New toy

Recently I renewed my contract with M1 and what this means is that I could opt for a new phone. One of the better things over here is that consumers can buy mobile phones with 50% to 100% off the retail price. The latter means free mobile phone lah.

I had been looking at phones since before Chinese New Year and had shortlisted my choices to three phones – the Sony Ericsson K810i, Nokia 6500 Classic and Nokia 6500 Slider.

Price-wise, they cost $198, $198 and $168 respectively. That was before Chinese New Year. The 6500 Slider was cheaper than the Classic, which was strange because the retail price is the other way round, with a differential of at least $50.

After Chinese New Year, the Slider remained at the same price but both the Sony Ericsson’s and Classic’s prices increased to $238. It really doesn’t make sense, even though the Classic didn’t make the cut for my final two.

I was leaning back and forth between the 6500 S (Slider) and the K810i. I was more keen on the Slider as I had never had a slider phone before. Furthermore, the brushed stainless steel finish was quite nice. It was also cold to the touch which made it unique. The down side is that is bulkier and heavier than candybar phones, at 117g.

Practicality ruled as I would rather have the slimmer and lighter K810i. However, this wasn’t my ideal choice either, as it has a joystick (which is prone to malfunction and Sony’s new phones no longer have it) and the camera wasn’t as good as the K800i. But I supposed I could make do as I do have a new camera.

Unexpectedly, the thriftier side of me emerged and all these were thrown out of the window. I browsed through their models which come free and there were four – the K800i, Sony Ericsson K660i, Nokia 2630 and Nokia 6120.

So I looked up the features of the Nokia 6120 and I was pleasantly surprised with what I found out. It received the thumbs up as being the lightest and smallest phone with the Symbian 60 software, which usually comes with smartphones. There were praises all around for its 3G and quad band compatibilities, responsiveness and customization abilities. The downsides mentioned were the small screen and fonts, and also a lack of Wifi.

All the reviews made it a very attractive phone. I was definitely tempted. I don’t listen to much music so Sony Ericsson Walkman series is out. Samsung, LG and Motorola are not even worth considering.

Thus, my choice was made. It’s free and the money I saved ($238) could go into buying memory cards for the phone.

I have seen the black model often and my current phone is black too. So I didn't want that.

Also, online reviews mentioned that the white one is much nicer. Having not seen it, I took a chance and ordered the white version online. It was delivered to me the next day. I And now, I have a new toy to play with ;-)


The picture doesn’t do it justice. It shows as if it has more silver than white, but it’s not like that.

I am relearning how to use a Nokia phone, after two years of using Sony Ericsson.