The Nokia 5140 is the latest in Nokia's 5xxx series of durable phones designed to be hard wearing for outdoor and sports activities. Nokia claim that the 5140 offers "Enhanced durability and resistance to the elements and usage in sports inspired lifestyle." It's debatable just how durable the phone is - soak it in water or drop it onto a hard surface and it's likely to break, just like any other mobile - but Nokia have certainly made an effort to protect the phone against minor bumps and splashes. The outer shell is tougher than most, and being changeable it can be replaced if it gets scratched or scuffed. The bottom flap helps to protect against water damage, and there is an inner module to provide additional protection against water damage.
The 5140 comes with a range of outdoor "lifestyle" inspired features - camera and video recorder, flashlight, FM radio, thermometer, decibel meter (?), and a good personal organiser with an extensive calendar and notes option.
Sadly, the display is still only 4096 colours and is small at 128 x 128 pixels. The STN technology used means that the display is difficult to see when outdoors - a real problem when you consider the target market for this phone. Nokia really lags the competition when it comes to display technology. Polyphonic ringtones are also basic.
The camera provided is of average quality and the video recorder rather poor quality. The memory available is limited and so video clips are short. The poor quality of the display means that pictures and videos are small and hard to see.
The keypad, like that of the Nokia 5100 is not very easy to use. The keys are located close together and are not very responsive. This helps to protect the phone from water damage, but is not very user-friendly.
Overall there are some good features about this phone, and some ho-hum features. For people who are familiar with the Nokia style and are looking for a mid-range phone with added durability, this could be a good choice. Our recommended phone for outdoor use is the Siemens M65 which offers improved protection and better features. The Nokia 5140i is an enhanced version of the 5140, although it still has problems with the keypad and screen.
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Advantages: This is the perfect phone for anyone who has a busy lifestyle or has a past record of breaking you phone Disadvantages: Lacking in bluetooth (but the other features make up for this)
Natalie_Jose 18.10.2005 ·
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Review of Nokia 5140
Advantages: Very robust, doesn't scratch easily, good torch Disadvantages: No bluetooth, small screen difficult to read in bright light, lack of memory
davelam 22.05.2007 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Nokia5140i
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Oct 27th, 2005
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