Jan 21, 2004 04:47 PM
23606 Views
(Updated Aug 07, 2004 07:28 AM)
HI friends I am writing a review on NOKIA 1100; the latest cell phone from NOKIA which was released in mid December 2003.
I was using Samsung R220 since last one year and I wanted to change it. This time I wanted to buy a cheap NOKIA fone since I had never used Nokia be4. I didn’t want to buy 3310 becoz its bulky. I asked the dealer about a cheap fone from Nokia & he showed to me 1100 and seeing its size I bought it. NOKIA 1100 is a dual band fone. NOKIA wanted a cheap entry level phone which it could not make since a long time except 3310. The phone can be seen https://nokia-asia.com.
Let me introduce this phone to u:
LOOKS: The front and rear panels are changeable as with most Nokia fones. The phone weighs only 86 grams and has the dimensions 106x46x20 mm. Therefore u can see that the fone is not at all big and fits in jeans easily. One major advantage in Nokia fones is the internal antenna which allows the fone to fit inside the pocket easily. My Samsung R220 even though small has an external antenna which creates a problem while keeping the fone in jeans and driving a bike. The microphone, charging port and interface connector are located on the bottom. The sides have grips which prevent our fingers from slipping it while using. The phone is not water proof nor shock resistant. The fone has two holes on the top for the straps. Placing one strap into the two holes will ensure maximum stability.
A new feature in this fone is the White Flash Light which is present in the middle at the top of the fone where the on/off switch of 3310 was located. It consists of one light diode and in order to activate the light, we have to press the C button, pressing it twice will turn it on constantly.
KEYPAD: The keypad is made of silicon and I don’t quite like the keypad becoz the keys are stuck densely to each other which is not comfortable. They are rather tight and tough when pressing them. The symbols having a large font are easily visible and the keypad’s backlight is yellowish green. The keys are seen in the night easily though the * and # keys are not provided enough light. There are two arrow keys which are located at the top right side below the screen which is difficult to adapt if u r familiar with the arrow keys located in the middle. In the middle is the NAVI key which performs the function indicated by the text above it. It also dials a phone number and answers a call. The traditional call accept/reject keys are absent. At the top left hand side is the Power key which is burrowed in and is difficult to press. Holding this key will switch the phone on/off and when pressed once in the standby mode will give the list of profiles to select a particular profile.
BATTERY: The battery can be seen by removing the back panel. It’s a Li-Ion type (BL-5C) battery which can work up to 400 hours during standby mode (the company says so), and from 2 to 4.5 hours when talking. My maximum use of the cell is for SMS and u know that sending and receiving SMS’s consumes much battery. But I am very satisfied with the battery of this fone. It works for 3-4 days easily when fully charged keeping the standby time less and using the fone maximum for calls and SMS. The sim holder is located below the battery and has a lock which clips in when u insert the sim card.
DISPLAY: The display is graphical, black & white. It’s monochromic display & resolution is 96x65 pixels. Four text lines and once extra line for service needs can be displayed at once. The display’s backlight is provided by green LED’s. Information shown on the screen is easily readable and the font size is large.
MENU: The main menu can be accessed by pressing the NAVI key. It’s traditionally presented with a set of animated icons. All sub-menus are arranged in lists. Key number navigation is supported. Press the “C” key in order to access upper menu level. Menu scrolling is done with the help arrow keys.
The incoming call can be accepted by using the NAVI key, and if we want to dial the recent numbers we have to use the upper arrow key. It took time to adapt using the features of this fone since I had switched from Samsung to Nokia and I found the former more user friendly then this one.
Messages: 50 SMS’s can be stored in the phone’s memory. Predictive text input – T9 is supported. A multisend feature is also present. Chat support is present. The phone has Nokia Smart Messaging, 8 pictures are there by default and there are 8 smileys (two empty to create our own). 8 pre-installed message templates are also given. Joined messages are supported. As many as 459 characters can be written onto a single sms which is sent into parts and which results that the cost of sms will be counted depending on the number of parts sent when a single large message is sent. One great feature is u can save ringtones and logos as SMS in Inbox and when u like u can activate them because u have a option of saving only 7 ringtones in tones.
Phonebook/contacts: The phone book entries can be accessed by pressing the lower arrow key. Numbers from SIM-card and phone’s memory are displayed at once. The common list has a search option. 50 entries can be stored in the phone’s memory and various melodies can also be set for different entries. Other way to access the phone book is to use the menu key and scroll to menu 2 labeled as contacts. In this menu one can search, store, delete, edit, copy phone numbers.
Call register: A set of last received/dialed/missed calls with date and time. There are three lists. 10 numbers are stored in 'em(20 in dialled). The call length and cost is shown here.
Tones: 1100 has 36 present monophonic ringtones and 7 can be downloaded. 5 sms tones are there. Ringtone and Msg volumes are pretty loud, we don’t have to worry about hearing the fone when it’s ringing, and it can be heard almost everywhere. The Vibrating alert is present & good &has enough strength to be felt. All the common tone settings are present here. Rhythmic Backlight Alert is also present and Rhyming Vibrator to tone is there 2.
Profiles: There r 6 profiles which can be personalized and activated.
Settings: Menu contains all the settings consisting of phone, call, time/date, keyguard, security. The factory default setting is also present here.
Alarm: The Alarm Clock can be set to go off once or at specific days selectable from the list.
Reminder: You can create short reminders and insert notifications for them.
Games: The phone has two games - Snake II, Space Impact +.
Extra: Calculator, stopwatch, countdown timer, melody editor, screen saver settings are present here.
