Nokia 2705 Shade Review

Introduction:

The Nokia 2705 Shade is the new stylish replacement to the 2605 Mirage, which launched December 2008. Changes include a 1.3MP camera and 176x220 resolution internal display, but other than that there is very little difference. The 2705 Shade is an entry-level device and competes with the LG VX5500 and Glance, as all have comparable features. It is also available without the 1.3MP camera for those whose work doesn’t allow camera-equipped phones on premises.

Included in the box are the Nokia 2705 Shade phone, pre-installed black Xpress-On covers, 860 mAh battery, wall charger, and user guide.

Design:

The Nokia 2705 Shade is a compact flip-phone, easy to hold and carry, and comes with two black Xpress-On covers already installed, but they are high-gloss, so fingerprints are easily shown. Other Xpress-On covers in different colors are available for purchase separately. You have to use a fingernail or pen to get under the plastic to pop them off the phone, but you have to be somewhat careful not to break them. You then press the new ones into place. It’s a novel idea, but since they are flimsy, we’d recommend just leaving them alone. Overall, the Nokia Shade is reasonably stylish for being a budget phone, but still does not compare to the Nokia 7205 Intrigue .



You can compare the Nokia 2705 Shade with many other phones using ourSize Visualization Tool.

Located on the font is a small 1.36-inch 128x160 resolution external display. You are able to use your own wallpapers with it, but for some reason the external display is darker than the internal one. Above it are the 1.3MP camera (if you purchase the camera model) and speaker, with the volume rocker, 2.5mm headset jack, microUSB data port, and voice command . Unfortunately, a microSD memory card slot remains missing.



The Nokia 2705 Shade opens and closes smoothly and the hinge feels durable. The internal display is now 2 inches and has a resolution of 176x220, as the Mirage has a smaller 1.8 inch display with 128x160 resolution. Despite the Shade having a slightly larger display, images and text still appear pixelated and have jagged edges. This is one area where the QVGA display on the Glance does a better job. The d-pad on the Shade is of average size and we didn’t have any issues when using it, though the one on the Nokia Intrigue is much larger. Below it is the numeric keypad with bright white backlighting. The keys are a bit smaller than the ones on the Nokia Intrigue and LG VX8360, but we didn’t have any problems using it to type messages with.

Software and Features:

We were looking forward to once again seeing the Habitat Mode home screen that we saw on the Nokia 7205 Intrigue and Twist, but unfortunately it is not included with the Shade. The main menu also doesn’t come with any surprises, as it has the all-too-familiar Verizon layout with media center, messaging, contacts, recent calls, and settings & tools. There are 4 themes included: White, Connect, Cruising, and Snorkeling, but all they do is change the background color of the main menu. You can also change the menu layout between tab, list, and grid view, as well as change the position of the icons on the grid. We’re not that impressed by the (lack of) customizations on the Nokia Shade, but since it’s a budget phone we can’t complain too much.



The Phonebook on the Nokia 2705 Shade can store up to 1000 contacts, where the Mirage and Intrigue are limited to only 500. With each one you can enter the person’s name, 5 phone numbers, 2 email addresses, picture and ringtone. After a contact is saved, you can assign them to one of 999 speed-dial locations.



The Nokia 2705 Shade supports standard Text and Picture messaging. You may also opt to download the Mobile Email program from Verizon for a fee, which will allow you to send and receive standard email messages (not HTML) using your personal email account. One thing we thought was odd is that the MobileIM program is missing on the Shade. This is standard on most Verizon phones, as it connects to AIM, Windows Live, and Yahoo messaging. Hopefully this will be made available to download.



The 1.3MP camera on the Nokia 6205 didn’t impress us much last year, so it’s unfortunate that the camera on the Nokia Shade is worse off. Images taken outside are underexposed with poor color representation and generally look lifeless. It only gets worse when you use the camera inside, as images look blurry when taken in lower light conditions. Also, since the Shade does not come with a microSD memory card slot, you can only export the images from the phone by using Picture Messaging.





Another disappointment is that the Nokia Shade doesn’t come with a music player, so you won’t be using this phone to listen to your MP3 collection. Also, since EVDO is not supported for data, it doesn’t come with VCast Video or VCast Music applications. However, the Shade does include Mobile Web 2.0 for limited internet and VZNavigator for GPS guided directions. Just expect for it to take longer, as it has to use the slower 1x network. You can also download games, ringtones, and a limited number of programs.



Additional tools included are voice commands, calculator, appointment calendar, 3 alarm clock, stopwatch, world clock, and notepad.



The Shade comes with 64MB of internal memory, of which 5MB is used out of the box, leaving 59MB to the consumer. This should be plenty of room, as you will only use to it store programs, pictures, and messages.

Performance:

The signal reception on the Nokia 2705 Shade wasn’t quite as good as on the 6205 or Intrigue, as we only got 2 bars showing in high coverage areas. Despite this, we were able to place and receive calls around south FL without problem, though a few did drop when going into fringe areas. Call quality again wasn’t as good as on the Intrigue, and about equal to the 6205, as voices sounded muffled and there was also noticeable distortion if the earpiece volume was raised above medium. People that we called, who were using a landline, said our voice sounded clear and natural on their end.

The included 860 mAh battery is rated to provide up to 5 hours of talk time or 15 days of standby time on a full charge. During our testing we were able to get 4.5 hours of continuous talk time on a full charge.

Conclusion:

The Nokia 2705 Shade is a nice looking budget phone, as it only comes with the most basic features. It is unfortunate that those features don’t do too well, such as the poor call quality, camera, and menu customization. We would only recommend the Shade for people who need an “emergency cell phone” or only plan to use it for a few minutes at a time. However, if you are the type of person that needs a cell phone to talk on for hours each day, then look at the Nokia Intrigue, LG VX8360, or Samsung Alias 2, as those provide better call quality and also come with more features.

Nokia 2705 Shade Video Review: