Nokia x3-02 Touch and hardware review | nokia x3-02 camera and software reviews

It's a difficult time for feature rings, with smartphones fast becoming a viable option at the low-end of the market. On the hand, most users are expecting smartphone features such as touchscreens and WiFi from their feature rings. Simultaneously, some folks still need an affordable, solid tool that focuses primarily on making calls and sending text messages, with the occasional foray in to entertainment and data-based communication. The Nokia X3-02 Touch-and-Type (not to be mistaken with the other Nokia X3) attempts to be that tool, by adding a dose of touch and WiFi to the venerable Series 40 platform.


Hardware:
Nokia sells hundreds of different phone models. Some designs are memorable, some are generic, yet somehow each remains instantly recognizable as Nokia hardware. The X3-02 continues this trend, and manages to be simultaneously appealing and understated. It is a tiny phone in a world of sizable slates and sliders, with a footprint barely larger than the legendary Sony Ericsson W800 while maintaining the same ultra-thin profile as the iPhone four. At first glance, it looks like another candybar Nokia dumbphone, but with a bigger display. And this is where the Touch-and-Type moniker comes from: the front is dominated by a two.4-inch QVGA resistive touchscreen paired with a 16-key numeric keypad below. Here Nokia decided to put the star, pound and zero keys in a column to the right of the number keys, with the call, electronic mail, music, and finish keys in a row above the number keys. The display also contains the earpiece and nearness sensor.

Continuing the walkaround, there's a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, microUSB connector (for both data and power), and the familiar Nokia 2mm charging port on the top edge, plus a volume rocker and lock button on the right side. You'll find matching battery cover release latches towards the bottom of each side, and an elegantly sloped and patterned bottom edge hiding the mic and speaker. In back there's a 5 megapixel camera above the battery cover. The X3-02 feels light but not unsubstantial, and build quality inspires confidence. High-grade plastics are used throughout, and the battery cover is stamped from a sheet of anodized aluminum. Our review unit came in White Silver, but the device is also available in Dark Metal, Petrol Blue, Pink, and a lovely shade of purple appropriately called Lilac. The only wear and tear we noticed after a few weeks of daily use was a few microscopic scratches in the plastic outer layer of the resistive touchscreen.

Spec-wise, the X3-02 clearly falls into the feature phone category. It offers touch, WiFi b/g/n, an FM radio, and an unlocked quadband EDGE / quadband HSPA (AT&T-compatible) radio, but lacks any kind of GPS, accelerometer, or QWERTY keyboard. While no specific information is available about the speed and type of CPU used, or about the amount of RAM included, the phone feels adequately responsive running Series 40. The 5 megapixel camera generally lives up to Nokia's high standards for stills (more on this later). You'll find a microSD card slot under the battery cover, but sadly no card was provided with our X3-02. There's only a meager 50MB of usable built-in storage, so we supplied a microSD card. Call and reception quality proved typical Nokia, with top-notch performance all around. The diminutive 860mAh battery easily powered our review unit for 3 days of moderate use -- taking pictures, listening to music, and messaging.


Camera:
Despite lacking autofocus and a flash, the 5 megapixel camera performs rather well in most situations. The X3-02 uses an EDoF (Extended Depth of Field) lens. As a result, subjects or scenes beyond about two feet (60cm) are always perfectly in focus, but just like a fixed-focus lens, closeup shots are always blurry. Looking at our sample pictures, color balance is fine, but exposure is somewhat constrained by the sensor, which appears overwhelmed in bright light. Noise is under control, and low-light performance is decent considering the small lens and sensor. Since there's no accelerometer or GPS, shots lack any orientation or geolocation data. The camera interface is basic and portrait only, but Nokia provides a surprisingly capable picture editor. While the X3-02 handles stills with aplomb, it captures VGA video that is best described as mediocre. The sound quality is poor, and the framerate is capped to a jerky 15fps.