Amazon.com Product Description

With Bluetooth, expandable MultiMediaCard memory, an FM radio, and support for EDGE high speed data, streaming video and video recording, the Nokia 6230 is a svelte powerhouse. For mobile Internet users and those who crave high end features, this phone delivers all the goodies in a tidy, unassuming package.

Design

Click the image to get a closer look at the 6230's features.

At first glance, the 6230 looks like just another candybar phone from Nokia. Looks can be deceiving, though, as this phone packs a lot under the hood. The large 128 x 128 pixels TFT color display dominates the front of the phone and a five-way button just below it controls most of the phone's menus and features. The phone's 8 MB internal memory can be expanded using the MMC card slot located in the battery compartment (the phone ships with a 32MB card). Charging and data ports are placed on the phone's bottom edge. The 6230 also features a standard 2.5mm stereo headphone jack. The 6230 uses an internal antenna-- nothing to snag or break off. The VGA camera unit is housed on the back of the phone. Up/down volume keys are located on the left side. Finally, Nokia provides optional changeable faceplates for the 6230.

Calling Features
The 6230 boasts some powerful calling functions that make it a perfect part of a mobile office. A speakerphone makes it easy to converse without touching the handset-- a big plus for car users. Enhanced voice dialing supports voice controlled dialing of up to 25 contacts. There are also 16 built-in voice commands for controlling the phone's menus. Because the 6230 is Bluetooth enabled, wireless headsets can be configured with the phone for total handsfree operation. The phone supports Cingular's "Fast Forward" call forwarding device, which enables you to effortlessly forward your wireless calls to your land line phone.

The 6230's internal and expandable flash memory can be used to hold up to 1000 contacts for quick access to email addresses and phone numbers. The phone lets you easily assign pictures to your most common callers. In addition to vibrating alerts, the phone supports polyphonic ringtones as well as MP3 ringers, allowing you to use portions of your favorite songs to alert you to incoming calls. Ringtones and pictures can be assigned to various incoming callers. Twenty-four ringtones come preloaded on the phone and more ringtones can be downloaded from Cingular's MEdia wireless web service.

Messaging, Internet and Tools
The 6230 is a top contender in the messaging and wireless Internet arena. Support is built in for sending and receiving pictures, text, graphics, sound and video via messages. When used in combination with the phone's built-in still and video camera, MMS opens up a whole new world of messaging fun. Instant messaging is also supported via AOL instant messenger and the phone ships with a built-in email client with POP3, IMAP4 and SMTP protocols support (Cingular messaging charges apply). There's also a built-in web browser for MEdia downloads and mobile web browsing. Cingular's MEdia service lets you receive and send emails, read news headlines, get weather updates, download games and ringtones, and more. T9 text entry, which is a technology that makes it easier for people to enter words and text on handsets, is built into the unit-- a plus for mobile email and text messaging users.

Getting on the Internet is easy with the 6230. It supports the GPRS protocol, as well as the new, high speed EDGE data protocol. When used with a Cingular data plan and the phone's Bluetooth or USB data capability, the phone can be used as a wireless modem for laptops and PDAs.

A number of handy software tools are bundled with the 6230 including a voice memo recorder, a calculator with unit and currency converters, a calendar with monthly views, a to-do list with priority levels, and an alarm clock with snooze. Via download on its Web site, Nokia offers a free application called PC Suite that facilitates easy synchronization of contacts, calendar events and other data between the phone and your PC. Synchronization is possible using Bluetooth or a USB data cable.

Imaging and Entertainment
Because the 6230 shines in the entertainment department. The phone's VGA camera can capture stills and video, both of which can be sent to your friends via MMS messaging or email, or to your PC via USB or Bluetooth. An included image-editing application lets you modify the pictures you take before you send them. Three minutes of video capture is possible with the 6230 as is streaming video, so long as you have a data service that supplies video content. With an optional stereo headset, you can listen to tunes on the phone's built-in FM radio or to MP3 or AAC audio files stored on a memory card. The phone also supports custom themes and wallpapers.

Java support is built into the 6230, making it a powerful gaming companion for both online and offline games. The phone ships with two games, Beach Rally II, Golf. Multiplayer gaming via Bluetooth is supported and more games are available via the Cingular MEdia service.

Vital Statistics
The Nokia 6230 weighs 3.42 ounces and measures 4.06 x 1.73 x 0.79 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 4 hours of digital talk time, and up to 9.4 days of digital standby time. It runs on the 800/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS frequencies. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty.

What's in the Box
Nokia 6230 handset, battery charger, lithium-ion battery. ... Read more

Features

• Supports streaming video and audio
• Support for high speed EDGE data networks
• Integrated VGA camera/camcorder
• 65,000-color TFT display
• Bluetooth wireless technology

Reviews (35)

A phone that has just about everything.
This phone is great!It is bluetooth enabled, it's small and easy to use. The phone takes pretty good quality pictures and it has video recording for up to 15 sec. and it has a radio! It's an awesome phone. If you want a reliable and fun phone this is the one to have.

