written by on 08/10/2012
This is a 2012 review, written by a 17-year-old typical teenager, whom has this phone. What does that tell you. Well, it tells how bloody amazing this phone is. It's where it all started; before all of these smart phones.All you need is tha ability to text, call, and turn the brightness up for when you're in the sun. BUT, you don't even need that with this phone, because as well as having a back-light, that backlight can turn off, letting you use natural light to see the screen. This is just one of the reasons why the battery lasts for over a week! Anywat, it's good.
written by lara84 on 10/10/2008
Nice to handle, good sounds, good network signal. It's a nice mobile to use it is user friendly for any kind of the people and it had good screen clarity.
written by viiintaaage on 20/05/2007
The Nokia 3100 was my second phone after my first, Nokia 3400. It's a good phone and believe me, very sturdy! It's had many, many accidents and still works perfectly, I'm still using it today, but I'm getting a new phone later this year. This one won't go in the bin though! One of the 3100's best points is, in my opinion, the alarm clock. You can set it very easily and it has a snooze control etc. The alarm also goes off even when your phone has been switched off, which I have found very handy. The keypad of this phone is simple and easy to use, there's no annoying 'extra' buttons, you can access the internet by pressing and holding the 0 key. The phone's screensaver is very good too. After a few minutes a large display digital clock pops up which is great for telling the time quickly. The 3100 comes with three games; Snake 2, bowling and Beach Rally which, to be honest, I don't think are terribly bad, despite the new gaming technology available on mobile phones these days.
The 3100 is a great cheap phone with no silly frills or features, it's simple and works like a gem. The battery life is excellent, better than what you get today and I would still recommend this phone for anyone to buy who wants a simple, reliable colour phone with a few handy features and no complicated rubbish.
written by Oterro on 10/03/2007
This is the phone I have right now. Nothing too special, nothing too bad. A simple coloured phone with a space of about 1mb or so. Has the GPRS which could be better, but is OK, and sometimes I really wish it would have a camera. But overall, the phone is simple, nice and probably pretty cheap right about these times, so its good.
written by haddock26 on 29/04/2005
This is a typical Nokia. It should be nice and cheap by now, would be a good PAYG phone.
I thought the glow in the dark bit was quite pointless til it fell out of my pocket in the cinema, I managed to spot where it was!
The one phone I've had with changeable covers, and I didn't take advantage! But it was a nice blue!
The attachable camera was annoying, gave up with it. Picture quality from it wasn't amazing. But it was OK at the time, things get out dated quickly these days! I have always had infrared on my phones, so I missed it! You can't go wrong with this phone, it's got the basics for a colour phone.
written by rhodesey bear on 11/02/2005
The Nokia 3100 is a good phone all around if you're looking for a simple phone which is easy to use. I would recommend this phone to people who don't need many features.
written by Picaroon on 29/11/2004
Bought after 3 years with a Philips Savvy, so came as an extreme culture shock!
Excellent as a basic phone, which concentrates on voice communication (texting looks OK, but not really my forte).
For the price (£60 - O2 pre-pay) it knocks spots of the competition in terms of display and key-pad. Can't imagine why I would need anything else for 'phoning / texting.
written by Minh on 05/11/2004
Before this phone I had the Nokia 5110, 3210 and 3310. They were almost the same phone with different look so I didn't expect much from the 3100. Well the 3100 has really a lot of new *useful* features (see good points) it's so amazing. I could try the Sony Ericsson T230 and the Alcatel OT332 which are in the same price category and damn the 3100 is easier to use and so much better on many points.
written by mykatreviewcentre on 21/10/2004
The Nokia 3100 is a great phone to use for a simple person or at the work place. It has got some advanced features such as color screen, MMS, Java games and color screen savers. But it also lacks on some new features such as built in camera, infa-red, Bluetooth I suppose this is why it's a value for money phone.
written by elliehunt on 14/10/2004
Overall the Nokia 3100 is a very good phone if you are just going to use it for phone calls and texting, but if your buying it for the gadgets it's not that good, as the camera is hideous. Even though I have seen a blue version of the camera online, so it comes in red/orange/blue.
written by jerick on 29/09/2004
The Nokia 3100 is a really great phone, small and light and it works well. Loudspeaker function is excellent.
written by FatRakoon on 07/08/2004
Not being too much of a mobile fanatic, I cannot say too much, but it's the best phone I have used to date... I also use a SONY J70 which is ok, but only ok, this Nokia has certainly given my Mobile use a big boost.
