Sound Quality

The Nokia 3300 is a good solid phone. There was no significant problems with sound quality. The tonal qualities were balanced and voices had sufficient clarity. A slight boost in low frequency audio is present for voices to carry in loudspeaker mode. However the drawback was that noises are more noticeable.

The loudspeaker is the same as other Series 40 phones. And the sound quality was excellent. The 3300 contains an internal speaker for superior sound as opposed to buzzers found in other phones.

RF Performance

The 3300 also has exceptional RF. It holds small signals and is definitely one of the better phones out there. Considering the 3300 uses an internal antenna, it's quite an accomplishment. Nokia's 33XX series phones have always had great reception, and the 3300 is no different. Overall it gets a rating of:

Pros

· Full QWERTY keypad. Easy typing and fast messaging.

· Best audio bundle to date. Use the built-in music player to play MP3s and AAC files. Use the versatile equalizer or audio filters to change the sound of your music.

· Use MP3s as ring tones. Sounds much better than midis. But if you still want to use them, the 3300 comes with 24 chords.

· Built-in FM radio. Definitely a major plus. Stereo sound and the ability to save up to 20 radio channels. Also a headset that's functional and pretty cool. One of the best we've seen.

· Great loudspeaker. Plenty of volume for those times when you don't want to use your hands. Excellent range and clarity.

· Expandable storage. Great for bringing along extra music. The Nokia 3300 has a slot for MMC cards and comes with a 64 MB card.

Cons

· No backlit for QWERTY keypad. Don't even try to text message in the dark.

· Lack of PC Suite software. At the time of writing this review, there is no PC Suite support for the 3300. Makes it a big problem when trying to transfer pictures and ring tones from your computer to phone. MP3s aren't a problem with Audio Manager though.

· Nokia proprietary headset. The special jack will only take Nokia headsets. So you're pretty much stuck with the ones that came in the box.

· Memory slot only compatible with MMC cards, not SD.

· Bigger than most phones. Might be a little bulky for some. But might not be a problem for others.

Conclusion

The Nokia 3300 will be one of those phones that people remember as a trend setter. Much like the T68i was for color phones, the 3300 will be for audio capabilities. Nokia packed the phone with two major sets of features. Firstly, the full QWERTY keypad for fast text messaging. And secondly, the great audio features.

While the 3300 has many great additions it seems that there are minor disadvantages that Nokia overlooked. For instance, the keypad makes messaging considerably quicker and more efficient. However there is no backlight for messaging in the dark. Many people text message when there's not much light around, like at night in the car, or in a movie theater when you can't answer the phone. The lack of a backlight makes it almost impossible to type anything and makes the keypad useless in times of need.

Another example is the audio features. Nokia spent a great deal and time making the 3300 the ultimate music phone. Adding MP3 playing, dynamic FM radio, and loudspeaker. However, it only provides Audio Manager for transferring MP3s. Nokia doesn't provide PC Suite with it. You can't even download it from the web. Without PC Suite you can't transfer images, ring tones, and data to the phone from a computer.

It seems like for everything great about the 3300, there is a nagging flaw. Granted these aren't really large flaws, but nuisances. Much of the 3300 is built on the Series 40 foundation with some new added features. It almost seems like Nokia may have rushed the 3300 into the market to be the first music phone, and in the process overlooked some minor details. However, if you can overlook these setbacks, the 3300 is a great phone.

Nothing really compares to it at this time. The music features are targeted at the youth much like the 6800's business applications were for an older consumer. And most of the cons aren't going to be a big problem. With everything considered, we think the Nokia 3300 is a great phone with nothing like it on the market at time of this review. And as such we give it an overall rating of:

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