A Phone Ahead Of It's Time (Nokia 7110)

Member Name: Thunderbird3000

Product:	Nokia 7110
Date:	09/08/01 (164 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Screen Size, WAP, Long Battery Life

Disadvantages: Size, WAP, Starting to show it's age

When I was deciding on what phone to buy, it was a toss up between the Ericsson T28, and the Nokia 7110. I knew someone who had a T28 and the sheer size of it was astounding, unfortunately it was a one trick pony, other than size, the 7110 betters it in all areas.

My dad had a 7110 which was standard issue at his work, so I had a chance to get a feel of it, he got his when they were £250 and just released, so the WOW factor was even greater then.

The first thing that you notice on the 7110, is the sheer size of the screen, it's a monster! Making it ideal for WAP browsing, and [clears throat] playing Snake II. Despite the 7110 being a 1998 model Nokia has not improved the screen on any of it's newer models.

Another aesthetic gem is the color of the phone's body. Nokia decided to only produce the phone in one colour, It's a kind of chameleon green, which is difficult to explain to someone who hasn't seen the phone. Basically it's a green-grey colour which changes in different light and at different angles, really nice effect.

But of course the real feature of this phone that everyone who sees it is wowed by is *THAT* slide. Immortalised by Neo in The Matrix. The 7110 has the best cover mechanism ever designed on a mobile phone, I can say that with the fullest of confidence. To answer calls you touch the metal switch at the top rear of the phone and the slide snaps down and you can speak. it even feels satisfying and is a major pose, when you get a call in public watch the people around you stare in awe.

Another major feature of this phone is it's WAP capabilities(In fact it was the first ever WAP-enabled phone) Any criticisms that can be made about WAP are more aimed at the WAP technology, than the actual phone. The fact that it is a WAP enabled phone means that it has a built in modem, which means that you can use it's infrared capabilities to communicate with a PDA(Palm, Psion, etc
..) I use mine with my Psion 5mx to browse the internet, and it is great for that.
WAP itself is a mixed bag. It is too slow to be used for anything other than sporadic use. It is a) too slow b( too expensive c) too underdeveloped IMO. However it is invaluable if you are out and want to check the football scores for example. It's a great novelty if nothing else.

The NaviRoller is also an intuitive addition, it is basically a roller/button in the middle of the phone which makes selecting menus a breeze and WAP browsing, and is better than Sony's similar Jog Dial on their phones IMO.

The Games are at best average. Snake 2 is inferior to the original Snake IMO, Rotation, Opposite, Racket...YAWN. Really dull games, racket slightly better, but it soon becomes tiresome. I play the games very rarely. In comparison The T28 has Tetris, The 3210 has Snake, and the Sony has Bananas. However, the games are not the reason most people buy a mobile phone, so it shouldn't matter too much.

The Calendar function doubles up as a basic Personal Digital Assistant, and allows you to make notes, I haven't ever used this as I have my Psion, but it is fine for making notes etc.

The actual call quality is superb, Clear as a bell, my friends can never tell whether I'm calling from my home or on my mobile...unless I'm in a club:-) really, it's that good, oh and the volume's adjustable to levels that are louder than you'd ever want.

My main criticism of the phone is it's size, it lacks the dinkiness of the T28 and even the 5210's design with no sticking out aerial. The trade-off, however is long battery life, the 7110 shines here, really the battery is superb, and will last for days and days switched on. Also it's size allows it to be more rugged and withstand drops and falls.

This phone is a popular model, and has a large user base, meaning that there is lots of software fo
r logos, ringtones, unlocking etc on the web. However it is a phone that is showing it's age: I can tell the difference between it and the 3210's speed in switching menus etc. I'm guessing that the newer phones have been fitted with faster processors.

However, for me the advantages more than outweigh the disadvantages: It has a huge screen, long battery life, *that* slide, nice colour, good build quality, as good as landline call quality, WAP, and it is the phone from the Matrix! you should also be able to pick up the phone fairly cheaply these days.
The disadvantages are: size, average games, quite an old model now.

It really is a Pandoras box of delights, and there are smaller features that make it great too, that I haven't gone in to detail about. Buy with confidence.

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