Smartphones have come a long way in a very short space of time, and the things they do now would have been unimaginable in such small devices even as recently as the turn of the millennium.
Because of the rapid pace of development, even some fairly recent smartphone handsets can look like children’s toys alongside the market-leading competitor products.
Despite this, some – such as the Nokia C3 – show no signs of ceasing production, and can actually continue to serve the needs of users who prefer buttons to touchscreen keyboards, and only need a fairly limited set of connectivity features.
Getting Online
The Nokia C3, in particular, is closer to being a feature phone than a smartphone proper, with only a very specific set of capabilities.
Among these features is its full QWERTY keyboard which, while it is very small, means experienced typists should be able to use their phone with confidence, rather than the doubt and mistrust with which they might approach a virtual keyboard that only appears on the screen.
It has Wi-Fi support, allowing it to get online without eating into your data allowance, and supports major social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
A MicroSD expansion slot allows a memory card to add as much as 8GB of storage to the modest 55MB of onboard capacity.
And a two-megapixel camera will not win any photography competitions, but is sufficient for images to be sent by MMS or for general purpose social media sharing.
Moving On Up
With Nokia’s latest models winning their fair share of media attention for their compelling propositions, you might decide that it’s time to sell your old Nokia C3 and trade up to a Lumia.
At the time of writing, the latest models in the Lumia line-up bring innovative features to the Nokia brand, such as wireless charging.
They also come with the Windows Phone operating system installed, which should allow for a consistent user experience if you have a Microsoft Surface tablet, or any other computing devices powered by Windows 8.
Networking Now
Nokia Lumias once again support Wi-Fi, as well as 3G, allowing you to get online either using your mobile data connection, or via a nearby wireless internet access point.
Some models in the Lumia line-up, such as the Nokia Lumia 710, offer a fairly entry-level option that could appeal to long-time fans of the Nokia C3.
You can still get online with them, but the interface is reasonably simplistic and easy to learn if you’re not especially technologically minded.
This doesn’t mean the handset is a major compromise however, as it still comes with many of the features that its siblings also have to offer.
Among them are several applications that are not a standard part of the Windows Phone operating system, but are provided by Nokia on their handsets.
One example is Nokia Maps, a GPS package that can pinpoint your location and direct you to a destination, as well as Nokia Drive, which does the same for vehicles, with a 2D or 3D visual representation of the road ahead.