Excellent Phone
I bought this phone after reading through the reviews at Amazon. I am very content with this. The pros of this phone have been extensively discussed in the older reviews. I would like to re-iterate them anyway

pros

1.excellent call reception relative to my old t610 (i switched carriers as well, so it could vary based on your location)
2.good speakerphone - loud and clear
3.nice decent camera (in my opinion - people should go for a digital camera if they need hi-resoultion photos)
4.small and sleek, lightweight
5.nice big display, even visible in bright sun-light
6.bluetooth is cool - you dont have to pay anything to use this. if you have a bluetooth adapter (in your computer),you can connect your cellphone through the adapter. you can copy *any* mp3 - downloaded from *anywhere* and use it as ringtone - absolutely ***no extra cost** to pay to cingular. not jst mp3 - you can copy pictures, games and other applications downloaded from internet - just google it.

(if you need bluetooth adapterd for computer, check out DBT-120 from Dlink. There are other adapters too. So this is just a suggestion)

cons

1.back cover of cellphone feels fragile. wish it was more sturdy
2.joystick little clumpsy - i still have to learn to use it. it is 5-way, but getting to click the center is difficult. you might click 'up' or 'down' instead of 'center' especially if you have a larger thumb
3.Nice to have feature like 'customizable ring-tones for specific callers' is not available

Good Phone with Features for Borderline Nerd
I use the bluetooth feature to transfer music, images, videos between my phone and my laptop.If you have Windows XP SP 2 on your computer, you must disable its Bluetooth software and use the software for your bluetooth device.There's a guide that helps you on the net, just google it.The latest Nokia software suite will let you manage your memory card and application installation from your computer.I also use it to connect to the internet either through cable (133kbps bandwidth entire connection with Cingular MediaWorks) or bluetooth (54kbps bandwidth).Please note that this is not the rate that you are connected to internet, but the rate that you are connected to thephone, internet connection is more like 16-40k, close to 56k modem.Enough to browse emails.Ok, enough about this.

Pros:
1. Good features: bluetooth, memory card, music player, FM player
2. Small, Sturdy, buttons soft.
3. Signals are pretty good.
4. Camera takes good pictures.

Cons:
1. Speakerphone died within a month.
2. Screen too small.
3. Hard to open back plate, latch is not intuitive.
4. Battery life is fair.

Love it!
of course I bought this phone 5-7-05, so I don't really have that much info on it.If you're not into "exploring" the features of this phone, you're in for a lot of fun.This is not user friendly. .. even after reading the instructions in the manuel.On the other hand, this phone is packed w/ features I'm dying to try out. The camera quality is awesome and it's pretty sweet that you can have video w/ good sound quality! You can't zoom in to take a picture but you can zoom in on the picture after it is taken.You can rename the pictures. There aren't many ring tones so you're going to have to download though blue tooth... which is 3 cents per kb. So if you have a long song or picture that is 100kb.. that's $10.Yeah, it doesn't seem so bad - until you get the bill.
Phones tend to have problems w/in 3 months so I'll update this then.So far I'm very satisified and it beats the heck out of any motorola I have ever had! too bad I hate cingular. =(

-speaker phone works awesome
-I like how the pic of the person calling me is on the lower right of my wallpaper
-there is a calender with reminders of b-days, meetings, notes
-light phone (get a thumb crap from the small key pad)
-doens't look cheap

Missing the i
No doubt this is the classiest feature packed phone Nokia has. And I was all excited about buying at the cost of transferring my service from T-Mobile to Cingular. Then Nokia announced 6230i, removing all the drawbacks of the 6230 Eg: Bigger screen (208*208) as opposed to 128*128. A 32mb card (6230 has 8mb). and the camera res goes up from .3 Mp to 1.3 Mp!!! If u ask me im content with my ol faithful 8290 till some service provider releases the 6230i. Coz I cannot buy 6230 knowing theyve enhanced it, that too for a good reason. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

This update to the tried and true BlackBerry 7200 series adds support for Bluetooth, a brighter display, quad-band GSM and 32 MB of internal memory. This integrated phone, email client (with support for corporate email servers), organizer and web browser is the ultimate weapon for mobile professionals.

Design
The 7290 follows the standard BlackBerry form factor-- a large 240 x 160 color screen placed above a QWERTY thumbpad. The screen offers plenty of real estate to view your emails, web browser content, messaging sessions and attachments. The popular BlackBerry user interface is here, too, which makes it easy to navigate the phone's functions. A jog dial is located on the right side of the unit for quick scrolling through menus and emails. There's also a standard 2.5mm headset jack that can be used with the included headset. A removable lithium-ion battery is housed in the rear of the unit.

Calling Features
Many of the calling capabilities folks have come to expect in a wireless phone are present in the 7290. The unit's Bluetooth capability means you can use a wireless headset with the phone for handsfree calling. A vibrating alert, speed dial, and a contacts list/address book that is limited only by the unit's 32 MB of internal memory, are also included.

