Having been recently sent the new Nokia X3-02 Touch and Type device for review, the first thing anyone will notice with this S40 device is just how slim it is. Measuring just 9.6mm Its very slick, very well built, and is a very stylish device indeed considering its intended markets. Check out how slim this device really is in the photo below with the X3-02 positioned in the middle, with an N97 to the left, and N86 to the right.
As said, the X3-02 is an S40 device, but I will get to the OS in part two of my Review. In this part today I will be covering the hardware, the Resistive Touchscreen, and the unusual T9 keypad that the X3-02 has. The X3-02 in this review is the Metal Black colour, and there are a variety of colours available, including White, Pink, Blue, and Violet.
You can recharge the X3-02 by either the MicroUSB port on the top of the device, or the standard Nokia 2mm charge port, also positioned on the top of the device. Also on the top you will find a 3.5mm Audio headphone jack.
On the right hand side of the X3-02 you will find a lanyard anchor point, the volume one piece rocker button, and a screen lock button. You simply press the screen lock button at any time to lock the screen to prevent accidental in pocket key presses. To unlock screen you can either press this screen lock button, or the power button briefly which can be found on the top right of the T9 keypad.
You will also find, 1 of 2 battery cover unlock push buttons. I will come to this area shortly.
The bottom of the device is where the single speaker is located, but don’t be alarmed, this single speaker is loud, and positioned in such a way that when the device is laying on a table, the sound almost sounds like its coming from a stereo pair of speakers. The quality of the sound is also good, and in actual fact is louder than the N97 dual speakers! The voice microphone is also located on the bottom.
Now as mentioned earlier about the battery cover unlock button on the right hand side of the device, the second one can be found on the opposite side in the same lower position. These buttons need to be pressed inward quite hard in order to release the metal battery cover, and once done, removing the battery cover is simple enough, however replacing this back cover is somewhat more tricky.
To replace the battery cover, you need to first slide the upper part into its designated areas, and then once in, you can then push down the lower part of the battery cover in each cover to lock into place. Be warned though, I found myself having to use an uncomfortable amount of pressure to clip the battery cover back in place, and felt as though I may damage it, but everything clipped into place fine in the end, but as said, its quite tricky.
Whilst still talking about the battery cover, now is as good a time as any to mention that this metal battery cover also acts an an antenna, although this is unconfirmed, the silver connectors you see highlighted below certainly make sense. The contacts seen below, mate up with small silver contact points on the metal back itself too.
And here are the mating points on the removable back.
Of course, I could be totally wrong referring to these points/contacts being related to the Antenna, as they may just be earth points.
With the Battery cover, and BL-4S 860mAh battery removed you are faced with the following.
As you can see, your simcard, and memory card slots are positioned at the lower area of the back, but sadly you do have to remove the battery to swap simcards, however you can easily swap/change memory cards with the battery still in place due to its side offsetting/facing.
Anyway, onto the front of the X3-02 where you will notice a 4 x 4 row of keys. The top row of 4 keys have a glossy look to them whereas the remainder of the layout are matt.
The T9 layout is shifted slightly to the left, with the *, #, and 0 keys placed vertically down the right hand side. Although this looks strange at first, and I can confirm that typing out sentences catches you out almost every time, as I found myself keep on trying to enter a space by automatically aiming for the lower central area of the keypad.
Just like the N97, the X3-02 has an offset 0/space key, but this is something you will get used to the more you use the X3-02 T9 keypad.
The screen used in the X3-02 is that of an Resistive Touch screen, similar to that found in the N97, but smaller, and doesn’t fare too well in sunlight sadly. Using the touch screen I found it very responsive, and worked as intended, however the screen real estate is somewhat wasted due to over sized icons, and fonts. I will detail this more in part 2 of my Review.
At the top of the front on the X3-02 you will find a central positioned ear piece, No secondary Camera, but as this device has a touch screen, you will find hidden a proximity sensor to the right of the ear piece. This disables the touch screen during a call.
Onto the rear of the device with battery, and cover fitted.
There is a 5 Megapixel Camera, but not that of the Carl Zeiss flavor we Nokia users are accustomed to, but in this case, it works well in good light conditions, however there is no flash for low light conditions.
Overall, in the hardware department, Im really liking the physical form-factor, build, and feel of this very slim device, the X3-02 Touch & Type. Keep your eyes peeled for Part 2 of my X3-02 Review where I will be talking to you about the S40 OS, and various functionality this slim, slick device brings to the table at a small budget.
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