Nokia 6103 mobile phone review

The Nokia 6103 has everything but is it any the worse for its simplicity?

13 April 2006 0:53 GMT / By Shaun Marin

The Nokia 6103 is that rarest of beasts, a drop-dead simple mobile phone.

In this fast-moving world of smartphones, music phones, GPS phones, camera phones and GPSmusiccamerasmartphones it's unusual to find a plain old-fashioned phone phone. The Nokia 6103 is just that though, and it's none the worse for its simplicity.

It's a classic clamshell device, and is an obvious update of previous entry-level Nokia the 6101 - the clue is in the name. This includes the rather unsightly protruding antennae, although the 6103 is compact enough so that this isn't much of a problem. The matt black finish on the outside is pretty attractive, although open it up and you still get the impression that Nokia isn't at home with phones that flip. The screen is a basic 128 x 160 pixel number with up to 65k colours, but seeing as the camera is only VGA and you're not going to be downloading videos then this is certainly adequate.

Other features are good though, with an email client, WAP access and tri-band functionality. But while you can improve on the ring tone offerings with MP3 files there's no media player so music playback is out. The FM radio goes someway towards making up for this, and reception was good.

There's another tick in the plus side of the equation in the fact that the 6103 has Bluetooth on-board, so you can connect it up to a wireless headset for safer driving. However, the really good news is that in terms of call quality and battery life there's really nothing to complain about, and considering that this phone will be available at the lower end of the price scale, it's an excellent value handset.

Verdict

A back to basics approach that John Major would have been proud of, but with enough modern touches that it brings to mind David Cameron's new Conservatives.

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Review Recap

Made by: Nokia
Price as reviewed: £price dependent on contract
The good: Simple to use, and very inexpensive
The bad: May lack the features the modern mobile user demands
Quick verdict: If your mum needs a new mobile then this could be the one for her
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