Note: We may earn commissions (at no cost to you) if you buy through links on our site. Learn more.
NOTE: This model is discontinued and may no longer be available to purchase new. See the latest cell phones or compare used prices.

Nokia 6265i review

5.7/10 AVG.
RATING
Compare Compare  
Compare Compare  

Nokia 6265i
Nokia 6265i
...


5.7/10
Informr score
The Nokia 6265i currently has an Informr score of 5.7 out of 10. This score is based on our evaluation of 111 sources including reviews from users and the web's most trusted critics.

Construction and appearance
One of the reasons I bought this phone was because of its design - the "slider" seems to be the new trend in cell phone form factors. Before I purchased the 6265i, I favored the clam shell design because of its portability. The 6265i is bigger but has its advantages, like a bigger screen. When the slide is open the phone's overall length increases by 50%. But now that I've had the phone for two weeks the size does not bother me at all.

The 6265i's construction is very well done, as expected from Nokia. The phone feels very solid and even the slider feels durable. When you slide it open it's spring assisted and you hear it "click" when it's open all the way. The slider feels very secure and it doesn't move or wobble. The fit between the two halves of the phone is very precise, unlike the LG 535 which I had for a few days (before buying the 6265i). The LG 535 slider feels like it's going to come off when you purposely try to move it.

The keypad feels good, very solid, although the keys themselves are very flat. The four way directional button takes some time to get used to because it's a square toggle instead of an actual four way arrow key like most phones.

The 6265i has a mini SD card slot and speakers on top. The up and down volume keys on the top right side, and a dedicated camera button on the bottom right side. On its left you can find a standard headset jack and infra-red port. At the back is the camera lens and the flash. On the bottom you can plug in a data cable via USB which is sold separately, charger port, and also the microphone is located down there. Now I like the microphone's location because you don't have to open the slide to answer the phone. You can just press the menu key and talk even if the slide is closed. Unlike the LG 535, its microphone is located inside the slider so you do have to open it to access it. For the 6265i, technically you only open the slide WHEN you have to dial a number; otherwise you can access everything (menu, phone book, camera, etc) via the buttons outside the slider.

The screen: it's just brilliant. It is by far the best LCD screen I've seen on a phone. Some high quality digital collages I made from Photoshop really shine and have made impressive wallpapers. The LCD is big and very crisp in detail which makes you want to view your pictures on your phone. It's that striking.

Features
What can I say" The 6265i has everything I want in a phone! The most impressive feature is the 2.0 MB camera. This phone has the best picture quality in any camera phone I have seen. The pictures are print worthy for capturing those moments. The best shots can be obtained outdoors in good light. However it doesn't do that well at night. The camera has a night mode and flash, but at night the picture quality is greatly reduced. The flash only works for close shots, and the night mode does make it a little brighter, but your result has white noise. Still, during the daytime the picture quality is very impressive and comparable to 2.0 MB digital cameras a couple of years ago.

Photos (click photos to enlarge)
These photos were taking by my Nokia 6265i. The shots have been resized from 1600 x 1200 pixels to 600 x 450 pixels to fit most visitor's screens, but you can still see the clarity in different settings.
Photo #1: Daytime close-up
Photo #2: Daytime
Photo #3: Daytime cloudy
Photo #4: Night time

When you take pictures, you hold the phone horizontal and the camera button on the right side becomes your shutter button now located on top. The side volume keys become your zoom and un-zoom button now on top too. The LCD becomes your view finder. Very nice!! It acts, looks, and feels like a real digital camera. Even the camera menu when you are taking pictures are 'sideways' so you can read them properly when you hold your phone horizontal.

The camera also has a 10 second timer, sequence shot that takes 4 pictures consecutively, contrast editor, brightness settings, and an image editor where you can add text to your pictures, it lets you crop images, and add an image to an image.

The 6265i is also equipped with a video recorder but not 2.0 MB resolution; it's only 177 x 145. The videos are in 3G2 format viewable with QuickTime. It will do, though, for capturing those funny moments. One nice thing about it is you're not restricted to any recording time limit like other phones with limits of 20 to 60 seconds. The phone's camera keeps on recording as long as you have memory left. If you have a 1GB mini SD that equals literally hours of continuous recording...wow!

One point of concern is the lack of a rear camera lens cover. After all, for a high end phone with a very capable camera they should have added this protection feature and not leave it exposed.

The phone's MP3 player is also worth mentioning. Using the external speakers, I cranked the volume on my phone and was able to hear the songs throughout the house. Of course there was a little distortion once I turned it up all the way , but this is pretty normal for any portable player.

