Home > Consumer Reviews > Nokia 6101 Clamshell Camera Phone - Sim Free

I was instantly attracted to the design and feel of this phone - and I haven't been let down on that part - it is beautiful and I am actually proud of getting it out of my pocket - which is a bit of an art in itself as its not the 'smallest' phone around!

Tyical Nokia very easy to use and customise.

BUT.... I've actually gone back to using my previous phone (Nokia 7250i) becuase of the following problems.



1. I find it very lacking in memory - constantly being told to delete messages, can't take more pictures/video due to lack of space, can't download ringtones etc.
I've not used it excessively - it has at this moment stored about 10 pictures, 3 video, 4 ringtones, 1 downloaded game and 70 or so messages and its not happy?



2. The camera quality is very very poor, and I am very disappointed with that. Add to that you cannot store many of them......
The video camera is not bad considering its on a dinky mobile phone, its the still camera that is dire. Everything blurry and looks to be taken at dusk - night mode doesn't make much difference apart from distort the colours.



3. Durability. Ok, so I do have a tendancy of being hard wearing on phones - its not an office job and phone gets chucked around a lot! BUT - this was fairly poor when it exploded into several dozen pieces - incuding sending out chips and other fairly important looking stuff. Its now held together with Duct Tape - so much for my stylish phone!



I'm looking for a new phone at the moment - I love the style and 'nokia look' of this one - the icons on the menu and the smooth look of the text etc - but I want a phone I can actually DO something with, rather than just to look at.

I did a thorough search in Nov. 2005 and examined many phones and service providers before selecting "Nokia 6101" and T-mobile. I wanted to meet my *specific* needs ... this phone has everything! The phone is easy to operate and use. I love the camera and video options which are easy to operate. I quickly grasped the "how tos" on making, receiving calls, and text messages. The camera option is simple to operate, too. You can store 16 MB, send photos via email option to friends and create photo albums. The text messaging system is super! The Voice Mail was a bit complicated to set up due to my lack of experience and discomfort with all this high tech equipment. I used up minutes unnecessarily listening to the T-mobile prompt telling me about Voice Mail until I realized it was an "information only" call. It dawned on me that I had to read and reread the manual which was not enough so I finally went to the Nokia and T-mobile websites for more detailed precise directions. I finally got it right!

The SIM chip placement was straight forward. Activating the phone and receiving my phone number was a cinch! However getting my 1000 minutes to upload *was* a bit of a hassle. I am not locked into a monthly plan but choose to prepay minutes. The T-mobile system of choices for buying minutes and their options was the clincher ... compared to other service providers whose techniques were far more complicated and difficult. After buying $100 worth of minutes, (1000 calling minutes plus 15% bonus minutes), they last a year ... unused minutes carry over, so long as you prepay before the current year expires. Easy! I love the phone! I am enjoying the extra features more than I imagined. It is not *just* a phone - it is a communication device that makes me feel connected to the world. This phone works best for me. [Planning next to buy the headset to use the FM Radio ...] Erika BOrsos (bakonyvilla)

Well, to begin with, I have found this to be an excellent phone in both sound quality and user friendliness. However, thats totally myred by the toughness of the thing. I wouldn't buy a flipphone again after this one, its just too fragile. I dropped it ONCE after I'd bought it, a mere foot or so. The flip completley disengaged. The joints for the flip are seemingly very weak compared to other models I have seen. Youd be much better off with one of the newer designed "sliding" phones, which are much more hardwearing.

The replacement I had after the fall has lasted so far, but already it has a slight wobble on the joint and scratches/tarnishes easily. Nice to look at, good quality but badly in need of more protection against daily use.

I've just up-graded from this phone after a year of ownership. The phone is comfortable and sit's nice in the hand with the open display. Battery life is good, screen nice and big and clear, camera is fine but don't expect too much from it.
Pro's: Size, key's, screen, battery.
Con's: Very slow software, the white version I had marked quite easily and outer screen cracked after leaning against something whilst in pocket.
Overall well happy with it.

Smashing little phone. Easy Nokia interface. The fatal flaw is that because it is a flip phone Nokia hasn't incorporated auto keyguard. Unless you remember to manually lock the keys you find the camera has turned on in your pocket. This in turn leads to disappointing battery life. Pity - its great otherwise