When Nokia created the 6300, it wanted a phone that was both beautiful and simple, and they seem to have achieved this goal beyond all expectations. The Nokia 6300 is elegant in its simple design, whilst possessing more functionality than you would give it credit for, especially since it's not a smart phone nor does it have 3G. But it does have most everything else you would want from a contemporary mobile phone, including a 2-megapixel camera and video recorder, an MP3 player and FM radio.



Surprisingly lightweight for a mobile phone with a metal casing, the slim, sleek phone is neither too wide nor too small, and fits perfectly in your hand and in your pocket, the cool stainless steel finish smooth to the touch. Unlike most slim phones, it doesn't feel like it would suddenly crack into two; it feels quite sturdy despite its size and shape. It also possesses large keypads for easy dialing and text messaging, and a five way navigation key that may take a bit of getting used to, but is practical nonetheless.

The beautiful colour screen, at a high quality 320x240 pixel resolution with 16 million colours, is so effective that it is clear even in direct sunlight. However, it eats up much of the battery, which is one of the few complaints of users of this phone. Minimal use will assure around three days of battery life, but if you use your mobile regularly for texts, calls or even games, you'll be charging your 6300 more often than you would other units.

Using email and web browsing also drains the battery faster than normal, but using the email is worth the more frequent need to plug in. The client supports several email services that are currently popular, such as Yahoo and Gmail, and comes with two web browsers, a standard Nokia browser and the Opera Mini browser.

The 2-megapixel camera is great for taking casual photographs for sending over MMS or viewing over your computer, but not advisable for print outs, as many have found the quality to be grainy. The camera doesn't have flash either, but the night mode works well enough for the flash's absence to be a problem. There isn't a very big memory for storing a lot of music, except if you get a separate microSD card; a 2GB memory card will allow you store 480 songs. The FM radio works fine, although you won't be able to listen to it using Bluetooth wireless earphones, which only works with calls and the music player.

Some users have criticized this phone for not being Symbian based, meaning you cannot download many applications and software that you might find useful, but others who don't need the platform and have found it could slow your phone down are relieved. The 6300 responds rather quickly without Symbian, and downloads data using GPRS/EDGE. You can also transfer files to the mobile using Nokia PC Suite.

A unique gift of the 6300 is its wireless functionality. It has SyncML to synchronize your calendar and contact list, and can upgrade your firmware wirelessly as well.

The 6300 is classy and elegant, but with substance beneath all the style. A whopping percentage of buyers of this mobile unit adore this phone. You will too.