Nokia 3110 Review

Overall Rating

Decent battery life and performs very well as a mobile phone. Can accommodate up to a 2GB MicroSD card to massively expand its memory. Many other features like MP3 player with extensive playlist management, organiser, calculator, IR + USB + Bluetooth interface to PC and other equipment e.g. photo printers. Nice clear display, and the keypad markings are highly visible under all lighting conditions (unlike my old 3310). It's small and light and seems to be well made.

As Fred said, the camera's images are disappointing in low light but both he and I are used to real digital cameras and the average user probably wouldn't notice. My main criticism isn't of the phone itself but the owner's manual. Things tend to be tersely explained in the wrong order and many things are not explained at all. You have to experiment with the phone to see what it actually does so you know what to expect from it. I even had to consult the FAQs on the Nokia website for some information I couldn't find where I expected it to be.

I bought a Nokia 3110 to replace my 8 year old Nokia 3310 when it suddenly brought up the dreaded "Contact Service" message and couldn't be reset. The 3110 certainly has all the features I wanted and many more besides. I agree wtih Fred that the ringtone level can be too low in noisy situations, also the keypad beeps from the speaker are very soft even at maximum however they are literally deafening through earphones.

As for the 2.5mm earphone socket, I took the small risk of using one of the common recommended 3-terminal adaptors with my Sony earbuds and it works very well. Audio quality is excellent. As a technician I'd expect that the microphone current is limited to a very low value and having the adaptor shorting the microphone input to ground isn't likely to damage anything. However I'll get a 4-terminal adaptor if I can because I don't like not doing things properly.

The Bluetooth function works well though it's considerably slower than the USB interface. It makes it very easy to communicate with the phone through the Nokia PC Suite, for updating the phone list and scheduler. However when uploading hundreds of MP3 files, the USB is the only way to go.

Overall I entirely recommend the Nokia 3110 as a relatively inexpensive but well performing mobile phone and mini entertainment centre. I'd give it 10/10 except for the instructions which could be clearer and more informative.