Nokia pushes the 6121, 6267, 3500 out in the middle of the road

Get ready for a life more ordinary: Nokia just loosed three mid-range phones for all your middle management dreams. The 6267 (€240/$322) clamshell features dedicated music keys, a 2 megapixel camera with flash, 3G data, and up to 4GB of storage expansion you'll have to locate yourself. The 6121 classic (€260/$349) on the left goes quadband GSM and WCDMA 2100 and "900" (we presume is a Nokia typo meaning 1900) with HSDPA data and packs in a couple of cameras topping out at 2 megapixels. Bringing up the tail is the budget 3500 classic (€135/$181) candybar which ships with an FM radio, 2 megapixel camera, and about 3 hours of talk time or 12 days of standby. All are expected to ship by Q3 in quiet fulfillment of your prosaic ambitions. Feign interest in the pics over at Engadget Mobile.

Update: Oh lord, the spec sheet is up and sure enough the 6121 goes WCDMA at 900MHz. That makes it one of, if not the first production caliber phone to do so. The lower frequency is meant to complement 2100MHz deployments by extending UMTS coverage in Europe

[Thanks, Matt]

[VJH @ Jun 18th 2007 8:31AM]

"The 6121 classic (€260/$349) on the left goes quadband GSM and WCDMA 900/2100..."

I assume that should be 1900/2100, right. In other words, there its not sporting any US WCDMA action.

[Mrmean @ Jun 18th 2007 8:32AM]

yawn

[Mic2000 @ Jun 18th 2007 8:33AM]

That Nokia on the right has a metallic border, just like the iphone :S. It is also a little bit bolt...

Nope not my phone in the futre. Also the interaction with the menus are getting worser every time

[Jon @ Jun 18th 2007 8:43AM]

So now everything that has a border immediately warrants a comparison to the Iphone? Why even bring up the Iphone in the first place?

[andrew harrison @ Jun 18th 2007 8:47AM]

my nokia 6233 bought in september last year has a similar silver border

[Ismael @ Jun 18th 2007 8:50AM]

Im bloody sick of all these goddamn iPhone comparisons.. WHO CARES

[mtipper @ Jun 18th 2007 2:47PM]

i think he was being sarcastic.....

nokia. why even bother?

[Mic2000 @ Jun 18th 2007 9:59AM]

I was already affraid of getting these reactions, i'm not a fanboy that says, hee its a ripoff. Don't get me wrong, I just noticed it. But I dont like the design, so that is my opinion, don't all go into the flaming mode ;)

[sean @ Jun 18th 2007 8:58AM]

that phone is a phone like the iphone, they must of copied apple!

[Architype @ Jun 18th 2007 9:07AM]

Yup, these phones are pretty dull. The way I see it, the major problem with their phone designs is their insistence on sticking with the same huge rounded square d-pad on all of their phones.

It's this central design motif that at best looks dull, and at worst, it means that they shoehorn it into phones that deserve a more interesting keypad layout and thus render their designs dull and unexciting. Nokia would do well to take a look at the way Sony Ericsson are currently coming out with some really weird (but only sometimes wonderful) keypad layouts.

[Neil @ Jun 18th 2007 9:18AM]

- nokia. why even bother?
I dare to say: Nokia. Why bother to see other brands?
FOR ME. They have everything I need. The clear and logic menus are simple enough to teach to a 85 year old farmer (yes. I worked in a shop and taught a 85 year old farmer how to use the Nokia 1600) or my parents. They understood how to use them in an hour.
I could handle way more complex menu structures easily, but I should be able to use a menu easily. Nokia spend some time in how people think rather than just fit the different features in a frame and spend a couple of hours in making it all theoretically accesable.

Why bother with the impossible to use Samsung calculator for example? I can't imagine they spend more than 10 bucks on that tool.

Nokia is the only phone company I am sure I will get a usable phone with the same controls as I have used the past years. And I know they are simple to learn and understand without reading the manual or spending weeks trying to understand the complex ways needed to acces all the features.

[derrenharper @ Jun 18th 2007 10:00AM]

Yawn twice.

Same phone, different case. Nokia keep pulling the wool over everyones eyes moving nothing forward. How many times must they release exactly the same phone in a different shell?

I'm not against Nokia phones (I have one myself), I simply don't see them pushing anything forwards. These are practically the same phones they released years ago.

[alphaod @ Jun 18th 2007 10:38AM]

Yes that's the point of improvement isn't it? Take an old product, refresh it, add new technology, release.

And for your iPhone comparison people, Apple has been releasing the same iPod for the past 5 years. All they did was little updates. People still scramble to buy them!

Regarding these Nokias, the one of the left is to fulfill the midrange market, for people who LIKE Nokias or don't want to buy a high-end and still get 3.5G capabilities. The for clamshell lovers, and the right for the people who want a simplistic device, easy to use, big number pad, no-frills device.

