Nokia 5100 Reviewed

An anonymous reader writes "Just read a review of Nokia's 5100 mobile phone. This phone has an integrated flashlight, FM tuner, a calorie burn application, sound meter and thermometer. And yet there is no Bluetooth capabilites. Is the cell phone market getting so desperate that companies are adding everything including the kitchen sink to sell these phones? Why would you want a sound meter or a calorie tracking application in a cell phone?" Looks like a good phone for people who like phones to look gaudy. Bells and whistles aside, the flashlight feature sounds pretty practical. A sound meter though?

Comments

These new phones suck.

[Morky]

I have a Sony Ericsson T68i. It sucks. It feels ergonomically weird, the navigation stinks, and, most importantly, the number pad is painful to use. The buttons are small, not alligned, and you have to bend your thumb at a weird angle to dial. The flip-open StarTak-like phones with nice buttons are the way to go. Also, ever hear of Cingular? AVOID THEM LIKE SARS! Long live the StarTak.

Monitoring noise levels

[vinsci]

The included sound meter application is probably one of the most useless applications available on any phone. It measures the decibel rating of the sound level around you. Why anyone would want this is beyond us.

Think construction sites, factory floors, heavy machinery, kindergartens (picture 20 kids playing, er, screaming at the top of their lungs) etc. All extremely noisy, sometimes over the top. Developed countries have regulations on noise level, the responsible personnel needs a simple and practical way to measure the level.

Bluetooth & the sound meter

[wadetemp]

And yet there is no Bluetooth capabilites. Is the cell phone market getting so desperate that companies are adding everything including the kitchen sink to sell these phones? Why would you want a sound meter or a calorie tracking application in a cell phone?

Bluetooth is just another one of these features.

Now, the decibel level hardware were able to adjust the phone's ring/speaker volume to be appropriate for the conditions, I'd say that would be more useful than Bluetooth. I'm willing to bet it does and the reviewer just didn't notice. The sound meter app is probably just because-we-can-ware.

I own this phone

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's some insights for you:

the flashlight is useful. I've got a photon microlight on my keychain, but once it's stuffed in a pocket with keys and wallet, it's not handy to get to.
The phone, in it's own little pocket is just great for that.

The soundmeter, and calorie counter: i've never used. They are just toys. I don't bother with them.

The FM radio is a godsend. I used to have a nokia 5510 - the mp3 player, but the software to copy mp3s was so bad that i only used to listen to the radio on it. The radio is brilliant for bus journeys, or just 'tuning out' for a bit between university lectures.

The picture messaging is a novelty. I don't use it, cos not enough of my friends use it either.

GPRS sucks - it very much feels like it's the same speed as WAP, and there's no real advantage. But the java games and applications are great (especially with a little searching on wap sites, you can download them for free)

But the phone is light, strong, relatively small, with good battery life, reliable signal strength for where i live, and while it may not look as flashy as the camera phones, or have the technology of the third generation mobiles currently available, I like it a lot, and I really don't see why people are so negative about it, unless they've actually used it.

Andyboy_H

Re:A phone with a flashlight? Great!

[Dynedain]

And there's even one smaller than your phone

http://www.maglite.com/product.asp?psc=1AAACELL

Re:sad

[Second_Derivative]

I dunno. I've got a P800, and I'm fairly happy with it. 128MB is a LOT of Ogg files, and with a suitable player it's sure as hell handy for those long car missions (ok yes both of them. Sue me, I've had my license for less than a month =P )

The problem is the extortionately priced memory cards (110 quid for a four gram 128MB piece of crap!?) and the utterly trashy handsfree kit that comes with it (all the weight is held by the right ear so the right earphone keeps slipping out. And it looks crap. Worst piece of shit ever) so forget about jogging with this thing because the tiniest shock knocks it out of your ears. I mutilated a Rio tape adapter by sticking the proprietary handsfree connector onto it and, presto, instant car adaptor for the Ogg player. Fun stuff.

I like the P800. I think it's expensive as fuck and I hate this typical Sony proprietary accessory gouging crap so all in all I'm not mad about this phone. But I still like it. And having a PDA and O/S is handy -- like someone else said, the whole reason I bought it is because I didn't want to carry a phone, PDA and MP3 player around. I don't have strenuous needs so its current capabilities are adequate (though I'm still waiting on KDE3 support for SyncML)