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Looks matters, but so does what's inside
Having finished with the exterior of the phone, we'll move on to its innards; the Nokia Series 60 platform, based on Symbian OS 6.1. The operating system is icon-based, and works much like that of Palm OS or Pocket PC devices, but there's one vital difference: It can be controlled by means of one hand only, which not only is a major benefit but a direct requirement for a smartphone device.
 | Although it's a bit on the bulky side, the 7650 is well balanced and feels sturdy
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The navigation system builds on that of previous Nokia phones, and is easy to navigate - although I must admit it took me a while to get used to since I had a tendency to treat the 7650 more like a handheld than a phone when navigating through applications. The main tool for navigating is the navigation bar which allows switching between different tabs within applications, as well as the two action buttons that invoke menus and in some cases also direct choices. Most important functions can be quickly reached, and a Task Manager that can be invoked by pressing and holding the Menu button allows for fast task switching. Text input to the system is taken care of either by using the T9 predictive text input, or keying in letters, numbers and symbols one by one - a combined solution that works surprisingly well.
As with any voice-centered device, the Nokia 7650 focuses heavily on telephony, and the first application in its menu is called 'Telephone'. This is the application that's meant to be switched to when you're not using the phone actively, since it displays the time, date, reception, network and battery capacity as well as a background image of your choosing - or none. Here, two user-defined shortcuts are available through the two action buttons, and these can be set to open any application on the device. A quick press on the joystick takes you directly to the next application on the list, 'Contacts', which is also reachable from the menu - but it's also possible to just key in a number the old-fashioned way to call someone.
 | The telephony view whilst in a call
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In Contacts, you can look up contacts stored in the phone memory (contacts stored on a SIM card need to be synchronized with the phone first to appear) and depending on the information stored send them an SMS, MMS or e-mail - or simply make them a call. As an extra bonus, pictures can be added to entries to identify incoming callers, and entries can also be forwarded as business cards either via SMS, e-mail, Bluetooth or infrared. The lookup function is sadly somewhat crippled since it's only possible to search by means of first and last name, and not on any other parameter such as company name. Contacts is one of the applications on the device that can be synchronized with popular desktop PIM applications, but our attempts with Outlook turned out to be dogged slow - although flawless (more on this later).
Following Contacts is the 'Log' application, which tracks all incoming, outgoing and missed calls as well as data connections through GSM, HSCSD and GPRS and Fax calls. A very nifty feature allows users to track the amount of data sent and received as well as the time spent online, and it's also possible to set a maximum call cost limit.
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