Nokia 6102i

Call Quality

Calls and speakerphone: Overall, calls are loud and clear. In fact, we only occasionally needed to use the side volume keys to adjust the volume when audio was too low. Nokia calls the speakerphone a Loudspeaker and lacks one-touch access to it but you can turn it on once you place a call. On the plus side, this cell phone can automatically adjust acoustics to account for surrounding noise using the automatic volume control feature.

Audio Playback: The audio quality of the FM radio is impressive, however, you’ll need to get an optional headset to access stations and listen to them.

Ease of Use

Menu/Phonebook: Nokia cell phones tend to be known for their straightforward interface and the company’s flip phone is no exception. It’s easy to maneuver through the cell phone’s menu system. If you’ve used a Nokia cell phone before, it should take minimal time to get reacquainted, if you haven’t it’ll take you slightly longer. But you won’t need to break out the manual to enter or find phone numbers. Just remember instead of phonebook or contacts, Nokia uses its own terminology (Names) and provides one-touch access to the address book on the main menu via the Names selection. Speaking of phone numbers, entering and finding contacts is just a few buttons away. You can store five phone numbers, an e-mail address, street address, a Web URL and notes for each contact.

Camera/Video: For a VGA camera, the pictures aren’t half bad but they won’t make you ditch the digital camera either. The Nokia 6102 lacks a flash but it has something better: a Night mode. No, it’s not something you’ll find on the military-grade cell phone of a Navy Seal, it simply adjusts the settings to better capture pics in a night setting. There’s also a video recorder for taking 15 second video clips.

Messaging: It’s easy to turn off the predictive text mode on this Nokia making this cell phone a texting dream. However, if you’d like to save outgoing messages you’ll need to change this setting on the cell phone. The Nokia 6102 has another interesting message app, the ability to send audio messages. If you don’t feel like texting, simply select Audio Message, say something and send it to a phone number or e-mail address and a message with a voice attachment gets sent. Note: You’ll need to sign up with your carrier for multimedia messaging if you care to use this feature.

Connectivity: Although Bluetooth is all the rage these days, the Nokia 6102 sports an old school approach to wireless connectivity: infrared (IR). While not nearly as fast as sending contact info or pics via Bluetooth, IR is no slacker. Plus many notebook computers already have IR support, making it easier for notebook owners to sync contacts if they so desire. Simply download Nokia’s free PC Connectivity Suite (available at the company’s web site) and you can sync contacts from an IR-enabled PC to the cell phone. No IR? No worries. Check out the optional USB cable.

Design

Look and Feel: The Nokia 6102 isn’t what we would call compact but it’s also a far cry from the girth that is the Nokia N90. It feels good in the hand; however, if you’re prone to dropping a cell phone a lot the Nokia 6102 is not the best option. Despite its rectangular shape it doesn’t take up a ton of space in a pant pocket, but if you carry it in a tiny bag you’ll likely replace your wallet with a change purse to make room for both. As for the displays, both the external and internal displays are bright, but as is the case with the Motorola Razr, the internal screen is prone to attracting fingerprints and face grease.

Keypad: There are many things that we’ve come to rely on when reviewing Nokia cell phones and an interesting keypad is one of them. In this case, the keypad itself is spacious and the keys are a good size. But the backlit keys are a bit slick, which caused the occasional misdial. We did wish the navigation keys in the bulls’ eye formation of the soft, talk/end, and navigation keys had better labels. That said, those keys and corresponding functions are easy to master.

Battery Life

Battery life on this cell phone is pretty good. Heavy cellular phone users who make a ton of calls and send/receive a ton of text messages daily will need to recharge every other day. More moderate users will be able to last three to four days before needing a charge. If you are a light user, making just two to three 10 minute calls a day and light texting, the Nokia 6102 will last about a week without needing to recharge.