Again back to your iPhone comparisons, I've a N95, it does AAC, MP3, etc. (Means it plays both iTunes and WMV Subscription stuff). Plus it has a GPS, 5 MP camera, full browser, etc. Everything plus more. Thanks I'll stick with my keypad. I've used a tablet computer. Finger prints all over the screen is NOT good. Full OS X? They need that to compete with the already mature Symbian and WM markets. Besides, does it run Final Cut HD? I didn't think so.

I'd buy a Nokia any day. They offer phones from very basic (good for back up) and very nice high end with tons of features.

[Arian Kooshesh @ Jun 18th 2007 12:59PM]

nokia software is stable. Have you seen it ever crash as much as Motorola? It may not be as slick but I'll take it any day over crashy mcCrashers at the other companies. I'm not a fanboy of nokia. I just remember having a phone once that didn't crash.

[Matt O @ Jun 18th 2007 10:14AM]

I have just purchased an unlocked nokia 6126... best phone i have ever used in my lifetime

[Joe @ Jun 18th 2007 10:19AM]

The most striking design is the one far right. But even then why such a thick boarder around the display? Ruins the look.

And just to stir up the sad Apple hating harbLs in here some more. The iPhone is a phenomenon. Anyone complaining about it is just doing so because they can't afford one.

[ranron @ Jun 18th 2007 10:48AM]

The iPhone is not a phenomenon. It's just Apple trying to be different. Unless you like carrying a microfiber cloth wherever you go, you will hate the touch screen.

And with your little comment there: I can afford one, I don't like it, so I don't buy one. It also says one other thing: You're a bigot.

[Joe @ Jun 18th 2007 11:04AM]

I'm not a biggot. LOL. I just don't trash talk a company or a product that is trying to push the industry forward with a device that delivers unparalleled quality in hardware and software design. Your so pathetic flaming about these tiny insignificant things. If all you can say is that it's going to get finger prints on. Then your sad little idiot. It's got a specialised scratch proof glass screen than you can just wipe on your sleeve once a day. Wow that's such a huge drawback!! I tell you this. The right people will buy iPhone. I'm certain of that. Those human beings who can appreciate quality engineering, innovation and high class product design. Whiney penny pinching idots like yourself will just pick at stupid little things until you have convinced yourself that you don't want one.

[Zo @ Jun 18th 2007 10:24AM]

A great majority of the world -- simply needs an affordable phone with an affordable plan. Nokia has some of the best consistent interfaces. Not everyone needs an iPhone or even all the wiz-bang of the N95. Sometimes simple is beautiful -- utility over flare will make most people happy. While Engadget is all about the coolz with denizens of gadget heads, a great majority could care less.

[Rex @ Jun 18th 2007 10:33AM]

nokia is cool...
that is because, like toyota, its reliable...
its not flashy, but it's just...logical...
thats why i always choose nokia, despite costing me a bit more than, and looking less flashier than, the competition...
that's my two cents...
rex

[Mike @ Jun 18th 2007 10:40AM]

If you've ever squandered your money on a Nokia N80 you'll see that Nokia can make horrible horrible hardware and software interfaces.

[HyperHacker @ Jun 18th 2007 10:41AM]

2 megapixels? Why have a camera at all?

[Zoya @ Jun 18th 2007 11:45AM]

I also have the 6126 and agree it's one of the best clamshells on the market. Great UI and very responsive. The 320x240 screen is excellent for light web browsing via opera as well as google maps. The 6267 looks like the new version of the 6126/6131/6133 which I would upgrade to in a second mainly for the 3G, but from the images it looks like they did not include one of the 6126/6131/6133 best features which is the button on the side of the phone that flips it open, makes one handed use much easier. I know it sounds like a gimmick, but once you've used it it's hard to go back to a standard clamshell.

[Arian Kooshesh @ Jun 18th 2007 12:58PM]

Motorola is not so good on the software. I have an e815 now that crashes all too much.
I think fondly back to my nokia 3300. It was the original mp3 player phone. It had week long standby and you could talk for 9 hours. It was amazing! Like mars. Mars is a amazing.

[Matt @ Jun 18th 2007 1:16PM]

UMTS 900 may be a typo but it doesn't have to be either. Last year 3g.co.uk reported that Manx Telecom deployed UMTS 900 as trial. Also i believe at the beginning of this year another mobile operator in Czech Republic started trials of UMTS 900. So this phone may as well be European Dual band UMTS...so here we go... Quad Band GSM with Penta Band UMTS..yippie...Time to deploy software based radios.. Imagine this..what a cool phone you have. Thanks.. It has GSM 850/900/1800/1900 and WCDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100...Way to go... US still rules (on the negative side) - WE HAVE THREE UMTS BANDS (in the works) while the Old Continent has ONLY TWO....

The article about UMTS 900 is right here... http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/July2006/3405.htm

Matt