Ratings [1-Mediocre, 2-Poor, 3-Average, 4-Good, 5-Excellent]
Features and Specifications [4/5]
It would have been a 5/5, but only for the 2.2 screen. I am sure that there are a million sites with the specifications. But here we go again with the highlights.
GPS Receiver
2G+3G supported(In simple words- GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 and HSDPA 2100)
SYMBIAN OS
2.2 Screen
369 Mhz processor
GPRS+EDGE+BLUETOOTH+3G
2MP Camera.
No WiFi
The 6110 is a competent device with good specs, robust feature list and also quad band which helps that this phone can be used on most GSM networks. The only crib might be the 2.2 screen which is fantastic with its 16Million colours, but feels small especially when we use navigation. Being a Symbian Rel 3.1, the operating system is pretty good, but not in the league of Windows Mobile 6.0.
Battery Life [4/5]
As usual, I ran my battery life tests, starting with a fully charged battery and going on till it started beeping like its gonna die any time. Below are the values.
30-45 Mts of call daily
4-5 SMS daily
GPS Usage- About 40mts day 1 and 20mts day 2.
GPRS/EDGE Usage of about 30 mts on both days.
PC Sync usage of about 25mts-1 day.
After the third/fourth charge, I was getting about 1.5days with the above usage. With a 900Mah battery, this is good and I suppose if you reduce GPS usage, the battery should comfortably reach 2 days. Having said that, a car charger is a must for long journeys or prolonged GPS usage.
Value for Money [5/5]
At the current price of about 13k, this is a good package with virtually no competition at this price point. We have the Asus P526 around a thousand less and the P527 a couple of thousands more, but both do not give the feel good factor of the Nokia. Both the Asus’s units are Windows Mobile units
with limited navigation support, though they have the best GPS chip(Sirf Star III). If you are looking for a device with navigation(GPS) and integrated maps(free for life), look no further.
In the 10-15K range, the Nokia 6110 Navigator is the current best choice.
In the 15-20K range, the HTC P3300 rules. Check my review on mouthshut.
HTC 3300 Review
Build and Feel [4/5]
No complaints here, the plastic is good though a finger print magnet. Slide works great, The front fascia has a steel looking faceplate flanking the screen and the video call camera. The rear side main camera cover also has some metallic accents. There are no creaks or groans from the body during usage. Removing the battery cover is akin to working out in the gym though, and I wish Nokia had made this easier.
The only negatives apart from the small screen is the placement of the GPS Navigation key, which gets triggered at the slightest touch or even a down arrow selection on the directional trackpad sets the navigation off!
Compatibility [4/5]
There are a load of applications for the Symbian OS, but there are not as much free stuff available compared to Windows Mobile. Nokia provides a great feature in the phone software updation via PC Sync. Route66 also updates via the included software.
Navigation [5/5]
Already using a HTC P3300, I was apprehensive about this part, and I should confess, this phone does the job with aplomb. There are inbuilt maps for 6 Indian cities with life time usage thrown in. So we might need to pay for the updates when available.
The GPS chip used in the 6110 is not a Sirf Star III which is reckoned to be the best, but still does its job admirably. Nokia uses Route66 and Navteq. The 6110 comes preloaded with India 2007 Q3 Map in addition to the World Map. If you have a data connection, time taken for fix is reduced as the Assisted GPS feature would be used. The AGPS downloads positioning data from Nokia servers to speed up the fix. Upto 8-9 satellites are latched on once the 6110 has a fix which is pretty good.
My usage is in Bangalore, and 80-90% of all roads are mapped. Navigation can be setup from your present location(picked up by GPS) to your destination(need to search and select from a list of dropdowns). Options include shortest distance, fastest time and pedestrian mode. Let’s say you select a route and while travelling decide to deviate from the GPS planned route, the 6110 takes some time to regain its bearings and reroute you in accordance with your new route, assuming the destination remains the same. This feature works really well. If your location is not present, you can add that as a landmark. I am yet to check if you can navigate to/from a user defined landmark.(Don’t think it would work) You can also set speed alerts, play around with different voices, colours etc.
Time for unassisted first fix: Average
Time for assisted first fix: Good
Staying fixed with GPS: Good to Excellent
Navigation with included software: Excellent
Point to point Navigation: Excellent
Rerouting on the FLY!: Excellent
Software and Voice Navigation: Excellent
Map Features and Landmarks: Excellent
Positional Accuracy with given Maps: Good
Accessories [3/5]
This was the only disappointment in the otherwise good bundle. Being a Navigation device, there was no car holder or charger. The package ships with the bare basics, including a DVD with additional maps to try out. The GPS navigation is addictive, and please remember not to use navigation without a car cradle, as you run the risk of looking at the phone and losing track of road. Aftermarket car cradle for the 6110 should be less than 1000/- and is worth the investment along with a car charger.
Overall Product Rating [4/5]
You shouldnt go wrong with the 6110, it really is a well rounded package which ticks all the boxes for a change.and for a product from Nokia to do this within this price range talks a lot about how important proper product positioning can be.
Problems and Issues
Phone resets once in a while, not sure if its rebooting due to my daily regimen of installing software!
No other issues that caught my attention.
Feedback / Questions welcome@ xotiqq@gmail.com