Love the way it dances with the ring tones, although a little sad, it's fun.
Easy to work around its menus, and it displays a picture of the people who phone me (when I get the cable back it should do anyway).
written by Mark Flury on 05/08/2004
The 3100 is my 4th Orange Nokia mobile, as I take the free upgrade offered each year. My previous 'phone before this was a Nokia 5210, which conked out and had to be replaced once.
I find the battery life amazing: about a week, charged from flat, with little usage. The handset is neat and the menus (like other Nokia 'phones) well thought out. In fact I was able to use this straight from its box, without refering to the instruction manual, having used Nokia's before.
What else swayed me is that this 'phone offered a camera as a separate accessory (which clips on the bottom), as a camera isn't a priority for me.
Crystal clear call quality and the reception (used on Orange) is very stable.
I plan to keep this beyond when I'm allowed a free upgrade, as it's perfect and I don't want a gimmicky camera, which I will never use.
written by nneeiill on 12/07/2004
For a person whose priority while buying a handset is 'Color Display and Polyphonic Ringtone' then this Nokia 3100 is the best mobile phone to lay your hands on.
Bottom Line : An amazing set with real VFM !!!
written by John patson on 15/06/2004
I'm disappointed with the Nokia 3100. Compared to older mobile phones, the reception is terrible. Also, while the phone says I have coverage people have not been able to call me and go straight to voicemail. Sometimes my phone doesn't indicate I have voicemail until two days after it was left. This could be a problem with the service, but my wife has the same service and does not have these problems.
written by xxcharlxx on 22/05/2004
Overall i think this Nokia 3100 is a good mobile phone for the price. The phone is attractive as the size and the style makes it unique and the screen is very clear regarding the size and colour display. If you do not want to spend a lot of money on a phone but you want a lightweight phone with a decent display then i think this is the phone for you.
Written on: 04/11/2004
Actually the ringtones are polyphonic and not monophonic as stated.
Written on: 04/11/2004
Sorry.....Ok, if you say so. Although some specifications do state that the ringtones are monophonic and they do not sound polyphonic...anyway I am not here to "nit pick" I am just giving my opinion on the phone.
written by wevil on 17/05/2004
Ive had the nokia 3100 for a week and what can i say - its a cool phone. It can play almost every java game, it has world time unlike a nokia 3200, alarm, calander, mms, sms, 4 inbuilt games and colour screen + java aplacations.
bad thing is there is no fm radio or inbuilt camera.
written by sgrant on 08/05/2004
I signed up on a contract with a local carrier and they supplied two 3105 mobile phones. The 3105 is identical to the Nokia 3100 in every respect except that it is on the CDMA network, not GSM.
One of the phones I received was, in my opionion, perfect. Screen colour, quality and contrast is what I would expect. For this handset I would give it a 10/10.
However, the second handset I recieved had a DRAMATICALLY different quality to the screen. The screen, for a start, was much darker. Using background wallpapers is almost impossible as they are so dark that the text on the screen can, at most times, not be read.
When the 'screen saver' feature engages, after about 3 minutes, the screen presents as totally black except for a white bar that should show a clock. On the 'good' handset, the time is very clear and distinct. However, on the 2nd handset, the time is virtually non-existant. you cannot read it. it is just so feint.
The service provider has changed the handset once, but the replacement exhibited the same problems. I have compared the phone with others of the same model and non exhibit this feint screen issue.
