Nokia 5140 on O2 - A love story!!!!! (Nokia 5140 with Contract)

Member Name: richkw

Product:	Nokia 5140 with Contract
Date:	30/06/05 (161 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Bombproof! Waterproof! Idiot (me) proof!

Disadvantages: Screen could be clearer.

Please note, this is not a technical review. Rather, it is my experiences with what I consider to be the most practical phone on the market. Take a look at the Nokia site for tech spec.

April 16th., was, as far as I was concerned the best day of the year so far. Why, you ask. Well, this was the earliest day that I could upgrade my phone from the Ericsson T630 that I swear was made by Satan Enterprises Ltd.! I hated it with a passion and seriously thought of committing insurance fraud just to get rid of the damned thing.

Now, I don't exactly look after my phone, so the replacement needed to be totally bomb proof. The only unit I could find that came anywhere close to my needs was the Nokia 5140 with its 'durable, rubber slip-on cover'. Yeah, right, I thought! Anyway, being faced with little alternative, I ordered one. It arrived next day and I fell in love immediately.

As far as I am concerned, all a phone has to do is make and receive calls, send the occasional text thing and work abroad. All phones do the first two and most the third, so I won't waffle on about these aspects. Suffice to say that the 5140 does all of them superbly. Apparently it also will send and receive emails and browse the web, neither of which I'm interested in. I imagine it'll do an awful lot more as well. (see the Nokia site)

The point of this review is to emphasise the ruggedness and durability of the the unit. So far, it's fallen off a 25 foot high roof and bounced, been through the washing machine/spin drier in my jeans pocket and actually received a text while in mid-cycle! It's been left outside overnight on several occasions, including during a serious downpour when just 2 days old. Oh, yes, and I've trodden on it a couple of times. The end result of the above is a couple of minor scratches on the screen.

Naturally, the 5140 comes with the usual phone gubbins like a charger and a manual. It also has a basic hands free thing which seems to work quite well. Stand by time is over a week with light use. Reception on O2 is excellent everywhere I've taken it so far, including high in the Sierra Nevada in Spain.

Exciting features (for me, anyway) are the built in torch (great for searching for your car keys that you've dropped at 2am!), the spirit level (makes an interesting talking point after 6 pints of Guinness) and the compass to help you home when the 6 pints have reached 10.

Ah, yes. Nearly forgot. It's also got a camera which seems to work quite well compared with my old T630. Apparently, it also takes a short video - that sounds useful!!

Nothing's perfect, including this phone. The only things I really don't like about the 5140 are the rather difficult to read screen and the fact that, unless the phone is switched on, there doesn't seem to be any confirmation when you've got the charger plugged in.

OK, so this review has been written rather light heartedly. In all seriousness, I rate this phone as essential for the likes of builders, sports men (and sports women, of course) etc. In fact, if you don't care too much about street-cred and believe that a mobile phone is a tool to be used, take a look at the Nokia 5140. I'm glad I did.

OK. Go ahead and slag this review off if you must. Just remember, this is a real-life experience, and not a technical tour de force.

Summary: An ideal phone for Mr. Clumsy and Bob the Builder!