MORE UPS AND DOWNS AS A MOUNTAIN (Nokia 5140)

Member Name: bikerchris

Product:	Nokia 5140
Date:	25/11/04 (929 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good reception, Rugged, computer connectivity

Disadvantages: Battery life, colour (i.e. slow), a bit small

WHY I BOUGHT IT
My 6310i is no longer made. A phone I bought for its ease of use, GPRS, Bluetooth , Infrared, calendar and the ability to connect it to a computer and back it up, change things, write texts etc. ….oh, and make calls of course :o)

TIP
I am no fashion victim and just like phones you do not notice so I found a black replacement case from eBay. Good news, it fitted. Bad news, it was loose and can fall of easily and (less importantly) its missing the spot bubble (used for levelling the phone for the compass).

COMPARED WITH 6310i
It does pretty much everything except Bluetooth (www.blueunplugged.com do an adaptor though). The rubberised keypad is a good idea, but a real pain to text with even after you have got the hang of it. Continuing with the rubber theme (oh err) the base flap is for inserting the charger and headset (latter is quite good BTW). Keeps out the water but makes it less convenient to access. The rubber hinge looks like it wont last, but even with a cheap replacement jobbie (6months later) its still working OK.

WHAT ELSE DOES IT DO
A handy feature is a torch. The amount of times I have been fiddling with my bikes and needed one….but the batteries are always dead – not any more! (kind of)
The compass is an excellent idea, but is easily effected my electromagnetism and metal objects – so does not work in the car
Temperature gauge….errr…nice. Works. My pocket is 33 degrees dont you know.
OK, so who decided we needed a sound meter? Great for the first 5 minutes to see who has the loudest bike…then you NEVER use it again.
Taking notes is handy, but you cannot set the font/text size, so get your magnifying glass at the ready
A camera of reasonable quality (640 x 480) and movie function is supplied as standard phone garnish. A pity as I would prefer mono colour and 7 days without charging! However, good photos can be taken in bright sun light while standing motionless. The motionless bit is no problem provided you pour quick drying cement over yourself.
PTT – For those who do not know, go the bottom – it is interesting (in my opinion).

AFTER MOANING WHAT ELSE IS GOOD
I might be behind the times but I do like the programmable GO TO feature
Calendar is more effective in navigating days
It does have a few other features that are handy, but not life changing. Usual calculator, etc.
The CASE is made for clumsy/outdoor people and I am sure you could drop it from a 1st floor window and it would carry on working. Saying that the 6310i fell out my pocket at 140mph and carried on working…for 2 weeks.

THE ULTIMATE CONTRADICTION
So Nokia designed a phone for the rugged outdoors with a torch and compass….never will you get lost again…until the batteries run out. Yes indeed you will be able to go into the woods, just not for very long and you must not use the camera otherwise you will have to eat your friend to stay alive.

HANDY TIP I FOUND THE OTHER DAY
When texting if you press the bottom left button twice you get smileys. If using predictive text, press and hold that same button for punctuations and press again for smileys.

AND IF YOU ARE WONDERING:
PTT (Push To Talk) – This is a function that will hopefully be or already is available to the UK. Using the new GPRS (Mobile internet) data transfer system they have devised a way of using it for voice. This means possibly cheaper calls to other PTT phones. So far they have tested it from the East to West coast of the USA (thickest part I expect) and there is a half second voice delay. Not bad at all. Downside is that like the old walkie talkies you used briefly and broke as a kid, only one person can talk at a time.

Summary: