Following hot on the heels of my recent glance at Nokia's new dual-camera 3G smartphone, the Nokia 6680, I've also found time to have a quick play with the 6681. Essentially an EDGE-only version of the same smartphone lacking some features, yet remaining a high-end alternative for those not in need of the video call functionality of the 6680.
 | | Nokia 6681 |
Offering the same software bundle as the 6680, the 6681 is comparable to their common predecessor, the 6630, both in terms of size and features. Lacking 3G, however, the 6681 supports tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz and only offers HSCSD, GPRS and EDGE as data bearers.
Despite its somewhat angular appearance, the 6681 is very comfortable to hold and offers a pleasingly normal keypad with excellent tactile feedback. As with other recent Nokia smartphones, the 262K colour screen is both superbly crisp and bright.
Lacking the VGA camera as found in the 6680, the 6681 gets by on a single 1.3 Megapixel camera situated on its back. Cleverly, the hind camera lens is protected by a slide-down cover which automatically opens or closes the Camera application according to its position.
 | | Nokia 6681 |
A number of other highlights are also to be found, including Bluetooth support, PictBridge technology for direct-to-printer output, a built-in Flash, and an RS-MMC slot for memory expansion in addition to the 10 MB of integrated non-volatile memory. There's far too many features to mention them all, so suffice to say that the 6681 is, like the 6680, saturated with features, and represents the most capable non-3G smartphone the company has ever produced.
Overall, users who don't have the option of - or simply don't want to upgrade to - 3G now have a clear upgrade path from the Nokia 6600 and 7610. The 6681 is a well-rounded smartphone with long-needed support for EDGE, and thanks to the exclusion of 3G manages to keep its price down. It's not as impressive as the 6680, but then again not everybody needs a Ferrari; a Porsche does nicely in many cases.
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