Incompatible applications

Nokia 3250 is the first smartphone to feature the new 9.1 version of Symbian OS. It comes along with various innovative functions, but also with one very disappointing drawback: it is incompatible with older applications. I tried to install a few programs into the phone, but every time I was shown the same error message "Download not supported by the system".

Such a restriction complicates the situation a lot, as program manufacturers will now have to prepare new versions of their products, while users will spend unnecessary long time searching for these new versions, downloading them, pre-registering them etc. For this reason our team did not manage to install our picture saving program into Nokia 3250's Symbian, which led to the necessity to take pictures of phone's display by the use of a standard camera, just like we would do with a non-smart phone. Original graphic themes are not applicable, either.

Most images on the main display - time, date, day, operator's logo, and the battery and network indicators - have remained unchanged. In the bottom bar you will see the names of the two applications assigned to the buttons below the display (customizable). Font type and size are new.

In the middle of the display you will find the common active stand-by display, which first appeared in Nokia 6681. Nokia 3250 features six icons for fast activation of frequently used programs instead of five. All icons are customizable in accordance with user's preference. Below this bar you will see the events of the day according to the calendar or the first event of the following day. The number of unaccomplished tasks, the name of the respective MP3 file (if played), as well as radio frequency/station (if active) are displayed in this area too. Besides, all blocks listed above are active, that is, by marking them you go directly to the calendar, the task manager, the MP3 player, the radio...

There is one trouble though. All moves in the active stand-by mode are made via the joystick, which restricts the functionality of its ways. They can no more be used for fast opening of frequently used applications. However, at the same time the stand-by mode can be deactivated. In this case Nokia 3250 behaves like older smartphones.

Good camera

Let's approach to the built-in camera now and to the photo application alone, in particular. When you take pictures with Nokia 3250, hold it horizontally, just like you would do with a common digital camera. The viewfinder is big enough. It does not cut images, but shows them exactly the way they are going to appear in the final picture. In the upper left corner you will see a number indicating how many pictures can still be taken according to the free space both in the phone's memory and on the memory card.

On the right you will find the zoom indicator. The camera is equipped with a full-function 4x digital zoom that works in 10 steps. The zoom does not crop images. Half zoom-in is quite efficient (see pictures). Images loses quality when the highest zoom-in degree is applied. That is why I recommend you first to take a standard picture and then cut it out in a special application for picture modifications supplied in the phone. Zoom is controlled by either the joystick, or the forward and backward buttons of the music player.

New Nokia 3250 is born to play music. Yet, not everything is as bright as the phone's pink covers. First, not even once did I manage to use the control buttons situated on the rotary segment of the phone. I have no other choice but to assume that this problem is caused by the firmware of the tested model. Let's hope that its final version will work seamlessly. Let me now plug the enclosed earphones into the handset.

They are equipped with a standard 3.5 mm jack connector and feature a double cable of ideal length. Use the sliding cursor to fix the point where the two cables are to meet. The construction of the plug-in earphones is identical to the one we spoke so positively about in the review on Sony Ericsson W800. They come with several extensions, which go deep into one's ears and fill the ear canal completely. There are rubber extensions of three different sizes enclosed in the phone's delivery pack. Unfortunately, Nokia 3250's earphones are rather second-rate. The bass elements are poor, while the middle frequencies are sharp. If you can, substitute them with earphones of your own.