The selling point on the 3300 is the music player. It plays MP3 files and "raw" (not MPEG-4 encoded) AAC files. Because it does not support the MPEG-4 compression, you're better of with using MP3, as the raw AAC files at the same bitrate are acutally larger in size with no noticeable difference in quality. The music player is among the best I've listened to (it actually has some BASS output) with the provided stereo headset; you can also listen to it with the single-ear (mono) earpiece and the player knows the difference and switches from stereo to mono accordingly. You can also listen to either the music player or FM radio using the loudspeaker on the phone, but to listen to the FM radio you still have to keep the headset connected, as it utilizes the headset wire as an FM antenna. I have encountered an issue where the music player will arbitrarily change tracks, or the FM radio will spontaneously kick over to another station preset, but it could be from accidental keypresses on the case that I have the phone in.

This phone also includes a recorder and a special audio cable (3.5mm standard plug on both ends) for connecting an external CD player or other equipment to record from to the MMC card (64MB) supplied with the phone. The phone records 64Kbps, 32KHz "raw" AAC format (64MB = about 2 hours of audio), which is fine if you are recording from the radio or voice but not the greatest if flawless quality is your preference from your CDs. The Nokia Audio Manager 3.1 software supplied with the phone is clunky and stalls frequently; I highly recommend using RealPlayer 10 with the Nokia Mobile Device plug-in (which also handles conversion to MP3 for you); RealOne Player with the plug-in is also included on the CD that comes with the phone. If you have a separate MMC reader, you can read the cards in that rather than in the phone to speed up transfers.

The phone itself is a decent quality phone, as with most Nokia handsets. However, if you don't want to look like a space alien talking on it, you'll find yourself using the earpiece almost always (otherwise, you hold the narrow back side of the phone to your face to talk; which looks tacky and feels awkward). The full keyboard on the US "B" model is excellent for text messaging and e-mail--*IF* you have light to see it with (only the call, hang-up, and directional buttons light up, which means you can't see the numbers or keyboard in the dark--major issue if you have to communicate in less-than-ideal lighting; keep a little mini flashlight with you).

The 3300 supports Java MIDP 1.0, which is wonderful. Most of the apps I used most frequently on my MPx200 I have found suitable Java alternatives for (MyCast Weather, Virca IRC client, EmailViewer e-mail client, and MapQuest Mobile for real-time directions are among some of the apps I use often). The built-in e-mail client is adequate, but forces you to download entire messages instead of just headers to see what you *really* want to read (downloading full messages can consume your GPRS bandwidth in a hurry if your e-mail box is big), so I use ReqWireless E-Mail viewer, which doesn't have that disadvantage.

Like all Series 40 Nokias, the Calendar is very basic with limited capability, but the Contacts database is robust. Which brings up another major issue with this phone: lack of PC Suite support. The data cable supplied with the phone only interfaces with the MMC card in the phone and not with the phone's interface itself, so if you need to synchronize via cable or use your cell phone as a modem, you'll be SOL on this device. It only supports synchronization over-the-air using SyncML with a SyncML-compliant server (again, a bandwidth hog if your contacts/calendar db is huge); Nexthaus does make a SyncML server to sync with Outlook, but any calendar items not supported by the 3300 get skipped so your calendar is always incomplete (Contacts come through great though).

Lastly, you would think that with this phone supporting the MMC card format that it would also support SecureDigital (SD). It does not, and MMC cards are becoming increasingly difficult to find as more vendors make the move to SD cards. The phone comes with a 64MB card, which is sufficient for most people, but if you like more than an hour's worth of MP3s, you'll want to look for a 128MB or 256MB MMC card. I will give it this much: there is a feature to backup and restore your phone's settings to/from the MMC card, which is a smart feature to use in case your phone should be accidentally reset.

Overall, I do enjoy this phone, especially the awesome music player and the java support.

Pros:

1) Full keyboard - aids text input and beats a regular number pad hands down.

2) MP3 player - Can use MP3 files as ring tones, and just store songs on the memory card. Way cool.

3) Speaker - good for speaker phone and listening to music if headphones aren't handy.

4) Games - when you need to kill some time, the games are nice to have.

5) Internet access - decent net access, didn't use it much, though.

6) Menu - fairly intuitive and easy to use.

7) FM radio - another way to pass the time enjoyably.

8) Voice capture - good for making quick verbal notes.

Cons:

1) Non-backlit keypad - impossible to use when dialing at night, especially combined with...

2) Small buttons - the dialing buttons should be larger. Easy to misdial, especially at night.

3) Center 4-way menu button - had to press it more than once to scroll down the menus. Must be a bad contact under the button. Extremely aggravating.

4) Poor speaker volume - even the shrillest ring tones don't penetrate a normal winter coat when I'm wearing it. Lost many calls that I never did with old phone. Hard to hear music with speaker through the normal din of all but the quietest areas.

5) Lost audio on calls - Often, a call would ring in, I would see who it was on caller-id, but when I picked it up, I couldn't hear the other person. Called back the other person, who said I could be heard fine. Only happened on incoming calls.

6) Poor earpiece design - the angle of the earpiece in the case makes it hard to position it flush against the ear opening. Poor volume means you have to cover the entire ear opening to get a clean sound.

7) Proprietary SD memory - If you take out the battery, you can pop out the 64mb memory card, but the unit won't take inexpensive standard SD cards, like a 256mb or 512mb card. Why? Nokia requires a special thin SD card only they are selling. Bah!

Conclusion: It's a nice toy and can waste away your idle hours with blissful fun. You could run a mini cable from the headphone jack to a set of powered computer speakers and have a nice MP3 system. But doesn't cut it as a phone. I need a superior phone, and the rest is icing on the cake. Thought I could have both with the 3300. Nope.

I'm getting a Motorola V300. It's an outstanding phone. Tiny. Features-a-plenty, and the rebates cover the entire phone and even pay me $51 when bought through Amazon and T-Mobile.

Avoid AT&T Wireless! One month of calling on the 3300, no live customer service or email responses whatsoever. Shame on AT&T.

The music software seems to work well. And the recording capability of the phone is also pretty good. I like the full keypad for entering contact info. It is a lot easier than with other cell phones.

One final note - I wish they had a phone disabling option in order that the music player on the phone could be used in an airplane.

If you're looking for a phone that is a little different, offers a little more than a standard phone and is easy to program and add contact info to, this is a great phone.