Nokia may have thrown in the towel when it comes to Symbian, but the company doesn’t seem to have any plans to stop producing Symbian based handsets any time soon. While the company is expected to come out with its first Windows Phone based device soon, it continues to churn out fresh models based on the legacy Symbian OS. Symbian as you might be aware has gone through a lot of updates of late in a last ditch attempt to make it somewhat contemporary to the likes of iOS and Android. The latest update termed “Anna” was issued recently and can be seen doing duty on most recently released Symbian based handsets.
However, as made evident by Nokia, they do not have any intention to pull the plug on Symbian anytime soon; which is why the three newest handsets from the company are based on this platform. There is one major difference though. All these phones would be running an even more updated version of Symbian called “Belle”.
The three new handsets in question are the Nokia 600, 701 and the 700. These devices might as well be considered the successor to the recently launched, Symbian based Nokia 500.
The Nokia 600 is an entry level Symbian handset boasting on a 3.2 inch display with a resolution of 640*360 (which remains unchanged). This phone is claimed to be the loudest smartphone made by Nokia so far. This should be interesting to see once we do get a unit for review. The phone also gets an FM transmitter. Also, the FM antenna is housed inside the phone – so no need to connect headphones just to listen to radio.
Under the hood, there is a 1 GHz processor doing the number crunching. The phone gets 2GB of internal memory with the option of expanding it up to another 32 GB using micro SD cards. The phone weighs in at 100grams which we think is an acceptable weight for a phone in its class.
For all you shutterbugs on the move, you should be content with a 5 megapixel shooter at the back complete with LED flash and a plethora of camera modes. The same unit doubles up as your HD video recorder with its capability to record and playback 720p videos. The phone offers 15 hours of talktime on GSM which is impressive.
The 600 will start shipping sometime in Q3, 2011 and is priced at 180 Euros without taxes.
Next up is the slightly more upscale Nokia 701. This handset is larger than the 600 and boasts of a better, larger IPS display. The resolution however remains the same. This one too gets a 1 GHz processor along with support for most connectivity options any self-respecting smartphone could have these days. The display apart from being IPS in nature also boasts of Clear Black technology. Another claim by Nokia is the fact that this is the phone with the brightest screen around (when measured in nits).
The phone also gets a dedicated GPU that should be good for graphic intensive tasks like 3D gaming. At the rear, the phone gets a better 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash. There is 8GB of on board memory. The battery on this one is rated for amazing 17 hours of talk time which should see you through even the busiest of days without recharge. That said, it remains to be seen how good the battery is if you remain connected to the Interne all day long.
The 701 would be launched in Q3 2011 for a price of 290 Euros.
The third device to be launched is the Nokia 700. This is a tiny smartphone – the smallest ever made by Nokia. It gets a 3.2 inch nHD display that uses AMOLED technology along with a gorilla glass coating. The device gets a 5 megapixel camera at the back – similar to the one on the Nokia 600. There is 2GB of onboard memory and the option to use micro SD cards. This phone too makes use of a 1GHz processor and has an NFC chip built in (which the 600 too has).
Like the other two phones, the 700 too would make its debut sometime in Q3, 2011 for an expected price of 270 Euros without taxes.
