Nokia’s got social media phones too, are they better than KIN?

Nokia just recently announced three new social media centric phones, the C3 and C6 duo designed for tweens and twenty-something uploaders and the E5, which is a social media-work messaging phone hybrid of sorts complete with support for corporate email accounts.

All three come with QWERTY keyboards and allow the user to access social networks and IM updates directly from the homescreen. This new line of Nokia mobile phones are skewed towards users who are hardcore messaging and social networking addicts and have multiple email accounts, various IM services and subscription to a selection of social networks.

Essentially, these phones are built on a budget and are targeted directly to the entry- and low-mid level market segments. Despite that, the trio is pretty well equiped.

Check out demo videos and detailed specifications of the C3, C6 and E5 after the jump.

The C3 is Nokia’s first Series 40 mobile phone with a full QWERTY keyboard. It’s also the first S40 phone with access to social networks directly on the homescreen. The quad-band device has a 2MP camera, 2.4-inch QVGA screen, Bluetooth 2.1 and WiFi. On board internal memory is a miniscule 55MB but is expandable to 8GB with microSD. Sadly though, it runs on EDGE, not 3G. Also, no GPS. Nokia says the C3 will cost €90 before taxes and subsidies. That’s roughly RM400, a very attractive price point for prepaid bundling we think.

The C6 is a Nokia S60 series slider with a slideout QWERTY keyboard. It has a 3.2-inch nHD (640 x 360 pixel) touchscreen with a 5MP camera with autofocus and flash. Like the C3, the C6 has WiFi built in but unlike the C3, the C6 runs HSDPA with A-GPS and supports free Ovi Maps turn-by-turn navigation. The C6 is priced at around €220 which is around RM960 before taxes and subsidies.

Last but not least, we have the E5, a S60 phone that caters for the more business-minded social media netizen. The E5 is packed with WiFi, HSDPA/HSUPA and A-GPS. It has a 2.4-inch screen and a 5MP camera with flash. The E5 key differentiator is that it supports business email via Exchange and Lotus Notes Traveler. Price is €180 before taxes and subsidies, or about RM780 – not bad.

Social Media Phones: Microsoft vs. Nokia
With Nokia Ovi Store support and IM capabilities, the Nokia social could very well be a better proposition then Microsoft’s KIN phones. But we have to say the KIN phone UI running on Windows Mobile 7 looks so much better. So, is it function over form or form over function? Without review units readily available here in Malaysia, it’s up to what the users actual say.

The C3 and C6 is expected to available within the second quarter of this year, while the E5 is slated for release in quarter three.

Nokia C3

Nokia C6

Nokia E5

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