A Friend in Need, A Friend Indeed (Nokia 1100)

Member Name: royassure

Product:	Nokia 1100
Date:	08/05/09 (126 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: durable, long battery life, very affordable, good signal reception, LED flashlight

Disadvantages: monochrome graphic, monophone speaker, limited features

A Friend in Need, A Friend Indeed

~ The Story behing my phone ~

Looking at this phone in DooYoo's listing brought me back to the year 2005. It was end of January, and I was coordinating a group of volunteers in Aceh after the Tsunami. We opened a small clinic near the town centre, complemented with a mobile team of doctors and paramedics that would go to remote places responding to the info we got. So the need to communicate between us is great, beside the usual call to the head-office in Jakarta.

At that time, the communication networks were still in poor condition because most of the infrastructures were badly damaged. The team before me had already set up a communication line using a satelite phone for long distance call, and radios for shorter disctance comunications. However, as service providers started re-operating their network, we decided to limit the use of satelite phones and use normal GSM phone instead. It proved to be a wise decision since we were working under limited financial support and the change did reduce our communication cost significantly.

Almost nobody brought a cellphone because the initial team told us it was useless. But given the change of situation, as coordinator of the team I decided to just buy some new ones there. Some shops were just re-opening, and we were fortunate that next to our clinic, there was one. There weren't many options at the time, but I decided to go for the cheapest available, the Nokia 1100. The shop only had two colour available, the light grey and light blue, but that didn't really matter.

So I bought one for myself, one for the clinic, and another for the mobile team.

Sorry for the long intro, now this is my impression about the phone:

~ General information ~

You could tell that it was a cheap phone simply by looking at it. There aren't many features in it besides the usual main feature of a phone: Call, SMS, and phonebook.
It looks durable, and certainly did during my three month using it. It only has 2G connections, GSM 900/1800. Monographic screen display, vibrating function, to name some other basic specifications.

The phone was released late 2003, but even by that time it already seemed like an outdated phone. This phone was even less equipped compared to my first Nokia, the 5110, which was released way before the millennium. Clearly it was not a new phone trying to go 'retro', instead it's more of an oldie trying to make a comeback. Apparently, it didn't make it too long in the market.


~ Audio ~

The speaker was incredibly loud. That was a plus for me, since I had to wake up really early in the morning. I always put my mobile next to me, so it was indeed a good replacement for an alarm clock.

The ringtones were limited, though you could download more from the internet -- the luxury I didn't have then -- but there's not much point in doing it since it's only a monophonic speaker. It doesn't have a speakerphone function, but if you set the volume to the max, you could still grasp what the caller is talking about.


~ Signal reception ~

I was somewhat amazed with the signal reception of this phone. Considering the limited coverage at that time and place, I was able to get a full signal most of the time. The only time I completely lost signal was when I had to go to a very remote village, about 3 hours drive from the town. It was a sad moment for me, for that one day I lost signal was the day my wife give a premature birth to my first son. What a coincidence. But I wouldn't blame it on the phone.


~ Durability ~

One of the reason I bought them was because they look strong. And indeed they are. Working in a less friendly environment, I dropped mine a couple of time. But it seemed as if it was unbreakable (or perhaps I just didn't try hard enough).


~ Extra features ~

There aren't any data, camera, infrared, or bluetooth on this device. However, it has a useful LED flashlight function. I found it very useful in the dark whenever I need to search for my room key, or finding my way to the 'toilet'.

Another extra that I enjoyed the most is the game. Strange as it might seem, I never like the newer Nokia's Snake game. So, the old Snake for me is a good refreshment after a long day work or as I try to get some relaxation before sleeping.


~ Battery ~

The battery last longer than most of the phones nowadays. I suppose it's because there aren't many features in it, so not much energy consumed. I make calls quite often, and it still took around 2-3 days before recharging again. Never tested it on idle, though.


~ Keypad ~

The keypad isn't the most responsive to work with, but it's proper enough. Unlike some later affordable phones from Nokia, with the 1100 it was easy to press the right button since they're not merged in a single column.


~ Conclusion ~

I used the phone no longer than my time in Aceh, Indonesia. Left it for the next team to use, and I already had another phone back home so never really in a situation to buy one for myself after it. But from my experience using it, I find it a very reliable phone indeed.

For most people nowadays -- including me -- who need extra connectivity from bluetooth, wi-fi, GPRS, and such, this phone surely is not appealing anymore. But for that one particular situation, it is a friend indeed.

A good Nokia classic if you're collecting it. Unfortunately, I'm not.

Summary: a very good value for money phone that sticks to its core business

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