Nokia 3110 Classic

This is a great entry-level phone from Nokia. A classic user-friendly design, built to last and with excellent battery life, it will get on with the job without any trouble. It includes a camera, MP3 player and FM radio and has the benefits of an expandable memory card, Bluetooth connectivity and triband. The 3110 offers exceptional value for money.

It often seems to us here at Mobile Phones UK that Nokia are at their best when they don't try too hard. The 3110 isn't trying too hard to be anything other than a phone. Yes, it comes equipped with a 1.3 megapixel camera, an MP3 player and an FM radio, but many people consider these to be essential these days don't they? Who wants to carry three gadgets around when one will do the job? And that's what the 3110 does: it does the job that it was given and doesn't pretend that it's an all-singing all-dancing fashion accessory. Nokia seem to have realised this themselves. Instead of regarding the classic "candy-bar" style as boring and trying to follow other manufacturers' clamshell and slide designs, they've realised that the classic shape is what they do best, and have decided to make the most of it by branding their latest phones "Classic". We like Classic! 2007 was a renaissance year for Nokia, and 2008 looks like it's going to be a good follow-up.

Anyway, enough rambling, back to the 3110. This is a smart, well-designed phone that's a good size and is very easy to use. As we said earlier, it just gets on with the job. This isn't a slimline phone - it's a tough-looking phone that's built to last and has a battery to match. The 5-way navigation key and conventional keypad are a pleasure to use, compared with the yucky offerings that Sony Ericsson is putting out these days.

The camera isn't great: no flash, no autofocus. It's just for snaps, but in daylight it will get some reasonable shots. The MP3 player and FM radio are fine though. It isn't an iPod, but it plays music and you can store up to 500 tracks if you buy a memory card for it. You can use MP3 tracks as ringtones, and also customise the phone with wallpapers and themes. Connectivity is excellent, with Bluetooth, USB and Infrared all available. It's triband too, so you can take it to the States.

It's a phone that's hard to fault. Don't buy it if you want the latest technology, or want to pose in the pub, but if you're looking for a workhorse phone that's superb value for money, look no further.

As the 'Classic' tag at the end of this phone's name indicates, this is a traditional no-nonsense handset from Nokia aimed at those who want a phone that's simple to use and has decent battery life. Despite this, Nokia hasn't been able to resist throwing in a few surprising extras.

Upside

Nokia's phones have long had a reputation for being easy to use and this tradition has been carried over to the 3110. For the most part it conforms to the classic Nokia menu layout so anyone who's used one of the company's phones before will feel right at home. Nokia has also taken advantage of the phone's chunkier size by kitting it out with larger than usual buttons, which helps to make texting a breeze.

The phone manages to hang on to a good signal even in areas where reception isn't the best and the call quality is also excellent. The speakerphone mode also works particularly well and the battery life is good, as you'll get around 4 hours of talk time out of it.

When it comes to connectivity you're spoiled for choice. The phone has both Bluetooth and infrared support to take care of your wireless needs and there's a mini-USB port at the base of the handset. However, to use this you'll have to purchase your own USB lead and download the free PC Suite software from the Nokia website.

Perhaps surprisingly, the 3110 also has decent music features. There's an onboard FM radio with good reception and also neat music playing applications. It can play songs in popular formats such as MP3, AAC and WMA, although you'll have to invest in a microSD card for storing your tunes, as there isn't one included with the phone.

Downside

Most phones these days are becoming smaller and thinner, but with its bulky frame, the 3110 goes against the grain. On the plus side this gives it the advantage of larger buttons that are ideal for texting, but it also means the phone looks distinctly old fashioned.

Also, although the 3110 does have a camera, it's not a very good one. It has a lowly 1.3-megapixel resolution, which makes photos look washed out. It also lacks a flash so it's pretty much useless for taking indoor shots in dimly lit conditions.

We can understand these issues, but what we find harder to fathom is Nokia's decision to ship the handset with mono headphones, despite the fact that it has a built-in music player. It seems like madness because when we tried the phone's music player with a stereo headset from a Nokia 5200, the playback quality was actually very good.

Conclusion

There's very little to get excited about with the 3110 Classic. It's designed to appeal to those people who find all the bells and whistles on the latest handsets annoying rather than tempting and on that front it does the job nicely.

The large buttons and clearly laid out menus make it very easy to use and it also has a strong battery life. It's just a shame Nokia hasn't included stereo headphones to let users make the most of its surprisingly good music features.


Features of the Nokia 3110 Classic include:

    * 1.3 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom
    * Video recorder
    * Display: TFT, 262,000 colours, 128 x 160 pixels
    * Stereo MP3 player (MP3, MP4, AAC, AAC+, enhanced AAC+ formats, DRM 2.0)
    * FM radio
    * MP3 ringtones / 64-voice polyphonic ringtones
    * Integrated handsfree speaker
    * Voice features: Push to talk, Enhanced voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording
    * Messaging: SMS, MMS, and email with attachments, Nokia Xpress audio messaging
    * Java games
    * Wallpaper, animated screensavers, themes
    * Organizer with calendar, to-do list, and notes
    * Internet: XHTML browser, HSCSD, GPRS Class 10, EDGE
    * Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB, Infrared
    * Memory: 9 Mbytes plus microSD memory card slot (up to 2 GB)
    * Tri-band (EGSM 900, GSM 1800/1900)
    * Size: 109 x 46 x 16 mm
    * Weight: 87g
    * Talktime: 4 hours
    * Battery standby: 370 hours