FOR the TEENs out there, who are itching to tap into the BlackBerry (BB) craze, this phone is the answer to your dreams.

The Nokia C3 looks like a BlackBerry and operates similar to RIM’s Smartphone, the only differnce is, it’s not a BlackBerry — though it has been mistaken for an upgrade on the unit.

Though the aim is not to compare, for TEENs, this smartphone is cheaper than a BlackBerry, if fact, it costs a third of what you would pay for those ‘other phones’.

You can all look up the specs of the phone on the Internet, but what you really want to know is, is it user-friendly, is it fast and how much will it really cost?

The service provider currently does not offer a data service rate for smart phones, other than for the BB. This, we feel, has got to change.

The Nokia C3, with all its data capabilities, allows you to be on the Internet all day and currently there is no flat rate for Internet service.

On the flip side, the C3 has one-click access to social networking via ‘Communities’ that offers super low rates when logging into Facebook and Twitter (let’s, say you can be logged in for over half an hour and just $17 was taken from your credit).

Messaging and social networking are the heart of this handset, and it is broadly gossiped that the Nokia C3 is officially the latest addition to our social gadgets.

The C3 is mainly designed for the young, social and sometimes simple TEENager, who desires a ‘unique budget-minded and less fussy’ handset.

It operates similar to a RIM Smartphone. Unlike most smartphones, the C3 has a bubble-esque qwerty keypad. The keyboard buttons are slightly raised, which means less effort is required from users when typing and cuts down on the frequency of hitting the wrong buttons.

This phone will fit snugly into your pocket.

TEENage highly recommends that when you wish to browse the Internet, utilise the Opera Mini Web Browser that the phone possesses. Viewing alerts and news on the home screen are easy options as well as easy posting, changing of status and uploading photos to the social networks.

With the ease of operations known to Nokia users, the C3 does not disappoint.

It comes with a 2.0 megapixel camera and captures images best in well-lit environments, as the camera does not have flash capabilities.

The Nokia C3 has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. These allow faster access to the internet and quick transfer of files. Apart from these softwares, the phone has several features that allows you to connect to other devices to both transmit and receive data. The phone also has a loudspeaker, FM radio, media player and supports up to an eight gigabyte memory card. It acts as a great personal assistant. With its Calender application which allows users to add notes or things-to-do to specific dates and times you would want to be reminded of.