Review of the Nokia 3720 classic

There are the phones that could topple into pieces with a slight touch of mishandling and then there is
the Nokia 3720 classic. Born to break barriers, it has been molded for the toughies whose cease to live the boring city life. Break it with a bang or throw it in a puddle of water, Nokia’s 3720 classic is too
independent to get affected by such unfriendly attacks. On the contrary, this handset is not for those preferring changeable covers and sleek fabrications. To sum it up, Nokia finally paid heed to the calls of their customers and came up the 3720 classic; a water, dust and shock resistant phone.

Look, Design, Feel (7/10)

Ok, this is no innovative presentation from Nokia. Before this one popped up, there were similar phones doing rounds in the market, Sonim being more prominent. While this may be true, the Nokia 3720 classic notches up one extra point for its look. It doesn’t look like a walkie-talkie but a phone made to make calls, text messages and click photos. The design is a cliché of Nokia with smoothed edges, rounded rectangle D-pad and comfy to hold handset. At first glance, you wouldn’t realise that this phone is built with a different purpose in life.

It comes with an expected attribute of a 2.2-inch display with QVGA resolution readable in direct sunlight. Since the handset probably would be used a lot more outdoors, the screen is scratch resistant. Raised boundaries provide a little help to the screen so it doesn’t touch the surface. Raised buttons act fine during texting, but the volume rocker on the side could test your patience levels.

There are some very tiny yet important distinctions differentiating regular Nokia phones from the 3720. It’s the battery cover tightly held back with a screw so that dust or water doesn’t trickle through. Similarly even the microUSB ports and audio jack are covered except for the charger port that remains exposed all the time.

Features (7/10)

The 3720 classic runs on the S40 user interface common to many Nokia users. Hence, it won’t be so difficult to handle the navigation apps and are completely easy to operate even for novices. Multimedia features are the regulars consisting of the music player, FM Radio with RDS, video recording and 2-megapixel with a 4x digital zoom, LED flash camera. Opera Mini, one of the standard browsers on all Nokia phones, provides effective browsing. However, not every single one gives its optimum best. Whilst the camera clicks decent photos, the video recording feature leaves a bad memory behind. Except for the MMS it’s a worthless inclusion. Even the video playback is not worthy mentioning.

The 3720 classic has received an IP54 certification meaning it protects itself from water and dust only till a limited time and amount. It’s a phone not an iron rod. With time, all the focal features will start losing their sheen. An excellent example would be the scratch resistant screen. Sadly, as the charger port is open to natural elements, the water resistance feature is not applicable here and eventually even this one will die a silent death. Though all this factors stand to be true, the phone does offer a great deal of protection through its rubberized body.

Connectivity (6/10)

The phone supports EDGE connectivity particularly stacking lightweight browsing and emails. It is not
supportive of image heavy web images and downloads. The 2.0 micro USB connects you to external electronic
devices whilst the 2.1 Bluetooth will pair similar devices. Unfortunately, the phone fails to support 3G.

Performance (8/10)

Nokia 3720 classic is advised for extreme conditions, but sadly it is a phone with a limited shelf life. It protects itself from harsh situations and materials, except from those intentionally hammered at it. The call quality is excellent, perhaps better than phones categorized as ‘normal’. Voices are clearly heard on both sides with no background hindrances. According to the Finnish company the battery life is as tough as the exterior providing up to 7 hours of continuous talk time and 19 days of stand by time.

Value for Money (8/10)

Weighing its pros and cons, the Nokia 3720 classic is a likeable phone. Sincerely it stands up to its
endurance tests and proves its mettle. Features wise, it’s a simple phone with classic multimedia
features, though not all are up to the mark. Nevertheless, considering it’s a phone made for different
conditions with a not so flashy price tag, it’s worth a try.

If you are really into these types of phones, Sonim manufactures better products with 3-year
unconditional warranty. It is in-built with hi-end features, however at a higher price than the 3720.