SO experiment with a Fido branded Nokia C6-00 | Phone/Device Issues and Features | Consumer forum

Update on C6-00 experiment.

Bought a used Fido C6-00 which was unlocked. The experience is interesting in compariosn to the factory unlocked Nokia 5530 XMHongKong version which I had been using since February.

Although thr phone has been unlocked, I cant help but feel the Fido custom FW is hindering performance:

1) Despite being a better spec'd device on paper, the C6-00 is slower than the 5530 in every aspect. It also needs a re-start every couple of weeks to clear the false "memory full" warning which can lock you out of the Photo gallery or Browser.

2) Despite ostensibly running the same generation of Symbian, the C6 lacks the memory clean up feature I have on the 5530. Also the 5530 gives me the option of manually moving virtually every item of content to either Phone or SD memory, which I cant do on the C6.

3) Most annoying is that the phone regularly tries to access the Fido mobile portal despite the fact I have Data disabled on my account. I often find Fido at the top of the browser's history even though I never went there and the Log has records of GPRS connections with sent data which I never initiated nor do I run any apps that go online autonomously ( I use WLAN exclusively).

The above issue hasn't cost me anything, but I imagine it sucks some battery life, cluters the log and in principle it irritates me – I use older Symbians specifically because I WANT the phone to ask permission for everything and not make any choices whatsoever behind my back … this is like Fido trying to tell you "Resistence is futile".

I blame carrier FW for #1 & 2 because in the last few months I've played with other people's phones as well as some retailer's demos of very high end smartphones and was surprised to find that other than iPhone, none of these devices has quicker touch response than my old, cheap 5530 nor where they quicker or more fluid in most other aspects as I had been led to believe. IThis must be mostly because these are all branded phones.

There are some good points about the C6 itself that make it hard to ditch the phone:

It's Dual Band whereas the 5530 is 2G only, which gives additional signal strenght in places where the 3G is closer than 2G (mind you, even with 2G only the 5530 still
got 2-bars in certain places where Apples, HTCs & LGs had no signal…)

I love the slide out keyboard and D-pad. The keys are small but their dome shape makes them super tactile and even with my thick fingers I have never pressed two at a time. The D-pad is great for selecting small, clickable items on a web.

It has one of the better 5PM cameras, not quite as good as the 6700 twins or Omnia 2 (which are better than many 8MPs) but I'd still rate it in the upper half of 5MP's I've seen.

The heavy and thick feeling actually forces you to hold the phone more securely – I have dropped the 5530 a dozen times already but have yet to drop the C6 …although the slider form could ultimately be a liability in case of an accident.

I think in the future though, I will try to take the time and the trouble to get an unbranded version (preferrably non Canadian) of whatever model I'm interested in next.