Today I will be reviewing my new mobile phone the Nokia 3100. I took receipt of the phone three weeks ago after requesting an update from Singlepoint as my Nokia 8210 was starting to look dated and very worn due to amount of punishment it had taken over the past 12 months.
The phone cost ... Read review
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Advantages: Looks great, large range of features, tri-band, java enabled, good range of games, colour screen, can take pictures with camera attachement Disadvantages: Ringtones can be very quiet
...my new mobile phone the Nokia 3100. I took receipt of the phone three weeks ago after requesting an update from Singlepoint as my Nokia 8210 was starting to look dated and very worn due to amount of punishment it had taken over the past 12 months.
The phone cost me £19.99, but as it is a fairly new release from Nokia it does retail with most contracts from £100 - 150.
My main attraction to the phone at first was the ... ...features are standard across the Nokia range.
The Nokia 3100 is a great looking phone. The picture above shows the white version. My 3100 is in light blue. Although the 3100 contains a lot of technology it is remarkably small measuring in at 10.19cm tall by 4.28cm wide making it just a fraction larger than the 8210. It only weighs in at 85g!!!!
My only gripe about actual build and look of the phone are the covers. Although ... more
Today I will be reviewing my new mobile phone the Nokia 3100. I took receipt of the phone three weeks ago after requesting an update from Singlepoint as my Nokia 8210 was starting to look dated and very worn due to amount of punishment it had taken over the past 12 months.
The phone cost me £19.99, but as it is a fairly new release from Nokia it does retail with most contracts from £100 - 150.
My main attraction to the phone at first was the actual look, it has a colour screen, can send multi-media messages and receive pictures. The features weren't really a consideration as most features are standard across the Nokia range.
The Nokia 3100 is a great looking phone. The picture above shows the white version. My 3100 is in light blue. Although the 3100 contains a lot of technology it is remarkably small measuring in at 10.19cm tall by 4.28cm wide making it just a fraction larger than the 8210. It only weighs in at 85g!!!!
My only gripe about actual build and look of the phone are the covers. Although the plastic facia are extremely scratch resistant and look great they are rather flimsy and I would be worried about it smashing to bits if the phone was ever dropped with any force.
The phone has polyphonic ringtones, colour wallpaper and animated screensavers. These features are amazing and set this apart from any other phone I have ever owned. The 3100 has a large number of quality pre-installed ringtones and images for use with the colour screen. Further ringtones and images can be easily downloaded from various websites via the WAP feature of the phone. The phone uses XHTML browser to view the web and this supports JPEG files.
The keypad is very well presented with the normal numbers, shortcut and navigational keys that allow movement both left and right, up and down when making selections.
Again, I could only find one fault with this part of the phone. The polyphonic ringtones, whilst sounding brilliant were very low and at times, calls could be missed. This is easily rectified though as the phone has a LOUD option which incorporates a reasonably loud ringtone with forceful vibrations.
The 3100 is marketed as the "Light Effect" handset and the phone to been seen with in a disco. This is due to software that has been installed which make the handset flash in time to the beat of your ringtone. It has to be seen to be believed, it looks so cool. In addition to flashing when ringing, the handset glows in the dark making it very easy to spot while the lights are out. The entire phone doesn't light up as such, but a visible strip is evident in a dark room. The screen itself is square measuring 2.73cm by 2.73cm. It is a high resolution, passive matrix colour display that supports 4096 colours within 128 x 128 pixels.
In addition to being WAP enabled (which is very easy to set up anyway) the 3100 is Tri-band and will therefore work in North and South America along with Asia.
The 3100 does not have a built in camera but it does have the software and ports to support a camera attachment that can be purchased separately. Personally I haven't opted to buy the camera yet, but I have received picture messages from friends and the quality is amazing. Although not the same quality as a digital photograph, images are clear and very colourful.
When making and receiving calls, the 3100 has a loudspeaker function which allows you to listen to the caller via the external speaker rather from the handset. I have only tried this feature once and found the sound quality to be a little muffled. Not a feature I’ll be using regularly.
