Dec 14 2004

Got My New Phone

Nokia 1100 The phone that I ordered through iSim has finally arrived yesterday, and my life without a mobile phone has came to an end. Not that I have missed much though, as last night when I turned the phone on and got connected back to the network for the first time in nearly a week, I have no missed call nor any SMS message (you can configure iSim to send you a SMS for missed calls instead of diverting to voice mail). I started wondering why do I need a phone…

The phone I bought was the cheapest Nokia that I can find, which is Nokia 1100 in this case, and I can confirm that it is indeed a no-frills phone after I have received it. Made in Korea instead of Finland, cheap plasticy cover, no polyphonic ring tone, no 16 bit colour screen, no camera, no FM radio, no MP3 and certainly no Java games. I am glad that it does have a monochrome back-lit screen to provide some feedback on the numbers I have actually pressed, as the rubber padded buttons were indeed not very responsive.

At least it looks rugged enough to survive some abuses, and its simplicity means it will probably out last those super-computer-in-a-cell-phone. Most importantly, it lets me dial a number or receive a call – at least I think (and hope) it would. So far I have no yet rang anyone on it, nor have I received any calls.

By the way, I have a SIM card from iSim with $50 credit, and I am afraid that I would not be able to use that much in 6 months (I’ve only used $10 in 3 months). Anyone from FOCUS interested to buy it?

6 Comments

  1. amanda on 14 Dec 2004 at 1:27 pm #

    this is the phone that i have in mind…I will ask about ur feedback a month later…

  2. caroline on 14 Dec 2004 at 1:27 pm #

    Scott, I just need to recharge my optus pre-paid mobile, $5 remaining now. I think I can use up $50 in 6 months.

  3. scotty on 14 Dec 2004 at 1:55 pm #

    Amanda,

    Why changing phone? It does not provide any more feature than what you already have (probably less). Unless your phone is also out of service and you are looking for a cheap replacement…

    Caroline,

    Depending on your usage pattern, iSim can be very suitable/not suitable for you. I found its cheap rate unbeatable – 39c per minute with per second billing. 15c SMS. Everything organised on-line. The only issue is that it has no free calls like Optus/Vodafone. But last time I heard that Optus users can still call you during ‘Yes’ time for free, as iSim is on the Optus network. Just that you can’t make free out-going calls.

  4. timhu on 14 Dec 2004 at 7:14 pm #

    does the phone somehow sync with any computer-based contact management program?

  5. scotty on 14 Dec 2004 at 8:01 pm #

    dont know, but

    1. the “contact manager” in that phone is nothing more than a mapping between name and number.
    2. does not seem to have a data-in socket anywhere…

  6. Sri on 5 Jan 2005 at 9:27 pm #

    I was on your site when I was googling for TextPattern’s reviews. Just wanted to share that I too use the same cell phone :)

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