You can play your songs via the phone's speaker, a Bluetooth headset, or a wired headset. There is even an equalizer to adjust treble, mids, and bass. You cannot however create play lists internally, the phone plays the songs in the order of when you uploaded it. I made separate folders in my SD card grouping genres together so at least when the phone plays them sequentially they are still grouped. Though I think you can manage your tracks externally with Nokia's PC Suite program. I haven't tried this yet as I don't have a data cable.

Another nice feature is an FM radio...yes, a radio, but you have to have a headset to activate it. Once you have plugged in your headphones you can activate the radio. At this point you have an option of playing it through the phone's external speakers. You just can't play it through the phone's speakers directly; a headset MUST be present first. This is because the phone uses your wired headset as an antenna, so sorry folks you can't listen to the radio via Bluetooth on this one. Well this is another cool thing to have if you ever get sick of your MP3s. The radio has a 20 station preset.

To store your media, the phone can handle a mini SD card up to 1 GB I believe. I currently have a 256MB but I found that too small if you are a power user. One picture in the highest quality is around 400Kb to 500Kb already, and I like to store at least 2 hours of music. If I'm not using my iPod I keep my favorite tunes here. The phone has an internal memory of 24MB which is shared by your address book and other media.

Some other standard features are the 3D gaming engine, calendar, notes, to-do lists, voice dial, voice commands, a massive address book, mobile internet, MP3 ringtones, etc. You can assign ringer caller IDs, photo caller IDs and you can even make a video as a 'ringtone' so when someone calls a video plays. Unfortunately, the videos' audio are often not loud enough; a cool feature but kind of useless if it's not loud enough. The photo caller ID is also not very impressive. The phone's screen is huge, but the photo ID feature is very small and you can barely see the caller's face. My guess is the smaller image assigned to a caller is stored in the phone book therefore adding to the phone book's memory. For this reason, the photo has to be optimized - hence it's a lot smaller. This is a bummer.

Connectivity
Connectivity is not an issue here. The phone connects to your PC via infra red, Bluetooth, and USB cable. You can download Nokia PC Suite from Nokia's web site. The Suite will allow the synchronization of your calendar, transfer data, and manage media. I haven't used the Suite yet so I cannot comment on its usefullness.

I have a Bluetooth USB 2.0 dongle which I use to transfer my files back and forth from PC to phone and vice versa. Pairing this device to my computer was very easy and I can access all the phone's folders including my SD card so I can just copy and paste, drag and drop files at will. The transfer rate is an average of 75Kb/sec so it is not the fastest but it does the job. Of course, you could take out the SD card and put it on a card reader and stick that in your USB port; however, I found that it was quite difficult removing the SD card from the phone and I decided to leave it there.

Performance
In terms of call quality it is pretty good, it seems I always have a signal anywhere I go and I haven't experienced a dropped call yet (even inside malls). Telus Mobility has a pretty good network in my opinion. The earpiece volume and speaker phone is fair to above average.

Battery life is also above average. I haven't tested the total talk time for this yet but I talked to my girlfriend for about 3.5 hours and I still had 1/4 battery life. I also played through my MP3s for hours and still had enough juice for the phone to last on standby for a few more days. The bottom line is, this phone's got enough power to support all its features and that's what matters. If you're the type of person who charges their phone every second or third night, then you'll not have a problem.

Overall
This is by far a lot of phone for the money. I always try to keep up with the latest toys and this phone is the best phone I've had. The key features are the 2.0 MB camera, MP3 player, Bluetooth, and expandable memory. To me this is one of the best multimedia phones available in Canada, and I am impressed with what it has to offer.

My minor complaints are the small picture caller ID and the lack of a follow-up notification when I've received a text messages and missed it the first time around. The phone will not remind you again.

Telus doesn't seem to have games downloadable for this phone, yet, plus it doesn't support mobile TV, and mobile XM. These may be a major issue for some users but to me. I don't care much for *network features* that you pay for. The phone keeps me entertained as is.

The screen scratches easily too because it's exposed. I suggest you purchase a case ASAP and invest in screen protectors from The Source. You could also leave on the screen protector which ships with the phone. Other than these minor things, I'm absolutely in love with the Nokia 6265i.

Reviewed by:
Alvin A.
Windsor, Ontario


Custom
Operating system
Operating system
Custom
Unknown
Processor
Processor
Unknown
Unknown
Screen Size
Screen Size
Unknown
2+ MP
Camera
Camera
2+ MP
1070 mAh
Battery



Prices (Where to Buy)




Common Questions


We've got you covered! Download a free PDF copy of the Nokia 6265i user manual here.


Nokia backs up the 6265i with a 1 Year parts & labour warranty.


If your 6265i has problems and is still within its warranty period, you could contact Nokia support or the retailer you purchased the phone from. You'll find Nokia's contact information here. If your phone is off warranty and needs repair for a physical problem such as a broken screen or bad battery, you should visit an authorized service centre or a local phone repair shop. You can also connect with others in The Informr Community Forum to find and share answers to questions.




