Nokia C3-01

“The premium looks and excellent build quality are a nice place for the Nokia C3-01 to start. Things are looking good for the whole Touch and Type concept too – there’s nowhere else to go for a set with both touchscreen and a numpad. This doesn’t mean the Touch and Type phones are free of competition. In fact, they will need to work hard to convince users. Especially those considering a smartphone or a full-touch handset.Affordable smartphones and touchscreen feature phones will be the main source of pressure for the Touch and Type lineup. And since affordable smartphones are a Nokia specialty – the real competition is perhaps limited to the likes of the Corby and the Cookie – and all the sequels that followed.There’s a very clear distinction though: the Corbies and the Cookies of the world are for the young. The Touch and Type will likely appeal to a more grown-up audience, and more mature tastes. We guess Nokia must‘ve been thinking: “There’s no room for more touchscreen dumbphones. Let’s do something else instead, something we’re good at anyway.” And that’s where S40 makes a lot of sense. The C3-01 is part of a new beginning but tradition is what will draw returning customers. Touch and Type will certainly be hoping to recapture the magic that made the Nokia 6300 and the 6700 classic what they are.Touchscreen is only part of the S40 evolution. Handsets like the Nokia C3-01 Touch and Type are trying to give you more bang for your buck. High-speed network data, WLAN and USB-on-the-go are great things to have – especially considering that S40 is still falling short on other key features such as multitasking and smart dialing.But then, there’s more than one way to make up for the failings. It’s not every day that we meet such a perfectly manufactured device. The Nokia C3-01 is made entirely of metal and the gaps between the parts are so tiny, it’s almost a unibody. The phone is hard to resist and you’ll know it the moment you open the box.”

“To wrap up, we were impressed on the whole with the Nokia X3 Touch and Type and are more so by the Nokia C3 Touch and Type. It offers people who may not want smart phone features (or price) an extremely well built alternative with some good connectivity options. The inclusion of a touch screen adds some great functionality, and while the camera may lack auto-focus it should suffice for casual snaps. It makes for a great bridging experience for users who want to be eased into touch screen phones and comes highly recommended from us.”

“The C3 is a very capable little phone. It represents Nokia's strengths in that the hardware is good, the battery life is great, and voice quality during phone calls is (mostly) good. The touch element has been tastefully implemented across the Series 40 operating system, making menu navigation far faster and more intuitive. Despite the C3's resistive screen, the touch tech never got in the way of using the phone. Nokia has improved the messaging apps, with better email support, better messaging tools, and rudimentary support for IM networks. It misses the mark when it comes to social networking, however, as it lacks full, native apps. Third-party apps will get the job done, but not to the extent that an official app would. The performance of the media software is excellent. The music player and camera/video controls are spot-on, and make perfect use of the touch screen technology added to Series 40. It's a pity that pictures captured with the 5 megapixel shooter don't impress. The C3 offers average browser performance for a feature phone. Would I recommend this phone? For anyone who is a Series 40 fan and wants something new and different, the C3-01 Touch and Type is the handset to get. It blends the classic candybar form factor with an elegantly designed touch interface that has just the right amount of newness and familiarity.”

“Nokia C3-01 is an interesting device and a nice addition to the Cseries. Its compact and solid look, as well as the metallic casing is definitely attractive. Surprising or not, the new Touch and Type interface increased the phone's functionality and made it more desirable.”