
Sound:
I have over 50 full length songs on my phone. The quality is good and the files aren't really big (1-2 mb)
They play fine on the phone's internal loudspeaker.
If you want mp3's, they're gonna take up space (3-6 mb) and the quality isn't that much better.
The 3650 is a great phone if you have the ability to expand it.
If you buy a 128Mb mmc card, then an mmc card reader for your pc is not a bad idea (they're fairly cheap)
If you want to use bluetooth, you will need a bluetooth adaptor for your pc.
If you use bluetooth or infra red, then music and video will automatically be converted when copied to your phone. But if you copy large files, this can take hours.And if your connection is lost, then you have to start over.
An mmc card reader is the way to go. It allows fast transfer of files and is more user friendly (bluetooth is a pain to set up)
IF you want music on your phone via a mmc card reader, then a program such as Sound Forge or Cool Edit helps.
And if you are interested in video via a mmc card reader, then a program such as Nokia Multimedia Converter helps."
"The speaker phone is fine, even when listening to songs. I find that when the volume is very high on the speaker phone, songs will become slightly distorted. All I have to do is lower the volume. But that's only on certain songs, ant the speaker is loud enough(loud enough that a person down the street could hear songs)
As for games, apps, music and video, I got most of mine from yahoo groups. As for video and audio, you don't need any programs for your phone, but you do need some for your pc.
"As I said, the 3650 is a great phone, but to get maximum use of it you really need a 128Mb mmc card (not SD-secure digital) and some means of connection. Cards are less than $45 off amazon.com. In my opinion an mmc card reader is the best way to go. They are less than $15 dollars on amazon.com, and even cheaper off Ebay. Of course, a card reader is only useful if you have a file manager program on your phone. How are you going to get that program on your phone? If you can afford it, buy a bluetooth adaptor (again - less than $30 on amazon.com or again, cheaper on Ebay). If you can't, find a friend that has one or an infra red port on his pc or laptop and copy it to your phone using that. Then you can use this app to browse to files that you have copied with your card reader and install them there.
Seriously, consider getting both.
A card reader for file transfer.
Bluetooth for using your pc's internet connection via bluetooth on your phone, so you can visit any website (HTML pages!) and chat via IRC using another small program. It's also handy for copying a file now and again, when you don't want to take your phone apart. "
"One of the great things that the 3650 has over it's brother the 7650 is MMC support. MMC being MultiMedia Card. This single feature makes it possible to really expand your phone.
An mmc is used widely for lots of devices, such as digital cameras, smart phones, etc.) It's a small card (about the size of a postage stamp) that you insert like a sim card (under the battery) into your phone. It increases the space available to you for storing stuff.
The 7650 had a 4Mb Internal Memory built into it. Users had to make do with this meaning there was not much room to store stuff on your phone. The game DOOM takes up nearly 2Mb alone! So people were constantly deleting stuff and rearranging stuff on their phone to use other programs.
The 3650 however, has a 4Mb Internal Memory and support for MMC. There is a 16Mb card supplied with the phone, which will suffice starting out. But really, there are so many programs and games out there, you will need a larger memory card.
If you are using your phone for video and music purposes, then you will need to get one as soon as possible. I mean Termiantor 3, as I mentioned earlier, took up over 80Mb on my memory card! I have over 50 songs on my phone (taking up around 80Mb), some music videos and other videos, and an absolutely shed load of games and applications. My 128Mb card is nearly full as it is (I only have around 2Mb left!)
Nokia only officially supports cards up to size of 128Mb. There are cards out there in 256Mb and 512Mb sizes, but they might not work with your phone and may cause problems. Buy a 128Mb and you're nearly guaranteed it will work."
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2. Posted by randalllewis
Fri Jun 13, 2003 4:47 pm
I was one of those two-device guys. A Pocket PC in one pocket and a Nokia 6310i in another. They both worked and would even talk to one another via Bluetooth.
Still, I longed to be free of one of them. Lots of companies have tried to grant this wish. Nothing has quite made it come true yet. The Pocket PCs with phone capability are too awkwardly shaped and the phone features aren't properly integrated yet. The phones with PIM features were just too tiny. Itty bitty screens and monochrome aren't going to cut it.
What first attracted me to the Nokia 3650 was the size of the screen. Just look at it compared to any other model. The screen is huge and in color. After the screen size I noticed the odd keypad. At first I thought this was a fatal flaw, but after you learn all this phone can do, the keypad becomes a non-issue.
