The Nokia X3 Touch and Type is the latest entry-level smartphone from the Finnish manufacturer, offering an unusual blend of hardware keypad and touchscreen display. Join us after the break for our Nokia X3 Touch and Type review...
We've seen plenty of touchscreen Nokia's with proper keyboards, but the Nokia X3 Touch and Type has an unusual form factor. Where many touchscreen devices feature a sliding QWERTY keyboard – such as the Nokia N97 Mini – the Nokia X3 Touch and Type has a regular alpha-numeric keypad below the display.
The screen itself measures in at 2.4 inches, and is a resistive panel. Because you can navigate the operating system using the touchscreen, there's no need for regular navigation buttons below the display.
Nokia X3 Touch and Type Unboxing
There may be the usual 12 keys below the screen, but Nokia hasn't arranged them in the traditional order. Instead, the Nokia X3 Touch and Type features the hash, star and 0 key to the right of the main keyset – numbered 1-9 – instead of below them.
This causes the biggest issues when writing text messages. Switching between suggested words, or creating spaces between words, takes practise, as you have to get used to the unusual key location. That said, once you get used to it, it's easier than ever to write messages.
Above the keyboard sit four other hardware keys – call and end keys, a media button to play music, and a message hotkey. A volume rocker on the right-hand side of the Nokia X3 Touch and Type, and a lock key, are the only other buttons.
The touchscreen is great during everyday use, and it soon becomes second nature to rely on it. From pressing 'OK', to scrolling down through menus, it's fast, simple and easy.
We particularly like the design of the Nokia X3 Touch and Type, with an incredibly thin and lightweight casing. An aluminium plate on the back gives a quality feel, and it's a reasonably tough handset.
Despite being an entry-level choice, features on the Nokia X3 Touch and Type include a 5-Megapixel camera and Wi-Fi. We'll be checking out the performance of the latter this week, along with battery life and putting the screen through its paces, so check back here for updates.
Overall, then, we're really impressed with the Nokia X3 Touch and Type. The alpha-numeric keypad takes a little getting used to, due to the location of peripheral keys, but aside from that the Nokia X3 Touch and Type is a great choice.
Check out our Nokia X3 Touch and Type photo gallery below:
