Samsung seems to be pretty successful with low-cost smartphones such as the Samsung Corby S3650 or the Samsung B3410. Such smartphones cost a little more than EUR 100.00 without contract and offer a touchscreen, mobile internet access for instant messaging and social networking services such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and sometimes even a real QWERTZ keyboard which makes typing messages and status updates easier. The Nokia 6760 slide is another example of this phone line. With purchase prices beginning above EUR 200.00 without contract at German web stores it is more expensive than the Samsung B3410, but it offers a broad range of features as you can read in this review.

Impressive Software Package

For example, you’d be surprised by the software package installed on the Nokia 6760 slide: There is the web browser Opera Mini with Flash support, Quickoffice for reading and editing Word, Excel and Powerpoint files, a PDF viewer by Adobe and an organizer with contacts and calendar on Ovi. The email client (POP3 or IMAP) is compatible with the Nokia email push service which – according to Nokia at CeBIT this week – will show HTML mails soon. The Nokia 6760 slide is also one of the phones which will be delivered with the new free navigation service Ovi Maps by Nokia. Ovi Maps offers turn by turn navigation and can be used online or offline in 180 countries so that the user can avoid high roaming charges when getting directions outside of his or her home country. More apps can be downloaded from the Nokia Ovi store after having activated the Ovi store access on the phone.

The Nokia 6760 slide also sports a sliding QWERTZ keyboard for writing messages or status updates, shortcuts for opening the web browser or the email client, SMS and MMS, the Windows Live messenger and several icons for social networking services such as Facebook, MySpace and Friendster. You get the idea: The smartphone covers all communication needs and is made for keeping in touch with your friends on the way. So that you can do that in a convenient way, the Nokia 6760 slide supports data transfers with GPRS, EDGE, UMTS and HSDPA speed with up to 3.6 mbps (download). The smartphone does also allow tethering. Unfortunately, just like the Samsung Corby S3650 the Nokia 6760 slide does not support WiFi for free internet access at hotspots.

The Weaknesses of the Nokia 6760 Slide

Because of the small, low-resolution screen browsing or watching YouTube videos on the Nokia 6760 slide is not really fun. Also, picture and video quality of the 3.2-megapixel camera must be assessed as poor. There is neither an auto-focus nor a flash. At least, the music player and the FM radio offer a reasonable sound quality, stereo sound on a bluetooth headset and a 2.5-millimeter headset jack for the bundled headset. For saving photos, videos and songs the phone is delivered with a 2-GB microSD card.

Despite the small size of the the Nokia 6760 slide, the smartphone’s QWERTZ keyboard is well-sized which makes it easy to type in longer emails, messages or other kinds of text. The smartphone is also very responsive and navigating it is fast. However, don’t expect the ease of use as on the Nokia N97 or the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. For example, the menu and the navigation keys are crammed into one tiny area.

Product Summary of the Nokia 6760 slide:
Operating System: Symbian S60 3rd Edition, Version 9.3
GSM Networks: 850, 900, 1,800, 1,900 MHz
Data Transfer: GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA 3.6 mbps
Connectivity: Bluetooth (A2DP), USB
Screen: 2.4-inch Touchscreen with 240 x 320 pixels resolution and 16.7 million colors
Keyboard: QWERTZ
Camera: 2,048 x 1,536 pixels with video capture (240 x 320 pixels, 15 f/s)
Other: Media Player with 2.5-mm headset jack, A-GPS with Ovi Maps 3.01
Storage: 8 GB microSD
Size: 97,6 x 58 x 15,6 mm
Weight: 124 g
Speaking Time: 5 hrs (GSM) or 4 hrs (UMTS)

Read more about the Nokia 6760 slide at www.teltarif.de (in German).