17 out of 17 people found this review helpful.
The way to move on to GSM
Date of Review: Oct 17, 2003
The Bottom Line: Tri band, email and internet is not enough? Then small size, beautiful color display, and unsurpassed functionality my appeal to you.
What can I say? First time I've ever been a GSM user, and the desicion was not easy, believe me. Im impressed to see how many things run parallel between the US and Mexico's GSM market, and yet the debate is far from over yet. Why am I pointing out this things instead of focusing on the product, you may ask? Well, because I've been reading you guys, and seems like very few can actually concentrate on the product, in this case a cell phone, without wandering into "service providers" territory. It seems true: we cannot provide an objective and/or unbiased product review without whining about the carriers.
Well, Im going to skip all that rap that deals about the service, and just jump into one of the most interesting, satisfying and easy to use gadgets available today: the NOKIA 6100. What a phone.
LOOKS and BUMPS.
Regardless if you have never been in touch with Nokia phones (something I feel it is highly unlikely...) you will encounter a stunning, compact, lightweight and high tech looking piece of engineering. Some may say it looks exactly as a slimmer and smaller 6590 structurewise, but it is a bit more refined and firmer feeling.
FUNCTIONS and FEATURES
- The always simple and efficient menu system is there, so getting aquainted with the 6100 takes no time at all.
- The screen is very bright and easy to read, color definition and image quality is top notch, rivaling Samsungs and outperforming Sony Ericsson's already good display characteristics. It comes with a pre-loaded collection of screens to make the visual appeal even more attractive, and you can download lots of images and animations from various websites. But in all, the display is always easy to read under all conditions, a big plus in my book.
- Ringtones come also in a wide variety of choices, and now MIDI files can be played, something that makes personalization more fun than ever. The poliphonic capabilities of this phone are great, so this feature may appeal towards those who look for a trendy, highly customizable phone.
- The IR port. I transferred my whole contact list from my Palm in less than 1 hour (over 97 records) including email addresses, phones and everything. The data loads directly into this phone from a Palm just by beaming, a feature that left some of my peers severely impressed. It is easy, useful and fast.
- GPRS: Im new to this kind of technology, but after 2 hours in my hands, I was visiting websites and downloading emails. It is so simple with this phone! The cost, however, is a big issue money wise, but in my case, TELCEL charges by time and not by bytes transferred. Not sure whether this is good or bad, but I like it.
- Agenda. This is so useful and easy to use! I can program my whole schedule and the phone keeps track of them with ease, making it a very handy tool for people like me. I wont make you forget your PDA, but sure helps to have both your phone and PDA coordinated.
SOUND QUALITY? Compared to other people's GSM phones around the office (mostly Sony, Motorola and other Nokias), the reception qualities of the 6100 are above average. Perhaps TDMA is more powerful, but in terms of cleanliness, GSM is far superior. Signal strength is decisive in this matter, but the 6100 evidently has better reception than most GSM available down here.
Its been only 3 days since I have this phone, and so far, I am not missing my Panasonic TX310 TDMA. Text input is easy with the pre-installed T9 predictive text input system, saving you valuable time pushing buttons.
There are LOTS of other features inside, but so far I think that this is the best phone Nokia has to offer, or at least, one of the best ever in their lineup. The sales execs. at TELCEL are really impressed with it, and this is a very good sign when you are looking for a new phone down here in Mexico.
Move over, Sony and Motorola. The Nokia 6100 is one heck of a strong contender. Battery life is over 5 hour talk time, and perhaps 8 days on stdby mode. Mine came with a hands free device that is both functional and effective, not to mention how sleek and futuristic it looks while wearing it.
Kep your eyes on this one, I bet this will sweep the GSM arena in no time. It can also send multi media messages, use a digital camera (not sure why I could need it, though...) and accomodate several phone numbers for each entry in your contact list.
