Loading...
NOKIA 6131 REVIEW
Nokia’s latest offering to the world of mobile phones is the brand new 6131. Being a flip based handset it is part of a limited range as Nokia don’t specialise in this style of handset and this automatically puts it into an elite bracket. Nokia has an excellent heritage of building handsets with the user in mind and this is one of the definite reasons behind their worldwide success. With an attractive design and Nokia’s intuitive interface I predict the handset to do really well in the market, so read on to see if I am proved correct.
DESIGN
On my first glance the size of the 6131 caught my attention straight away. It wasn’t enormous but it was slightly larger than what I was used to seeing especially when compared to the modern benchmark for flip handsets the V3. Dimensions of the handset were 92 x 48 x 20 mm which was not too excessive and I felt that the attractiveness of the design detracted away from the slight over sizing nature of the handset somewhat. Weight of the handset was measured at 112g which made you feel like you were holding in your hand was of substance and quality.
As mentioned earlier I found the design of the handset to be attractive and definitely a strength in the handsets armoury. Styling was conservative but classy at the same time and I felt that the colour combination choices of black and silver were the main reasons behind this. The chrome like silver finish gives the handset an elegant appearance and the rubberised soft plastic (black) sections helped to give more comfort and grip on a practical level. Additional benefits of the rubberised finish were that scratches accumulated over time would not be as apparent which was good for the longevity of the handset.
Overall construction of the 6131 was solid with most components pieced together well. A downside to this was the flip mechanism which was not up to the standard of the rest of the handset. The one touch button opening system on the right rand spine was slightly unreliable with repeated use. I also found that the handset opened by itself whilst in a pocket or bag on occasions due to this button which was irritating. The closing mechanism also had its problems as the flip needed to be held fully down into the closed position or it could pop back up. Fortunately the handset could be opened manually without the flip button being used if that option is not to your liking.
The keypad is consistent of a navigational keypad surrounded by 2 soft keys and start and end call buttons. Below this is the numerical keypad, which is large, clear and legible. The attractive styling of the handset has been incorporated into the keypad, as has excellent backlighting and overall I would classify the keypad to be of a very high standard. Other buttons include the on and off button which is strangely located on the right hand spine which is not a usual position for Nokia handsets. Close by is the camera key and flip activation button. The left hand side is where the volume rocker switch resides and on the top of the handset there is a protected USB socket which also acts as a headphone socket. A 1.3 megapixel camera lens is located on the front cover and felt that it was placed in a good position out of the way of stray fingers.
The main 2.2 inch QVGA internal display is fantastic mainly due to the support of 16 million colours. Everything appears bright and clear but I found the font slightly small on occasions. The front screen is also of excellent quality displaying 262,000 colours. Prompts appear on screen when SMS, MMS or incoming calls occur and legibility is superb in direct sunlight or when the backlight is off. On a negative note I thought that Nokia could have positioned the memory card better as they decided to place it behind the memory card which is not the most accessible position.
Overall mark 6 out of 10
