Nokia 3250 Review - a phone with a twist

Today Nokia introduced its newest music phone - the Nokia 3250. The Symbian smartphone has a unique twisting design - the traditional phone keypad can be transformed into a dedicated music player keypad. To store the music files, the phone uses microSD (TransFlash) card slot, it supports up to 1GB cards.

The Nokia 3250 comes as a successor of the popular 3230 model. It's good to see that the most criticized flaw of the 3230 has been fixed - the new phone has high quality stereo music player and also comes with a standard 3.5 mm audio jack. The camera is upgraded to 2 megapixels and now can be used in landscape mode thanks to the twisting design. The other upgrades include - a better display, a newer version of the Symbian Series 60 OS and a faster EDGE connectivity.

The triband GSM 900/1800/1900 model is expected to start shipping in the first quarter 2006 with an estimated retail price of 350 EUR before subsidies or taxes.

Also today Nokia introduced "Nokia XpressMusic", a dedicated feature brand that makes it easy for consumers to identify mobile devices that ensure the best mobile music experience. The Nokia XpressMusic logo will begin appearing on sales packages and promotion materials for music-optimized Nokia devices starting with the shipment of the Nokia N91 and Nokia 3250. To warrant the Nokia XpressMusic mark, the device must meet a number of music-specific criteria, including:

Great audio quality
Dedicated key(s) for fast and easy access to the music collection
Play, talk and play - music pauses when a call comes in, resumes when the call has ended
Use any headphones for listening with standard 3.5mm jack
Extended battery time (minimum of 10 hours for music)
Substantial storage for large number of songs
Create and edit playlists on the go
USB 2.0 support for fast and easy transfer of your music
Wide support of audio formats, including MP3, M4A, WMA, AAC and eAAC+
Easy access to over-the-air music downloads



Nokia press release

Nokia 3250: A music phone with a twist.

Music-driven mobile phone features dedicated music keys, storage for up to 750 songs

Berlin, Germany/Espoo, Finland - The Nokia 3250, Nokia's newest music phone, grabbed the spotlight of Nokia Trends, an electronic music festival that took place in Berlin, Germany this weekend. This unique design twists to transform a traditional phone keypad into dedicated music keys. The Nokia 3250 stores up to 1 Gigabyte (750 songs) of high quality music and offers 10 hours of music play. In addition, consumers can take advantage of the Nokia 3250's two-megapixel camera and smartphone capabilities. The triband GSM 900/1800/1900 model is expected to start shipping in the first quarter 2006 with an estimated retail price of 350 EUR before subsidies or taxes.

By twisting the Nokia 3250 keypad 180 degrees, consumers can toggle between the music controls and the traditional phone keypad. The music player of the Nokia 3250 supports a wide array of digital music formats such as MP3, WMA, M4A and AAC, making it easy to load and transfer music. Additionally, songs can be downloaded over-the-air while on the go and favourite songs can be set as ringtones. The Nokia 3250 supports microSD memory cards of up to 1 Gigabyte with storage capacity for up to 750 songs. An FM radio with Visual Radio client complements the Nokia 3250's complete music package.

Drag and drop to manage your music
Using the Nokia Audio Manager software, users can convert their favourite CDs into digital music files, and "drag and drop" their personal music collections and favorite playlists directly from their computer. Headphones can be connected to the Nokia 3250 via the 3.5mm connector of the Nokia Stereo Headset-HS-20, making the list of available enhancements even longer. For the best audio experience, Nokia is working to ensure that the Nokia 3250 is compatible with a number of accessories from industry leading brands



General Network GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900
Announced 2005, September
Status Coming Soon
Size Dimensions 103.8 x 50 x 19.8 mm
Weight 115 g
Display Type TFT, 256K colors
Size 176 x 208 pixels (34.8 x 41.1mm)
- Downloadable screensavers,
wallpapers

Ringtones Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Customization Download
Vibration Yes
Memory Phonebook Advanced
Call records Yes
Card slot microSD (TransFlash) (up to 1GB)
- 10 MB internal memory
Features OS Symbian OS v9.1, Series 60 rel. 3.0
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots)
Data speed 236.8 kbps (EDGE), up to 62.4 kbps (GPRS)
Messaging SMS, MMS, EMail, Instant Messaging
Clock Yes
Alarm Yes
Infrared port No
Games Punkwigs, Snakes + downloadable
Colors Black, Green, Pink, Silver
Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QCIF)
- Bluetooth
- EDGE Class 10
- Push to Talk
- Java MIDP 2.0
- Stereo MP3/AAC player
- HTML/xHTML browser
- WAP 2.0
- Stereo FM radio
- Visual radio
- Standard 3.5 mm stereo headphones jack
- T9
- PIM functions
- Voice dial/memo
- USB port
- Pop-port interface
- Built-in handsfree
Battery Standard battery, Li-Ion 1100 mAh (BP-6M)
Stand-by Up to 245 h
Talk time Up to 3 h

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