Camera Phones Plaza

Nowadays phones are great looking and extremely gifted, with touch screens, 5 megapixel, 8 megapixel, 12 megapixel cameras, all sorts of ports, the pick of mobile phones technological evolution could just be considered now (sure, we get everyday new phones with new features, but then again "now" will be tomorrow, or the week after, depending when you are reading the article). Putting aside, small disadvantages like a phone with 5 megapixel camera and not with 8 megapixel camera, or the lack of 3.5 mm audio jack and all these small problems, what could be considered the main disadvantage of today's middle end and high end phones (beside the price tag)?

The main disadvantage of mobile phones is the vulnerability. If you are an active person, you like outdoors and all the activity that goes with the outdoor environment, then your phone is a sure victim. However, Nokia developed in early stages a phone (which run even Symbian), but it was discontinued because of the bad sales (Nokia fault because first of all did not branded the phone, and second of all it was not correctly marketed). After a serious rebranding (that still goes on, and from serious reports will mostly go one until 2011) of its N series, E series, classic series Xpress Music series, and the new X series, Nokia (with divine intervention) re-launched its activity series (if we can call it that) with the new 3720 classic. Yes, you read correctly "classic" branding for an activity phone.

This means only one thing, the 3720 classic will go down in history as a new Nokia's management victim. Turning our attention to the 3720 classic, the first thing to notice is a nice looking design for a tough phone. Curve lines, nice materials, and an overall design that matches the 6700 classic. As you already imagined, this phone is not about how many features can include under the case, but more about toughness. Therefore you get a few main disadvantages, such as lack of 3G, no multi tasking, no office document viewer, memory card slot under the battery and other.

The 3720 classic provides rubber as the main material used on the back cover and all around the sides. The overall feeling provided by the 3720 classic is good. You don't get any flex or noises from the build. Above the display, the 3720 classic sports the earpiece, while bellow the display you can find the four way directional keys with the centered OK button. Just on the right of the pad you get a customizable soft key and the end call button, while on the other side you get another customizable soft key and the call button. Below the navigational keys, you get the actual keyboard. The keys are made out of plastic with the bridges between them filled with isolating rubber. Both navigational keys and keyboard are good built and offer a solid feeling while using them.

The 3720 classic sports keys and ports only on the right side and on the bottom side of the phone. The top and left side the phone lacks any input features. On the right side, you get the volume controls (not physical keys, more rather covered with rubber intuitive controls). On the bottom side, you get under a plastic cap the micro USB port, the charger port, and the 2.5 mm audio jack. Overall, Nokia 3720 classic seems quite waterproof. On the back cover, in the upper center you get the 2 megapixel camera lens (on the right of the camera you have a LED flash and on the left the loudspeaker). The battery cover is secured with a metal screw.

The dimensions and weight include the 3720 classic in the average range. With a height of 115 mm, wide of 47 mm, deep of 15.3 mm, the 3720 classic weights about 94 g. therefore, it is easy to slide in every pocket and heavy enough to feel if you have it on you or if you lost it somewhere on the mountain. The phone runs in the 2G network (GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900) and that's about it. It lacks 3G connection. The phone comes with a 2.2 inches TFT display with up to 16 million colors, and a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels.

The QVGA display performs surprisingly well in broad daylight, keeping the screen readable. The Nokia 3720 classic runs with, the common by now, S40 user interface 6^th edition because of the small processor included. Nokia equipped the 3720 classic with a small processor and random access memory, in order to diminish the internal hardware dimensions and create good isolation to cover it. As you already know, the S40 is somewhat customizable, easy to use (you might call it user friendly) and the most important, it is intuitive (in comparison with the S60 user interface). One of the most used features (beside the basic ones) is the music player.

The 3720 classic music player is standard like in any other S40 phones. However, it will allow you to jog or hike while listening to your playlists. The connectivity department is ensured by the Class 11 GPRS, HSCSD, EDGE Class 11, micro USB 2.0 connectivity, and the 2.1 Bluetooth with A2DP. Nokia ships the 3720 classic with a 2 megapixel digital camera, with a resolution up to 1600 x 1200 pixels, and a LED flash. Also the 3720 classic can record videos at a horrible resolution of QCIF with only 15 frames per second (welcome back 2004).

Nokia included in the shipping box, beside the 3720 classic headset, the battery, 1 GB micro SD card, NO USB cable, a mandatory charger and a 2.5 mm one piece hands free. The battery included, is a standard Lithium Ion battery with 1050 mAh, BL 5CT model. The standby time offered by this battery goes up to 408 hours, while the talk time is at most 7 hours. For an average consumer, all these values mean at most three days battery life. Overall, the Nokia 3720 classic provides good features for a tough phone. When you need this kind of a phone you can't expect great features. However, the 3720 classic delivers exactly what it is suppose to, a tough phone for outdoor activities.