I bought this for my wife, who needs a simple phone that can make and receive calls, send and receive text messages, and play her favorite MP3 in addition to the ubiquitous FM Radio. This phone fulfills all those needs, and still has more to offer with 3G and Bluetooth support. The User interface is quite simple and yet looks cool. The candy-bar phone isn't too big or thick and fits well in your denim's pockets. There is just one minor thing which we don't quite like - the keypad. Its a single sheet of metal and its kinda difficult to press. We really need to press very hard in order to punch the numbers/letters. Other than that, a great device. Nokia 2730 Unlocked Cell Phone with 2 MP Camera (Black)
I just returned from a trip to Asia, visiting 2 countries. I did research to ensure this phone is supposed to have the bandwidth to support the wireless spectrums used by those 2 countries. Since the phone was already unlocked, I simply purchased a SIM local to the country, pop the SIM in, and activated the SIM/phone #. Wholla! Works like a charm. Called local to the country and back to USA. Sound quality is crystal clear. A friend could not even tell I was almost half way around the world when we chatted.
The back case is a bit tough to open initially. The back cover will only slide downwards for a few millimeters, where then you can lift the cover to access the battery and the SIM slot. After the first couple of times, the stickiness wears off.
You can then go to the Nokia website to download their Ovi Suite software, where you can transfer data between your phone and computer via USB cable.
It would have been nice (would have been willing to pay a little more) for the vendor to have included the USB data/charger cable with the phone. I had to locate and purchase it separately on a different website.
The one weakness of the phone is that there is no quick way to change volume without taking the phone away from the ear.
Pros:
* The phone has a clean and simple design. The navigation menu isn't cluttered like most other phones these days.
* The call quality is decent, and the screen is bright.
* Bluetooth works as it should.
CONS... Here we go...
* The battery life is sub-par. An hour-long call is enough to bring the battery life down to half-charge. One of the methods the manual offers to conserve battery life is to lower the brightness of the display. The thing is, YOU CAN'T. There is NO OPTION ANYWHERE in the display menu or any other area to control the brightness of the screen (and it is bright).
* There is no way to control the size and layout of the time and date on the main screen. This is especially annoying when you want to gaze at the lovely wallpaper you install. The only way around this is to hide the clock and the date completely.
* The phone does not come with its own USB to connect to the PC. This is important, because you (supposedly) NEED to update the software on this phone when you get it or you will run into problems like being unable to receive and send multimedia text messages. The Nokia website states that you can update directly from the phone itself but only with some models. Apparently, they decided not to have that convenience with the 2730, so the only way to update is through a PC connection. Of course, you can't use just any usb connector. I have no idea what this particular inlet model is called but I took a picture of it and will post it in the product photos.
I currently am unable to send or receive multimedia messages and had to work it out with AT&T for quite a while to come up with a solution, which we didn't. The multimedia messages menu won't even allow me to mess around with the Configuration Settings to configure my service provider. My only option is to install the update and hope for the best but, of course, it didn't come with the USB.
If it weren't for these issues, I would have given it four stars.
After using the phone for a week now I thought it time to post a review. I ordered direct from Nokia for ninety-nine bucks and found a code for free shipping. I am using the phone on the T-Mobile network.
First off reception and call quality is great. It paired easily with my Plantronics Blue Tooth earpiece. The battery life seems great to me. I make about 10 calls a day totaling an hour or so. I have not reduced the battery by a single bar. So I'd say that's pretty good. If you want a bare bones candy bar phone this is an excellent choice.
On the negative side, there is no way to access 3G/4G speed for the web on this phone. It needs to be pre-configured when built to accomodate this and T-Mobile does not have the ability to go beyond simple GPRS web speed which is SLOW. So DO NOT buy this phone to access the web on T-Mobile.
Overall a solid choice for a no frills phone. Very light and simple to use.
UPDATE 2.18.11: I've been using the phone daily for a month now and I love it. Very reliable, cannot drain the battery and has rock solid reception. - Cell Phone'
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