Nokia 2660 Flip review: retro phone that is surprisingly versatile
Nokia 2660 Flip is a new Nokia phone that has made digital detox its mission. While that is one reason for a purchase, there is a surprising amount of other uses for the phone. And yes, it has Snake!
Disclaimer: we received a review copy of the Nokia 2660 Flip.
The Nokia 2660 Flip comes in five themes: green, red, black, pop pink and blue. it features two displays. The first has a size of 2.8 inches and a 2.8" QVGA resolution, the secondary display a resolution of 1.77" QQVGA.
The phone weights 123g, has a height of 108mm, a width of 55mm and a depth of 18.9mm. Most hardware specs are not worth talking about, but there are some exceptions. The phone offers 128MB storage and supports MicroSD cards with up to 32GB in addition to expand storage. It supports Bluetooth 4.2 and has a 3.5mm port as well as an USB 2.0 port.
The Nokia 2660 Flip supports 4G, has a replaceable battery and includes a 0.3 MP camera.
The price starts at about $65 for the black version of the phone.
Functionality of the Nokia 2660 Flip
Nokia's phone does not run Android or iOS. This means, that you can't install apps that support Android or iOS on the device. It is not really designed for that, as it is powered by the S30+ operating system.
While that is limiting, it is designed exactly to be limiting. One of the main purposes of the Nokia 2660 Flip is to stay available but without all the extra notifications and worries that come along with a feature phone. No WhatsApp notifications, no information about new TikTok clips.
All you get when it comes to connectivity is the ability to call someone or be called, and to send and receive SMS. Well, that is not entirely true. You find Facebook on the device, which you may also use for communication.
The phone includes several other apps by default. There is a handy Calculator app, a Clock app and a Calendar. There is also a flashlight, a contacts app, a gallery and a radio app.
The MP3 player allows you to play local mp3 files. While the 128MB storage are not really sufficient for storing a larger number of audio files, you could expand storage with a Micro SD card. or multiple cards that you swap. With it, you can use the phone as a MP3 Player.
There are also some games, including Snake and Tetris, which you may play.
Last but not least, there is even an Internet browser. It takes some getting used to time to use the numpad to type addresses, but it works quite fine after a while of training.
Verdict
If you compare the Nokia 2660 Flip with any recent Android device, you will find a lot of flaws. The camera feels like it comes from the last millennium, the screen is rather tiny, all major apps are not supported and web connectivity is not all that great either.
If you do look at the phone from a different angle, you may come to a different conclusion. It serves a totally different purpose. It is a great phone to take on a jog or a week-long back to nature trip to a cabin in the woods.
It may also work for people who feel stressed whenever they carry their main phone with them. Some even claim that they sleep better with just a dumbphone by their side.
The Flip may also be ideal for people who don't want a modern phone but something that they can use to contact someone by phone or through SMS in case of emergencies.
It works well as a MP3 player, but you should not compare it to dedicated portable audio players like Sony's excessively expensive Walkman series of products.
The battery is quite good and gets you through the day with no issues. Since you can buy replacement batteries, you could extend battery life even further.
Calls have a surprising good quality and its nice big keys on the keyboard make it easier for the visually impaired to use the device.
The main downside is the lack of WiFi support. You may check out the 2760 or 2780 Flip devices instead, as they offer WiFi support and other advantages for a few dimes more.
All in all, it is a surprisingly versatile phone, albeit in a totally different way than regular Android or iOS devices.
Two additional Flip models are available. The Nokia 2760 Flip, which features a better camera and some other improvements, like a USB-C port or WiFi support, and the Nokia 2780 Flip, which offers more storage and RAM,
Now You: what is your take on dumbphones?
Can the built-in Facebook app be crippled by turning off all App permissions under Privacy & Security?. I’ve been reading the manual…
Does the browser work adequately with google maps? To me, the maps is the key value of smart phones.
I think they should have just stuck with the 3310 and then continued improving that by adding a better camera, slightly bigger screen, slightly bigger battery, etc.
That said, I’m not sure whether there’s much future for Nokia. I was hoping they would become a viable alternative to Samsung in the smartphone world, but unfortunately they’re not like the Nokia of old – I had continuous quality/reliability issues and got fed up with sending them away to be fixed and still coming back faulty. Then, with Samsung making the decision to take security patching more seriously and moving to four years of Android updates and five years of security patches, I think it’s game over for Nokia. Sad end of an era, because they were one of only a few decent companies before Microsoft ruined them.
I’ve never had a smartphone, only a dumbphone, presently a Nokia 105 Dual SIM (TA-1034) which is even more basic then this Nokia 2660. Mine as well handles phone & SMS of course + a few games and a flashlight, though I never use the latter.
Everyone tells me I should shift to a smartphone because “everyone has one”. Point is I’m not motivated for two reasons:
1- I love computing devices … at home. Outdoors I prefer being and staying in contact with real life, only.
2- Smartphones allow the ultimate of tracking; it’s as if they had been conceived for that very purpose.
This said one feature which could get me decided is the camera, its quality nowadays is amazing. But that’s about it.
I like it, unfortunately I rely on whatsapp for business purposes
It would be nice if someone were to offer a slick, modern dumb phone with a QWERTY keyboard……
The Samsung Alias was a great design. Also the ZTE Z431………
It is definitely no pleasure to type messages, Internet URLs or anything else on the device.