Nokia 1661 Mobile Reviews, Nokia 1661 Mobile Specification

Description

The Nokia 1661 is a simple dual-band GSM phone. The Nokia 1661 is Nokia's lowest cost color phone including an FM radio and a large color screen. The Nokia 1661 also supports flashlight, loud ringtones and multiple phonebooks.

Features

Phone Style:

Classic

Touch Screen:

Camera:

Web Enabled:

Bluetooth:

External Memory Card:

MP3 Player:

Video Recorder

Video Displayer:

Speaker Phone:

FM Radio:

Text Messaging:

Instant Messaging:

E-Mail:

Wi-Fi:

Keyboard:

GPS:

3G:

Specs

Size:

4.2 x 1.8 x 0.5 inches

Weight:

2.9 ounces

Colors:

Black

Screen Resolution:

128 x 160 pixels

Internal Memory:

- MB

Networks:

GSM 1900, GSM 850

Talk Time:

3.9 hours

Battery Type:

Lithium-Ion

Standby Time:

503 hours

Operating System:

Proprietary

LG Cookie KP500 - Mobile

Good:

• Great design
• Well priced
• Plenty of editing features
• Great battery
• Decent audio player and FM radio

Bad:

• Touch sensitivity and accelerometer are erratic

I was completely taken aback when I saw the box with the pricing of this touch screen handset the LG KP500 cookie - Rs. 13,990. It amazed me that a large screen touch sensitive handset would cost so little. This could well be the cheapest totally touch screen handset on the Indian market, but what I’m sure you'd need to know is if it's still worth even that price. Let me clue you in this entry level touch screen handset.

Form Factor
The KP500 has a large 3-inch TFT touch screen display featuring a 240 x 400 pixel, 256K color resolution. Just under the display are a set of 3 keys – Call take, end and a center shortcut menu key that can also be used as a sort of 'End task - Task Manager' option to close all active applications. The stylus is neatly concealed and located at the bottom but slides out from the side.
This extremely slim handset (11.9mm) has a microSD card slot on one side followed by a screen lock key and a dedicated camera key located below that. On the opposite side is where you’ll find a proprietary port for the handsfree, charger and USB and volume/zoom keys. A 3 megapixel camera is located at the rear. That's pretty much it for the design; it's simple, slim and quite stylish. Here's how it does in functionality.

Features and Performance
Interface
Running on a Flash UI the KP500’s touch screen functionality is a bit erratic most of the time. Then again there have been times that it's been an absolute pleasure to use. Hence erratic is as accurate a term as any. The handwriting recognition would rival any Windows Mobile device and probably end up being better. The accelerometer is possibly the worst there is though and saying this was erratic would be an understatement. Nevertheless the KP500 sports a QWERTY style virtual keyboard when in landscape that is quite responsive and easy to manage.


The desktop or rather 'desktops' are well designed with a widget pop out feature not unlike the Samsung F480's or the Omnia's . You can choose what shortcuts of your choice and also drop them onto the desktop. By flicking this desktop to the side a new one swivels around. This desktop is designed specifically for quick dialing. The widget section can store up to 8 contacts, which can of course be dropped onto the desktop. Honestly, an integration of both would have been better (one would be completely unnecessary). But it does add a certain personal feel to have two unique desktops. The flicking feature is also evident for viewing images.

The menu set up is a neat division of features according to functionality. I quite like this. It's all very easily usable with just your fingers rendering the stylus redundant most of the time. The only time the stylus is handy is for drawing, handwriting as an option for writing messages and the browser that sometimes makes it a bit tricky selecting options or links from the screen.


There are times when the navigation can get quite frustrating if you're using your fingers. Scrolling can sometimes be an issue as the sensitivity is not consistent and trying to insert a contact into a message is a bit off too.

Samsung F480 TouchWiz - Mobile

Good:

• Responsive finger navigation
• Good media and FM players
• Decent battery life

Bad:

• Doesn't run Java applications too well
• Inbuilt features like Shozu and Opera Mini don't seem to function

I’ve often hailed Samsung's F480 TouchWiz as being a sure contender for the role of 'i-Killer'. Having had an opportunity to test it over the last week or so, here’s my opinion on whether or not it’s the best candidate yet. However, please understand that this is a standalone review and I’m not comparing it to the iPhone in any way; at least, not yet. That said, let's take a look at this TouchWiz.
Form Factor
The design is one of the things I quite liked about the handset when I first saw it. It’s a sleek, balanced handset that won’t protrude out of your pocket and elicit witticisms such as “Is that your mobile or are you just happy to see me?” The steel and black finish impart an air or class and refinement.

One minor drawback is the 2.8" TFT touchscreen. I’m sure it wouldn't have made Samsung bankrupt to take it up a notch to 3 inches. The resolution is 240 x 320 pixels with 256K colors. The speaker and secondary cam (which is well concealed) are located above the display. The F480 has a simple three-button control below the display. All you see are Call and End keys, and a shortcut key in between.
The handset weighs a scant 100g, so needless to say it’s quite comfortable to tote around. On one of the slim sides you’ll find the volume control for everything, including the touch feedback from the Haptics to the sound. Just below that is a microSD card slot. A dedicated camera key is locted on the other side, below where Samsung has placed its proprietary USB/ charging/ earphone socket. A small screen lock switch is located on the top.

Sometimes it was a bit confusing which side of the handset was up, considering the speaker could be construed as an iPhone-like singular key and the main keys as the speaker portion to hear though.

Gadget of the Year 08 - PC speakers

It’s round up time, the time to felicitate those that have proved worthy. Anyone been to Tech 2.0 recently would have realized that we are pinning the poster-boy tag on the best products of 2008. In this article we shift the scanner to dynamic PC speaker segment, which could be a simple 2.1 system, or some snazzily designed device that should belong to the Battelstar Galactica set. The best performer has price no bar (which is obvious from our winner), then there is a runner up, and last but not the least, a budget model. These are the products from the PC speaker segment, which receive the Tech2 gadget of the year awards

PC speaker of the year - Bose Computer Music Monitor

This is easily one of the most expensive PC speakers ever released, but that's Bose for you. The MusicMonitor is a 2.0 speaker set, with quite a small foot print, but distinct bass response. This particular product released here in early 2008, and I remember we were called to attend a pre-release demo which impressed me there itself. I am not too much of a fan of their other products, but this unit has very good sound quality, particularly great bass from such a small speaker set. This is due to a system containing two passive radiators near the back panel to pump out extra bass. They are concentrically placed with a calculated distance between them, and both vibrate in exact opposite phase with each other. This is a special technology
that Bose has incorporated for this product, thus they deserve credit for it. The ease of connection and loud sound make it ideal for connecting to any desktop or laptop. The sound is open and has some spectacular depth, something I have not seen in any 2.1 speaker in some time. This is one of the main reasons why it wins, as the sound is more like a full sized speaker set. Nitty gritty faults are mentioned in the review, but that is our job; overall the sound quality is awesome.


Runner up - Logitech Audiohub


This product too released in India early 2008, reviewed by us in April. The Audiohub is a very unique set, rather, it is a single unit, like a soundbar. Meant for laptops
and desktops, this gem of a design might not be absolutely original, but in the PC speaker segment it was quite refreshing to see something so unique in terms of form factor. More over, it also doubles up as a USB Hub! The right and left speaker ‘arms’ can extend outward a bit to cradle variable screen sizes in the middle. The included wire is short, but there is an extension cable provided. The power switch has a thick, round, translucent body; and lights up orange when on. In terms of sound quality, the output is a sufficient 15 watts, with dual 2-inch speakers doing their job. The product has great mid frequencies, and also excellent ‘air’ in the highs. Bass is good enough, though not as thumping as others. Nevertheless the sound is loud and well controlled; no distortion or other grit. It’s quite reasonably priced too, check the review for complete details.

Best Value - Altec Lansing VS2521One of the more reasonably priced products around, this one released in the second half of 2008, reviewed by us in September. It is a text Book 2.1 music system meant for computer use, with a nice cuboid subwoofer that powers the 2 satellite speakers. The speakers are futuristic looking, with a leaden metallic color, The grilles are permanently fixed metallic mesh, which gives it a slightly ‘Vader-ish’ evil look, but very sophisticated. The left speaker has the controls for volume, bass and treble lined up horizontally on its lower side, along with a headphone out and a line-in, in that order. The bass response is low and round, and quite thumping. The good thing is that these Altec Lansing’s behave very well at high volumes, yielding no audible distortion. This is something we always check in lower priced speakers, and the VS2521 performed honestly enough.

Gadget of the Year 08 - Home Theaters

Home Theaters — the systems in charge of the audio visual experience. We have looked at all the releases this year, and as usual we have a overall winner, a runner up and last, but not least, a budget choice. In this market there dozens of systems, some costing more than a house in Mumbai. Tech 2.0 does not go to such deep ends of the market, thus our coverage is one those products that are accessible and affordable.

Home Theater Of The Year - Onkyo HT-S5105

This system is a new release by Onkyo, one of the most popular brands in the mid to high level Home theater segment in India. They have always belted out good systems, and most of all they have a variety that surpasses most. At Rs. 36,000 this system really delivers the goods, with 3 HDMI sources switching, 130 Watts RMS power per channel, and Onkyo’s plethora of proprietary features like Audyssey 2EQ room-correction technology. The latter is a great method of getting the best possible sound setting for the speakers, according to your room acoustics. The sub has a 20 cm driver, and a good 90 watts of power. The speakers have 8 cm cone woofer and 2.5 cm balanced dome tweeter. The overall sound is quiet balanced and powerful, more suited to surround sound movie experience. But music does not sound bad too, thus the system is great overall, not to mention it fits in with contemporary interiors, due to it sleek black design.

Even though they cannot replace the real thing entirely, I really like the concept of soundbars since their inception, and this year our reputable electronics giant Philips released a couple of models. These handy units can double up as an HT system for those with space constraints, who simply cannot place surround speakers. We reviewed the higher model, though the HS6100 product has won the runner-up prize for a number of reasons, mainly due to its subtle and mature good looks, superb build and decent features. It costs about Rs.35000, so it’s within reach. Philips sound quality is one of the best in the consumer category, with heavy bass and impressively powerful sound. The unit has built in DVD player, thus it acts as a one stop solution for your full AV needs, plus it can play DivX, read off USB drives, and has inputs for connecting external media players. It also supports upscaling to 1080p.

Whenever budget Home theaters are spoken about, yamaha really leads the way. The YHT195 costs about 25,000 bucks, and anything below these prices, like the ones below 10,000 bucks by more popular brands, sound like crap. This unit comes in black or grey, a very simple yet attractive design. The satellite speakers weigh a little less than a kilo each, and are neat little rectangular boxes. It has 500W of total RMS power, at 100W per channel, plus 50W for the subwoofer. Connections include 2 HDMI-ins, 1 HDMI-out, 3 component-ins, a 5.1 analog audio-out, and a host of composite-outs. There are 3 digital audio-ins: one coaxial and 2 optical-ins.. The speakers are rated at 6 ohms. There are regular Yamaha proprietary features like YPAO, CinemaDSP etc. The sound quality is quite nice, and offers the engulfing power that a decent Home theater needs to deliver.