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CNET editors' rating:
3.5 stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 5 reviews
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Product summary
The good: The Nokia 2366i is easy to use, has a simple design, and offers decent call quality. It also offers a speakerphone and Bluetooth.
The bad: The Nokia 2366i has a dim internal display, and its menu system was rather sluggish.
The bottom line: The Nokia 2366i is a good choice for a simple, functional cell phone to make calls.
Specifications: Band / mode: CDMA2000 1X 1900/800; Talk time: Up to 236 min; Weight: 3.7 oz See full specs
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 04/03/2007
As Nokia pares down its CDMA offerings, finding one of the company's cell phones in either Sprint's or Verizon Wireless' lineup is becoming increasingly rare. Yet the Finns haven't blown out of the CDMA space completely, as Verizon customers with an itch for Nokia design can pick up the Nokia 2366i. Though neither new nor high-end, the 2366i remains a perfectly decent cell phone by offering a decent feature set and satisfactory call quality in a basic, compact design. The display was a tad dim, and the phone tended to be a little sluggish, but if you're looking for a user-friendly handset for making calls you could do worse than the 2366i. It's also cheap at just $9.99 with service.
Design
Though the Nokia 2366i is a flip phone, it still bears the hallmarks of the functional, entry-level designs that Nokia is so skilled at producing. Its smooth lines don't call attention to themselves, and at 3.2 by 1.69 by 0.94 inches and 3.7 ounces, its minimalist size is unobtrusive. A stubby antenna adds a bit more girth but we're used to that from a CDMA phone. Though the hinge is sturdy and the flap closes with authority, the phone does have a light-plastic feel. That shouldn't be a problem for most people, but extreme sports enthusiasts should stay away.
Front and center is the postage stamp (96x65 pixels) external display. It's monochrome with a blue background, but that's perfectly fitting for a phone without a camera. It shows the date, the time, the battery life, the signal strength, and the caller ID (where available) but you can't change the backlighting time or any other options on the external display. Surrounding the display is a patterned section on the front flap and a thin, silver border, which help to break up the plain black color scheme. A covered headset jack sits on top of the phone, and a thin volume rocker sits on the left spine. The charger port is in the bottom end.
Inside the 2366i, the 1.75-inch (128x160 pixels) main display is serviceable but not very fancy. With support for 65,536 colors, the resolution is pretty dim, and it doesn't render graphics or bright hues well. That's about what you can expect from such a basic phone, but it may be disappointing or even hard to see for some users. You can change the backlight time on the internal display, but no other options are customizable. The menu system is simple and easy to master, and we like that it doesn't follow Verizon's standard interface.
The navigation array takes the shape of a square and consists of a four-way toggle, a central OK button, and two soft keys. The toggle doubles as a shortcut to four user-defined functions, but we would have liked to see a dedicated Back key. Though the OK button is raised, all other controls are flat with the surface of the phone. The keypad buttons are also flush, but we like that they are quite large for the phone's size and aren't slick in the least. They also benefit from a bright backlight, though the numbers on the keys may be too small for some users to see.
Features
The 2366i has a small, 250-contact phone book. That's not nearly enough for the busy exec, but it should be fine for anyone who uses a cell phone only occasionally. Each entry holds five phone numbers, e-mail addresses, a street address, and notes. You can save contacts to groups or pair them with 1 of 16 polyphonic ringtones.
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User reviews
- Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 5 reviews
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