So a few weeks back Heidi and I picked up two Nokia 6620’s. But first some history.

A few years back I had a Samsung SCH-8500. It was fun and cool, VERY popular. Anytime you saw a SprintPCS ad it seemed they were using that phone. It was one of the early flipphones and had a decent resolution on the screen, could surf the web, etc. Well, the phone was killed (no, murdered) and after a few months of not having a phone I began to enjoy my new found freedom. Years passed and not a month went by where Heidi was not trying to get me to get a new phone. Finally a year ago the light shone down and I saw what would be my next phone.

I first found out about it on Phone Scoop and Mobile Burn. This phone seemed to do everything. Camera, video, full blown operating system, 2.5G technology with faster download rates, Bluetooth connectivity (nore on that in a bit) and lots and lots and lots and lots of available software for it.

First the things that I love about this phone. Bluetooth is awesome. It allows me to use a wireless headset but even better, it lets me transfer files wirelessly between the phone and the computer, sync the phone with the computer wirelessly, and transfer files between the two phones. This was really useful in Disney World where some of the photos posted to the gallery were actually taken on heidi’s phone but then transferred to my phone to be posted.

The contact capabilities of this phone are amazing as well. I can carry over a thousand contacts, and record and hold any single piece of information. any contact number of any sort, address (mnultiple), etc. I also have a full event calendar program, a todo program, and integration between all three systems.

A/V features are numerous. I can watch videos, listen to MP3’s or MP4’s, take pictures or video, and record phone conversations. I even got a bluetooth presentation unit with the phone (for free no less) that allows me to stream pictures and video to a TV set.

Messaging is excellent. I can have any number of email accounts connected to, it supports POP3 and IMAP4, and through the use of a VPN client available for the phone I can even connect up to my work email on our private network and check that. It also supports standard text messaging as well as MMS (multimedia messaging service) for picture and video messages.

And applications galore. If you can get it for a Palm or PocketPC, you can probably get the same or similar application for SymbianOS. Microsoft Office viewers and editors, PDF viewers, I can print to bluetooth printers from any of them, GPS applcations, encyclopedias, etc.. just a huge array of available applications, including….

GAMES. Not typical “phone” games, but more like games available for Palm and PocketPC. Emulators for SNES, NES, Gameboy, and genesis. role playing games, fighting games, driving games, golf games, etc. hundreds and hundreds of games, not to mention for those familiar with Nokia’s N-Gage might be interested in knowing that most games for that system can either be played outright on the phone or with a patch to get colors working correctly.

As for dislikes.. hmmm.. I dislike it not being a flip phone. The screen is already less than perfect (though I can purchase replacement covers for the phone). It also has some issues that are fixed in later firmwares. Unfortunately the only way to be guaranteed to get an updated firmware is to ship it to an individual who will put it on. Going through AT&T/Cingular or Nokia is a crap shoot. Also the keypad takes some getting used to. Not horrible but definitely awkward at first.

One final note is that coverage with the new AT&T/Cingular company is amazing. Our house in particular is like a cell phone hell. Virtually every phone and company that has ever made it into our house has lost signal almost constantly. These phones however have only lost signal once in the past two weeks. If that isn’t a testament to the merger I don’t know what is 😛

So here are some links:

Information from Nokia
Probably the most popular forum for Symbian Series 60 phones
One of the better theme sites for phones
The best theme site (though it is a pay only site
Handango’s selection of Symbian software