The Nokia 6300 is one of the first slim handsets from the Finnish manufacturer. Nokia has so far seemed unfazed by some of its competition, where the race for the slimmest phone has been going on for the past year. With the 6300, Nokia seems to be finally addressing the growing slim handset market. Clad in a stainless steel body, the 6300 is armed with a 2MP camera and a 16 million color screen. The 6300 has both the looks and specifications to be a great handset.

Unlike other slim handsets, the Nokia 6300 is perfectly weighted and is surprisingly comfortable to hold. The smooth brushed aluminum look of the 6300 gives it a distinct feel of class and style. Our review unit feels solid, but there were plenty of scratches all over from previous reviewers. The glossy black areas around the top half of the handset are fingerprint magnets and very prone to scratches. Apart from that, build quality is top-notch.

On the front, the right and left soft keys and call and end keys are positioned around the 5-way navigation d-pad. The numeric keypad is located just below the d-pad on a thinner portion of the phone. Unlike the body of the 6300, the keys feel as though they are made out of cheap plastic. Fortunately, they are quite comfortable to use and provide excellent tactile feedback. The blue backlight of the keypad is bright and well distributed.

The sides of the 6300 are pretty bare, as the general design of the phone is quite simple and clean. The right side of the phone houses the volume keys and the left side has no buttons at all. Both sides have a blue indicator light that lights up every time a call comes in or an SMS is received. The back of the phone has only the loudspeaker and camera lens. The power button is located on the top of the phone. Nokia has done away with the Pop-port connector and now favors a miniUSB port instead. The 2.5mm jack and charging port are also located on the bottom of the phone.

Overall, the 6300 is a good-looking phone with a minimalist design. Measuring 106.4mm x 43.6mm x 13.1mm (4.19" x 1.72" x 0.51") and weighing only 91g (3.2oz), the Nokia 6300 has attracted the attention of many of my colleagues and friends. One of them even insisting that this is the phone he would upgrade to if he was looking for one. Design-wise, Nokia has done a very good job with the 6300.