Why You Can Trust CNET Nokia 3120 classic review: Nokia 3120 classic
The budget 3120 classic packs a decent set of features without compromising on looks.
When this reviewer got the Nokia 5070 a year ago, it was, personally at least, the ultimate budget phone. It may not have possessed any of the latest features such as Bluetooth and music player, but it was cheap and good. Now, with the Nokia 3120 classic in hand, the bar has certainly been raised for budget phones. The handset doesn't look or feel cheap.
Nokia 3120 classic
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Design
The black metallic casing gives this Nokia a look stylish enough to appeal to a wide spectrum of users. Its metallic frame ringing the edge of the phone gives an overall assuring feel that comes across as solid and impact-proof. The only gripe we have here is its black and glossy body which is a fingerprint and dust magnet. So be prepared to wipe down the handset every time you whip it out to use.
Size-wise, the 3120 (at 111.3x45.4x13.4mm) is two-third the width of the 5070 making it a good fit in the hand. A rubber back casing provides a good grip. However, there was a trade-off for the phone being small; we found the keypad was positioned slightly too low for comfortable use. Nokia probably had to squeeze this down to make way for a display screen that sits over half the phone's length. That said, the buttons were big and easy enough to text on.
Like most Nokia handsets, there's a directional button at the top centre of the phone, which sits rather flush on the surface and may take some time getting used to especially for those with large digits.
Features
For a basic phone, this candybar packs some pretty decent features targeted at the masses. There's a 2-megapixel camera with flash, though as with all budget camera phones, don't expect startling clear snaps, particularly in low light. Interestingly, the 3120 classic comes with a front-facing VGA camera for video-conferencing via 3G, not something we would have expected to find in an entry-level model.
Nokia has also packed on-board Bluetooth, so transferring music and images will be easier among friends. There's no data cable provided in the retail unit though.
There's 24MB of internal memory (about 20MB is available to the user), which is absolutely insufficient if you plan to store lots of pictures and music files. Fortunately, this comes with a microSD card slot at the back of the phone to expand to an extra 4GB.
The 2-inch display is big enough for watching your videos and view pictures without straining your eyes too much. Even under bright sunlight, we found text and pictures still legible.
Performance
Music reproduction was good, although the equaliser wasn't impressively powerful enough. It hardly makes any difference when switching between rock, pop, jazz and classical equaliser. When played through the loudspeaker, it sounded flat to our ears.
Call quality was loud and clear, although ringtones produced through the loudspeaker tended to be a tad soft, causing us to miss a few calls as a result.
Nokia rates the phone's battery life at 12.5 days on standby and three hours 20 minutes of talk time. In actual use, which comprised making calls, photo-taking, text messaging and listening to the radio, the phone lasted a good five days before the next charge.
Conclusion
At AU$299, the phone is certainly worth the money. Although the camera is just 2-megapixels, it's hard to find a more handsome budget phone out there with 3G, Bluetooth, and MP3.