Nokia 2600
Average Ratings
The Best Things in Life Are Free
It's hard to believe some of the things that people will complain about when it comes to reviewing a phone. One of these days the term "critical analysis" is simply going to disappear from our lexicon, and then I'll be sad.
The Nokia 2600 is a phone in the purest sense. It is not a camera. It is not a satellite dish. It is not a hamster. To buy a phone without a camera and then criticize it for not having a camera is akin to ordering a strawberry sundae and complaining because it has no hot dogs.
In addition to sporting a good screen, clear call quality, and spiffy reception (even on the fringe), no one has mentioned that the TracFone 2600 does not charge for incoming text messages.
That's right. They're free. Gratis.
This might not matter to those of you whose purchasing decisions are based on a phone's ability to mash potatoes or filter sea water. To those of us who use our phones for, you know, calling and texting, that's a pretty cool feature.
Free. As in no charge.
The speakerphone, by the way, can be activated while in a call by clicking the "options" key and scrolling down to "loudspeaker" and clicking again.
PROS:
+ Good reception
+ Clear screen
+ Long battery life
+ Charges quickly
+ Free incoming texts
+ Intuitive interface
CONS:
- I don't like the color
- It's not a Maserati
There's not too many of these babies left out there, so if you're a heavy texter and live in a GSM TracFone area grab one on Ebay while you still can.
Can't be beaten for the price, now that it's available as a refurb
I've used this phone for a few weeks now in the Mid-Ohio Valley on Cingular's network. Reception is good given the limitations of GSM coverage in this area, I'm planning to post details on tracfonewv.com. This phone has met my needs so far.
PROS
low cost (see explanation below)
form factor/keyboard/menu layout
readability/usability of menus and selections on the bright 128x128 color screen
speakerphone
spreadsheet software
ringtone composer to supplement the selection of ringers installed on the phone
free incoming text (newer Tracfones aren't)
CONS
battery life OK, it can be extended if you replace the BLC-5 with a BLC-6 and trim the ribs off the inside of the back cover
No software supported PC connectivity for wallpaper/ringtone download, and TracFone's selection and quality of downloadable ringers are terrible
Durability of the thin case is questionable, I'm considering the purchase of a rubberized replacement case
TracFone has recently started selling this phone as reconditioned, with two 60 minute airtime cards included, for under $20 plus tax and shipping. If you are interested in TracFone as your prepaid carrier, and want a basic GSM phone with a few extra frills, here's a good way to get started... set it up through the Refer-a-Friend program, take advantage of promotional codes, and you currently can get 200 minutes good for 120 days... the total package for many users could last up to 8 months before you would need to purchase additional airtime. Sure, it doesn't have some of the perks of the newest phones, like a built-in camera, but you can use the money you save from a few months of having this phone to buy a decent quality camera. No web access, but why worry about that with a prepaid phone? If it doesn't work out for your needs, you could afford to deactivate it, move the minutes to another phone, and skip it across a pond at this price... but please consider donating it to a worth cause instead.
Great Basic Phone
I've had the phone for about a month now. The service uses the Cingular network and I live in Knoxville, Tennessee. I use the device for making and receiving calls - no texting or data - as a calendar, watch, datebook and sometimes a calculator.
PROS:
- great RF performance, have never had fewer than 3 bars of signal, never dropped a call
- excellent battery. I generally charge it once every 8 days
- the display size is perfect. even though it only has 4k 12 bit color, images are vastly superior to the 6016i I used to use.
- keypad is good for people with larger hands. white backlighting on the keys makes it extremely legible at night.
- lots of standard ringtones to choose from (30)
- love the nokia UI, very easy to navigate the menu
CONS:
- I find the earpiece volume a little low, and have not found a way to adjust the volume
This is a good choice for those looking at a basic communications device.
Great Starter Cell Phone For All Ages
I had this phone on the TracFone prepaid service, and for some crazy reason, I decided to return it. Well, I did some thinking and did my homework, and I realized that as a kid (I am only 13) I didn't have many options when it came to getting a cell phone, because I can't afford a monthly plan, which made me decide to go back and buy it again. Now, about the phone...
PROS:
-Crystal clear, vivid color display (It amazed me how clear it was for only a 4K screen, and it appeared to be brighter than my previous Siemens CF62T, which has a very very dim screen with 65K colors)
-Loud and crisp ringtones which can easily be heard from another room
-Jam packed with preprogrammed ringtones
-Text messaging (I'll be going to Washington DC this year, so text messaging is a must-have for me)
-Games (They can keep me entertained during school hours)
-Buttons are not too big or too small
-Small and compact
-Big screen (Not cramped and small like my previous Siemens CF62T)
CONS:
The only cons I found on this phone were:
-It doesn't have Instant Messaging (AIM, Yahoo, MSN, etc.)
-It does not have a camera attachment
Overall, this is a great phone that I would recommend to children and adults alike.
Ok
A family member who needed a cheap phone at the time was referred by another family member and myself to go and get tracfone, so they did. The phone worked for that what he needed it for, and he actually texted back then, but got verizon and left this phone. It was a good phone though
Pros:
Flashing ringtone lights
battery life
games
Cons:
basic
Not Good, Not Bad
The nokia 2600 is a good phone if you just like to make calls. You also can receive free incoming text messages. But if you like high end phones with music players and IM then this phone is not for you. I didn't rate this phone good because you cant really do anything on it...no fun features like modern phones.
Pros:
Good reception
Free incoming text msgs
Durable
Cons:
Prepaid Tracfone
No camera or fun features
Buttons stick together
Bad at all
Ugly phone. It costs more than it worth.
Pros:
- easy to use.
Cons:
- poor sms memory
- no mms
- poor display
- unable to add own pictures/polyphonic ringtones
- poor battery life
- poor casing quality
- no WAP
- poor sound quality
- poor receiption
- all things considered - the price is too high because this phone means nothing!
Simply one of the best
I have this phone with NET10 and I'm 45 years old, and I love it, and it does have speaker phone, you switch to it while in a call under options.
It's simple yet has what I need, I have a good small digital Camera already and I do not need web or all that, thought I did and that's why I spent alot iwht post paid before, kept having to buy the latest and greatest plus under contract. Oh and I love NET10 also, roams everywhere, I can travel anywhere in teh US and my phone works! no roaming charges! .10 a min to!
But the phone is awesome! it has lot more than mentioned here, I even play the games, currency conversion,metric conversions spreadsheet never use that but all kinds of neat things.
5.0!
Great phone!
This is a great phone....
Pro:
Light
cool ringtones
nice screen
nice wallpapers
white keyboard
loud ringtones
3 games!
great reception
small
somewhat hard to acitvite
Cons:
no speaker phone
the keybard not design good at all
no camera:(
