Unlocked Nokia 6288 Review
The unlocked Nokia’s 6288 for sale was released towards the end of 2006. This slider phone is an update to and an attempt to improve on the disappointing 6280. The 6280 suffered from random signal losses, shutdowns and reboots while the battery life was well below average. For the 6288, the Finnish mobile phone giant has upgraded the firmware and given it a higher capacity battery (from 970 mAh to 1100 mAh) as well as a bigger memory card in the box.
The Nokia 6288 for sale keeps the same look as its predecessor with a few minor tweaks. At 100x46x21 mm and 115 g, the phone feels good in your hand although a little too thick. Its no-nonsense design is made more attractive with new high gloss finishes - white or black. The glossy finish with silver accents plus the large 2.2” screen makes for a sleek looking phone but also renders it a fingerprint magnet.
The 6288 has a smooth sliding action but is letdown by being a bit too loose. When closed, the loose slide may result in accidental opening when stuffed in a bag or your tight pocket. There is also a bit of movement when fully opened. Apart from that, the 6288 still feels sturdy. The alphanumeric keypad feels good but could have used more space between the top row and the slide.
The 2.2” display, which runs at a resolution of 320x240 pixels, is one of the phone’s best features. Two years ago, the 6288’s display was one of the best in its price range. Colors are vivid with a great amount of brightness. The phone is perfectly useable under direct sunlight. The only reasonable complaint would be the lack of brightness controls as the 6288 is always on full brightness which could have an adverse effect on battery life.
The Nokia 6288 for sale comes with a 2MP camera which snaps photos at a maximum 1600x1200 pixel resolution. The lens is built-in to the back of the phone and not behind the slider so you can take use the camera while the phone is closed (there’s a shutter button on the side). Image quality was below average. Pictures were dark and grainy even with the LED flash. The camera was also slow to start-up and saving to the memory card was slow as well.
Video clips can only be saved in 3GP format not the higher quality MP4. The phone does playback both formats and does it pretty well. There were no dropped frames at the maximum QVGA resolution.
The 6288 has a stereo audio player that can playback MP3, AAC and eAAC+ formats as well as FM radio with Visual Radio support. Audio quality was decent using the included earphones and gets much better with a higher quality set of headphones. However, you will have to shell out for a Pop-Port-to-3.5mm adapter. Unlike its predecessor, the Nokia 6288 for sale has support for A2DP Bluetooth, so you at least have some options if you want a better music experience.
As mentioned, the discounted Nokia 6288 now has a higher capacity battery with a claimed stand-by time of 280 hours and talk-time of 4.5 hours. With normal use, you should expect to charge the 6288 about every other day; less when using the phone’s 3G features. While still an improvement over the 6200, the 6288 could use more juice.
Overall, the 6288 is a good handset with a music player that performs well and is a good enough improvement on the 6200. Billed as a high-end phone at release, discounted 6288 units are your best bet if you like this phone.
