Nokia 6100

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As always, Nokia have hit the nail bang on the head in this department. The predictive text is very easy to use - use the * to cycle through the options for the combination of letters you have selected and # to toggle the predictive text on or off. If a word isn’t recognised you can add it to the dictionary for the next time you want to use it. The buttons are nicely spread and easy to press making speed texting pretty easy. The capacity ...
...up anymore. On the older Nokia phones the alarms are really loud and on some you can even set a ring tone as your alarm, but the phone I have works on polyphonic ring tones and they just aren’t as loud. Just in case it does wake you up and you want that extra few minutes you can always hit the snooze button!


6. Gallery

There are two default galleries where you can store ring tones or images. There is a fair selection ... more

FEATURES

1. Messages

As always, Nokia have hit the nail bang on the head in this department. The predictive text is very easy to use - use the * to cycle through the options for the combination of letters you have selected and # to toggle the predictive text on or off. If a word isn’t recognised you can add it to the dictionary for the next time you want to use it. The buttons are nicely spread and easy to press making speed texting pretty easy. The capacity is also pretty impressive - you can store up to 150 messages at once (50 picture messages). One thing I quite like is the ability to delete your text messages in blocks i.e. delete all, all sent or all received. This saves a lot of time if, like me, you let your messages clog up.

2. Call Register

The normal stuff here. You can see your missed calls, received calls, calls made along with call durations. One thing I particularly like is the way the phone shows you all calls from each caller in each menu - if someone has called you three or four times it will show the time of each call. The call durations is as usual - last call, received calls, calls made and total of all calls. Within this menu you will also find counters relating to GPRS.

3. Profiles

This is where you can create profiles for certain situations. You can set the ring tone, volume, vibrating alert, message tone, keypad tones and warning tones. Pretty handy if you are in an important meeting - rather than have to turn your phone off you can just set it to silent with vibrating alerts on so you know when someone is trying to contact you. In contrast, if you are in a rather more noisy environment you can set your phone to ‘loud’ mode so you still hear it. There are five slots for different profiles. That’s more than enough for me.

4. Settings

Time and date settings - straightforward enough.

Call settings - call divert, any key answer, automatic redial, speed dialling, call waiting, summary after call and whether or not to withhold your number.

Phone settings - language, automatic key guard, cell info display, welcome note, network selection, confirm SIM service actions, help text activation and start-up tone.

Display settings - wallpaper, colour schemes, operator logo, screen saver timeout and brightness.

Tone settings - the same as profiles.

Accessory settings - the only one listed is for the headset although I’m sure you can add more depending on what you buy for the phone.

Security settings - PIN code request, call barring services, closed user group, security level and access codes.

5. Alarm Clock

You can set absolutely loads of alarms but none of them of them seem to wake me up anymore. On the older Nokia phones the alarms are really loud and on some you can even set a ring tone as your alarm, but the phone I have works on polyphonic ring tones and they just aren’t as loud. Just in case it does wake you up and you want that extra few minutes you can always hit the snooze button!

6. Gallery

There are two default galleries where you can store ring tones or images. There is a fair selection to choose from in both but I have been most impressed with the ring tones. It is nice to see Nokia adding a few more standard tones. Some of the images are quite impressive too. At the moment I have a pretty sunset as my wallpaper and it looks a bit like an oil painting - not bad for a phone, eh?

7. Organiser

Inside this menu you will find a calendar where you can set reminders that can be viewed altogether rather than having to scroll through each one as in the alarm clock section. Another handy little feature is the ability to compile a to-do list. Anything that saves the rainforests must be good!!

8. Games

I was quite disappointed not to find snake on this phone, but equally impressed with the chess game included as standard instead. There are four different game modes available.

Mate in 1

As the title suggests, you have to get the opposition in check mate in one move. You are presented with a variety of scenarios depending on the difficulty you have set it at.

Mate in 2

A bit like the last one, only this time you have to do it in two moves.

Avoid mate

In this scenario the tables are turned. You are put in a situation where only one move will save you.

Unguarded.

In this option there are a variety of pieces that you can take and one of them is unguarded by any other pieces. You have to find that piece.

You can also change the game mode so that instead of simply finding the correct moves at your leisure you have to find six of each type of move in as little time as possible. An added stipulation is that every wrong selection means a ten second penalty. It can be quite addictive if you like chess. The only thing I was disappointed with was that you couldn’t simply have a proper game. Ah well, what can you expect from a phone?

Although there is only one default game, there is the option to download other JAVA games. I haven’t tried it yet but, judging from games I have seen on other Nokia phones, it would be well worthwhile.

