Design
It's important to get one thing straight from the outset -- the 6103 isn't a fashion phone, a la the Motorola Razr or LG's KG800. Sure, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the 6103 certainly isn't an eye-sore, but you won't see Paris Hilton strutting down Rodeo Drive with one in her clutches any time soon.
The phone measures 85 by 45 by 24mm and weighs 97 grams. Instead of going for a long, thin, square look like Motorola did with the Razr, Nokia has decided to stick with a short, contoured yet chubby design. The phone fits the hand more comfortably this way, but those with a tendency to wear form-fitting pants may be in for a wrestling match when slipping the phone out of a pocket.
Another drawback of the 6103's design is the stubby antenna that jaunts out from the top of the device, which further detracts from its style-factor.
It comes in black and red colour schemes; we took a look at the black model, which boasts silver trimmings and a patterned face. Within the patterned face lie a built-in camera and an external screen for checking the time, missed calls and messages at-a-glance.
Flipping open the clamshell reveals a familiar five-way directional pad that's used for menu navigation. Flanking this are four buttons -- two for selecting menu items, and the obligatory "Answer" and "End" keys. The keypad touts large keys that are comfortable to use while also allowing for speedy text messaging.
There are only two external buttons -- a rocker on the left for adjusting volume levels and a button on the right for using the phone's push-to-talk feature.
Features
The 6103 supports GSM 850/1800/1900 networks, so it can comfortably be used worldwide. It also offers up Bluetooth and Infrared connectivity, which are now mandatory for any new phone release.
In addition to the external screen mentioned above, the phone also provides a 128x160 pixel internal display supporting up to 65,536 colours. This is far from state-of-the-art when compared to other phones on the market, which often boast up to 16.7 million colours. You'll only notice this when viewing images, but it's still a drawback nonetheless.
The 6103's audio playback capabilities are limited to FM radio. Sound quality is great, but unfortunately there's no MP3 playback functionality -- another multimedia feature that's extremely common these days. That said, even if there was MP3 support, the meagre 4.4MB of internal memory, coupled with the lack of expansion slots, severely limits the number of files you're able to store.
Not only is the phone a poor substitute for an iPod, it won't be replacing your digital camera either. It does boast an intergrated camera but, being a 0.3-megapixel VGA offering, it's fairly mediocre and shots are far from spectacular. The 640x480 shots are fine for basic multimedia messaging, but certainly don't expect to be making prints. Additionally, video clips can be recorded at a resolution of 128x96, but again the quality is quite poor.
The phone connects to a PC via a USB cable, enabling users to transfer images off the device or load up new ring tones (MP3 tones are supported). Unfortunately, this cable isn't included with the package, and will costs you an additional AU$84.
Messaging is an important part of the 6103's appeal. Users can send SMS, MMS, e-mail (IMAP 4, POP3, SMTP) and even audio messages to each other, but you'll need to enable this through your provider.
Finally, the device offers up a number of personal productivity and information management features. These include an alarm clock, calendar, calculator, timer, stopwatch, notes, to-do list and a voice recorder. Since the phone runs on J2ME, you can also load your own third-party applications and games.
Performance
We found the 6103's familiar Nokia interface/menu system both intuitive and simple to navigate during our tests. Call quality -- both regular and speaker-phone -- is adequate, and volume levels proved to be more than sufficient.
The battery will survive around four hours of talk time and 350 hours of standby time, which is pleasing. The lack of battery-guzzling multimedia features also enhances the phone's battery life somewhat.
All in all, with the exception of a slightly modified design and added Bluetooth support, the 6103 is extremely similar to its predecessor, the 6101. It's well-suited to those after a basic feature-set, but multimedia junkies and fashionistas need not apply.
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nokia 6101
07/06/2008, 09:33 PM
rating
7/10
Simple cell phone which i like very much. This is very handy and reliable with fast responsive features. Stylish and attractive design. I like this flip mobile.
Pros: Dual display.
Fm radio also has included.
Small stylish design.
Very easy to use.
Cons: Nothing.
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Alan
02/03/2008, 04:01 AM
rating
4/10
Got this phone free with T-Mobile activation. Not impressed. Menu appearance is juvenile and can't be altered. "GoTo" option is not a good substitute for quick access buttons available on other phones (e.g. voice mail access and voice dialing). My cheap LG was a better phone than this.
Pros: Basic phone that can make and receive calls.
Cons: Poor memory for storing voice memos and voice dialing commands.
Keypad layout is poor as mentioned above
Accessing menus is slow and not intuitive.
Owners manual provided with phone is poorly written
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Carla
29/01/2008, 11:10 AM
rating
2/10
Sucks.
Never had a worse phone, I was better off with my "old school" Nokia non-flip.
Pros: Has a cool camera clicking sound.
Cons: Everything.
Noservice anywhere
Bad photo quality
"Fragile"
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mandy
15/09/2007, 05:28 PM
rating
2/10
I ma now on to my 2nd phone, nokia replaced free of charge. Still having the same probs "error in connection" 95% of the time. No the phone company as hubby and son with the same company.
Pros: Takes decent photos
Cons: No Connection even with full signal showing
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TiremanSLC
14/09/2007, 02:22 PM
rating
7/10
This phone is nowhere near as fragile as some claim. I've had one for years, been dropped, kicked, stepped on, etc, and it is fine. My daughter had one and it was destroyed within 6 months. The new one she paid for herself has lasted a year. I guess it's all about just how rough you are on things. BTW, I do construction tires... very rough work. I broke a Panasonic Duramax doing this work.
Pros: Does everything a phone should, plus a good mix of multimedia. Themes are a great way to change it up a bit.
Cons: Some menu functions are hard to find, but after a while, that's not too bad.
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sabina.karsan@gmail.com
07/09/2007, 01:05 PM
rating
7/10
I bouhgt the phone and I have had it for about 1 week and love the design and functionallty of the phone
Pros: Great fm raido to listen to music easy to use calculator cool camera
Cons: No Mp3 player had to buy the computer sync cable separley no drivers for windows vista.
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sevciu
27/03/2007, 11:10 PM
rating
2/10
Very easy to get water / moisture damage.
Died twice in the first 3 months, second time just from the condensation on a cold rainy day. I liked it for 1 month, then I changed my opinion.
NOT Recommended
Pros: Good Looking for 2 weeks
Cons: Easy to damage
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badphone
13/03/2007, 04:32 PM
rating
2/10
This phone is shocking! all i wanted was a basic phone which would do ordinary mobile phone duties such as calling and smsing and it couldn't even do that without being a pain!!
everything was so slow to react to commands such as pressing the menu button. the speakers are very bad quality with the ringtones and also when speaking on the mobile. i certainly do not recommend this phone to anyone! the material of the phone is also very weird and damages very easily.
what is happening to nokias quality!!?!?!
Pros: kind of good looking phone
Cons: slow
bad speakers
bad phone material
very expensive for such a bad phone!
very cheaply made
very undurable body
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Dude
03/02/2007, 12:55 PM
rating
10/10
Great Phone!
Pros: Does what it's designed for! lol It's a phone to call folks!
Cons: None
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Bill
28/01/2007, 09:29 AM
rating
3/10
This would be a great phone, but it's fragile! A little pressure, and***** you've cracked a screen. For me, this is a dealbreaker - the phone barely lasted two months before it died, and I wasn't horribly abusing it, it's just that fragile.
Pros: Simple to use, has the features that count. Camera, though not print quality, is actually decent for emailing snapshots and such.
Cons: Fragile! Screens aren't adequately protected against breakage. Rest of phone seems okay, but screens shouldn't break just from the phone being in your pocket... sigh...
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