I picked up a spec sheet and with each item I read, it was clear that the 3650 is really the first PDA/phone convergence product that really works. It has expandable memory, Bluetooth, a camera, a video recorder, infrared, games, internet capability. It does everything my Pocket PC does expect play music (and there is available software for that) and run Word or Excel. But honestly, I've rarely used those features of the PPC.
The PIM is very good. My Outlook contacts and calendar can synced by Nokia's PC Suite software or in small groups directly via Bluetooth. Their presentation on the 3650 is as readable as my PPC (though some scrolling is sometimes needed) and they are fully integrated into the phone. Easily organized contact groups are avilable and the calendar can be displayed in daily, weekly or monthly views.
The camera takes acceptable .5 megapixel snaps and easily e-mails them anywhere. It is true that you probably didn't realize how many ways you can use a camera when it is small enough to carry everywhere you go. As for the phone, it has good sound and seems to pick up signals better than other Nokia's I've owned and almost as good as the outstanding 6310i. It is a world phone as well. My only complaint is the lack of hardware volume buttons.
The big color screen makes the phone a bit bigger than others, but not so much that it is awkward to carry. And it is much smaller than any other PDA on the market.
If I may be so bold as to predict, this is roughly the shape of things to come. Future PDA/phone units will be based on a form factor very similar to the Nokia 3650.
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3. Posted by joelongo
Sat Apr 26, 2003 10:15 pm
Kevin posted an excellent review. The only updates I have to add are:
- The mini movie app has been upgraded to record sound and
- I don't see any FM tuner capabilities!
I've had the phone for 2 weeks. I was on the verge of returning it because of the crazy keypad. No matter how much you get used to it, the keys are still hard to use. But I've realized that I use the keypad less and less - I've loaded all my contacts into the phone's contact manager and rarely dial manually. The contact manager itself is very powerful, competing with my Palm Pilot. Dialing with the circular pointer is a snap: press and scroll to the entry, then press again to dial.
Voice-dialing is another huge feature, and another reason I don't dial manually very often. My old Motorola phone had this functionality, but Nokia's implementation is much better. I use it for all common numbers.
But the real reason I can't live without this phone is the beautiful, beautiful, large color screen. It's really a powerful enabler for anyone that lives by their phone. Once you're used it you ask yourself how you could have survived with the rinky-dink monochrome screens. Managing your calls with this screen is more like using a computer to manage your calls (calls-in, calls-out & missed).
I also use the speakerphone a lot - especially for work when others in the room want to participate.
Battery lasts quite a while - several days of heavy use between charges. I'm always playing with the camera, so my battery demands are high.
Regarding the digital camera, at first I thought it was just a toy. But I've found it useful in many ways. You can certainly live without it, but it's really very useful in all type of situations - shopping, at dinner, with colleagues, etc. The pictures are surprisingly good for the 640x480 resolution. Now I'm convinced that you need a camera with you everywhere, and having it in the phone is really the best place for it: I take my phone everywhere, but not my Palm.
As for the video recorder the quality is too poor for any useful recordings. No-one's going to be found guilty in court as a result of evidence from this recorder. It's really just a concept app.
The sound recorder/player and composer are very powerful, but I've not found much use for them. I never use the calendar or the note pad mainly 'coz it's too hard to enter text, even with the clever writing tools . My Palm wins-out here.
Finally, this thing is amazingly cool. I've been stopped by people in the elevator, at work and at parties. Everyone wants to see it.
I don't mind it being a little large - my biggest concern is dropping it or scratching the large color screen.
Note: The Nokia site lists new color phones for Q3 release, most noteably the 6220. I was going to return the 3650 and wait for one of the smaller color models. But then I realized that none have the 3650 large screen, or the 640x480 camera.
So, I'm sold on the 3650 - big time. It's not for everyone: you need to tolerate the rotary-style keypad. But if great graphics are appealing & you use your phone a lot & and you love digital photography, then it's worth the expense.
Sincerely,
Joe
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4. Posted by fultzjap
Sun Sep 07, 2003 8:09 pm
I have plenty of experience fixing phones. I manage an electronics repair/sales store. I just want to know where they found room to put all this stuff in here! People say the phone is big. For what's inside of it, it should be 3/4 the size of a laptop, because it can do 3/4 as much as one.
I have only encountered one hurdle thus far: you pretty much NEED to use Nokia PC suite software to manage the sheer number of dirty pictures you will take. Heed this warning: get bluetooth for pc, not Infra red! Windows, PC suite and usb IR dongles do not play well together. Read the Bad IR subject in "Nokia talk" for proof.
