UPDATE!

If you have this device on T-Mobile you may now flash it, using Nokia Software Updater, to version 8.22 firmware. This will speed up your menu, reset your life timer to 000000:00 and it appears to take care of the goofiness in the UMA connection.

Strengths and weaknesses of the Nokia 6301b examined. UMA, WiFi, MyFaves all come together. Does it work?

I came by this device because UMA intrigued me. I figured it was a chance to save a few minutes on the family plan. Well, the wrong person has the 6301, I should have given it to my son. I don't talk enough to make that big of a difference. But I'm not giving it up - here's why:

• It's slim.
• It's light.
• It has a genuine Nokia 2.5AV port, not the hokey all-in-one Pop-Port
• It takes the ubiquitous (read same as 6103/6133), though underpowered for this application, BL-4C battery.
• It supports a 4 gig microSDHC.
• I was able to "drag and drop" from my Nokia 6290 music collection to this phone no problem.
• UMA / Wi-Fi / 802.11b/g is simple to setup on the device and requires no intervention to use thereafter.
• WiFi performance improved when I adjusted my router's settings to a more frequent beacon. (50 instead of 100)
• Synching with the T-Mobile on-line phone book took 35 seconds when it came time to transfer to the new phone.
• Voice dialing takes two minutes of training by repeating a series of key phrases so the phone can get a clue to your accent. It is very accurate, distinguishing between "Home" and "Joan" in 95% of attempts in my car, not the world's quietest environment.
• A metal battery cover that is not flimsy, along with the stamped stainless steel frame gives a very solid feel to this handset.
• It takes good photos.
• Once you set it up with Nokia PC Suite synching the calendar and contacts is simple. I keep my 6301b, my N75 and my 6290 all synched, it takes about two minutes a day and I have multiple backups of my schedule and phonebook.
• The charging stand is a nice touch.
• New AC-4U charger is much more energy efficient than the AC-3U charger it replaces.
• It supports MyFaves which has, along with UMA, eliminated minute over runs at my house.
• Ringtones are loud, clear and can be any sound file supported by the phone.
• The keys have a wondrous texture to them. They feel great under the fingers.
• It's a good game playing phone. From Q*bert to CSI - Miami to American Gangster they all play well.

Things I would Like To See Improved

It's good but it is not perfect.

• The screen washes out in outdoor light, even on overcast days.
• It could use a flash for the camera.
• The UMA sometimes hands off to the tower base station between picking up the phone and hitting the send button. This resolved when I replaced my 802.11b/g router with an 802.11b/g/n (draft) router. Apparently I was on the fringe of my former router's coverage.
• It also sometimes forgets it is connected to the router and when I try to connect to the router it asks if I want to disconnect from the router first. That's just plain goofy. This improved with T-Mobile remotely tweaking some settings.
• The only headset that shipped with the phone was a wired stereo headset. I prefer to have one ear free when I am driving and prefer to use a handsfree device when I am driving even though I am in a state that believes adults should act like adults without having to be forced by law to do that. Please ship it with a mono wired headset as well.
• Due to a packaging error by the fulfillment house the 3-D Snake game that Nokia specifies as being on the phone was not installed. I'd like to have that game restored. I like Snake.
• The design offers no protection for the lens over the LCD. Nokia should either inset the lens into the body a bit or raise the side rails of the body a bit or make the lens out of sapphire because if that doesn't happen this is going to be one beat up looking phone very quickly. I put protective armor on my lens, the whole body is covered with it and have no worries as that stuff is really tough.

So there you have it, what is good and what is not so good about the Nokia 6301 as delivered by T-Mobile. Because I was traveling to an area that had no T-Mobile coverage a week after I received the phone I had it unlocked by way of a T-Mobile provided keypad entry code and used it with AT&T for a week. It worked fine with AT&T as well as T-Mobile. The only glitch there was everytime I turned on the phone AT&T sent me a text message, at my expense, telling me I had to use a correct 10 digit number to send text messages and then appended a long message they alleged came from me. It was apparently a message the phone sent to the base station upon start-up that T-Mobile expects and knows how to handle but causes AT&T to get its knickers in a knot.

This is a shadow of the original 2 megapixel
photo. It was taken at the beach on a rainy day.

This is a small detail of the sky to show
the light/dark values. It takes a nice
photograph.

I lean on my phones pretty hard - I expect a lot from them. My 6301b has been good to me.

Best Tip for the 6301b

Do not use Bluetooth and UMA at the same time.

If you are connected by Bluetooth to a computer in the same network to which you are connected via the WiFi you might experience a call drop if you wander out of range of the Bluetooth connection. My experience has been both connections get dropped and because it is not an orderly drop the GSM tower does not pick up the call from the router. This happened when I was on the phone with Nokia the other day. If you are using a BT headset and UMA you'll probably be fine. Since I've adjusted the router I've not had this problem but that was two days ago so the jury is still out.