Nokia 6101

Available now
14th February 2005

Very much equivalent in hardware terms to the Nokia 7270, the Nokia 6101 is a fairly straightforward clamshell phone with a 128x160 pixel display in 65,000 colours and VGA resolution camera.

The Nokia 6101's main party tricks are an integrated FM radio, PTT (Push to Talk) and EDGE data, but there's no Bluetooth. There's an xHTML browser and email client too, and the 6101 supports Nokia Xpress audio messaging, which is basically a type of voicemail.

At 97 grams the Nokia 6101 is about middling in weight terms. Physical size is 84x45x24mm with up to 4 hours talktime and 14 days standby.

Like other 6000 series phones, the styling on the 6101 is very conservative but still quite smart, and if you scraped off the Nokia badge you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a Motorola or Samsung.

The 6101 is a bit of a disappointment really. Although the 128x160 pixel display is good for a Nokia, it's not up to the standards of Motorola. VGA resolution cameras are definitely on the way out too. The size and weight of the 6101 count against it, as does the external antenna. Apart from a few features here and there, the 6101 looks for all the world like it was designed in 2003, not 2005.

Still, the 6101 will be inexpensive at €250/£170/$310 unsubsidised, making it a good choice for prepay/pay-as-you-go customers. It looks smart and understated, unlike some of the wacky designs that Nokia have come up with recently. All-in-all, the combination of looks, features and pricing make this a competent if slightly dull handset.

Available in a worldwide GSM 900/1800/1900 and US 850/1800/1900 variation, the 6101 should start to ship in the second quarter of 2005 in a choice of either black or white colour schemes. There is also a variant for the Chinese market called the 6102.

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