Gallery: Nokia C6

The C6's battery cover catch may be a weak point. It has a little bit of give, which may get worse over time. It is fairly typical of plastic materials and is on the disadvantages compared to metallic materials (which tend to feel more expensive and be less flexible).

Similar to that found on the 5800 and 5230. It's an absolute necessity of a touchscreen device.

Size wise the C6 is slightly bigger than the N97 mini. This is mainly because of the N97 mini uses metallic materials which allows for greater tolerances.

As a device with both a QWERTY keyboard and a touchscreen the C6 can be classed as a hybrid device. Some see this as a compromise, others as the best of both worlds. Either way we expect to see many more hybrid devices in the future and it's likely to become one of the dominant form factors going forward..

Nokia decision to set the space bar off centre has it critics. However it makes for more a efficient keyboard layout and is ideal when using the two handed grip typically used when entering text in keyboards of this size.

HTML email support has been improved. Previous version had a 'view HTML link' in the message view, but that's no longer necessary. The HTML version is loaded first time automatically.

Note how the C6 is slightly fatter than the N97 mini.

The standard Symbian^1 software suite is present. It provides a tremendous amount of functionality out of the box.

Nokia messaging allows you to set up consumer push email for any existing email account. The built in, wizard based, set up tool, makes it very easy to set up email on the device. Most users should be able to get it running in around a minute.

The C6 ships with version 3.03 of Maps, but you will be prompted to automatically download the latest version (3.04).

The C6 has the widget based homescreen first seen in the Nokia N97. It's the first device outside the Nseries to boast this particular feature.

The C6 is around £50 cheaper than the N97 mini now. The launch prices were very different (around £270 versus £450). However the C6 will almost certainly fall under the £200 barrier before too long. This makes it outstanding value for money. At this price level there's little to match its form factor and feature set from competing manufacturers.

As is now standard on Nokia devices the C6 comes with free sat nav (car and pedestrian modes). Arguably it is the most successful of Nokia Ovi services.

The C6's camera has autofocus, so this is a two stage capture key. It does feel a bit plasticity, but has decent tactile feedback, which means it's quite good in day to day usage.

Camera with single LED flash. The quality of the photos are very average for a five megapixel camera. The absence of Carl Zeiss Optics (e.g. compared the N97 or X6) does seem to make a difference.

Volume control keys - these double as the zoom key in some applications.

1200 mAH capacity. It's slightly thinner than the BL-5J (1320 mAh) found in the X6 and 5230 and has a smaller capacity too. Thus far it is unique to the C6-00.

Call key, home key, and end key. The last of these doubles as the power key (which can also be used to change profiles and lock the device).

I would rate the C6's keyboard above the N97 mini, but only just. I prefer the C6's domed key, but the N97 mini wins in terms of key separation (important for those with larger fingers).

The C^ and N97 mini take different approaches the hybrid form factor. The N97 mini's titled form factor is more elegant, but it is also more expensive to engineer.

From left-to-right: Nokia 5230, Nokia X6, Nokia 5800, Nokia C6, N97 mini.

The orange symbols on the keyboard can be accessed by using the Fn key as a modifier or by holding down the key in question for a long press.

As you can see there some internal metal framework in the C6. This makes for a robust slider mechanism, which should stand up well to long term usage.

It's nice to see a four line keyboard on the C6, similar to that found on the E75. Indeed the whole design of the keyboard, in terms of mechanics is very similar (e.g. the central bar, which is part of the mechanic mechanism). However unlike the E75 the C6's key are individually domed, which means text entry is quicker and fewer mistakes are made.

Although it looks a little out of place, the C6's D-pad is actual rather good, especially for single handed use. Some may prefer separate keys (as on the N97 mini), but a D-Pad set apart from the keyboard makes a lot of sense, given that its primary use is in navigating the phone's UI.

From top-to-bottom: Nokia 5230, Nokia X6, Nokia 5800, Nokia C6, N97 mini.

The C6 has version 7.2 of the Web application. Notable is the addition of search box below the address bar. The default search engine can be chosen the first time a search is performed. The available options will vary from market to market. In the UK you can choose between Google and Bada.

The browser holds few surprises for existing Symbian users.

The C6 has an updated version of Nokia Messaging (similar to the one found on the N8). It makes better use of screen space, has better folder support and improved HTML email handling.

From the back the respective mechanism's differences can clearly be seen.

The smart dialling functionality (enter the first few letters of someone's name), first seen on the Eseries device, is present on the C6.

Yes it's a phone too!