Nokia 6170b Review

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Nokia 6170b Review - Dial B for Blocky: The "b" doesn't stand for "blocky", but maybe it should.

I drive a Volvo. My wife drives a Volvo wagon. I love cornbread. Does this mean my phone should be blocky, too?

The first impression I had with this phone was the shape. Make no mistake, this thing is blocky. It's not HUGE, mind you, but it's minimal use of rounded edges is a little odd feeling when you hold it in the hand. On the plus side, it looks very, very unique. If you're looking for a one of a kind clamshell phone, this is it.

Ed note: Full review by wirelessandy of wirelessandy.com.

VERSION (read from entering in *#0000#)
V 03.24
04-04-05
RM-48
6170

POWER BUTTON
Having used a Samsung SGH-x427m for more months than I probably should, I instinctively tried to turn the 6170b on with the red "end" button. Nothing. the power button was actually a small black button on the right side, under the IR port. There is a tiny marking on the power button to set it apart from the other tiny black side buttons (voice record on the right above the IR port, and volume on the left.)

PROFILE SELECTION
The power button also doubles as a profile switching button when the phone is shut. Press it once to bring up the list of options ("Shut off", "Normal", "Silent" and others.) Tapping the power button scrolls the selection to the next. Holding the power button makes the selection. I tried scrolling the selections using the volume keys, but that didn't work.

One interesting "feature" is that if you are fiddling with profile selection and you open the phone before making your selection, you'll be greeted with the same, full-size profile selection menu on the main display.

I did find a bug, though. Sometimes, tapping the power button when shut brings up the profile list, but the menu gets stuck on the "Shut Off" selection.

SCREEN
I don't remember off the top of my head how many colors this thing has, but the main screen is nice. It's not super-duper bright, and it's not dark and dingy looking, either. It's right in the middle. Reminds me of a slightly taller 6230b screen. But the Nokia interface is so straightfoward and elegant (and FAST) you may not mind.

The default animated wallpaper that came with the phone is an autumn scene with falling leaves. Pretty. But it almost completely wipes out any on-screen information. Themes are kept in a separate folder in memory, which leads me to believe that perhaps you can download others. I haven't tried, because I do not care.

In standby, the main screen defaults to a digital clock that is actually easy to read in ordinary indoor lighting. Big plus for me.

The outer LCD screen isn't quite as bad as the Motorola V3's outer screen, but compared to the main, it's close. Forget about putting on a wallpaper on this thing. The passive-matrix LCD screen is dimmer and has far less contrast. But unlike some phones with outer screens (the Samsung SGH-e317 comes to mind), the outer LCD's wallpaper can be disabled to a plain white. Much better!

And, for nutcases like me, I discovered that the digital clock that the outer screen eventually defaults to also shows things like missed SMS messages (icon).

One small problem: I discovered that the outer LCD's rotation was off by about a pixel. That is, the lower right corner was a bit higher.

KEYPAD
Someone has once said that the keypad on the 6710b is the best EVER. I wouldn't go that far, but the numeric keys are nice, square shaped things that have almost exactly the same tactile feel as the next key. Very consistent, unlike late-model Motorolas, where you may get one or two keys that feel mushy.

The 5-way directional pad works well. 6230b lovers will rejoice in the fact that the "enter" button is a separate button. The top and bottom D-pad buttons are slightly cropped, but it didn't hamper operations.

Those of you who love keypad illumination (who doesn't?) will be glad to know that the etched numbers glow blue through the buttons. All illumination, as far as I can tell (keypad and screens) feature that "fade in" effect. Nothing simply snaps on. It feels very elegant. If you're the impatient type, you might not like this. But it's very soothing to my frazzled Nit Picking nerves (that reminds me, I'm out of coffee and I must buy more!)

The "voice" key on the side defaults to a voice recording option. It even works when the phone is closed. But there is a problem: I could not find an intuitive way to disable this. Perhaps I was impatient. But when the phone is closed and you press this button, it starts to record. A status bar begins to fill on the the outer LCD display. Pressing buttons frantically on the outside does nothing to stop the recording. I ended up opening the phone to stop it. I also ended up with a lot of blank recordings of me mashing buttons in a fit. Playback of audio clips defaults to the external loudspeaker, located on the outside flip next to the lens.

The 5-way D-pad arrows are not reconfigurable. They are:
UP: Camera
DOWN: Phone list
LEFT: Compose SMS
RIGHT: Calendar

Fortunately for me, these are the ones I'd be most likely to use. The right softkey is mappable. The left softkey is set to Nokia's usual "shortcuts", a list you can reorder to your liking. Another bug I found was the email option. Email is a list choice for the right softkey. But there's no email app in the 6170b. If you attempt to launch it from the softkey, you'll get a "settings not complete" error.

MESSAGING
Sorry! I didn't test IM functions, but it's there in the menu. I think I even saw a separate menu for incoming IM audio notification.

