Nokia 3220
Phone Scoop Review
Apr 13, 2005 by Eric Lin
In-depth review of the affordable new Nokia 3220 GSM phone with extensive customization options for T-Mobile. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Phone Rocks
I have tried almost every cell phone there is. I first like to add how satisfied I am with TMobile, their Web Site and this phone. It is a rock solid performer. Yes the phone lights up like a disco ball, and thats why it stands out from others.
Pros
*Excellent Reception - I live by the Superstition Mtns in Arizona and reception is very good !
*Solid Feel to phone
*loud ringers
*screen clarity is very good
*camera is OK - but I bought a phone; not a camera
*came with cool covers and the ability to make your own cover design.
Cons
*keypad could be larger for larger hands.
Trust the reviews, they are right!
Carrier: T-Mobile
Location: Columbus, OH (east side)
Previous phone: Motorola V600
Purchased the phone from Comm station on Hamilton Rd. and I am very pleased with it. I was hesitant to get a candy bar style phone as I generally like the clamshell design, but that was quickly forgotten once I got used to the 3220.
Pros:
Small, slim design. It's about the width and length of a twinkie.
Colorful, vivid screen.
Super, SUPER loud ring tones. Apologize to your neighbors before you get this thing, they've very loud.
Customizable shells, grips, backing.
Nice, long battery charge.
Keypad feels nice and comfortable. Overall feel of the phone is solid and durable despite it's size.
Crystal clear calling, great reception, loud speaker.
Cons:
Maybe it's just me, but I really don't know where the part is you "talk into."
Others have said the middle toggle button is too small, but I have no problem pressing it accurately. This phone is very slim, and fits nicely into your pants pocket without weighing it down. My previous phone was the Motorola V600 and it felt like I had a potato in my pocket sometimes it was so big.
The pictures online really don't portray this phone accurately. It really is very small and compact. The camera is nice, and the video feature is neat, although I'll probably never fully utilize it. I like the reception meter, 7 bars compared to my Motorola's 5 bars. I feel this gives me a more accurate portrayal of the signal strength at a given time.
The OS is quick and responsive. The V600 I previously had was slow with many delays. This phone tears right through the menus and folders with no hesitation. There are a generous amount of ring tones, but 99% of them are songs and anthems. It only has 1 real normal ring tone and that is "fire alarm." It's very loud, and serves as a good alarm clock in the morning.
I am happy with this phone, and would recommend it to anyone.
Great phone
My first phone as a cellular subscriber though I have used a variety of phones over the years for work. Have had phone for 3 weeks now.
Why I picked this phone:
* free from T-Mobile
* EDGE capable though EDGE not offered by T-Mobile
* good feature set even though it lacks BT/IR; cable tether only.
Pros:
* good size, though not "great
* light alerts are great for silent mode
* comes with black cover as well so it need not look so feminine.
* custom covers will appeal to kids
* includes AIM/ICQ/Yahoo IM clients.
Cons:
*Speakerphone volume too low for use with even moderate background noise.
* lock/unlock sequence just a bit faster than I would like to see, occasionally sequence not recognized.
* keys just a bit small, requiring almost fingernail use for pushing as opposed to full fingertip
* menu's are OK, but some being able to assign ANY function to any of the "programmable" buttons would have been helpful.
* the center point of the 4 way control is a bit sensitive and requires a fairly accurate push to avoid pushing in one of the directions.
* Memory is woefully inadequate. Had to clear over half of the ringtones and schemes to get to a usable amount of memory for holding any significant quantity of photos before dumping them off. 8MB would have been good or 16MB would have been much better.
* Ringer ID only by groups instead of by individuals
* Very sensitive about position next to ear for consistent volume. seems to have a presence peak which causes sibilance to be way louder than other speech.
Each of these cons are quite minor and individually or as a group do not cause me to regret my choice.
Other observations:
* I use the phone casually and get 3-6 days between charges
* good signal typically
* camera is just *ok*
* easily cascadable down to my daughter once a "better" phone appears on the market.
Was gonna get V600 or similar phone, but avoided because of mixed reports on phone quality.
