Do a triple take with the Nokia 3250 phone.

With the release of the Nokia 3250, Nokia has once again validated its reputation as a mobile phone innovator.

One twist of the wrist and it becomes a music player with memory expandable up to 1 GB for up to 750 songs. Rip tracks from your CDs using Nokia Audio Manager and then transfer them from your PC to your phone. Use the stereo headphones provided or plug your own headphones into the 3.5 mm jack in the headset.

Twist again and it's a 2-megapixel camera. Snap in landscape or portrait mode and get up close with the 4x zoom. Store your photos and videos on your phone and then upload them to your mobile blog with Lifeblog.

Twist back and it's a smartphone. Take calls on five continents, browse over EDGE, and get creative with all the imaging and music software packed inside.

This stunning and highly innovative music/camera/phone comes in a range of four colors: black, green, pink and silver, and the handset features a three position action for switching between the phone, music and camera functions.

According to Nokia, the 3250 markets under the "Nokia XpressMusic" brand because of the music features like dedicated music buttons, paused music during phone calls, 3.5mm and audio connectors.

As an entertainment phone, video clips can be downloaded with animations that can be viewed on the handset. This service appears to be in its early stages and should be checked with Nokia for updated information.

Nokia Audio manager software lets users click drag-and-drop music into the phone and the music player supports standard audio file formats such as MP3, WMA, M4A and AAC

It comes with an FM radio with Visual Radio where users can download interactive content and services when listening to a song. This service is expected to be launched in the next few months.

The 3250 more than a music-phone, it comes with features such as a 2- megapixel camera with 4x zoom, USB 2.0 support and Bluetooth connectivity, and smart phone functionalities, through its integrated Series 60 platform and Symbian OS.

The 3250 is 103.8 x 50 x 19.8 mm, same as the 3230. It comes with an expansion slot for a 1GB microSD rated to store up to 750 songs.

Whichever way you twist it, there's a lot happening inside the Nokia 3250 phone.

This article was posted on October 26, 2006