So about 2 weeks ago, I ordered a Nokia 6126 from Amazon.com. Not particularly cheap since I bought it without a service contract. But it also came without any carrier restrictions which would cause it to be only usable on one carrier's network, and without any carrier modifications -- something that I really wanted.

It's a very nice phone. Not perfect, but it's great for what I want it to do - remind me of meetings, keep my contacts available to me, and to make phone calls. I've used a Sony Ericsson Z520a and a Nokia 6682 in the past year. The Z520a was just junk - coupled with very poor Sony Ericsson customer service. The 6682 was nice, but overkill. I really didn't need the phone to read PDF files for me.... The 6126 is the same size as the Z520a even though it looks bigger than that.

The user interface on the phone (Nokia Series40 3rd edition) is typically Nokia. Very nice and intuitive. Nokia and Sony Ericsson have the two best UI designs I think. Motorola is way at the bottom. The 6126 feels solid. There's a button on the side that will cause the flip to open on its own like a Star Trek Communicator.

The phone syncs with my Mac via iSync. There's a hack you need to make it work, and then, it suffers from the same iSync bug that plagues all other Series 40 3rd edition phones in that syncs street address information into a note instead of the AddressBook field. I guess they'll fix that someday. Works well enough for me right now. Bluetooth transfer rates are great. And the Bluetooth headset I have (Sony Ericsson HBH-608) works just fine with the phone. Sound quality is good. It holds calls very well, even in my house which has notoriously poor reception. Data transfer is good as far as I've tried. Since I don't have a data plan, this feature isn't going to get tested. I'm not interested in the bill....

The camera is average. It likes a lot of light. If it's too dark, things look grainy. But it doesn't take infinite numbers of pictures of pocket lint like the Z520a was prone to do (due to the poor camera button design on the side).

The battery is a little disappointing. It's on par with my previous Nokia 6682, but it's behind the Sony Ericsson Z520a. I was hoping for a little better.

The phone's display is gorgeous. Large with good resolution, contrast, and color. But I'm also probably paying the price as a result with the shortened battery life.

I'm a little irritated that they changed the power plug type to a new style. I had a lot of old Nokia chargers lying around. However, unlike Sony Ericsson, you can buy an adapter from Nokia to enable the use of all your old chargers. I need to get me one of those.

I love the fact that the phone is unlocked and "as shipped" from Nokia. There's no annoying "customizations" like T-Mobile has put on their version of the 6126 (which is called the 6133) which, for example, cause MP3 files not to be usable as ring tones. There's also no attempt to divert you to your carrier's website to buy stuff like games, surf the net, or do other things that add up to more $$$ for them.

I'm so far very happy with the Nokia 6126, even with the extra cost of buying it unlocked.