Another new feature to the 3100 is the Java supported games. The 3100 has three pre-installed games. Bowling, Beach Rally and Snake. The graphics and gameplay in Bowling and Beach Rally are fantastic with cool sound effects. In the past I have rarely used the game function on my mobile phone, but the 3100 does attract my attention now when I'm at a loose end! The 3100 isn't going to replace the PS2 on the game front but it is a nice feature on the phone. Further games can be downloaded onto the phone via the WAP function.
The 3100 has a built in antenna and call reception is crystal clear. Calls are made quickly and connection to the web takes under 10 seconds. The phone has the appropriate port to support a handsfree set however I am not yet aware of a cradle for cars that is available specifically for the 3100.
Text messaging is a painless operation. The phone has the normal predictive text which never seems to know what you are trying to write, but this can be switched off. The actual text messaging screen allows 5 lines of text which makes actual composition far easier.
The inbox can hold over 100 text messages for use as evidence at a later date! In addition to this, the phone also saves the text messages you send to others. I find this a very helpful feature as I can now wake up after a night on the tiles, check the messages I've sent the night before and start a pre-emptive apology campaign!
Unlike the 8210, the 3100 has a choice of sound alerts when messages arrive including a very eerie echo effect beeping.
As I stated earlier, I don't yet have the camera attachment so I can't yet comment on the MMS sending feature of the phone.
Other standard Nokia features on the phone include:
Call Register
This is an extremely useful function. Call register records all the calls you have received, missed or dialled along with the number, date, time and length of call. Not only does this let me see who has been playing with my phone, the call duration meter that totals up all the calls I’ve made helps me to keep track of the free minutes I use and keep my bills down.
The call register feature also tracks your use of the GPRS data network which stores the WAP sites you have visited but also records how long data takes to be transferred to your phone.
Contacts
The Contacts book contains all personal numbers saved to either the phone or SIM card. Numbers and names can be easily added and deleted. As the 3100 can be used to send e-mails, the ability to record e-mail addresses and home numbers has been added.
Favourite numbers can also be added to a speed dial listing. Personally I don’t use this function as it can be difficult to remember which contact has been allocated a certain speed dial number! It can be quicker to actually use the search function in the contacts book to locate the person you want to call.
Profiles
This is the features used to personalise your phone. Ringtones can be changed here, screensavers set and wallpapers chosen.
The 3100 has 6 preset profiles which can again be altered. As the polyphonic ringtones can be quiet at times I use the LOUD profile personalised with my own ringtones and sexy wallpaper.
Settings
The Settings feature allows personal shortcuts on the phone to be changed.
The display can be changed so that the screensavers takes longer to kick in, the time and date can be altered and the phone can be restored to its factory settings if you accidentally change something you shouldn’t! A very useful function for a technophobe like me!
Alarm Clock
The alarm clock is a self explanatory feature. The alarm works based upon the time setting on the phone obviously and can be programmed to go off at any time. When activated, a bell appears in the right hand corner of the screen.
The alarm can be changed from a monotone bleep to an upbeat tune from your ringtone gallery. I find it much better to wake up to a nice melody rather than a drilling sound at the side of my head. The alarm will continue to sound until it is switched off.
When sounding, the alarm will make the phone flash in time with the beat of your alarm tone. A snooze function is also present on the alarm and this will reset the alarm to go off 10 minutes later.
Gallery
This feature allows you to view your image or tones galleries. You can browse wallpapers saved to the phone or listen to a prospective ringtone.
In addition to viewing galleries the feature allows folders to be created for data downloads. Personally I haven’t found any need to add any further folders and I have downloaded a number of images and tones via WAP to the phone.
Calendar
The calendar is a useful feature to the 3100. It allows appointments and events to be recorded. An alarm can then be set which will sound prior to the date as a reminder.
I have started to use this function as a large amount of text can be added to a date.
Free flowing notes can also be added, which could in theory be used as a kind of diary should you need to keep details of your day.
Extras
Included within the extras feature is the calculator, stopwatch and countdown timer. I find this a useless feature on the phone as the calculator is extremely fiddly and I have never had any need to a stopwatch or countdown timer!
Services
The services feature is used to link up to the internet using the WAP technology. As I said earlier, the WAP access is fast at contacting to my selected homepage. The services function also allows favourites and bookmarks to be stored for later use.
The 3100 uses a lot of technology and I was surprised when I opened the box and removed the battery. It is tiny, much thinner than the battery to a 8210. The official Nokia website states that the battery to a 3100 when fully charged should remain charged for 170 hours when on standby due to a power saving mechanism that reduces power use when not used for 5 minutes. From a personal point of view, I have found that I have to charge the phone every two to three days and the battery bars do get wiped out if the games are played for any length of time.
Overall I am extremely chuffed with my upgrade. Apart from the flimsy covers and quiet ringtones I cannot find any faults with this phone. It has never crashed (unlike my 8210), the features are presented in a colourful and bright way, the screen picture quality is fantastic and the phone itself takes calls without any problems. This phone is just downright sexy.
The 3100 is a phone for everyone. If you want or need a camera phone, the attachment is available at additional cost and due to the programming this phone can be personalised in every way imaginable. If you’re a game freak and need gameplay even when away from home you’ll love the clip on game covers which make playing easier.
Advantages: Highly personisable, no-ones phone looks exactly like mine Disadvantages: for somw the lack of camera
...It had to be a nokia with similar operation to to 3310.
2. It had to have WAP.
3. It had to be on Vodafone, as I wanted to keep the same SIM card.
4. It had to cost significantly less than £100.
So armed with these requirements I went shopping and found the 3100, on vodafone pay as you go (PAYG), on sale in Argos for the very reasonable price of £59.99
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The Pakaging
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The phone came in ... ...so obviously its aimed at the party animals among us. With this being a vodafone PAYG this box was enveloped in a red sleeve with a picture of the actual phone on it.
The sleeve displayed the following features of the phone:
*Phone flashes in time with ringtone
*Multimedia messaging
*Java games
*Animated screensavers
*Handsfree speaker
*Colour display
*Can be used in five continents
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In the box
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...
sandemp 24.11.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Nokia 3100
Advantages: flashes, good features Disadvantages: no camera
I have had my Nokia 3100 for a few months now and am starting to get along nicely with it. I found it difficult at the beginning because I had upgraded to this phone from a nokia 3310, this phone I had had for about two years and I could work it quickly and easily. The reason that I wanted to upgrade my phone was because the 3310 is a bit dated now and newer phones have more functions to them. I was not really interested in getting a photo phone ... ...full level.
OTHER FEATURES
Nokia Xpress-on Gaming covers can be brought for about £9.99 and can be easily put on your phone to jazz it up a little bit.
Hands free speaker - This is a great facility so that if you are driving you can put the phone onto the loud speaker and still be able to hear what people on the phone are saying. I have found the sound quality is very good on this mode. It comes across loud and clear. One thing to bear in mind ...
kellyv43 09.05.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Nokia 3100
Advantages: Strong, reliable and a good range of features for a nokia s30 Disadvantages: Needs a camera attachment to take photos
I was given the Nokia 3100 as a Christmas present in 2004 and although this phone is now outdated and old in comparison to other mobiles it is still a good little phone. Its been dropped, stood on and well used over the past year or so and still does exactly what it is supposed to without a single problem or scratch.
One of the things I like about this phone is its small and slinky stylish design. Measuring at 10.19cm tall and 4.28 cm wide it is ... ...have one downfall as the Nokia 3100 can only store up to 30 bookmarks which for someone like me who makes very good use of it, it is not enough.
Go To
This is a great feature to this phone, you can add Go To functions on this phone under the personal shortcuts option in the settings menu. You can add anything to it, from quick access to the alarm clock to bookmarks that you have saved in services. I have this saved as my right soft key on my keypad ...
Reposter78 04.07.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Nokia 3100
Advantages: Small and tough Disadvantages: No integrated camera
...a small, functional, tough, modern yet easy to use phone with minimum of gimmicks (I never have been a fan of poor-quality digital camera phones). Nokia seem to me to have got the formula right once again, a good balance of technology and practicality.
Definitely one to check out. ...
katiemeringue 10.02.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Nokia 3100
Advantages: It Flashes Disadvantages: Dam Polyphonic Ring Tones
My old trusty Siemens A50 is a great phone, but he was looking a bit tried and shoddy, and then some wonderful people offered me this baby for free, this makes me happy. Ok I am now signed up to a contract but it will work out cheaper as I was chucking in 30 quid worth of top ups a month, such is my popularity these days. Anyways onto the phone and like all phones it takes and makes phone calls. The speaker quality is good and since I never need ... ...in talking to myself in the good old fashioned way. The Address book works and you can group numbers and stuff into groups if you so desire. It takes text and multimedia messages (whatever they are), and one thing I don't like is that I have to download ringbones from the Internet, using the WAP facility this is potentially expensive. With my old Siemens phone it would come attached to the message and would be downloaded through that.
The WAP facility ...
Champ666 24.06.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Nokia 3100
Look & Feel
Durability & Robustness
Battery standby time
Value for money
Range of features
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Advantages: Clear, crisp voice over the phone. Lightweight and slim. Disadvantages: Besides that, there's nothing else good about it.
First of all, I'd like to say I got this as a 'secondary' phone from Orange UK, and I was only going to use it for calls. This is my review after a few days of having it (might update again if needed, but i don't think my opinion will change much). I own a Nokia3100 and a W850i, so that'll roughly give you an idea of my comparison.
The good points.
1. Relatively cheap for its features, comes with Bluetooth capabilities, VGA camera with 4x zoom, and FM radio.
2. For the few times I have made calls using this phone, I have found the voice to be very crisp and clear over the phone, which impressed me.
3. Very lightweight and slim as well, and is definitely easy to carry around.
4. Comes along with its headset in the box.
5. Able to play mp3 files (I only needed one - for my ringtone!)
6. 65k colours, 128x160 screen is good enough ...
senaiboy 14.09.2008 (20.11.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Nokia 2630
Advantages: Tough, Small, decent sized buttons Disadvantages: Poor screen display, out dated features
This phone is fairly simple to use, as for its age is one of the best around. The General appearance of the phone (apart from the screen) is fine, small, nicely shaped, good layout of buttons etc. The screen however is dismal, and for todays technology is way out-dated. You can buy a nokia3100 for £60 which is immensly better than this phone, and with contract phones you can probably get even better phones that the Nokia3100 for free. The games, despite being good fun, have terrible graphics. Texting is fairly simple, and usually has decent signal. Battery tends to run out a little fast, but charging does not take too long. All in all, decent fone for a fiver off your mate, but dont buy one new, theres FAR better phones on the market. ...
ricacac 12.04.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Siemens A50
Advantages: Not Many... Disadvantages: Heavy, Looks cheap.
The Nokia 2650 clamshell phone, released in October 2004, has the kind of specification that Nokia's rivals were releasing over a year earlier. In fact, the phone has nearly identical features to the Nokia3100 that was released 15 months earlier! The 3100 had the advantages of being a nice-looking, lightweight phone, whereas the 2650 is neither nice-looking nor lightweight.The only feature I can think of that is half good on this phone is the 1.2.1 WAP browser, which lets you download games, tones, etc.
It is hard to say anything very positive about this phone, and it confirms the impression that Nokia don't yet "get" clamshells. My advice would be to look elsewhere!
I give this phone a 2 Star rating. ...
RedSquare05 14.04.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Nokia 2650
Light up the night with a glow-in-the-dark cover - when it's charged with light you can easily find your phone in the dark. When you get a call, the Nokia 3100 phone flashes in tune with your ringing tone. And when you snap on a Nokia Xpress-on gaming cover, you'll get luminescent light effects in time to the gaming action. Shoot a picture with the Fun Camera (available separately). It comes with a flash so you can capture the fun indoors and out. Then just load the photos on to your Nokia 3100 phone, write a note, add a smiley, and share the moment with your friends. Play the day away with the pre-installed Java games on the Nokia 3100 phone, including the all-new Beach Rally. You can add and change the games when you feel like it thanks to Java technology, so when you're ready for a new challenge, simply download new games to your Nokia 3100 phone.