The service provider are unwilling to exchange again, and I feel this is a little poor considering that I have had the phone for 10 days in total.
The other issue that I have found with this phone is that if you select a custom ring tone to be used as an alarm and the phone is turned off, when the alarm time comes around the phone turns on and the backlight starts blinking, but no sound is produced. However, if the 'standard' alarm sound is selected, the phone opperates as expected - when the alarm time arrives, the phone turns on, lights blink and alarm sound is produced.
The 3105 features a 4096 colour screen. A problem with screens running at this colour depth is that a 'shimmer' can sometimes be seen in darker colours. This is not a fault of the phone or the screen, but generally of the technology. This same screen can be found on the Palm M130 and exhibits the same 'shimmer' effect. It is something to be aware of when buying this phone or devices with 4096 colour (12 bit) screens.
I love the phone, please don't get me wrong. This is a great phone. I am just a little dissapointed mainly by the huge differences between two phones that are supposedly exactly the same.
The resolution to this, now, is to take a phone that is less than a week old (as I have had it changed over once) to Nokia serive for repair. This is just very very dissapointing.
Written on: 10/05/2004
I would like to expand on my review as presented here:
<br>
<br>I have now had the phone back to Nokia for the day for a service. After having the phone with them for most of the day, it was returned unfixed.
<br>
<br>I discussed the issue of the poor contrast with the Nokia customer care representative and he took the phone back out to the tech. After about 15 minutes the representative returned and told me that the tech has no idea what is wrong. he suspects that it is a software issue and is unable to fix it.
<br>
<br>The suggestion was I call Nokia directly, which I have done.
<br>
<br>I have been forced, now, to take my hand set, plus my wife's hand set to the repair centre for comparison.
<br>
<br>As a further kick, I have now been told that the 3105 is NOT WAP COMPATABLE in Australia and there are no plans to make it wap compatabile in the future - despite the fact that my service provider has assured me that it is going to be activated soon, the service providers web page STILL details this phone as WAP compatable....
<br>
<br>I am beginning to be VERY VERY VERY unhappy with both this phone and the service I am receiving from Nokia and Orange and the string of lies that are coming from both.
Written on: 06/06/2004
yep don't expect any help from Nokia, I've given up after years of using their phones their customer service is diabolical. I bought a brand new 3200 which I took to the Care Center in Sydney, they told me it had manufacturing problems, and charged me $100 to fix (On a brand new phone this is surely ridiculous), and took a week to do so, with no replacement handset available during that week. They also gave me a wrong email address (when I phoned to ask for one as their website feedback was not working, I tried that one 5 times from different locations). Absolutely terrible. If they keep disrespecting their cutomers like this theyre gonna go down.
written by angelface182 on 10/04/2004
There is a great "go to" section in the right hand corner that can be used for all the things you usually acsess on your Nokia 3100 mobile phone, but are limited to only 6 things. there are lots of folders and it is hard to realise which goes where even after having the phone for 7 months. the screensaver is very iritating, and also the way it goes dark very quickly, but long lasting charge of the phone makes up for that. overall this is a very great phone with some anoying and disapointing parts, but offers a practical phone ideal for someone who wants a phone for practical purposes.
written by joeish on 10/03/2004
After having a Siemens C45 for ages, it stared to pack up on me with the speaker and backlight messing up so I bought this Nokia 3100 mobile phone for £60 on an offer at Woolworths (probably the cheapest place 4 u to buy one). It came on vodafone so i got it unlocked to use my O2 sim which works fine. Nokia are a much better make than my previous siemens as this battery lasts forever and the sound is like talking to a landline (ie. good quality!) This phone must have a hell of a lot bigger memory than my C45 cos it can store so many more things (contacs, calendar, games etc). A v.good phone for not a bad price.
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Emmasmith's Response to elliehunt's Review
Written on: 06/11/2004
Very good informative reveiw and it has convinced me to buy this phone, and I would like to thank elliehunt for doing this.