Nokia C2-03 Review

Introduction:

The Nokia C2-03 is one of those uncommon handsets that can operate with two SIM cards simultaneously. Why would one need such a feature? Well, there are plenty of folks around the world who use multiple phones, be it for having separate personal and work lines, or for simply using the services of two carriers at the same time. These are the people the C2-03 is aimed at as it spares them the trouble carrying around that second handset might be.

Other than that, there is nothing special about the Nokia C2-03 as it is merely a modest feature phone powered by the Series 40 platform. It offers a 2.6-inch resistive touchscreen display, basic 2-megapixel camera, 2G connectivity, and a slide-out numeric keypad.

Design:

Cheap and plasticky are the first two words that come to mind when holding the Nokia C2-03. With a waistline of 0.67 inches (17 millimeters), the phone is on the thick side and will most probably get noticed while its resting in your pocket. On the other hand, its curved edges make it really comfortable to hold, and the sliding mechanism seems reliable enough.



You can compare the Nokia C2-03 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

A 2-button volume rocker and a lock key reside on the phone's side. Both of them are really well exposed so you can easily use them even when blindfolded. Unfortunately, we are not big fans of the slide-out numeric keypad as its buttons are tiny and crammed too close to each other, which makes typing text messages rather difficult. The send and end keys, could have been a little better exposed as well.

The Nokia C2-03 comes with a 2.6-inch QVGA touchscreen, but sadly it is of the resistive kind. As a result, it simply isn't as responsive as we wish it was. Another thing that bothers us is that it is rather dim, which makes using the phone in broad daylight quite difficult. On top of that, color gradients look pretty inaccurate due to the display's relatively low color depth.

Interface:

The Nokia C2-03 runs the Series 40 platform, and although its interface offers a certain degree of customization, we think that the company could have done a much better job designing it. Sure, we liked how widgets and shortcuts can be placed on the device's home screen for quick access to pretty much any of its functions, but overall, the interface is quite unpleasant to look at, as if the designers have tried to cram as mush stuff as possible on the phone's tiny display.


Perhaps it would have been a good idea for Nokia to have stuck with the classic D-pad instead of equipping the C2-03 with a tricky touchscreen for marketing's sake. The interface as a whole simply doesn't feel optimized to be used with a touchscreen display, and navigating around isn't as fluid as it should be on a modern phone.

Functionality:

All of the phone's basic features – contacts list, messaging, calendar, alarm clock, are intuitive and pretty straightforward to use. You can search for a given name in the contacts list and the results would update in real time, which is pretty neat.

We were pleased to see that the email client on the Nokia C2-03 supports the major email service providers, which makes setting it up as easy as pie. Furthermore, if you are an active social network user, Nokia has included an app that gives you quick access to Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr, along with a home screen widget to send you notifications on certain events.

Using two SIM cards at the same time is the perk that makes the Nokia C2-03 stand out of the crowd. While the primary SIM card slot is located under the phone's battery, the secondary one is located right on the device's side, which allows for SIM cards to be swapped on the fly. On top of that, you can pick which services each SIM card you want to handle. For example, texting and dialing can be charged to your primary one, while the secondary takes care of data connectivity.


In terms of software, the Nokia C2-03 comes with Nokia Maps out of the box. Maps can be downloaded over the web and stored on the device for offline use. You also get a handful of games and productivity tools. There isn't much more that comes pre-installed, but thankfully, the Ovi Store has a fair selection of games and apps that you are free to check out.Downloading software is a simple process, and all it takes is for you to register an account.

Camera:

There is a 2-megapixel camera on the phone's back, which has neither flash nor autofocus. We doubt you will resort to using it unless you have no alternatives on hand as the images that it produces lack detail and have a fair amount of digital noise. Videos look even worse as they are taken at the miniscule resolution of 176 by 144 pixels at 15 frames per second, which makes them practically unusable.




Multimedia:

The Nokia C2-03 boasts a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack and comes with a 2 gig microSD card out of the box. That being said, the device can be used as a portable music player. Sadly, the media player interface lists the music that you have uploaded and the pre-loaded system tones together, which is annoying. Watching videos on the handset is technically possible as it supports the MPEG4 format, but everything sized 320 by 240 pixels and above runs too choppy to enjoy.



Internet:

Even after hours of tinkering with the built-in Nokia Browser, we simply couldn't get it to work, which left us no choice but to download Opera Mini 6.1. Unfortunately, even though Opera Mini loaded and displayed pages properly, navigation was pretty sluggish, which made surfing the web a tedious process.


In terms of connectivity, the only way to get online using the Nokia C2-03 is by using its EDGE 2G radio. You also get Bluetooth connectivity, and that is pretty much it. Transferring files from your computer to the phone is done via its microUSB port, but a microUSB cable is not included in the set.

Performance:

We can gladly say that the Nokia C2-03 performs well when it comes to in-call sound quality. Voices sound loud and clear through its earpiece, with only a slight hint of distortion. The microphone, however, adds a bit of crackling noise to the conversation. Besides that, it seems to lack sensitivity as the other party could not hear us loud enough.

The C2-03 is equipped with a 1020mAh battery that can provide up to 5 hours of continuous talk time, which is considerably below the average for a feature phone. At least the phone can last for up to 400 hours in stand-by mode, which is an acceptable figure.

Conclusion:

All in all, the Nokia C2-03 stands out with nothing but its ability to handle two SIM cards at the same time. That factor aside, the phone has a few drawbacks that makes us suggest looking for an alternative before buying it. Its keypad, for example is rather uncomfortable, unless your fingers are small enough, and its Internet browser is practically unusable. Furthermore, the phone's display has a low color depth and its low brightness makes it hard to use in broad daylight. Besides that, the phone lags in the multimedia department with its poor quality camera and unpolished media player.

The Samsung Star II Duos, on the other hand, can also work with a couple of SIM cards simultaneously, yet stands a step above the Nokia C2-03 in terms of features. Another phone worth considering is the Nokia X1-01, which is a dual-SIM device as well, but comes even cheaper. However, if working with multiple SIM cards is not a priority, you should also consider the LG Cookie 3G and Sony Ericsson Zylo. Besides that, the similarly-priced Samsung GALAXY 5 should also be taken into account as it  is a full-fledged Android smartphone with a broad feature list.

Nokia C2-03 Video Review: