Nokia 6300

The Nokia 6300 runs on Nokia's enhanced S40 user interface. The difference between that and the un-enhanced S40 user interface on the 6133, is this runs on less memory.

The 6300 is a very usable device. But it is not as capable as it might have been.

Here are the specifications:

Volume: 56 cc
Weight: 91 g
Length: 106.4 mm
Width: 43.6mm
Thickness (max): 13.1mm

It's over four inches long and under two inches wide. That is in its favor. Much of that footprint is eaten up by colorful and fairly vibrant LCD. So, large screen, decent size, not too heavy. It's thin, it's stainless steel. That's all good.

+5/5 points for physicality

Mobile Bands

6300 - GSM/EDGE coverage (900/1800/1900)
6300b - GSM/EDGE coverage (850/1800/1900)

Triband GSM coverage is all that is available. If you pick up one of these that started life in Hong Kong don't try to use on AT&T because in some areas AT&T uses 850 MHz and the Asia/Europe models are going to be set to 900 MHz. How will you know if you have one of those Hong Kong sourced handsets? When you scroll to Language in the settings you'll have three choices. English, Chinese, and Simplified Chinese. Handsets sourced from Europe will probably have a larger selection and one that is more focused on Latin/Cyrillic alphabet languages.

+2.5/5 being able to use it for making phone calls

Media

2 megapixel camera with 8x zoom
Full screen viewfinder
Video recorder and player
Music player supporting MP3, MP4, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, H.263, H.264
FM stereo radio
Java: MIDP 2.0
Macromedia Flash Lite 2.0 for richer digital content

This is a pretty good line up. The 2 megapixel camera is a good performer in outdoor light and in many indoor situations. Take a moment to adjust the white balance to get very pleasing skin tones under fluorescent lights. Video is limited to a small size that does not come close to filling the 240 x 320 screen. The amount of compression used, even on high quality, leads to a lot of artifacts in the images. This is mobile phone video the way you remember it being, not the way you wish it was. The radio is excellent. Games run on it without incident.

+4/5 for media

No Thanks for the Memory

Up to 7.8 MB internal user memory
microSD card up to 2GB

This is almost as small as the memory in the 6103, It will not allow you to move copyrighted material on the phone to the memory card to free up additional space on the phone. Limits Internet and MMS profiles. You change SIMs frequently? Watch out!

+2 for memory

So, this phone ends up with a 13.5/20 for standard stuff. But, there is more to it than that.

Not All Is Doom and Gloom

If you do not push your handsets to their limits you could grow attached to the 6300.

It has a very subtle glow to it when you receive a call or a text.
The speaker phone, not the clearest on the planet is loud enough to use in the car.
The wired headset jack is the Nokia 2.5 standard jack and not the Pop-Port. The typeface is very easy to read and is large enough even for middle aged eyes like mine.

If you want a nice looking and fully functional phone for a 1900 MHz network any of these 6300 handsets will work. These are fairly common on eBay. In the coming months as the 6301 model (see my guide to that as well) begins to become more common the 6300/6300b will begin to drop in price. If you need to use one on an 850 MHz network make sure it is a 6300b that has the 850 MHz band.

Very good transection. telephone in exellent condition. I recomend it to eny body. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

this cell phone is in good condition,works and functions as it should this is phone worth buying and would make a great gift.
camera on the phone could have been better. the screen or the icons should have been bigger but all the same its small and designed to be slim and used for whats its needed for the wi-fi i can't complain internet in a hot spot while on the go!
technology has come a long way and still moving forward the question is whats next.

It is one of the best phone ever made.............................................................................................................