As you may know, the Nokia 6650 was first released in Germany on T-Mobile. The AT&T version is mostly the same phone, though with different 3G frequencies (850/1900MHz vs 850/2100MHz) and obviously different branding. However, I’m pretty interested to see just how in-depth these branding changes are on the AT&T version, both internal and external, and whether the phone has been ruined.
Let’s start with the external. Obviously, the carrier branding on the front of the phone and beneath the internal display is changed, that’s a given. But did you think that Nokia would really redesign the whole keypad, just for AT&T? I didn’t either, but sure enough, they did. You can see a side by side comparison below (T-Mobile version photo courtesy of AllAboutSymbian’s review):
As you can see, while the numeric keypad has remained the same, the upper navigation cluster has been changed dramatically! Thankfully, the left and right softkeys are in the same place, but that’s really it. The T-Mobile version looks more like an S60 phone, with the S60 menu button and ‘C’ button both positioned above the end/send keys. However, for AT&T, an entire row of buttons was added, between the end/send keys and the numeric keypad.
On the AT&T version, there are now dedicated buttons for AT&T MEdiaNet (really the S60 web browser) and the camera located where the S60 and ‘C’ buttons were. The S60 button has been relocated below the send key, and the ‘C’ button below the end key. A new button, dedicated to AT&T’s Telenav Navigation service, has been added, directly below the d-pad.
With these new buttons, there are now a total of 14 different buttons you can press in the navigation cluster, counting the 5-way d-pad. It’s definitely a jumble, and it’s *really* easy to press the wrong button. However, there’s no reason the GPS button or the MEdiaNet buttons should go to waste (you can still press and hold 0 to launch the browser). Initially, I loaded up MagicKey (after using this trick to install unsigned applications) and simply mapped the GPS key to ‘down’ and the MEdiaNet key to ‘left’. That way, if I accidentally hit them, it’s no fuss.
However, as was suggested on Jaiku, I checked out Smartphoneware’s Tracker application (available through our store for $20, after a free 15-day trial) and was able to simply remap these keys to any application on the phone that I wanted. My GPS key now opens the Jaiku mobile client, and honestly, I’ve not decided what I want to use the MEdiaNet key, but the fact is – I have the option.
The only other branding is in the phone menus, most of the icons have been changed to AT&T specific ones. This may be a dealbreaker for you, and it’s certainly annoying to me. However, Smartphoneware Tracker allows you to create your own replacement for the main menu, complete with folders, so if you really wanted to, you could simply use that instead.
What’s most frustrating about the AT&T-specific icons and apps is that not only are you stuck with the icon, you also cannot move most of them, such as Cellular Video, the Yellowpages app, and the AT&T Mall. Normally, I would toss these into my ‘Crap’ folder and not think about them again, but that’s not possible. There are also 9 applications/games in the ‘Games&Apps’ folder that cannot be uninstalled, which is *really* annoying. Aside from them junking up my menu, I’m sure that together, they’re taking up a few MBs of internal storage that I’d like to have back.
Thus far, while I have come across a few applications that don’t work, most of them have installed with no problems. Full PC Suite support is all there, so I can sync easily, and can install apps and whatnot through that.
Currently, on my 6650, I have installed and running with no problems:
Jaiku
Nokia Email Beta
Mobbler
Tracker
Google Maps Mobile
Screenshot
Nokia SportsTracker and FriendView
And haven’t hit any errors. However, I have ran into a few limitations with other applications. Thus far:
Nokia Podcasting installs, and the icon appears in the menu, but it won’t launch, for whatever reason. What’s more frustrating is that other S60v3 FP2 devices have had the Podcasting application well integrated with the Music Player, which means AT&T had Nokia remove it, and worse yet, Nokia agreed. FAIL.
I haven’t been able to find a version of Share Online that will install and run, either. The new 4.0 beta did not work (obviously), and I can’t find a download link for previous versions, since they were all ‘upgrades’ to the pre-installed version.
Java apps have been hit-or-miss. While Opera Mini runs fine, I was unable to connect at all with the Skype Mobile application. Gmail Mobile, for whatever reason, won’t let me enter my username/password, so I don’t know if there would be connection issues with that or not. There are other Skype clients, though, such as Fring, that you could use if Skype is important to you.
So, the question I’m sure you’re still trying to figure out: Did AT&T’s branding completely ruin the Nokia 6650? Generally, no, it did not. The hardware keys are easily re-mappable (even without having to hack your phone or anything, thanks to Tracker, which we’ll be reviewing soon), and it doesn’t seem that, overall, most applications are locked out.
HOWEVER, there *are* a few applications that are confirmed to be not working, including Nokia Podcasting, Skype’s Official Mobile application, and Share Online. If these are must-haves for you, then you may want to beware. The list of applications which run fine, however, far outweighs the ones that don’t.
The menu *is* a concern, specifically for someone like me, who has a very specific menu layout that I like to use. If you don’t, or if you think you may use some of the AT&T applications (which are actually rather nice, such as Cellular Video, the Yellowpages, or AT&T’s TeleNav service), then this won’t be as big of an issue to you.
Below are a few screenshots of the 6650′s menus for you to check out:
Check back tomorrow for further thoughts on the technical aspects of the phone, including RAM, internal memory, and the camera.
