Phone Review: Nokia 6030 Phone
Today I received 2 refurbished Nokia 6030 phones from the Cingular deal. 2 because Cingular’s site went whacko and wouldn’t process my first order, so I had to order it again and POOF both orders went through.
Is the Nokia 6030 all that it’s cracked up to be? Will it be the reigning Nokia Budget Phone Champ? Let’s find out!
The Nokia 6030 Phone
Now this is a disappointing first look at the 6030. No padding, and the only protection for the phone is that little plastic baggie. I’d sure hate to order a RAZR or a Nokia 6682 via the Cingular site. Cingular: -1 point.
However, once we actually take a harder look at the Nokia 6030 phone, we can see that it’s a slick looking phone. It’s also much smaller than one would expect. Here I have the 6030 next to a Nokia 6010 for size comparison.
The Nokia 6030 weighs 3.17 ounces with the battery. To put things in perspective, the Nokia 6010 phone weighs 3.76 ounces and the Motorola RAZR v3 weighs 3.35 ounces. So it’s lighter than a RAZR.
The keypad threw me off for a couple of seconds once I started fooling around with the 6030. There’s a 5-way navigation system but the buttons are all separated. Nowadays most phones have the “one button” joystick that moves in four directions and is also a confirm button. The Nokia 6030 phone is a little weird in that the middle key doesn’t move, it’s just a button and the surrounded arrow keys are non-movable buttons too.
The call, cancel, and left/right selection keys are all very large. One of these keys is a little larger than 2 normal keypad keys put together.
Features
Here’s a short list of notable features on the phone: loudspeaker, mp3 ringtones, themes, included games/applications, fm radio, and 3 megabytes of internal memory. This is actually really impressive for what amounts to be a $10 phone. The loudspeaker alone is worth the $10 and totally beats the crap out of that Nokia 6010 I bought for $8.
The loudspeaker is pretty decent, it’s not as harsh sounding as the Nokia 6800 loudspeaker but nowhere near the quality of the N90 speaker. It’s…decent. Ringtones sound ok. I have yet to try my MP3 ringtones.
The included java games are Block Breaker, Club Pinball, and Tetris. Block Breaker is a GameLoft games which means it’s a top-notch game and damn good. Pinball is, well, pinball and generally not very impressive. Tetris would’ve been cool but it’s a stupid demo version.
Unfortunately the phone didn’t come with a headset so I’m a little stuck trying to test the FM radio.
Finally the 3 megs of internal memory is just icing on the cake. Sure, 3 megs doesn’t sound like a lot but it certainly beats most of the budget phones out there.
Battery
The Nokia 6030 uses a BL-5C battery which is rated at 850 mah and good for up to 3 hours of talk time. Honestly I think it’s more but I don’t make a lot of calls on my phone so it’s hard for me to test out. The battery, of course, is still better than the one on the Nokia N90 for some reason.
Making Calls and Sound Quality
No problems there. No dropped calls, excellent reception (although my area gets pretty good reception anyway), and the sound quality of the earpiece is very clear. The default volume is a little low but you can turn it up.
User Interface
The menu system on the 6030 is actually surprisingly similar to any of the Motorola phone interfaces - it uses icons and not the oldschool Series 40 (first edition?) menu system. You can also completely change your shortcuts (arrow keys) and the right selection buttons for a little more control compared to older Series 40 phones.
The Nokia 6030 runs on 850/1900 frequencies and is software unlockable.
Final Impressions
If I could give the Nokia 6030 phone an award, it would be the “best phone under $50″ award. It looks far more expensive than it actually is, has quite simply one of the most impressive feature sets on a budget phone that I’ve ever seen, and it’s a great phone overall. Personally, I think this phone would give even semi-budget phones a run for their money.
Unlocking the Nokia 6030 phone
Read my unlocking instructions for the 6030 here.
Summary
Good
- Superb feature set - loudspeaker/mp3/radio
- Best combination of price, features, and usability
- Small and light
Bad
- Keypad buttons are a little small
- No camera
- Proprietary usb cable connection
May 24th, 2006 at 7:57 am
I have just bought a Nokia 6030. How do you activatethe loudspeaker?
