Nokia 2705 Shade – Simple design basic communication phone

For:

Nokia 2705 Shade has simple folder type design and it is equipped with good call quality, Bluetooth, support for web-based POP accounts and 1.3-megapixel camera with four-different resolutions.

Against:

The speakerphone volume quality is poor and the Bluetooth profiles are limited. The cheap exteriors of the phone give a toy like feel in the hand.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

The Nokia 2705 Shade is based on CDMA2000 1X technology that supports CDMA2000 1X 1900/800 band. It is folder type phone and comes in black color. The changeable covers in red, blue and green colors are sold separately. The basic features include an alarm clock, a calendar, a reminder, a basic calculator, metric and currency conversion, a speakerphone, caller ID, a voice recorder, call timer, voice dialing, polyphonic ringer and vibrating alert. The supported wireless interface is Bluetooth 2.1 EDR. The additional features are 64MB of internal memory, E-911 compliant–TTY compatible text-to-speech recognition and A-GPS.

2-inch interior LCD display has a 176×220 pixels that support 18-bit (262,000) colors. The postage stamp external display has a resolution of 128×160 pixels. 1.3-megapixel camera has four different still image resolutions: 1280×960, 640×480, 320×240 and 160×120. It has 4x digital zoom with self-timer delay of 3 seconds, 5 seconds and 10 seconds. The camera supports four special effects: black & white, negative, antique and normal.

Shade 2705 supports mobile email and SMS. It has inbuilt XHTML based Verizon WAP 2.0 browser and web-based POP accounts. It supports the BREW platform and has a VZ Navigator that requires a monthly fee. The ring tone formats include WMA, WAV, MP3 and AAC.

Supported digital video formats are: RealVideo and RealAudio (RealMedia), WMV, H.263 video and AMR audio, MPEG-4 and H.264. The ring tones, games and application can be downloaded through browser.

The Nokia 2705 Shade has a 2.5mm Headset jack. The phone has a battery life of 300 minutes talk time and 360 hours idle standby time. Included accessories are wall charger and battery.

Razzle Dazzle:

You can count Nokia to add a bit of style on the design even on simple basic phones. The trim Shade 2705 has a thin design that does not draw too much attention. Nokia Shade 2705 measures 3.3 inches tall, 1.7 inches wide and 0.6 inch deep. It weighs 2.6 oz and comes in Black color with sliver trim. When it opens, it resembles a clean curve without a hinge. Shade 2705 follows the same tradition like previous Verizon’s Nokia 2605 Mirage. It feels a bit too fragile in our hands. You get changeable covers of blue, red and green colors. The covers are sold separately having $19.99 price for each piece.

Inside Dope:

Nokia phones are not that much of a hot property when it comes to smartphones in the US. The company launched Nokia Twist last month, which did not do too well. The new Nokia 2705 shade is the same handset that centrally features on basic communication and it supports the CDMA2000 1X 1900/800 band. The Shade is a folder type phone and costs around $29.99 with service. The performance is satisfactory and Shade 2705 has a thin design that does not draw attention. It feels a bit too fragile in our hands. You can change the covers; you get options of blue, red and green colors. The Shade is portable and gives a wispy almost toy like feel in the hand. You have to be careful with this phone as the plastic skin may not stand much of rough treatment. It has a 1.3 mega pixel digital camera. Keyboard buttons are more spacious and the navigation is easy. We really like the simple design of the Nokia 2705. It does not try to do anything wild out of the box. Call quality is very important in a cell phone, because no matter how much high end features are crammed in; good call quality is necessary.

Display

The postage external display is of 160×128 pixels that supports 262,144 colors. It supports photo caller ID and works as a viewfinder for self-portraits. 2-inch interior display is of 220×176 pixels that supports 262,144 colors. The display is not the most vibrant that we have ever seen. However, the display is suitable for the basic phones like Shade 2705. The photos and graphics are sharp and colors look bright.

Navigation Array and Keyboard

The camera lens is located just above the external display, next to speaker. The volume rocker is located on the left spine, whereas the voice dialing control, micro-USB port, 2.5mm headset jack are on the right spine. The voice dialing control and volume rocker are a bit to flush and difficult to find while you are on call. The menu options still have the Verizon icon.

The navigation is easy to use and spacious. There is a four-way toggle button with central OK button, a camera shutter, a speakerphone button and two soft keys. The keys were flush but we were able to navigate accurately. The toggle works as a shortcut to four-user defined shortcuts. The keypad buttons are spacious, but they are flush and have cheap plastic feel. The dialing is difficult, though we could text and dial without many problems. We would be worried about long-term usage of heavy keyboard to type text. The keys are backlit for easy dialing.

Phonebook and PIM features

Nokia Shade 2705 has an address book for up to 1000-contacts, which can be paired with a photo and one of 12 polyphonic ring tones. Each contact entry can store four phone numbers, two emails and one photo. The basic features include a notepad, a world clock, a stopwatch, an alarm clock, a calendar, a calculator, vibrate mode and text and multimedia messaging.

The advanced features are web-based POP3 email, a voice recorder, phone as modem support, Bluetooth with limited profiles, voice commands and dialing, an airplane mode, USB cable support, and Verizon chat. It also has VZ Navigator, which requires additional monthly fee. There is no support for stereo Bluetooth and object push is limited only for certain files.

Camera

1.3-megapixel camera can take pictures in four resolutions from 160×120 to 1280×960. It has the features of three-shutter sounds plus a silent option, three-color effects, four white balance modes, a brightness meter and self-timer. The photo quality was average – though there was little noise and colors were natural. The captured images were dark. The Shade has 59MB internal memory for storage. The camera does not shoot video.

Personalization

The Nokia Shade 2705 can be personalized with a good range of clock formats, banners, wallpapers and display themes. It also has a Verizon WAP 2.0 browser, from which you can download additional ring tones and other things for personalizing the mobile. The handset does not have any game, but Verizon offers BREW titles on purchase.

Call Quality

We made few calls using Verizon Wireless service through dual-band Nokia Shade 2705. The signal was clear and strong, volume was loud and voices sounded natural. We faced a little trouble hearing when there was a lot of background noise. However, it was not a huge problem. We were quite satisfied with the performance.

The callers reported that we sounded good on their end. Most of the callers could tell that we were using a cell phone; however, a few had complaints beyond some background and wind noise. Speakerphone call quality was poor. The volume does not get very loud and there was a moderate amount of voice distortion. Some callers had trouble hearing us as well.

Battery life

The battery life of Nokia Shade 2705 is 5 hours of talk time and 15 days of idle standby time. We had successfully made a long call of 5 hours 2 minutes. According to FCC radiation tests, the Shade has a digital SAR of 1.22 watts per kilogram.

Verdict:

Nokia Shade 2705 is a basic phone equipped with features centered on call quality. The plastic design might disappoint occasional users. However, the Shade has a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, voice command and dialing feature and a good battery life.