Nokia C3-01 Sim Free Mobile Phone - Silver

Having previously owned a Sony and latterly a Nokia 6303 Classic I considered these two brands first, Sony perhaps having a slight advantage on Nokia in the 'ease of operation' department. However, I finally decided on this 'Touch & Type' over the Sony alternatives and a plethora of other full touch screen handsets which were either poorly designed or in many instances simply too expensive with plenty of the 'more affordable' handsets also receiving indifferent reviews at best. My main reasons for opting for this 'Nokia C3-01' in no particular order were:

Good 'transitional' introduction to touch screen

Familiar, compact and reassuringly 'solid' build quality and feel. Not dissimilar to my old '6303' but with a sleeker appearance being very slim, stylish and most 'jewel-like' indeed.

Larger screen than '6303', and its also very clear and bright which cant be a bad thing though as with most if not all comparable phones (?) still rather difficult to view outdoors even under typically dull grey British skies

Excellent large keypad with lateral 'separation bars', exceptionally good for texting, and at last Ive got a phone that does away with the dreadful 5-way central stick/buttons

5mp camera with zoom and flash which also doubles-up as a bright mini-torch

Radio and MP3 with claimed up-to 20hrs music playback

Wi-Fi, Internet and email capabilities although I hasten to add I will unlike some other people I guess only use these very occasionally hence my lack of comments on these 'specifics'; Ill leave that to someone who uses/understands them more. I primarily use my phone for calls and for texting; as an 'always to hand' camera, and as an occasional radio.

Good Points: The excellent large keypad and touch screen ideally compliment each other and are easy to use. As others have mentioned the screen can be a tad slow at times requiring an occasional second 'tap' or two; must stress this is absolutely no real 'problem' at all. The screen only requires a surprisingly light 'touch' to scroll/press/tap the on-screen 'buttons'. After a few days as one becomes more accustomed it all works very, very well indeed being both smooth and accurate and thus far surpassing my initial expectations. 'Top Tip': If sending a text select the name/contact first rather than scrolling down your list at the end when 'sending' as its a bit too easy to hit the wrong name/contact!

Comes with a very good comprehensive printed instruction booklet

Easy to navigate through menus, would obviously take a fair while longer to learn if you are switching from a different brand when I have found that certain things can initially make you feel a little annoyed and somewhat frustrated with your new toy!

Useful dedicated camera switch on right side of handset. Handy touch screen short-cut buttons and ability to personalise/customise home screen; very, very useful indeed

Good selection of features. Most used personal ones include alarm clock, voice recorder, torch (saps bettery?), calculator (a bit fiddly), et'al

Not-So Good Points: Signal reception is not as good as old '6303' which was very good. Battery life noticeably shorter but no real problem for light to moderate+ usage. Charge it once every five or six days perhaps. Nothing like the drastic one or two days of smart phones, however I understand that if you start surfing the Internet and using it like a smart phone, which the 'C3-01' is certainly not, then battery life becomes alarmingly similar: 'When is a mobile phone not a mobile phone? Answer; when its a smart phone!'

Stainless steel rear cover permanently shows-up finger marks. Purchased a clear cover on 'Amazon' with a 'patterned' reverse side which looks surprisingly good, quite 'nifty' actually. Its a good fit with correct cut-outs whilst also making it even easier to hold especially if your hands are 'sweaty'. Use phone in house without cover on, only fitting it when 'out and about' as it obviously helps to protect it. It does make side buttons a fair bit more tricky to operate especially the almost impossible 'Keylock' (as detailed below). Still bought three of these covers anyway as on balance we thought they were the best sensible option: One each for myself, my wife and son whom after seeing my new phone have replaced their old ones with the same model!

Quite obviously touch screen is permanently finger marked. I carry a spectacle cleaning cloth to polish same plus camera lens/flash window. Screen protector also used. (see my other 'Reviews' for cover/screen protector.

'Keylock' button on side is too small whilst being almost 'flush' with the body making it hard to press although the 'keylock' is auto-activated (literally) a minute after the last 'action'

No Micro-USB cable to connect to computer or Micro-SD card supplied; got both with old '6303' so am okay without having to purchase new ones

In summing-up: Very pleased so far. Owned it now for two months; cannot fault it as far personal requirements are concerned; no major flaws, 'faults' or shortcomings surfaced bearing in mind my previous Wi-Fi/internet/emailing comments. Surely, and particularly so for fellow (younger-end, just joined the club myself!) 'Silver Surfers', the essential prerequisite of a larger screen would be vital if you were regularly surfing the Internet?

'Amazon' price had 'settled' (but still yo-yo's a little) to a realistic level £-for-£ for what you get i.e. at the date of submitting this revue. All in all a very good 'updated' and (mostly) improved 'semi-traditional' phone that has and does everything I require and more. It suitably 'bridges the gap' between now and the next time I need to change/update. This will no doubt be to a 'Smart' full touch-screen device which one hopes will be a significant improvement over many of today's mediocre offerings whilst similarly reflecting current levels of spec., affordability and value for money, oh and with at least 5 or 6 days between charges!

Although 5 years old my existing Motorola phone was still working I was finding it difficult to read messages on the small screen without hunting for my specs so decided to look for a phone with a larger screen and keys also a better camera.

After reading many reviews on Amazon the Nokia C3-01 seemed to fit my criteria, I have never used a touch screen before so was not sure how I would get on with it but need not have worried. I chose the sim free/unlocked option because I wanted to be able to change network if needed as I have been having signal issues from my house with my existing network.
I think this phone is a good transition, the keys are very easy to use and amazingly I have hardly needed to look at the manual as the phone is very easy to navigate even for this technophobe. The camera is very good although I have yet to see the photos on my computer screen as I am still waiting for an adapter I have ordered. You cannot take many photos on the camera's memory but can add a micro SDHC card up to 32 GB, however I have only put 4GB card in as I always save my photos on a memory stick.
The phone itself seems robust but sleek, I cannot comment on playing music or downloading as I am unlikely to use these facilities, however I was surprised at the volume and sound quality of the radio which is far louder than my net-book so I can see myself using the radio while out in the garden, you do have to plug the supplied earphones in to act as an arial but do not need to have them in ones ears. All in all I am very pleased with my purchase so far.

I love this phone, its simple to use, mixture of buttons and touchscreen is great. I have fallen out big time with touchscreen only phones so its a relief to find one i dont want to throw at the wall everytime i use it !!