Nokia X3-02 Touch and Type (Unlocked)
Despite Nokia's upcoming Windows Phone 7 transition, it's still churning out Symbian devices at a decent clip. The unlocked Nokia X3-02 Touch and Type ($145, direct) is the latest, with a refined, attractive form factor and good call quality. But like so many unlocked Nokia cell phones before it, there's little that makes the X3-02 stand out. And unfortunately, this one is worse than most in several key areas.
Design, Call Quality, and Apps
The X3-02's design is one of its best qualities—that is, if you appreciate small, slim phones, and don't need a QWERTY keyboard. The X3-02 measures 4.2 by 1.9 by 0.4 inches (HWD) and weighs just 2.8 ounces. It's made of good quality matte plastic, and comes in dark gray. At first glance, it's almost impossible to figure out how Nokia got the phone so small. And then it hits you: the zero key is off to the right, instead of below the other nine number keys. I never got used to this during the review period. Aside from that quirk, the numeric keypad is easy to dial numbers on, and I could text relatively quickly (T9-style). Thanks to its small dimensions and big buttons (hardware and touch), this phone is exceptionally easy to use one-handed.
The 2.4-inch, 240-by-320-pixel display is on the large side for a small phone. The plastic resistive display is bright and colorful, but Nokia's venerable font looked a little blocky. The haptic feedback was a misfire; it often trigged multiple times, even when I wasn't touching the screen. Worse still, during calls it triggered repeatedly, causing little vibration sensations on my cheek. Eventually I turned it off altogether.
The X3-02 is a quad-band EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) and quad-band HSDPA 7.2 (850/900/1900/2100 MHz) device with 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi. As with all unlocked Nokia phones, it works with either AT&T or T-Mobile SIM cards in the U.S., and also works with prepaid SIM cards here and overseas. I tested the phone with an AT&T SIM card; T-Mobile SIMs will limit you to 2G data speeds in the U.S. Call quality was solid, with a clear, warm tone in the earpiece and plenty of gain. Callers said I sounded crystal clear, and reception was good. Calls sounded fine through an Aliph Jawbone Icon Bluetooth headset ($99, 4 stars), but there's no voice dialing over Bluetooth, which is puzzling. The speakerphone sounded excellent and had decent, if not spectacular, volume. Battery life was short at just 3 hours and 48 minutes of talk time.
Prepaid Cell Phone Services - News
Despite these cost advantages, prepaid service providers haven't stolen many customers from traditional cell phone providers. "We haven't seen a lot of people leaving the post paid market en masse even during the depths of the recession," said NPD
The unlocked Nokia X3-02 is yet another model in a long line of capable, unlocked Nokia cell phones that few Americans need or want; if you're one of the few target customers, Nokia offers much better options. Despite Nokia's upcoming Windows Phone 7
With prepaid plans, phone buyers pay full price for their device, but with that they get the luxury of not having to sign a contract. And while prepaid plans once cost far more than traditional ones, such services are now often the cheapest game in
Despite these cost advantages, prepaid service providers haven't stolen many customers from traditional cell phone providers. "We haven't seen a lot of people leaving the post paid market en masse even during the depths of the recession," said NPD
The Jakarta Post reports that Bank International Indonesia (BII) yesterday launched a mobile banking service, providing services such as account management, funds transfer, reloading pre-paid cell phone accounts and bill and online shopping payments.
Tech Reviews ยป Looking for a smartphone bargain? Check out prepaid
As unlimited data plans from traditional wireless carriers go the way of the flip phone, savvy bargain hunters have another option: prepaid services that offer cool new smartphones with cheap unlimited data plans.
After months of anticipation, Verizon Wireless is expected to introduce a new pricing scheme July 7 , which will eliminate its unlimited data plan. AT&T did something similar a year ago . While Sprint and T-Mobile USA, the smaller of the four national carriers, still offer unlimited data, there are signs that pricing will increase. Sprint already charges customers $10 more a month for phones that can access its 4G wireless network. And T-Mobile could be out of the market entirely in a year if its $39 billion merger with AT&T is approved .
What this likely means for consumers in the future are higher prices for wireless data. But as the big carriers put caps on their service plans and raise prices, there’s a much overlooked alternative: prepaid wireless.
Prepaid service providers such as Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile, Cricket, and MetroPCS offer unlimited data plans that can cost as much as 50 percent less than what consumers might pay from “post paid” providers, such as AT&T or Verizon Wireless. “Post-paid” means that customers must sign a contract and pay monthly for service, while prepaid customers don’t sign contracts and pay ahead each month for service. In exchange for entering a contract, post-paid customers get subsidized handsets. Prepaid subscribers must pay full price for their handsets. But often consumers on prepaid plans aren’t paying much more for their smartphones than customers who sign up for a two-year contract with a major carrier.
Despite these cost advantages, prepaid service providers haven’t stolen many customers from traditional cell phone providers.
“We haven’t seen a lot of people leaving the post paid market en masse even during the depths of the recession,” said NPD Group’s Ross Rubin. “But we’ve started to see strong growth from Boost, Virgin Mobile, Metro PCS, and the others in this market. But it’s still not enough to make a dent in the traditional market.”
That may be changing, as prepaid companies start targeting customers, who already have a smartphone or are considering upgrading to one with cooler, more cutting-edge devices. Increasingly, prepaid operators are able to get their hands on sophisticated Google Android smartphones at lower price points making their $50 all-you-can-eat voice, texting, and data plans attractive alternatives even for smartphone users.
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