Nokia 6700 Classic metal build and reliable performance
For many Australians buying a mobile in 2009, the Nokia 6700 Classic felt like a different class of device. Where most handsets in that price range relied on glossy plastic, this model shipped with a brushed stainless steel body that survived the bottom of a tradie's ute or a handbag tossed onto a Sydney bus seat. It was compact, reassuringly solid, and finished with the kind of care that earned the Finnish brand its loyal following across the country.
Telstra prepaid customers in regional Queensland were quick to pick one up, partly because the tri-band GSM radio handled long-distance coverage between towns like Toowoomba and Cairns. Melbourne commuters appreciated the slim profile that slipped easily into a suit jacket, while students in Adelaide liked the premium feel that punched above its price. The phone landed in Australia at a moment when carriers were aggressively pushing smartphones, yet it carved out a niche for buyers who valued call quality, battery life, and a keyboard free of fuss.
What made the 6700 Classic memorable was its restraint. There was no oversized screen, no ambitious operating system, just a dependable feature phone that did the basics brilliantly. It remains a reference point for anyone who longs for simpler times or hunts for a sturdy secondary handset today. This piece walks through the design, display, performance, camera, and connectivity experience, plus how it worked on Australian networks in its prime.
Readers who want broader smartphone advice can explore the android tips page on Sidoharjo for everyday tweaks that apply to current devices.
| Model | Body material | Display | Camera | Launch price in Australia (AUD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nokia 6700 Classic | Stainless steel | 2.2 in, 240 x 320 | 5 MP, LED flash | ~329 |
| Nokia 6300 | Brushed metal and plastic | 2.0 in, 240 x 320 | 2 MP | ~249 |
| Nokia E72 | Metal and plastic | 2.4 in, 320 x 240 | 5 MP | ~549 |
| BlackBerry Bold 9700 | Plastic and leatherette | 2.4 in, 480 x 360 | 3.2 MP | ~799 |
Design and build quality
The 6700 Classic owes most of its character to the chassis. Stainless steel wraps the back and sides in a single sheet, finished in options like silver, black, bronze, and a striking chrome variant that turned heads in Brisbane CBD offices. The slim 11 mm thickness and cold weight in the palm reminded owners they were holding something built to outlive a typical two-year contract.
Compared with the plastic shells that flooded the market, the phone resisted scratches better and held its value longer on Australian classifieds sites. Users who worked outdoors in places like Darwin's tropical humidity or Tasmania's cool winters reported that the metal body felt sturdy in any season. Keys were tightly grouped around the directional pad, giving the front face a tidy, almost jewellery-like appearance that suited business users and tradies alike.
Display and interface
A 2.2 inch QVGA screen sat above the keypad, modest by today's standards but bright enough for reading texts under the Australian afternoon sun. Colours were punchy for a TFT panel of that era, and the 240 x 320 resolution kept menu icons sharp. The Series 40 interface was responsive, with a nine-icon grid that felt familiar to anyone upgrading from an older Nokia.
Navigation was a one-thumb job, and the predictive text engine learned Australian spellings quickly. Contacts, calendar, and the simple browser loaded pages over 2G and early 3G with acceptable speed on Optus and Vodafone AU networks. Owners who preferred physical buttons over a touchscreen found the layout intuitive, with the call and end keys placed exactly where the thumb rests.
Customisation was straightforward with downloadable themes suited to different tastes, and the interface never tried to do too much, which is exactly why it worked so well. Calls came first, messages second, and everything else waited its turn.
Why the 6700 Classic still earns a place in the drawer
- Battery life that stretches two to three days of normal use
- Build quality that shrugs off daily pocket wear
- Reliable call quality on Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone AU networks
- A 5 MP camera that holds up for casual snapshots
Where the handset shows its age
- Limited app ecosystem compared with current platforms
- No touchscreen for modern messaging and social apps
- Web browsing feels slow against today's 4G and 5G speeds
- Storage tops out at modest microSD capacities
Battery life and daily use
Under the hood, the 6700 Classic ran on a modest processor that handled calls, SMS, and basic apps without hesitation. There was no lag when flicking through menus, no stutter when opening the gallery, and the radio tuned to Telstra's 900 and 1800 MHz bands with consistent signal pickup. Battery life was a quiet hero, often reaching three days of light use.
Travellers driving the Pacific Highway between Sydney and Newcastle reported fewer dropped calls than some early smartphones. Standby drain was impressively low, meaning the phone could sit in a glovebox for a week and still boot up. For Australians who valued reliability over flashy features, this kept them loyal to the brand. Readers who appreciate gear built to last often think the same about other long-term investments, and this social security guide explores a parallel kind of dependable system.
Camera and multimedia features
A 5 megapixel camera with an LED flash sat on the back, capable of producing images that still look reasonable when resized for sharing. Daylight shots of Brisbane's South Bank or Melbourne's laneways came out sharp, and the LED flash helped in pubs and bars where lighting was poor. Video recording was capped at VGA, which felt limiting even at launch but served for short clips shared via MMS.
The music player handled MP3 and AAC files, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack meant owners could plug in their own earbuds. Storage expanded via microSD up to 8 GB officially. FM radio worked through the headphones as the aerial, a welcome addition for tradies on long shifts in Kalgoorlie or older Australians listening to ABC Radio on the go. The camera and music features covered casual needs without trying to replace dedicated gadgets.
Connectivity and carrier use in Australia
On Australian networks, the 6700 Classic behaved like a dependable workhorse. It connected cleanly to Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone AU over GSM and supported 3G on later revisions. Tri-band support mattered for regional travellers, and the phone's signal sensitivity made it worthwhile for prepaid users watching their monthly spend. Messaging was a highlight, with T9 predictive text that made SMS fast once the dictionary learned your habits.
Owners who worked in customer service or hospitality in Surfers Paradise appreciated how quickly they could fire off replies. Bluetooth pairing with hands-free units was painless, suited to long commutes around Perth and Adelaide. For readers considering a switch from older feature phones to current platforms, the BlackBerry archive at Sidoharjo offers another perspective on physical keyboards and business handsets.
Pick up a Nokia 6700 Classic today and you step back into a moment when phones were built to last, calls were the headline feature, and battery life mattered more than megapixels. Share your memories of this handset in the comments and tell us which Nokia still earns a place in your drawer.