Great Phone
I have been looking for a phone for a while and been looking at this phone for tmobile i read reviews and listened to sample ringtones becuase I wanted a good quality phone. when i got this phone it was small and light weight and i really liked it there are tones of graphics and themes, and all sorts of ways you can customize this phone it is unbelievable this is by far the best nokia i have ever owed and i have owned three nokias. the ringtones are super loud i live in california in the Sacramento area and there is reception everywhere. i like the fact that you can make your own ringtones by recroding sonmething and setting it to your ringtone it sounds really good. the camera is actually really good some people said that it was really bad but its really good its a phone what do you expect? anyways this is an awesome phone it has tones of features and you can customize it just about any way you desire.
the ringtones that are on this phone are loud so dont worry if you are in a loud area you will hear them there are like 32 ring tones already installed you can create your own and dowload them
PROS
loud ringtones
tone of customization
small and light weght
easy to use
record your own ring tones
lights give it a cool effect when it rings video camera/ camera
nice bright screeen, its a good size to
has to do , and wallet: which store credit card passwords and stuff
really cool games
much more!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Cons
I dont think there are any
IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT GETTING THIS PHONE YOU WILL BE SATISFIED TRUST ME AND I YOUR NOT YOU SHOULD ITS A GREAT CELLULAR DEVICE!!
Love it!
I own a phone shop here and a lot of teenagers' have been ordering this phone so, i bought one for my self and one for my wife and we both love it! if you ever have the oppertunity to by this phone i would it is worth the price!
Good Phone but no Signal
I had this phone back in August with Cingular. I was in the Atlanta area and didnt revieve good signal. I dont believe that it was cingular's fault, but because it had an internal antenna. I have had other phones with internal antennas like what I have now Sony Ericsson Z520a. I must say thought that they do not recieve as good as signal as the ones with antennas do.
Pros:
Cool Light up effect.
Very loud ringers.
Customizable.
Great Color choices.
Rubberized Grips.
Cons:
Quiet Speaker phone
Not very good signal.
Rubber wears off after a while
Good Phone..New Features
This phone is a good phone with some great new features. The Text LCD hook up is great. The color light ups are neat and are exchangeable as well as the face plates. This phone is great for younger people that like to have a diffrent look to there phone everyday.
Nokia, I've missed you!
I simply love this phone! I was a faithful nokia owner until I decided to branch out and get a (sniff!) sony ericsson! That phone gave me numerous probs like cutting off in the middle of calls and freezing, but not this phone! I have not dropped one single call and my apartment is in a 'dead spot', the camera and zoom quality is incredible, I love the video and custom ringtone capabilities, the themes varieties are great, the menu is easy to navigate, and I love the different profile options. I would give it a five, but you aren't able to assign a name with a specific ring tone or a picture :( Other than that, I have no complaints. Nokia hasn't failed me yet!
Winner.
Let's keep it short and to the point.
Reception = Nothing short of amazing.
Screen = Very clear, very bright. Looks great.
Build = Very nice. This is the kind of phone I can drop on a concrete floor and not flinch... very ideal for work in my case.
Battery life = So far very good, but I haven't done too many charges yet so it's hard to say. But so far the battery life seems just as the other Nokias I have used, which was a good sign.
A side note: I heard some people here on the review list here talking about the small keypad. The keypad itself is actually pretty easy to dial by feel, which is nice... I have big hands too and have had no problems. The 5 way directional keypad is nice too, but it IS hard to get used to. The hardest thing for me to do was getting the feeling down of where to press for select, and where to press for up/down/left/right. The best thing to do is just to slam on the 5 way keypad hitting each directional keypad and pressing select and just seeing what happens to get the feeling of it. Once you get the hang of it, it works great. I had to do the exact same thing with EVERY other phone I've used that had a 5 way directional keypad... it seems like they're just like humans... everybody is so different!
Bottom line - Great phone. I'll probably use this phone for a long, long, longgggggggg time.
THE DISCO STU SPECIAL
Overall a great mid-level phone by Nokia. I had the 7250 last year. that phone cost me $300 outright. I love technology! a year later I pay $100 less and get a better camera (main selling point) and cool little video clips! I miss my radio feature though.
The light-up sides are fun and have earned it the name of the disco phone with my friends.
PROS: -65,000 color display
-video clips up to 50 secs. each
-the "I could bring a plane in to land" light up sections
-price point
-customizeable back plate
- of course the good old nokia ease of use w/ menus and signal quality (I wireless, davenport,IA)
CONS: - The center navi-key takes some getting used to/ motor skills training
-the lights will not light up the screen continuously when a call comes in the dark. have to hit silence to light screen up all the way
-screen colors are kinda monochromatic
- expansive, goofy, wave messaging faceplate? If someone across from me wants to talk, let's talk.
- my screen gets more fingerprints on it than a crime schene under investigation.
- no dedicated side volume keys
Overall a great phone for what it costs and offers!
