Managing C2-01 via your computer

The official software to help connect , manage Nokia C2-01 is OVI Suite which is available here. Connection can be established via a USB cable or bluetooth both were straight forward and easy to set - up.

The homescreen as shown below shows the latest contact, messages, photos and ovi store apps and games (not sure it shows apps and games compatible to nokia c2-01).

The contacts can be edited and synced inside the application or with outlook and thunderbird . The OVI suite didn't have a option to sync to the cloud via computer to ovi.com , i thought it could be a useful add-on. The best thing about the OVI suite is contacts can be easily managed via computer and then synced back to phone. Calendar, notes, tasks everthing can be backed up.
Message, photos can be backed up and copied. I don't use Nokia music store but there are lots of songs available there and it keeps the music library synced between your computer and phone.Some options like OVI maps works in the computer since the Nokia C2-01 doesn't have offline maps it didn't work.
The OVI store app recommendations works only as a shortcut to the actual ovi store on the web viewable through the browser and not the actual ovi suite. And there was no way to backup apps downloaded from the ovi store on to the computer

For a complete guide / faq on Nokia OVI suite visit this link

Nokia C2-01 .....reviews

Various reviews on Nokia C2-01 i would recommend you to read

• GSM Arena - Very in-depth review on all the hardware and software details on Nokia C2-01
• Phone Arena - Another very thorough review on Nokia C2-01
• TechRadar - A very critical and insightful review on C2-01
• Crunch Buzz - A short and sweet read ....

Nokia C2-01 ...recommended accessories

Here is my list for the recommended accessories for Nokia C2-01

• Screen Protector - I always prefer to have a screen protector sticker to avoid the screen getting scratched . Here is one from Scratchgard that you can try
• Memory Card - Since there is no microSD card in the box, a memory card (16GB is supported) is needed to store photos, music, videos etc ...I prefer 4GB to be enough and this one from Sandisk should be nice
• Stereo Earphones - If music is your preference and want to stick with a cheap one with a microphone built it this one from Nokia  WH-205 should do fine
• Case - To protect your phone either a case , pouch or silicone is best ...but i was able to find only a Molife Pouch and Molife holster 

Other than these a Nokia bluetooth headset and a Nokia car charger can be some accessories you can try along with Nokia C2-01 

Nokia C2-01 ...as a internet device

Even though Nokia C2-01 is advertised as 3G its maximum  speed in 3G areas in only 384 Kbps and for browsing / checking emails in the device its true to its price as the screen is small and the functionality is limited.

The mail client is nokia's ovi mail client which was easy to configure and setup my gmail account using my operator's EDGE enabled gprs services. This mail client can be used to configure many email networks like yahoo, hotmail, ovi mail and pop enabled mail servers. The 2" screen is very limited and its useful to read shorter emails as there is no html viewing capability or for viewing attachments like document, spreadsheet and presentation. Since series 40 phones are not multi-tasking unlike sony ericsson's java based feature phone's like cedar, elm, hazel there is no push mail support either.

The default browser is Opera mini but a very old version at 4, but i managed to download and run Opera mini 6 and this was good enough, but its best to read mobile versions of the sites to suit the small screen.

The chat functionality was provided by ovi chat with which you could connect to all popular chat clients but haven't tried it out yet. The inbuilt facebook client was basic but it's ok to just checkup on your facebook status and wall.

The surprising thing was according to nokia customer care this phone didn't have modem capabilities to connect to a computer / laptop to act as a modem but i was able to connect it as a modem via OVI suite thru a bluetooth connection and browse the net in my laptop. The other thing I am waiting for is to use it in a 3G network ...hopefully that will be in the near future....

Nokia C2-01 ...as a phone

The most fundamental and basic thing which I looked when getting a Nokia C2-01 was my primary objective was to use it as a mobile phone i.e calls and texting. In this case the C2-01 has a strong network reception with the calls being heard clear but not very loud and my voice also being heard at the other end clearly .....Texting sms was pretty ok in the normal number keypad , it's somewhat stiff but still manageable to use.

The contacts system is pretty extensive being able to keep multiple numbers, address, personal info like birth dates etc. A sync option to sync with the local OVI suite or microsoft outlook / thunderbird in your computer or to the cloud in ovi.com is a nice way to backup your contacts. Ability to group contact, customize with photo and ringtone are nice extra touches but still vital.

The text messages has a conversation view (threaded view) and its quite useful to see what messages have been exchanged so far. MMS  is also present and the message editor is screen simple enough to convert a normal text message to multimedia message once a picture or sound is added.

Battery backup is quite decent with 3-4 days on moderate talking, texting and browsing. The normal charging time for the battery was around 3 hours (weird because older nokia's only took around 1:30 - 2 hours)

That's all about Nokia C2-01's phone avatar...in the coming days will comment on its various other avatars.....

Nokia C2-01 Official Specs

The Nokia C2-01 is a simple candybar feature phone from Nokia running on Series 40, 6th edition. Here are some of the snippets from its official spec list

• Measures : 109.8 x 46.9 x 15.3 mm and weighs 89 g
• Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 with 3G Support (upto 384 Kbps only)
• 3.2 Megapixel fixed focus camera with no flash
• Connectivity: GPRS / EDGE / 3G, USB, Bluetooth
• 240 x 320 pixel screen (2" size)
• 3.5 mm Audio Jack with upto 16 GB microSD card support (hot-swappable)
• SMS, MMS, Email
• Opera Mini browser
• Audio, Video player with FM Radio
• Organizer apps like calendar, to-do list, notes, calculator, alarm, stopwatch
• Sync support with OVI Suite
• OVI Store and Java based app support
• In the box: Handset, Battery, Stereo earphone with mic, Travel Charger, Manuals

Official Nokia C2-01, India product page

Price : INR. 3,900/- (85 US$)