Touch and Type Head On: Nokia X3-02 vs Nokia C3-01

Nokia made a huge shake up in the entry level mid range when they introduce the Touch and Type series of devices, mobile phones that combines touchscreen and mechanical QWERTY keyboard into one slim and stylish feature-rich gadget. Who would have thought that a touchscreen that needs finger accuracy could be relatively feasible with a limited 2.4inch screen and thin dimension?

I have to mention that my comparison is based only on the company’s given hardware and technical specifications, features and sample videos that can be seen in the web or in any video sharing sites. I have no hands on experience whatsoever on all of the aforementioned devices.

Design and Style: Nokia X3-02 is more attractive than Nokia C3-01 in my opinion but the latter have a more familiar keypad set up rather than the left sided space bar and character buttons of the Nokia X3-02. The C3-01 has a less cramp mechanical buttons but the Nokia X3-02 have more shortcut buttons specially for the music player. Given all this differences, strong and weak points, I would sight Nokia X3-01 as the overall winner in this area base on usability. I prefer to go for devices that could give me easy access to all important applications specially music and email app.

Size and Display: Both phones have the same screen size of 2.4 inches and color resolution of 16million but with a huge difference in size and weight. Nokia C3 has 111 x 47.5 x 11mm dimension with 100grams weight compared to the 106.2 x 48.4 x 9.6mm and a 77.4 grams weight making the latter a clear edge over the other. Nokia X3-02 wins by a huge mark.

Memory: Nothing much of differences in here as well, both have 64MB RAM and 128MB ROM, good enough to run the Symbian 40 Operating System and could support up to 32GB of memory card. They only differ in the internal memory where Nokia X3-02 has 50MB compared to the C3-01’s 30MB making the X3-02 the winner of these criteria.

Connectivity: Both Identical from Quad band network coverage, type and speed (fastest in mobilephones so far) of GPRS, about 32-48kbps, EDGE of 236.8kbps, 3G HSDPA of 10.2Mbps and HSUPA of 2Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n to Bluetooth which is v2.1.

Camera: Very identical as well, 5MP with 2592 x 1944 pixels and LED flash edging only on video capture where Nokia X3-02 could support as much as 18 frames per second. As little as it may seemed but with a head-on this close, smallest difference matters so Nokia X3-02 wins!

Features: All the same features, video player that supports MP4, H.263, H.264, WMV, music player that supports MP3, WAV, WMA, eAAC+ files, Flash Lite 3.0, Social Apps, Messaging and Email, Stereo FM with RDS, Voice Memo, Organizer, 3.5mm audio jack, among others.

Battery Life: Run away win of Nokia C3-01 with 1050mAh Li-Ion compared to 860mAh of X3-02. Standby time of C3-01 could reach up to 440 hours on 2G and 410 on 3G and Talk time of 5hours.

Price: Nokia X3-02 has a cheaper price announcement of PhP8,000 (135Euro) while the Nokia C3-01 cost at about PhP8595 (145Euro) before tax and subsidies. Nokia X3 takes another point win!

Final Score:
Nokia X3-02 = 7 points
Nokia C3-01 = 3 points

Nokia X3-02 Touch and Type marks a huge win against the competition! As much as Nokia distinctly specify that both phones are offered to different segments in low mid range market, fact still remains that the two phones were similar and will compete in both ways. Nokia C3-01 marketed as a stylish phone will attract music enthusiast as well as X3-02, a music phone, attracting the style conscious buyers. It just so happened that the Nokia X3-02 has an advantage over the C3-01 so I give it my thumbs up.

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'Touch and Type' on the latest Nokia X3

Innovation continues for Nokia as they introduce the super slim X3 Touch and Type, there very first phone that combines touch screen and traditional 12 button phone keypad into one. As Nokia's first 'Touch and Type' phone, the Nokia X3 allows people to tap quickly on the bright color touch screen, as well as enjoy the familiarity of the full keypad for quick fire text messages and phone calls. Expected to be on sale in the third quarter, the Nokia X3 is expected to retail for approximately EUR 125, excluding taxes and subsidies.

"Innovation is not just a high-end game. The Nokia X3 is a great example of bringing new consumer value to lower price points," said Mary McDowell, Executive Vice President of Mobile Phones at Nokia.

"With the Nokia X3 we are giving consumers the best of both worlds by combining a touch screen and a keypad in an affordable device. We have given people a larger screen with clear icons and menus plus kept critical keys such as the send and end keys. We've also added dedicated function keys for important links like music and text messaging," she said.

"We have designed the Nokia X3 to be a touch and type device because typing is ideal for SMS and social networking where fast and frequent input is needed, while touch is ideal for functions such as setting alarms, smooth browsing and controlling applications like music and games.

"Our research tells us consumers who have invested years in becoming fast one-handed, one-thumb texters want to maintain their speedy edge for SMS, chat and instant messaging - yet enjoy the benefits of touch as well," continued McDowell.

With its sleek and modern design coming in at a very thin 9.6mm - making it one of the slimmest Nokia phones ever - the Nokia X3 slips easily into the purse or the pocket, and looks the part with its brushed aluminum back cover which will come in five vibrant colors designed to suit any mood or wardrobe.

Despite its size, the Nokia X3 is jam-packed with features including 3G, WLAN, a music player and an FM radio.

Lovers of the snapshot and social networks will enjoy a great 5 megapixel camera with 4X digital zoom that can take both still and video images.

The Nokia X3 also features dedicated music and messaging keys allowing fast access to important Ovi services including social and entertainment applications. In addition to Ovi Mail, people's favorite consumer email and chat accounts can be pushed direct to the phone via Nokia Messaging.

With a gentle glide over the touch screen people can go online and get access to many services including thousands of apps from Ovi Store. In certain markets, the new phone will also be available with Ovi Music Unlimited, enabling the owner to access a virtually limitless range of the latest hit music that can be stored on the available 16GB memory card.

The Nokia X3 - affordable and accessible touch and type which is simple-to-use and beautifully designed. The Nokia X3 Touch and Type sits alongside the Nokia X3-00, a slider with strong music functionality, which was launched in September 2009.

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