Nokia 1100 Review
The Nokia 1100 is the most basic phone you can get today, but that isn't a bad thing. It works on Net10's prepaid network at attractive rates, and it is an excellent choice for making simple voice calls.
The very light (3.3 oz), thin (4.2 by 1.8 by 0.8 inches) Nokia 1100 feels like a toy, an impression enhanced by its buttons: Instead of being separate, the 1100's buttons are bumps on a continuous plastic membrane. The blue and silver phone isn't ugly, though, and it will take a beating.
Simple phones like this are all about voice quality, and the 1100's is strong. Reception is very good on the Cingular/Net10 network (read on for more information on Net10), and voices come through loud and very clear. I heard a touch of background hiss, but no more than I hear on many phones. I got more than 10 hours of talk time before running out of prepaid minutes. Based on that, this phone should last a week or more on standby.
The 1100 has few frills, but they're still, well, frills.
Ring tones are piercing little one-note-at-a-time ditties, but you can select from more than 20. There are two games (Snake and a Mario-style platform game), an alarm clock with multiple reminders, a calculator, a stopwatch, and a little flashlight in the top of the phone. The flashlight is great for finding your keys in the dark. The very basic menu system is easy to use.
Two things I didn't like: the lack of an external volume button (common on many Nokia phones) and the 250-number phone book. Yes, that's 250 phone numbers, not 250 contacts, because you can only put in one number per contact.
There's no speakerphone, Bluetooth, international roaming, downloadable anything, or even a headphone jack. That doesn't really matter. This phone is simple, and it works.—
Nokia 1100 Specifications