The standard SMS screen is typical Nokia, with a nice countdown word count meter in the corner that lets you know how many characters you've got left. T9 predictive entry is still top notch and not "broken" like on Samsungs. I could add the word "Tanya" without trouble, which the Samsungs can't handle. The entry speed is very quick, and kept up with whatever I threw at it. I may be old (I don't IM) but I can text!

The 6170b seemed to remember the SMS default send-to recipient I set on my Samsung. I liked that.

RINGERS
For you children in the generation of the Krazy Frog, I have no idea what kind of ringtone formats this thing takes. MP3, WAV, MIDI, 8-TRAK tapes, I just don't care. The usual suspect of Nokia ringers are all here ("Nokia", "Trio", etc.) The options are typical of current Nokias, like the 6230b. Gimme a ring-ring, and I'm happy.

AUDIO
I held this chunky block of Nokia to my head and made a test call to the Voicemail lady. She was nice and loud. The shape of the phone is nice and long when opened up, putting the mic in a good spot. The earpiece is actually a tiny hole above the screen, offset to the left. The tone was good: not too squeaky with a hint of low end boost for a full-sounding incoming call.I'm sorry to say that the 6170b didn't do that well in the clarity department. In a sub-par RF coverage closet in my office, where the signal is only so-so but sealed off from the noises of the world, I could tell the 6170b dropped audio every so often, and random noise (digital artifact sounding) could be heard. I'm very happy to find that there's zero GSM "buzz" that plagued earlier Nokias.HEADSET
I pulled out an old pop-port headset from my parts bin and it worked. The audio was slightly dirty sounding versus without a headset. The 6170b comes with a wired headset with a somewhat sleeker looking connector (mine has the cord coming out from the side, the newer freebie comes out the bottom).CAMERA
Not tested.

WEB
Not tested. What? Yes, not tested. It supposedly has EDGE, but I didn't bother testing because at this point, I figured I wasn't going to keep the phone anyway.

CONNECTIVITY
There's IR. No bluetooth. POP-port for headsets and other gizmos. The usual round Nokia power connector for charging. No removable memory, either.

SPEAKERPHONE
Yes it has one. I placed a call, switched it over to speaker, and closed the phone. It did not hang up. I could adjust volume (bars appeared on the outer LCD) with the side keys. Not Nextel-like loudness, but acceptable if you're in a quiet room. Don't ever let me catch you walk down the street or on public transit with this, pretending it's a Nextel PTT device, holding it upside-down and backwards with your pithy "streetz stylez!" (/end rant)

GAMES
Comes with three, including a car racing game.

FEEL
When closed, the two halves are nearly perfectly aligned. It's difficult to tell, since the two halves do wobble a little bit. This did not bother me as much as I thought it would. The 6170b includes an ingenious lip, or long "tooth" at the bottom edge which fits into a matched "groove", to give the phone added rigidity when shut. In reality, it really doesn't add that much to strength. I suspect it's there to prevent the screen from totally slamming into the keys.

The hinge looks a little odd in photographs. What's up with this exposed hinge design? When you open the phone, there is a gentle "click". When fully open, it does not feel loose at all. No creaks when you hold the phone. This is a solidly built unit.

There is a release button for the battery door. When you pop this off, you'll notice that the stainless steel cover is actually a flat panel attached to a plastic shell. That is, when you grip the sides of this phone, you're gripping plastic. In other words, only the top and bottom surfaces of this phone are stainless. I actually prefer this- it makes the phone less slippery.

One giant downer of this use of metal is the inside. The highly reflective surfaces around the screen and keypad are finger/facial grease magnets. My hands are typically very dry, and this is intentional: I can't stand getting fingerprints on devices. But even on the 6170b, I managed to get my grubby prints over everything. I was wiping things down all the time. But the reflective finish on the inside is lovely to look at (if you can manage to keep it clean).

The main screen is totally flush with the surrounding chrome, so if you get an aftermarket screen protector, don't be alarmed if it's larger than the screen itself!

CONCLUSIONS:

WirelessAndy Screen Test:
Although there is no blinking LED, it passes. The outer LCD will show the missed SMS status in standby, and that's good enough. You can't view RF or battery bars in standby. Screen much easier to read if you turn off the fancy wallpapers.

WHAT I LIKED:
Good build quality and feel. Keypad is straightfoward. Separate "enter" button on the D-pad is great. Keypad illumination is nicely lit, and the fade-in/out feature is a nice touch. UI is speedy, and so is the T9 implementation. Uses the old Nokia charger and the POP-port, making accessories easy to find.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
The shape. It's just strange, and a tad thick.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:
There's no email application. I've read that the non "b" version has it. The D-pad and side key (voice recording) should be reconfigurable. Outer LCD is considerably dimmer (but at least you can select wallpapers or turn it off).

NIT PICKER DEALBREAKER:
Blocky shape just feels downright chunky in the hand, even if it's nicely compact when folded shut. Audio quality isn't the greatest (although probably good enough for most, I'll admit). Chromed interior finishes are a neat-freak's nightmare.

Full review by wirelessandy of wirelessandy.com.

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