Review: Nokia 6600 Slide

Nokia 6600 Slide Review

Phone rating:

In a nutshell: The Nokia 6600 Slide is a slide design 3G phone with an excellent 3.2 megapixel camera and a large hi-res OLED display. It offers video calling, an MP3 player, an FM radio, expandable memory and Bluetooth. You can even silence the phone just by giving it a tap. Battery life could be better, but overall this is an excellent mid-range product if you're looking for an easy-to-use phone without some of the more advanced features.
Best buy: *Free* with half-price line rental from Dialaphone or Mobiles.co.uk or direct from Three; or £169.99 on PAYG from Three.

You might think that the Nokia 6600 Slide is an upgraded version of the 6500 Slide. But that would have been too obvious. In fact it has almost precisely the same list of features as the 6500 Slide, just a different design. Whereas the 6500 Slide was big, metallic and square, the 6600 Slide is compact, shiny and curvy. You could think of it as the feminine counterpart to the 6500 Slide. Although admittedly it doesn't really look very feminine in the glossy black finish pictured here. In fact it looks like a miniature N96.

It's quite a bit smaller and lighter than the 6500 Slide, but still quite heavy to hold. We're aren't sure why, as the casing is plastic and the battery isn't that powerful. The keys are quite small too, so watch out if you have extra large fingers. However the screen is a good size (2.2 inches) and is a beautiful OLED display with 16 million colours and QVGA resolution - it's a stunner in fact. You'll need to watch out for fingerprints on the glossy finish, but apart from that we have no complaints about the way the 6600 Slide looks. Build quality could be a bit more solid, and we wouldn't recommend dropping it from a great height onto a hard surface.

The camera is better than average, with 3.2 megapixels, autofocus and a double LED flash. It produces excellent quality results, very similar to the 6500 Slide in fact. It's also got a competent video camera that can record in VGA resolution, and can make video calls. The media player is very good too, with support for all the main file formats, plus an FM radio too. The built-in memory is rather sad - just 20 MB - but Nokia have provided a 512 MB memory card in the sales package, which is enough for around 125 MP3 tracks, or a couple of hundred songs in AAC format. You can always replace this with your own card if you want more storage space, and in fact the 6600 Slide will accept microSD memory cards right up to a whopping 16 GB.

The phone is a competent internet device, with 3G for fast downloads (although no HSDPA), the excellent Opera Mini browser, plus Macromedia Flash Lite 3.0 installed. That beautiful big screen is a treat for viewing websites as well as photos or videos. Email is supported, with attachments, but no attachment editor - this is no BlackBerry after all. There's no GPS, but Nokia Maps is installed, so you can find your way around, provided that you already know where you are!

One nice feature that's new in the 6600 Slide is the ability to respond to touch. By tapping the phone, you can silence the ring or reject a call, and you can also tap the phone to silence the alarm. This is definitely a step up from the 6500 Slide - users were more likely to whack that phone in frustration rather than give it a gentle tap!

We hesitate to say that the 6600 Slide is an upgrade to the 6500 Slide. It's really more like Nokia decided to have another go at exactly the same phone, but do it differently. It does look quite different, and we like it. We like it being smaller and lighter too. We love the tap feature. We're less keen on the battery life, and we're going to warn heavy users to avoid this phone. Most people shouldn't have a problem though. Overall it's a nice phone, but not an outstanding one. It's clearly aimed at buyers who aren't looking for every latest feature, but are willing to sacrifice some of the more high-tech functions in return for a phone that's easier to use. The price reflects this too - it's positioned as a mid-range phone, and you should be able to pick it up on some medium priced contracts.