For those of you worried about damaging the big pretty color screen? if you do, just buy another "express-on" faceplate! problem solved.
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5. Posted by silverdragon
Thu Nov 06, 2003 7:05 am
got the phone for free with all the rebates
pros: camera( usefull when you dont have your digi cam with you)
Blue tooth (i have tons of ringer tones and wallpapers i made for my phone)
color screen (nice and big)
loud speaker (great when you want to do a group talk or in the car)
cons: sometimes the ringer tone becomes weak and i miss calls. The phone shuts off for no reason once awhile.
big phone
dont buy cheap aftermarket case for the phone. The faceplate needs a rubber ear piece to have the speaker work correctly. With aftermarket case u can hardly hear the other person.
Over all its a great phone with some flaws
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6. Posted by rwong48
Sun Nov 16, 2003 2:04 am
I've had this phone for about two months..
Pros:
-Nice screen!
-Good reception
-Nice speakerphone
-I added games to it =)
Cons:
-Huge!
-Should have built-in MP3 player? or can it even decode mp3s quickly enough? I converted MP3s to AMRs but they osund like garbage..
-Camera could be made better..
-Can be very very slow..
-No way to set ringer to vibrate only
-Tends to crash (it runs on an OS..)
-Sometimes phone calls cannot be received/dialed until phone is turned off and on again
-It uses GPRS itself sometimes, incurring service charges
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7. Posted by mingkee
Sun Sep 28, 2003 1:22 pm
I got this phone to replace moto T722i
the key layout is weird, but I get used to quickly
the menu is somehow like palm
the reception is very good, better than moto T722i
the camera is a nice addition, the color is a little bit reddish, and blur on white
16MB MMC included, which is good enough to store pix, and pc suite lets me transfer the games, apps, mp3s, pix to and from the phone
speakerphone is not loud enough to go, even under quiet enviornment
the headset connection has big flaw, which happens when playing mp3go and realplayer, and using external handsfree set
the screen looks good under both light and darkness
the alarm setup in not good enough, that don't have weekday option, it runs once at a time, I have to set up again for another day
realplayer is the major reason to upgrade to, but the audio is poor through headset and real headphone
bt is a big challenge, once you got it setup, you got it
pcsuite is a big plus tool for the phone, but you need modem too in order to use the phone as GPRS modem
symbian 6.x makes the phone becomes smartphone, but somehow it hangs when using realplayer and use it as a modem
the size is big like old-school 51xx
the ringtone is not loud enough to go, vibration is recommended
the battery is good enough to go, it can go up to 5 hours to talk, but the battery runs fast because I run realplayer and use as modem for hours at a time
conclusion: the phone is an entry-level smartphone, with nice screen, good battery, excellent reception, memory expansion, makes the phone very unique from other nokias
n-gage is another step-up from 3650, just forget camera, but adds game console, and stereo compatibility
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8. Posted by sam
Sat May 03, 2003 1:39 pm
I had purchased a Nokia handset 3650 on March 2003. The phone started giving memory corruption errors whenever a number was dialled or while reading a message from the inbox.
So I got the handset replaced on the 3rd day from the dealer and got another handset whose details are mentioned below. The handset at present with me too is a problematic one and the dealer is not ready to get it replaced and is insisting to get it repaired at the Authorised Nokia service center.
I had been to Nokia's Authorised Service center, but I was told that they did not have some kind of instrument called zig with them and that it was at bangalore and it would take about 15 days or so, and that they could not give me a standby handset for the number of days they would require to service my handset.
I had sent a mail regarding the same problem to Nokia, but I still haven't received any kind of reply from them. So overall I have no had good experiences with this phone or customer service.
Problems in Nokia 3650 handset
1. After a call is made from the handset, When the log is checked for the timestamp it does not reflect the exact time in the log at which the call was made.
2. The Handset gets hanged while browsing through the menu and none of the keys respond and at that moment, the handset has to be switched off and on again.
3. GPRS does not work on this handset, even though the service has been enabled from the service provider. When the same SIM is used in another Nokia, GPRS works fine.
4. This handset flashes some messages like " Error.....". i don't remember the exact syntax as these messages are very rare.
5. I have still not checked the other features in this handset, so I am unaware if the other features are working fine or not.
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Heed this warning: get bluetooth for pc, not Infra red! Windows, PC suite and usb IR dongles do not play well together. Read the Bad IR subject in "Nokia talk" for proof.
if you do, just buy another "express-on" faceplate! problem solved.
