Nokia 6103 / 6102i
Average Ratings
Piece of Junk
I've had to have this phone replaced for manufacturing problems three times in the nine months I've owned it. The outer screen cracks with routine, gentle use and the volume buttons break very easily. Do not buy this phone. Additionally, Nokia customer service is unsympathetic and definitely not pro-active about a phone that is widely known to have many problems with its design. I let them know that I'll never buy another phone from them again, now I'm letting you know. Beware of Nokia.
6102i Great Phone, lots of Features
I upgraded from the Motorola V170, and after that, just about any phone would have been an improvement, but I was shocked to see how much of an improvement the 6102i was. I found that the camera has pretty good picture quality, but it isn't perfect. This IS a phone, not my Nikon D50 SLR camera however. The video is decent, but again I wasn't hoping to make a blockbuster film with it anyway. Like all Nokias, it is structurally sound and is very easy to navigate with its intuitive menus. The screens also have very good resolution. I was also surprised at its quick charging rate. Its ability to hold a signal is great as well.
Pros:
Flip phone
Good camera
Durable
Easy to navigate
Fast charging
Stylish looking (much better that the V170)
Two large and high res screens
Bluetooh
Cons:
Not a ton of memory
Less than ideal video
Overall, I believe that the Nokia 6102i is a fantastic phone, with great features and a strong signal. I am more than pleased with this phone, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a powerful, feature rich phone.
Dont like it
I've had this phone since July 06 and the front screen was easily cracked and now I can't even see the inside screen at all.
Pro's:
Basically easy to use
Has camera
Phone is easy to open up
Battery lasts long
Charges fast
Con's:
Camera is terrible
Little/Almost no memory
No good backrounds/wallpapers
No good ringtones
Breaks easily
Ugly
I would not suggest this phone to anyone who uses their phone at least once a day and for someone who uses it for more than calling. But if you just want this phone to call and you only use it when you have to, it is a good phone.
Nokia 6102i Review
My father purchased this phone as part of the get two phones deal with Cingular. I was looking at all of the features it has and I have narrowed it down to some likes and dislikes and they are listed below.
PROS
- digital camera
- big internal and external screens
- keypad buttons nicely spaced out
- light in weight
- small
- mp3 ringtones
- bluetooth
- basic
CONS
- screen display is crooked (on my dad's it is, not sure about anyone else's)
- tri-band (I prefer quad-band)
- slow to catch up on the screen (example: locking the keypad, it will shortly after say keypad locked on the screen and the alert that says the keypad is locked is delayed)
- basic phone
- the arrow keys don't press down all of the way and they stick (don't know if that's just because it's new)
I decided to put basic on the pros and cons lists, because there are those who may read this review who find the 6102i good and bad that it is a basic phone. I hope that others who read this review will find it helpful.
Excellent Phone
I bought this phone on ebay for about $70 to hold me over until the newer Nokias came out (such as the N75). But I've actually been very pleased with it. Sure it doesn't do everything some of the new phones do, but it does everything I need and it to do, and it does those things very well.
Pros:
1. Excellent reception. Lots of bars everywhere I go, using Cingular.
2. Excellent sound quality. Sound is clear and plenty loud enough for me.
3. Calendar feature works well and syncs very well with Outlook using Nokia Suite (which is a free download). I use the alert feature constantly to remind of meetings at work.
4. Contacts list allows multiple phone numbers and other data for a single name, when using the phone memory for contacts. These names also sync well with Outlook contacts. Much better than phones that require one contact entry per name.
5. Built in infrared is handy for syncing with my PC.
6. Camera functions work well enough, considering it's a phone.
Cons:
1. Menu navigation is a bit slow at times. You can "stack up" button presses and it will eventually catch up, but the screen is slow to change, especially when selecting games. My Nokia 6200 was much faster to navigate.
2. Somewhat thicker than a lot of phones, but still a good size.
Summary:
Overall this phone has turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Just a quick note regarding complaints that some others have posted regarding the FM radio. The reason an external headset is required is that the headset wire serves as the antenna. To design the phone to not need the headset would require a telescoping antenna of some sort, just like you find on any portable FM radio, which would require the phone to be much bigger. Note that you can still play the radio through the external speaker if you don't want to wear the headset.
Great Phone For Road Warriors
I am on the road driving to different areas all day long as a sales rep. I need a very reliable phone with a good signal in metro and rural areas, excellent reception and a long battery life as well as blue-tooth capability. - THIS PHONE MEETS THESE NEEDS. It pairs well with my Blueant Supertooth II.
In the past two years I have had a samsung and sony ericsson - neither kept a signal, had good reception, or had a long battery life. Both experiences were frustrating.
As far as the FM Radio, camera, text messages, downloads - I do not use these - just need a great cell phone for business.
Pros: Excellent Signal
Great Reception
Blue Tooth capability
Long Battery Life
Cons: Navigation Menu is a bit outdated
Overall, gets the job done...
I got this phone in place of my Nokia 6133, which I loved, but the battery life on it absolutely sucked. This 6103 from T-Mobile is a bit of a downgrade from the 6133, but overall is a good phone.
PROS:
-nice matte black color, doesn't easily smudge
-camera is decent for VGA...I've taken some surprisingly clear pictures.
-downloadable MP3 ringtones and wallpapers (so far, I haven't paid for a single one) :)
-good reception/call quality
-FM radio (very convenient for my long daily commute)
-clear, loud speaker phone
-good battery life
-It's a Nokia (I absolutely LOVE Nokias)
CONS:
-Lack of memory...but I can send pictures to My Album and view them using t-zones.
-Can't zoom in on a picture prior to taking it, only after. I fail to see what the point of that capability is...this is probably my biggest gripe with this phone.
-Can't assign ringtones to individual contacts, only to groups. A minor irritation, but annoying nonetheless.
So if the phone had a little bit more memory, and I could zoom in on pics before I take them, and give all my siblings their own ringtone, this phone would be just about perfect. As it is, even with these annoyances, it's still a good phone.
6102i review
I am very qualified to write this review, as I have had both the 6102 and 6102i from Cingular for a *long* time.
Let's talk about the good features of the phone. First off, let me say this. This phone is VERY hard to destroy. I have dropped it countless of times, scratched it all to hell, gotten it wet... you name it.
Second of all, voice clarity is excellent, as is the speakerphone. Ringtones are nice and loud.
VGA camera is OK, sub-par if you're used to 1+mp cell phone cameras, but for the most part it gets the job done. You can't expect too much from a camera on a phone.
Menu system - Despite it being slower than Christmas (which I will address later), it's laid out pretty well (IMO). It's easy to navigate.
With all that said, now the cons, which are of a bigger concern than the pros (the reason I gave this phone a 3.0/5 is because it is virtually indestructable).
The biggest con of all is the speed. This phone is slow as hell!!! It takes FOREVER to scroll down the games, as well as going through menus.
Secondly, downloading pictures/games. I don't know if this is purely a Cingular communist move or what, but it's impossible to transfer games through bluetooth and have them work. The only way to get games to work is to download them from Cingular or upload them to a WAP site and download them to your phone. Also, downloading non-Cingular pictures downgrades the quality a LOT. Virtually impossible to get a nice looking pic on your phone unless it's picked from one of Cingular's slut/"urban" group-targeted graphics.
Thirdly, the price. I bought this phone flat-out for around 269. Unless you get it free or very, very cheap with a contract, don't bother. There are other phones you can get that are a LOT better, if you shell out a bit more cash. Trust me, it's worth it.
Nokia 6103, not for hi tec folks but good enough to own
Pros:
Black cover has a great texture to it that it does not slide out your hand as easily as the 6101 did for me, Outer screen shows picture time and caller ID, Bluetooth, plays Mp3s
Cons:
No expandable memory, camera not advanced from 6101, speaker phone not loud enough, leather carry case is not practical in design.
Tip:
Get the USB adapter/software attachment to upload/download Mp3 files for ringers and graphics. You also edit contact info/download to computer to manage lists. You bypass paying to send your self pictures for your phone and buying ringtones!
Full Opinion
I owned the 6101 and loved the look of the shiny black and silver but the phone was extremely slippery, the antenna cracked at the base of the antenna's most vulnerable point and the flip design was a bit weak. The flip actually broke but I was surprised that even at it's mangled state I was still able to view the screen so I opted to use my insurance and get the same phone but they were out of the 6101 and sent the 6103.
I was a bit nervous at first because I loved the look of the 6101 but the 6103 has a black cover that is sort of non-slick so it feels great and does not slide out easily. All options on the phone is identical to the 6101 except the 6103 has Bluetooth technology.
The camera is supposedly the same but the 6101 took superb pics compared to my husband's Motorola V360. This 6103 camera is not as good as the 6101 but it better than most. Hopefully the flip on this one does not go bad else I would have to revert back to the candy bar style of cell phones...
HATE this phone!!!
I absolutely HATE this phone! We bought two 6102is as soon as they came out. In a year my husband has had to replace his 4 times, one time because the phone fell apart - he had to tape it back together until they could send him a new one. These phones will just drop what you are in the middle of doing. Sometimes I have to place a call 3 times to get it to got thru where I can actually hear the person I'm calling, the other persons phone will ring but when they answer it's like my phone is dead. The phone also has very little memory, you have to delete just about everything to get one good 30 second MP3 ringtone to fit in the phones memory. This phone SUCKS! I have ALWAYS purchased Nokia phones and had great phones with great features and service but this phone has totally turned me off to Nokia. I don't believe I'll ever buy another Nokia phone.