9. Applications

These are things I have not had to use yet - a converter and a world clock. I have had a look at both though and they seem pretty handy to me. The converter can be set to convert your money from one currency to another as you have the option to set the exchange rate. The world clock is a bit more graphically pleasing. By opening the world clock you are presented with the time where you are and your location and then you move on to a map of the world. You can move across or up and down to see what the time is in different places around the globe. I reckon this would be handy if you had family abroad or you were travelling and needed to set a schedule.

10. Extras

This menu contains a calculator, countdown timer, stopwatch and wallet. The calculator is, obviously, to do some sums when you’re on the move. It helps me out most Fridays when I’m seeing if my wages are right - I work different hours most weeks. The countdown timer is a bit like Ronseal - it does exactly what it says on the tin. It counts down time. Pretty handy if you are putting something in the oven and are a bit busy. Beware, though, the countdown works in minutes not seconds - I got caught out with a pizza the first time I used it, my own fault though as I was a bit wrecked at the time! The stopwatch is pretty handy if you want to time how quickly your car gets from 0-60. As for the wallet, what’s all that about? I’ve got one in my back pocket thanks very much!

11. Connectivity

You can select whether you want to connect by infra-red or GPRS. I have not used either of these functions so don’t actually understand what they entail (please feel free to fill me in and I will make sure I add it).

12. Services

This is where you can go online and check your emails, see how you’re doing on Ciao, etc. You can set bookmarks and change various setting include server, display options and cookie options. There is also an option for you to go straight to an address you type in.

13. My Services

This is basically a list of standard services provided by your server. I am on O2 and my menu includes things such as 1471, customer care, traffic line, UK directory, answer phone, international directory, dictation line, talking pages and RAC and AA breakdown.

As you can see, this phone is jam packed with features and extras. That’s more than enough about the features though, I think. It’s time to move on to the other aspects of this phone.

Phone book

The phone book is like many other phone books - simple to navigate and has a pretty good storage capacity of up to 300 phone numbers. Along with the facility to add phone numbers for people you can also add email addresses. Like most modern phones you can create a menu for a single person containing their home, mobile, business, fax numbers and even their postal address!

Another cool feature of the phone book is the ability to set caller groups. These can range from the standard family, friends and work to any category you desire to create. You can also assign specific ring tones to certain people.

APPEARANCE

The phone fits very nicely into the palm of my hand. In height, the phone is just a little bit bigger than a packet of cigarettes. It is not very wide either, as not much space is wasted. The buttons are grouped relatively closely with just a small space on either side. It is also a very thin phone, possibly two centimetres at its widest. My phone has a silver frontage and a combination of silver and white on the back. This colour scheme came as standard but many different covers are available both from official retailers and street market sellers.

A feature I haven’t noticed on Nokia phones before is a left/right/up/down d-pad. The older Nokias I had owned featured an up and down, but no side to side option. By pressing left on the d-pad you are automatically taken to a blank message - very handy for those speed texters. By pushing right you are taken straight to the calendar - handy for people with busy schedules who need quick access to their organisers.

THE BATTERY

The battery is possibly one of the most astounding things I have ever seen - it is just tiny!! It is the same height as an AA battery but is about five centimetres across and maybe as little as a millimetre in thickness. Upon seeing this battery I assumed that the phone would need more frequent charging but, if anything, I have needed to charge it less often. Amazing!! That’s all I have to say about it!

PRICE

If you get the phone on contract a lot of places will offer it for free but if you decide to go for the pay as you go option then prices will vary depending on the company you choose to go for. I was quite lucky to get my phone for free so had to look up the prices on this phone. I looked on Amazon and found a yellow one for £169.99 so it seems I was quite lucky!!

SOME COOL THINGS

You now have the option to silence the ring tone when somebody is calling you. How many times have you been in a public place when someone has called who you don’t want to speak to? You don’t want to answer the phone but it’s embarrassing to leave it ringing as everyone looks at you. Problem solved, you can now silence it!

After two minutes of your phone being inactive the display automatically changes from the colour image you have selected to a blank screen with the time alternating between the top, middle and bottom thirds of the screen. It is possible to change this time limit.

BRIEF RECAP

A nicely shaped mobile with the facility for a camera add-on along that incorporates an advanced game system. Easy to use for sending texts, with a decent amount of memory for storage of messages, games, ring tones and images. The ring tones are all polyphonic and GPRS, WAP and JAVA technology is available to use. Also handy for the business minded. All in all, a good solid all rounder but what else would we expect from Nokia?
 

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