The Nokia 7230 was announced back in November of 2009 and is set to be the next handset to ship from Nokia Online. There is no official on-sale date yet but we've managed to get our hands on a review unit ahead of the launch. Find out how well this S40 handset shapes up as we give first impressions on the Nokia 7230 so far...
The Nokia 7230 isn't a smartphone, it's very much a device aimed at the call and text brigade. However, that doesn't mean you can easily dismiss it as quite a few people we've shown it to have liked what they've seen, commenting that it's exactly what they expect, both in terms of size, build quality and ease-of-use.
Check out our Nokia 7230 unboxing
With an overall weight of 100g it feels pretty good in the hand and the overall build quality is solid. Built around its 2.4-inch screen, the Nokia 7230 is a slider phone that looks compact and attractive in an understated way. This isn't a touchscreen display, largely because it's powered by the non-touch Nokia Series 40 OS, but it is a big and bright display that is easy to read. It has a standard 240 x 320-pixel resolution so images and icons look sharp enough.
Below the screen is a 5-way D-Pad that has quite a shallow click to it but its a good size and allows you to navigate the menu screen with ease. It is flanked by two function buttons, with two call action buttons below that. As we've said, getting around the menu is fairly easy, as you can either press the Menu for the full array of apps pre-installed or press the left-hand button (Go To) for you main messaging and media apps.
The slider action is smooth, more so than we found with the recent Nokia X3 for example, and opens on to a decent sized keypad. The keys have a good motion to them and you'll find messaging or entering phone numbers, quick and easy.
We'll be testing out the 3.2-Megapixel camera in the full review but with a single Flash and no auto-focus it's very much a point-and-shoot kind of device. When it comes to using the Nokia 7230 out and about, this is a phone supporting EGSM 850/900/1800/1900 and WCDMA 900/1900/2100, even even WCDMA 850/1900/2100 in some regions. Other features include Bluetooth, FM Radio and Flash Lite 3.0.
Your SIM card slot can be found on the back of the device under where the battery sits. You'll also find the slot for the microSD card sitting alongside it. The Nokia 7230 ships with a 2GB microSD card that is already pre-installed, so you won't even need to worry about this aspect of the handset until you want to add a larger memory card.
It's early days for the Nokia 7230 yet and we'll be bringing you a full review once we've really got to grips with it but as far as first impressions go, it's a pleasing and well built device. The Nokia 7230 can be pre-ordered from Nokia Online for £129 (inc. VAT) SIM free.
Check out our Nokia 7230 review - first impressions - image gallery:
