Nokia C7

The Nokia C7 is a perfectly serviceable smart phone at a decent price. Its slim metal case, long battery life and heaps of features almost make up for its clunky user interface -- but not quite.
It's available for free on a £20-per-month contract, or £300 on a pay as you go deal. You can also pick it up for around £320 SIM-free.

Cold steel

Our favourite thing about the C7 is its shiny steel case. It's slim, solid and comfortable to hold. The mirrored front is a fingerprint magnet, but, if you don't mind incessant polishing, then you'll benefit from a gorgeous phone that feels like it can take some serious knocks and tumbles.

Nokia C3

The C3 is Nokia's latest messaging phone aimed at those who find the company's business-orientated E-series handsets too stuffy. Packed with social-networking features and sporting a full Qwerty keyboard, the handset aims to provide you with everything you need to stay up-to-date with your social circle.
With Vodafone currently offering the C3 for £80 on a pay as you go deal, it's one of the most affordable messaging phones around. You can also pick it up for around £130 SIM-free.
How very BlackBerryDespite its low price, the C3 feels remarkably solid. It's available in three different colours: grey, gold and lurid pink. The front of the phone has a classy-looking glossy finish, while the battery cover on the rear is made from aluminium, which is a surprisingly upmarket touch for a phone in this price range.
The C3 is reminiscent of a BlackBerry in terms of its design, with a landscape screen sitting above a full Qwerty keyboard. The screen's 320x240-pixel resolution isn't exactly earth-shattering, but, as it's only a 61mm (2.4-inch) display, the pixels are packed quite closely together, so text and graphics still look pretty sharp.
The display works well with most of the phone's menus and apps, but it feels rather cramped when you're using the Web browser. Sadly, unlike the Orange Rio, the C3 doesn't have a touchscreen. Instead, you have to rely on the square four-way button under the display to move through menus and scroll around Web pages.