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Features of the Nokia 6600 Slide include:

• 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, double LED flash and 8x digital zoom
• Video camera (VGA, 15 fps / QCIF, 30 fps) with 4x digital zoom
• 3G video calling (QCIF resolution, 15 fps)
• Display: 16.7 million colours, 320 x 240 pixels (2.2 inches)
• Music player (MP3, MP4, AAC, eAAC+, and WMA formats)
• FM radio with Visual Radio (get info about music played)
• 64-voice polyphonic ringtones / Video, MP3, eAAC+ and AAC ringtones
• Voice commands and recording
• Push to talk using volume key (Nokia PoC)
• Messaging: SMS, MMS, email (with support for attachments), instant messaging, audio messaging
• Themes with wallpapers and screensavers
• Java 2.0 games & applications
• Nokia Maps
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0, micro USB 2.0
• Memory: 20 Mbytes plus 512MB microSD memory card (expandable to 16 GB)
• Internet: WAP 2.0, GPRS, EDGE, 3G, xHTML web browser (Opera Mini browser), Macromedia Flash Lite 3.0
• Flight mode
• Quadband (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) plus dual band 3G (WCDMA 850/2100)
• Size: 90 x 45 x 14 mm
• Weight: 110g
• Talktime: 3 hours (3G) - 4 hours (2G)
• Battery standby: 240 hours

Nokia 6600 Slide Consumer Reviews

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Average rating from 23 reviews:

Reviewed by yas from uk on 28th Dec 2008
bad phone.. aint good keeps switichin off freezez alot signal is no good on any network bit boring..actually
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Reviewed by S from UK on 27th Dec 2008
This is just a note about frustrated Alarm users. You can set AM or PM. This OS uses the 24 hour clock for setting the alarm. So instead of 8.26pm type in 20.26. Hey presto. Nokia aren't stupid to not let you specify the time of day. P.S. I like it loads and I've had a pick of supposedly excellent SEs and Samsungs!
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Reviewed by Puneet from UK on 22nd Dec 2008
Rubbish phone. 'Upgraded' from a SE K800i to this one and am very dissappointed. Main features I wanted were an easy to use phone, a few games (free of cost of course!) and a decent camera. The 6600 slide scores a zilch for all these. Phone calls keep getting disconnected automatically, speaker volume is really weak, vibrations virtually non-existent, not easy to text as the phone is really small and the keys don't stay illuminated for more than a few seconds, no proper free games included (cf. SE K800i which has atleast 3-4 interesting games included with the handset i.e. no need to download), the camera resolution is pathetic and the so-called "double" LED flash is very weak. Photos therefore invariably blurry when shooting indoors or in low light.
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Reviewed by ! from ? on 20th Dec 2008
i have never had this phone but my friend said she started crying cus it broke and she payed lots for it so be careful when you by this phone!
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Reviewed by Rampant Rabbiter from UK on 9th Dec 2008
For Liv - I don't own the 6600 Slide but I do own the 6500 Slide and had the exact same problem with the time of messages received. They were always an hour out of sync. This is because you always need to alter your timezone (for daylight saving or travelling to another country) instead of the actual time. So if your messages are displaying as received an hour late, alter your timezone to the one before it. For example, if it's currently set to GMT+1 then change it to GMT. When our clocks go forward, you need to apply the same rule - alter the timezone and not the actual time because you will get the same problem again. Hope this helped! (I hope the editors print this - I know it's not a review of the actual phone, but unfortunately there was no e-mail address provided by Liv, therefore this is the only way I can help! I've given the phone 4 stars based on appearance and features list - looks pretty good but not keen on going from my solid, metal 6500 to the plastic casing of the 6600!)
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Reviewed by ? from UK on 8th Dec 2008
Good phone, good camera. All round good phone. One main moan volume very low.
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Reviewed by Abir GayAhmad from Newcastle upon Tyne, kENTON on 7th Dec 2008
This is an excellent phone. I love it.
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Reviewed by prakash from uk on 26th Nov 2008
phone is good . ringtones very week. cannot hear phone ringing.volume also very low even when at maximum.would not recomend to others.
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Reviewed by Liv from uk on 26th Nov 2008
Just got this phone yesturday and i really like it! I do agree with opinions one the vibration- very weak! I have noticed that when i receive messages it says a receive them an hour after i did. ive looked at my time and its correct. can anyone help?
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Reviewed by Freefaller from UK on 26th Nov 2008
I had high hopes for this phone but was sadly disappointed. I might have a dodgy one, but I find the volume FAR too low for my liking. The ringtones are very weak, if you have the phone in your pocket it is very easy to miss a call because it it hard to hear it, and the vibration is almost non-existant, so you can't even 'feel' the phone ringing. I also think that the 'in call' volume is too low. I have raised the volume to the maximum, ( by pressing 'up' on the D pad when I am receiving a call ), but still find it difficult to hear the caller. I've just received a text message as I write this review, and I didn't hear the message tone or feel it vibrate, it is THAT bad !
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Reviewed by Binu George from Saudi Arabia on 25th Nov 2008
Altogether the phone is good. However, I noticed a problem with the poor quality tone & drop call..
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Reviewed by LG from UK on 20th Nov 2008
The tap feature on the phone didn't work and it kept on accessing the internet all by itself without me touching the menu buttons. And back it has gone.
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Reviewed by Andreas from UK on 19th Nov 2008
This phone looks great and promises so much but crazy decisions by nokia make this phone one to avoid. My biggest gripe has to be the ridiculously weak vibration, making 'silent' mode a waste of time. Pros: Voice Clarity, Looks great, Good Camera, Sleek, Small, Light, Radio, Menu. Cons: Finger print magnet, Speaker at the back, so if its on a table u wont hear it as well Very weak vibration, you will miss alot of calls as you can hardly feel it, Backlight is a pain as it only stays on for about 15seconds! Low ringing tones. Can't send mp3 via bluetooth to the phone. D-pad not great.
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Reviewed by Jason from UK on 18th Nov 2008
Good phone but placed speaker in a rediculous place so when phone is on a desk you cannot hear the ringtone.
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Reviewed by Chris Portman from Switzerland on 14th Nov 2008
Lovely little phone - horrible selection of ringtones suitable for early teens.
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Reviewed by Jillian Lomas from Coventry, UK on 12th Nov 2008
Good points: good looking, lightweight, good size, userfriendly, great camera. Bad points: weak vibration
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Reviewed by jamal from U.K on 10th Nov 2008
this is the best phone you can ever get the cameras amazing i dont know why everyones complaining about the backlight i mean it might not satay on for too long but its still good
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Reviewed by Peter from England on 3rd Nov 2008
Fantastic phone, much better than all my previous sony ericsson. A big plus for reception, camera, clarity, menu, looks, battery. Thumbs down for 15second backlight timeout, weak vibration and not the loudest of ringing tones.
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Reviewed by Mara from Wales on 31st Oct 2008
I recieved this phone as un upgrade. I was impressed with the looks, sleek and black not too big, a little heavy but ok. But I was NOT impressed with the duration of the backlight. 10 seconds!!! It might seem like a long time but its not. what ever you were doing with the phone the backlight would switch off the screen would go black, you'd press a button for the light to go back on and end up pressing the wrong button and cancelling out what you are doing, the first phone would switch itself off completely and I had to remove the battery before it would let me switch it back on, the replacement had the same backlight issue. Extremely frustrating if you were playing a game or trying to access the internet. I am now waiting for a replacement phone of the samsung soul, I will wait and see if this one is any good
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Reviewed by Marjo from United States on 29th Oct 2008
so this phone doesn't let you configure the alarm to AM or PM? ive have it for one day. and why does the phone states (on the alarm side) "several selected" when i only selected five days for it to alarm?
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Reviewed by Eddie from Hong Kong on 24th Sep 2008
High Quality Mobile "So Cool"!
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Reviewed by sturt from america on 24th Sep 2008
very awesome mobile
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Reviewed by Scott from England on 10th Sep 2008
Hi Great Phone Wonderful Well Done Nokia
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You can read more Nokia 6600 Slide reviews at RecommendedBuys UK.

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