Resources


Manuals / User Guides Helpful Links Share / Embed

Maybe one of your friends will find this review helpful? Please help us spread the word.


Quick view

Screen Size
Unknown

The Nokia 6265i's screen size is Unknown with x pixels resolution.

Processor
Unknown

There is a processor (CPU).

OS

The phone runs on proprietary operating system firmware.

Camera
2+ MP

You can take photos or capture video with the phone's onboard 2+ MP camera.

There's no secondary front camera.

Storage
24 MB

Internal memory is 24 MB. An external, MiniSD (up to 2 GB) expansion slot is available for increased storage capacity.

Battery
1070mAh

The phone is powered by a Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion), 1070 mAh battery. Nokia's performance ratings are 12 days standby time.

Nokia 6265i Specs

Overview
Release Date June 16, 2006
Regions Available USA, Canada
Operating System No

Compare Custom Smartphones

Processor
Internal Storage 24 MB
RAM No
Hearing Aid Compatible Yes
TTY/TDD Yes
Noise Cancellation No
SAR Head: 1.17 W/kg
Body: 1.05 W/kg
Manufacturer Warranty 1 Year
Accessories Included AC Charger, Manual, Standard Battery
Cellular
Networks
Mobile / Cellular Data
Push-to-talk (PTT) No
Wi-Fi Calling No
Voice over LTE (VoLTE) No
SIM card size
No
Dual SIM No
Connectivity
USB Yes
USB OTG Support No
Infrared Yes
Bluetooth Yes
Bluetooth Profiles DUN, OPP/FTP, HFP, HSP
Bluetooth Audio Codecs SBC
Wi-Fi No
Mobile Hotspot No
Memory Expansion Slot Yes
Expansion Slot Info MiniSD (up to 2 GB)
NFC No
Data Tethering Compatibility No
Camera
Main Camera
Resolution / Aperture
2+ Megapixels
Zoom
4x digital
Flash
Yes (LED)
Additional Rear Camera Info
Night mode, Self-timer
Video Recording Formats
H.264 / AVC, MPEG-4
Video Recording Parameters
QCIF (176 x 144 pixels)
Front Camera
Resolution / Aperture
Additional Front Camera Info
No
Video Recording Parameters
Display / Screen
Type Color
Technology LCD (TFT)
Colors 262k
Resolution x pixels
Pixel Density Unknown
Size Unknown
Secondary Display No
Multi-Touch No
Fingerprint-Resistant Coating No
Additional Display Features -
Power & Battery
Battery Type Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion)
Battery Capacity 1070 mAh
Removable Battery Yes
Wireless Charging
Fast Charging No
Video Playback Time Unknown
Internet Use (Wi-Fi) Unknown
Internet Use (Cellular) Unknown
Talk Time Unknown
Standby Time Up to 12 days
Mixed Usage
Physical Characteristics
Design Type Slider
Colors Black, White
Dimensions [H x W x D] 9.8 x 4.8 x 2.2 cm (3.9 x 1.9 x 0.9 in)
Weight 126 grams
Water Resistant / Waterproof Unknown
Rugged design No
IP Rating No
Headset Jack 2.5mm
External Speakers No
Input / Navigation
Sleep / Wake Key No
Home Key No
Input / Keyboard Type Standard / 12-key Numeric
Navigation Type D-pad
External Volume Control Yes
Fingerprint Sensor No
More
Additional Information Messaging: SMS, EMS, MMS, IM
Graphics: Yes
Themes: Yes
Backlit Illumination: Yes
Predictive Text Entry: T9
Voicemail Key: Yes
Any Key Answer: Yes
Voice Commands: Yes
Keypad/Screen Lock: Yes
Contact List Capacity: 500
Multiple Numbers Per Contact:
Voice Activated Dialing: Yes
Photo Caller ID: Yes
Web Browser: Yes
Email Client: Yes
PC Synchronization: Yes
Java Application: Yes
Brew Applications: Yes
Audio Formats: MP3
Video Playback Formats: H.264 / AVC, MPEG-4
Streaming Video: Yes
Custom Ringtones: No
Vibration Alert: Yes
Downloadable Ringtones: Yes
Ringer ID: Yes
Speakerphone: Yes
Radio: Yes
Wi-fi Encryption: -
Games: Yes
Apps: -
Included Software / Apps: -
To-Do / Task List, Calendar, World Clock, Alarm, Stop Watch, Timer, Calculator, Currency Converter, NotePad, Voice Memos / Recorder

Other Names (AKA): Nokia 6265
Related Links Manual (PDF)
Nokia 6265i Reviews
Where to buy Nokia 6265i
Suggest a correction