Nokia X6

One of a pair of "X Series" phones to be announced by Nokia, the Nokia X6 is a step up from the existing Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.

Sleeker than the 5800, the X6 has a very similar 3.2" 640 x 360 pixel display (the same panel that is in the N97 Mini) but it now has a 5 megapixel camera on the back which addresses one key weakness of the 5800.

The "X" designation seems to be Nokia's new version of "XpressMusic", and the X6 comes in both a normal version and a "Comes with Music" variant allowing unlimited music downloads. Perhaps Nokia think that the shorter name will be more memorable when the X6 faces off against the iPhone.

Apart from the camera and smarter design, the differences between this and the 5800 are few and far between. One major one is that the X6 comes with 32GB of non-expandable memory, and of course in the year since the 5800 was launched, the X6 will have picked up several software updates including better support for social networking sites.

This is a 3G phone with tri-band UMTS and support for HSDPA downloads at a maximum of 6 Mbps. It also has quad-band GSM and WiFi, although Chinese and South American versions are different.

Nokia are promoting the X6 as a media player, and it can cope with almost all major audio and video formats. Usefully, the X6 comes with a TV-out port and can take a standard 3.5mm audio plug. You can also play back through stereo Bluetooth or the X6's built-in stereo speakers. There's an FM radio for good measure, and the internal memory should be enough for plenty of music or quite a few videos.

 Nokia X6 We mentioned the camera, and this is the familiar 5 megapixel unit with autofocus, Carl Zeiss optics and a dual-LED flash that we have seen a lot of lately. Video recording is up to 640 x 480 pixels at 30 frames per second which is certainly good enough for TV playback or YouTube. The Nokia X6 also has a built-in photo and video editor, and pictures can be shared through Ovi.

There's a web browser with Flash Lite support and an email client that supports standard protocols and Microsoft Exchange. Although this is very much a device aimed at consumers, the mail support may attract corporate customers who may otherwise be considering the iPhone.

Because this is an S60 smartphone, new applications can be added at a later date, but there a quite a lot of applications preloaded.. including a version of Spore. S60 still lacks the polish of Apple's offering, but it keeps getting better and it is certainly very usable.

It's all very nice, and you might expect that the X6 is the straight replacement for the 5800 until you see the price tag. Nokia are pitching the X6 at €450 before tax and subsidy, compared with just €250 before tax for a SIM-free 5800. This is the same price as the N97 Mini, and really we think that is too expensive for what is quite a modest upgrade in specifications.

Nokia say that the X6 should be available during Q4 2009 in White/Blue and Black/Red colour combinations.

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