techie-zone

It would be completely wrong for anyone to presume that the Nokia 2323 Classic is just a very basic low end budget handset. In fact you’d be absolutely wrong if you did. Inequitably wrong. But here’s the overall picture.

Form Factor
The 2323 Classic comes with a sleek yet simple design. The keypad is large and comes with a mix of Hindi and English alphabets and with good reason - I’ll explain later. The five way nav-pad is large and comfortable for navigation. The device has a 1.8-inch TFT LCD display and sports a 128 x 160 pixel resolution and 65K colors. It’s a light weight handset and so extremely easy to tote around. On one side at the top it has a port flap that conceals the charging port, a proprietary USB port as well as a 2.5mm earphone socket.



The rear panel is kind of a lock shut system that once closed it’s really hard to open irrespective of the release button on top.

Features and Performance
Interface
Running on a Symbian OS with a Series 40 UI, the handset is easy enough to use. The UI itself is fluid and smooth. Animations in the transition effects give it a very friendly and tech-savvy look and feel to it. What bothers me is that although the 2323 has a large display, the fonts are too large and options tend to look a little clustered together but there’s still plenty of space all around. There was no way of reducing the size except for certain options.



The keypad language settings will allow users to switch between Hindi, English, Gujarati and even Marathi with the UI giving way to the adjusted language.

Media
The handset is curiously equipped with a music player that reads AAC, AMR and MP3 formats as well as a video player that reads 3GP files. What’s curious about it is that it has no support for a memory card and comes with just 32MB of internal space. Nokia hasn’t even included a USB cord for transferring files though Bluetooth 2.0 is readily available. The FM radio which works just fine comes with a recording option as well. A stand alone voice recorder is also present.

Connectivity
Other connectivity besides Bluetooth includes GPRS which is sometimes necessary to use the Life Tools service. Instead of the usual native browser, Nokia has now tied up with Opera for their lower ended devices and so Opera Mini is the default browser for the 2323 Classic. Shortcuts to Nokia’s Ovi site are also present and Nokia has also included an option to access its Download section to download content for the handset. Another great feature about the handset is that it has support for configuring and downloading IMAP and POP3 emails.

Life Tools
The 2323 is loaded with Nokia’s Life Tools application and services that’s designed to enable users of the Indian Agriculture Service sector to be better informed about market rates for their produce as well as stay informed and current on daily price changes from their mobile handsets. It’s a brilliant concept that farmers will find extremely helpful. It has a function that will help with learning English and even one for General Knowledge. Initially this initiative was tested in Maharashtra and it was in April that it was launched to the rest of the country.

Misc. Features
All of the regular features like an Alarm clock, Calculator, Convertor, Calculator etc. are available.

Battery
The 2323’s battery life is quite exceptional. I’ve used the handset for the last three days on a single charge. I haven’t used the music player too often but I have used the radio and sent quite a few messages as well as surfed the net from time to time. Talktime crossed the 4 hours mark so that’s another feather in its cap.

The Bottom Line
With a price tag of Rs. 2,891 (MOP), the 2323 is a well equipped device that’s been designed as a simple solution for those with an extremely low budget especially in emerging markets like ours. There are plenty of features available for all requirements and needs, which makes the 2323 Classic one of the better budget handsets available in the country.