Messaging, Internet and Tools
The 7290 delivers the legendary BlackBerry email experience. With Cingular's BlackBerry service plans, you can receive emails instantaneously from up to 10 email accounts (personal and enterprise). With BlackBerry push technology, you don't need to retrieve your email. BlackBerry devices are designed to remain on and continuously connected to the wireless network, allowing you to be discreetly notified as new email arrives. Support is also built-in for viewing email attachments (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, WordPerfect, and PDF formats).

If your company has BlackBerry Enterprise Server installed, you can take advantage of the power of wireless calendar synchronization. Your calendar events are exchanged wirelessly and automatically so that your desktop calendar and BlackBerry device calendar are synchronized. All your Outlook meeting requests, changes, and updates are instantaneously synchronized with your desktop. Make meeting requests, invite new attendees and more, all on your 7290. Users without Enterprise Server support can manually sync with their desktop calendars and contacts via Bluetooth or USB using the included BlackBerry Desktop software.

Use the 7290's Web browser to access the Internet from the palm of your hand. Browse Web sites, get up-to-date stock quotes, read the latest news, check weather reports and more. Wireless text messaging is also supported by the 7290.

The 7290 ships with a number of tools, including a calculator with a unit converter, and a to-do list. The unit's software is based on the Java platform, meaning Java-compatible games and applications can be added to the device.

Vital Statistics
The RIM BlackBerry 7290 weighs 4.9 ounces and measures 4.5 x 2.9 x 0.9 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 4 hours of digital talk time, and up to 9 days of digital standby time. It runs on the 800/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS frequencies. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty.

What's in the Box
BlackBerry 7290 handset, travel charger, USB cable, battery, holster, hands-free headset, SIM card, BlackBerry Desktop software. ... Read more

Features

• Email, phone, browser, SMS, browser and organizer in a single handheld
• Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS compatibility for international roaming
• Bluetooth wireless technology
• Bright, backlit 240x160 display supporting over 65,000 colors
• Easy-to-use navigation trackwheel and intuitive menu interface

Reviews (16)

Blackberry 7290 - Cingular
I couldn't be happier with this Blackberry. Cingular service is clear and I live in an area that all cell phone companies have reception issues.I setup 4 email addresses and I receive mail from all 4 accounts seemlessly.What a great invention especially for those of us that need to be in email contact for business reasons.

Accidental disconnections
I am still learning all the 'wonderful' things that the Blackberry 7290 can do.For right now, I am using it mostly as a cell phone and to get email.

What I find annoying is the design of the trackwheel and side button.The side button -- which disconnects a phone call -- happens to be right where I would normally hold the phone.Result: I often inadvertently disconnect a call.Very maddening!

Works great with my corporate enterprise service
I have had no problems. Works great with my corporate "enterprise server". If your company supports this device for email, you will love it. I travel quite a bit and I now leave my laptop at home for daytrips (I bring my PPT presentations on a USB drive). I recommend the phone service as part of it. My co-workers had a separate phone and then switched to all on the BBerry (both phone and email)...it was more conveniant and he looked like a dork with two devices on his belt!

Using the phone is not as slick as a regular cell phone, but if you use your phone for 90% business like I do, the benefits od the enterprise server outweighs the negatives (e.g. being able to look up internal company numbers wirelessly through the enterprise server).

Motorola Bluetooth headset works well with this unit.

Cingular works fine for me (no worse than any other provider). I am in the Chicago area.

I haven't figured out how to add a separate instance of my personal email and contacts on the unit. I don't want to intermix them with my work contacts/email. I am pretty sure there is a way to accomplisg this, but I have not had the time to work through it.

I'm sold on this unit.

BlackBerry is a big JOKE & Cingular is the WORST
I spent over $90 per month for data and voice on Cingular's plan that claims "Rising the Bar", meaning their own own bank account!

Cingular is the biggest worst cellular provider with the worst reception. The BlackBerry just doesn't work, it is slow and the calls drops within 10 seconds of initiating any local or long distance calls!

I have been a celluar user for 20 years and Cingular was and still is the worst in customer service, reception quality, and just not worth a penny a call as they grab your attention with their roll-over minutes. I had over thousands of rolled-over minutes that I couldn't use, because their service just doesn't work.

I dropped Cingular and am using my BlackBerry to play games!
Don't waste your money, sign with another carrier (No Contract), other than Cingular, Cingular is the worst and BlackBerry still needs a lot of R&D to make it work.

Do NOT buy this if you are a single user...
PLEASE NOTE This unit does NOT synchronise fully with your desktop email program unless you are using it as part of a corporate network. After endless hours on the phone with cingular and blackberry tech support it transpires that you must buy an additional $3,000.00 server to make this unit synchronise effectively with Outlook or other desktop organizers.This is not as advertised! Furthermore, the instructions for the blackberry are completely inadequate as are the online help options. I am furious and have returned my blackberry to cingular for a full refund. ... Read more