Nokia 2660 review (black, AT&T)

The Nokia 2660 continues the company's tradition of simple, quality phones for making calls. Like the Nokia 2320, it shuns a camera and most of today's "in" features in favor of making calls and sending messages. But just so it isn't entirely dull, the 2660 also offers Bluetooth and a voice recorder. Though its design is basic and easy to use, the 2660 stumbles a bit on the performance side. Call quality was acceptable, but the phone is slow on the inside. If you want a contract, the 2660 is free with a two-year commitment. You also can get it with AT&T's GoPhone prepaid service.

Design
The Nokia 2660 is nothing more than your basic clamshell phone. And that's perfectly fine, as we'd rather have a phone that's plain and user-friendly than stylish and frustrating. The silver-and-black color scheme is decidedly retro and the compact size (3.43 inches long by 1.76 inches wide by 0.84 inch deep) and clean lines make it portable. At 2.89 ounces, the 2660 does have a wispy feeling in the hand; it doesn't feel like it would take a beating.

On the top of the phone you'll find a covered flap for the 2.5mm headset jack and the proprietary Nokia charger jack. Normally, we'd raise a stink about both, but on such a simple phone they're really not an issue. On the other hand, we will complain about the lack of a dedicated volume rocker. That means you'll have adjust the sound level using the navigation toggle when you're on a call.

The exterior display is small (about the size of a postage stamp) and has a simple blue and white resolution (96x68 pixels). Yet, it shows all the information you need including the date, time, signal strength, and battery life. You can change the clock format and backlight time. When the display goes dim, however, the time is still visible. The main display is 1.8 inches. As you'd expect, the resolution (65,536 colors; 160x120 pixels) is rather low, but it's fine for a free handset. Though graphics and photos won't look great, the menu interface is simple and intuitive. You can change the standby font color and font size.

The navigation array has a spacious design. There's a four-way toggle with a central OK button, two soft keys, and the Talk and End/power controls. Only the toggle is raised, but we didn't have any problems. We did miss a dedicated back key, though. The keypad buttons are spacious as well and they feature large backlit numbers. The keys are tactile even if they don't feel particularly sturdy.