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| Nokia 206 |
It's been nearly a year since I got my hands on the Nokia 206 (Model RM-872) which is an entry-level mobile phone. I will write my experience with the phone and what I learned about it in this post.
I ordered this on Flipkart where it was retailing for Rs. 3,580 inclusive of all taxes on 23 October 2014 and received it just the next day, which was pretty impressive. While it comes in 5 colors - black, white, cyan, magenta and yellow - my unit is black. Flipkart had listed this phone as Nokia Asha 206 which is an error - the 206 is not an Asha device.
The GSM phone is highly compact, comes with a 6.1 cm (2.4 inch) QVGA display, a 1.3 MP read camera, 32 MB RAM, dual-SIM support and a 1200 mAh removable battery. Inside the box is also an AC-11 travel charger, a headset and a setup guide.
Setup
Setting up the device is easy. Just remove the back cover, remove the battery, lift the mini-SIM holder and place a GSM SIM card into the slot, place the battery back again and then put the back cover on into position. You can optionally insert a microSD card in the slot under the back cover and a second SIM card in the slot at the left edge of the phone. Then after you have charged the battery, you are good to start the phone using the power button.
Display
The 6.1 cm (2.4 inch) QVGA TFT 65K color display is bright, images are clear and the size is okay at this price point. It displays at 240 x 320 pixels with a 4:3 ratio (~167 ppi density). The home page displays a set of short icons to applications and calendar appointments along with the data and time and other information.
Keypad
The keys on the keypad are smooth with large letter - good for the elderly and people with sight problem. The keypad features predictive text input using the T9 dictionary for easy typing.
Calling
With its dual-SIM support, it lets you carry a second phone number within the same device. You have the option to set a default SIM for services like outgoing calls, text messages, multimedia messages and data connections. It also lets you select a combination, like you can select SIM1 as the default for outgoing calls and messages while SIM2 can be the default for data connections. There is also an option for the phone to ask you which SIM to use every time.
Making, receiving or rejecting calls on this phone is a breeze with the intuitive user interface. It also allows putting a call on hold, dialing a 2nd number and setting up a multiparty conference call, call forwarding, call waiting, and muting. It also stores the phone numbers of recent received, dialed and missed calls.
The phone book lets you store up to 1000 phone numbers along with the name, an image and other details of the contact. Setting up speed dial numbers lets you make phone calls by pressing a single button on the keypad.
I like the way that Nokia lets you turn on and off the keypad lock swiftly by pressing the Menu + * key combination. This is easier than most phones from other manufacturers.
Messaging
The messaging application supports both Short Messaging Service (SMS) and Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). The predictive text works fine and is helpful.
Performance
The phone runs on Nokia's Series 40 operating system which fares well on the performance front. Apps like Facebook and WhatsApp are slow, but they work.
Audio Quality
In-call reception audio quality is very good, and I haven't come across people complaining about the audio they receive on the other side. The volume of the sound is low but the quality is good.
Camera
The device packs in a 1.3 mega-pixel primary camera on the back with no flash. The camera allows you to shoot both still photos and videos. The images are 1280 x 960 pixels. Videos are stored using the Common Intermediate Format (QCIF) at 10 fps. The image quality is okay.
Media Player
The built-in media player can play videos formats (MP4, H.263 and WMV) and most audio music formats including MP3, WAV, WMA and AAC. The media library can automatically categorize songs based on artists, albums, and genres if the audio files have the information filled in.
FM Radio
The phone has an FM radio receiver which lets you play radio stations. The headset acts as an antenna for the radio signal reception so it should always be connected to the phone for the radio stations to play.
Web Browsing
The phone has a built-in XHMTL web browser named Nokia Xpress which features Unicode-support. It renders the pages well even though the screen is small for most web pages nowadays.
E-mail
The phone has a built-in e-mail client that lets you configure multiple email accounts.
Internal Storage
The 64 MB internal memory storage is pretty low on the upfront but when you come to think of it, what huge data would you want to store on a basic phone like this.
Expandable Storage
DONE The phone accepts a microSD or microSDHC to extend the storage up to 32 GB for storing multimedia files.
Battery
The phone comes with a 1200 mAh 3.7V Nokia BL-4U Li-on battery. The user manual states the battery backup is for up to 20 hours of talk time and up to 680 hours of standby time under optimal conditions. My experience with the battery backup is good - I haven't used the phone regularly as it is not my primary device. On an average the battery can last 4-5 days with regular use.
Connectivity
The mobile supports and operates on the cellular EGSM 900-800 Mhz 2G network. It supports up to 85.6 kbps on GPRS and 236.8 on GPRS. It also has Bluetooth v2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate (EDR). There is no support for USB or NFC.
Software Updates
Software updates to the phone can be done wirelessly over the air. There is also an option for the phone to automatically check for new updates.
SAR (Specific Absorption Rate)
SAR value for this phone when tested for use at the ear is 0.93 W/kg.
FCC ID
DONE The FCC ID for the device is NCC CCAF12DG0440T3 and the reports are available here.
Warranty
DONE The product came with 1-year manufacturer warranty on the device and 6 months of warranty on the accessories out of the box.
Conclusion
DONE Overall, it is a pretty decent phone. The build quality is good, and the display is large. It runs smooth with apps hanging sometimes which may be due to the low amount of memory. This is perfect for elderly people who find it difficult to operate smartphones.
Update June 2020: The phone is still working and operational, but the functions now run very slow. The body is hard and has survived several drops. I finally let it go.