Cheers,
John.
May 31st, 2006 at 12:58 pm
You activate the loudspeaker when making a call. You’ll notice in the bottom right there’s an option for it. It is kind of inconvenient because you have to place the call then activate the loudspeaker once it’s dialing.
March 20th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Dear,
It is a good cell phone just little and much more. Looking in hand for using.
April 4th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
i really need to know how to set the speaker volume i can barely hear ANYTHING! get back to me soon please!
April 5th, 2007 at 12:19 am
just use the left and right arrow keys to change the volume while you’re in the middle of a call. sadly, you can’t change the volume any other way.
April 10th, 2007 at 4:45 am
Please tell whether nokia 6030 support mp3 ringtones if yes then tell me how to transfer into cell is it using usb cable
April 10th, 2007 at 11:03 am
it does support mp3 ringtones - you can transfer either by GPRS or through the usb cable which is a little hard to find.
April 30th, 2007 at 1:52 am
I want to backup my contact on cell phone. I use nokia 6030. Can you help me , please?
April 30th, 2007 at 2:28 am
you need a special usb cable specific to the 6030, and Nokia PC Suite software.
June 4th, 2007 at 5:43 am
I have purchased Nokia 6030 recently. Its Loudspeaker volume is OK when we play FM. But my problem is, if we switch it over to Loudspeaker mode the volume is very less when compared to FM mode while a phone call comes/goes. Is there any setting to change for solving my problem. Please suggest me.
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:02 pm
I cannot figure out how to set up/activate email function. I have alot of friends w/ tmail and when I had 6010 I had no problems emailing them, but with this 6030 I cant find anything that looks like email on the phone, even though it states it on the box.
September 30th, 2007 at 11:02 am
How do we download mp3 ringtones through GPRS???Please tell me a site which i can access through GPRS for downloading mp3 ringtones.
October 7th, 2007 at 3:33 am
how can download games and application from pc to my mobile with data cable.
October 15th, 2007 at 5:56 am
6030 fm not working
November 14th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
My Nokia 6030 has a little car on it and I don’t know where it came from and when I make or receive call people can hear me but I can hear them.
HELP! I can’t even call T-Mobile to complain
November 30th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
I have the same prob as Lizz, I cant hear callers, but they can hear me.
Will this help?
To set volume:
Click menu/settings/my shortcuts/navigation key/(select)
and then choose which navigation arrow of the four you want to put volume control on.
Just scroll through the menu
December 22nd, 2007 at 4:47 am
I have NOkia 6030. it plays mid files, but it does not support mp3 files. Pls give solution / mp3 player to play mp3 songs.
Regards,
Venkat
January 25th, 2008 at 4:53 am
Pleaste let me know about mp3 ringtone to download in NOKIA 6030 mobile phone please help and tell me
January 25th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
HI Meero,
You need a special USB cable for the 6030, or you have to use wireless internet (GPRS) to add mp3 ringtones.
February 16th, 2008 at 7:28 am
please tell me how to activate mp3 ring tone in nokia6030. i am trying very hard. when i add mp3 ring tone to phone it’s says unknown format. please give the solution.
March 7th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
to lizz: You have to buy a headset. the dollar store sells universal ones
March 10th, 2008 at 9:32 am
hi meero…
for downloading tone or game I’m using usb fbus cable that can be buy separately.(cable that have tiny usb for other nokia phone like 1110)
I’m using MobiMb for downloading software.
Mp3 & Amr file is not supported as I tested. Midi file no problem at all.
April 7th, 2008 at 10:38 am
i have nokia 6220 how can i add my phone memory
May 19th, 2008 at 11:05 am
I have a Nokia 6030 and no one can hear me. It’s worked for over a year and just yesterday something messed up. I can hear people clearly but no one can hear me at all. Just dead silence on their end. Is there a setting that may have changed?
May 21st, 2008 at 2:53 am
You have to buy the usb cable seperate, right?
June 17th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
hii i have nokia 6030 mobile phone…i dont have gprs connection i want to download themes and ringtones…….hw can i do it?? plz help me………….