The Nokia 7110 is a lovely little phone, a good looking devil, very efficient and just bursting with all manner of exciting features. It's a phone that is available free with a number of contract packages or you can buy yourself a model that is unlocked so you cana dd the SIM card of your choice, if you’re happy to spend around $150 (£100).

It's a great size, small enough to fit in your pocket or handbag but chunky enough that you can get a good grip! It also has a key lock feature which is ideal if your phone is subject to being chucked in your bag as this protects keys from being pressed and calls made in error! It also has a slide panel on the front which provides extra protection.

It has a lovely large screen which is very clear to read and the backlight stays on long enough that you never miss any important information. And as a bonus, when playing the games that come with the phone, you can elect to keep the backlight on at all times which does avoid eyestrain. The phone is a dual band one allowing you to use it in many countries around the world, a huge bonus for those that travel a lot.

One of the nicest features on this phone is the 'Navi Roller', a 'button' on the front of the phone that you use to access the menus and options etc. The 'roller' can be scrolled up and down between fields and pressed down like a button to select your choice.

You can access all the features on the phone by selecting from various categories and menus which are clearly displayed on the larger than usual screen.

MESSAGES

Here is where you can send text messages to other mobile phone users easily and quickly. You are provided with default inbox and outbox folders (where messages received and sent are stored automatically), an Archive folder where you can pop your older messages you may want to keep and also a Templates folder, where various pre-set messages are available for you to add to your message to cut down on keying in time (items such as Please call, I'm in a meeting, See you in.... etc. etc.). Yo9u can of course add your own messages to the temnplates folder, for phrases that you send often.

You can also set up as many of your own message folders as you choose which is a handy feature, particularly if you want to save and distinguish between your messages in some way.

CALL REGISTER

Here is where you will find a record of any missed calls (where the number of the caller is prominently displayed), all received calls and numbers you have dialled. You can also check the duration of calls made and received and call costs depending on the network you are using.

PROFILES

This is the menu which allows you to customise the phone to suit your needs. You can choose your ring and message tones and alerts, choose from a number of basic and musical ring tones, set the volume of tones, choose whether to have the vibrator feature on or off (ho hum!), and whether you want keypad tones activated or not etc. You can also download additional ringing tones and screen logos from various sites on the web (if you are an Orange user, check out www.orange.net for some great freebies!) but often sites make a charge for this service.

SETTINGS

This is the most extensive menu of them all, there are 6 categories available here.

Firstly, in Time Settings you can set up alarm calls to help you get up on time or remind you of an upcoming meeting etc. You can also set the phone's internal clock choosing either to have the time displayed permanently on the screen either as 12 or 24 hour.

The next category is Call Settings and here you can choose whether you have anykey answer, whether you want the automatic radial feature on or off, set up speed dialling where you allocate a single digit on the keypad to represent your most used numbers, choose whether to have a detailed summary after calls which displays information about the last call made or received, Fax or Data call settings (haven't sussed this feature yet, give me time!!) and also elect whether your number is displayed when making outgoing calls.

Phone Settings allows you to determine the language for your phone, set up a welcome note to greet you when you switch your phone on (Liverpool FC rule is my personal recommendation!! :O) ), select your network although this is normally done automatically for you, and the primary function for your phone's 'roller' button.

Communication Settings - here is where you can call up your network's answer phone, set up the answer phone number if not default as part of your chosen network or access the service command editor which allows you to write both numbers and letters in order to control automatic telephone services of your network.

Security Settings allow you to request a pin code for added security when you switch on, set up call barring should you require it and the option to block incoming and outgoing calls, set up fixed dialling, choose your security level so you can protect your phone or it's memory by setting up a security code and change any access codes you have already installed.
Restore Factory Settings - the place to restore all your phones original factory settings without losing any information in your phone address book etc.

CALL DIVERT

Here is where you can choose to divert all incoming voice calls, data calls or both to another number, or divert your calls to an answer machine if you are busy or just not available to take calls. Return to this menu to cancel any previous diverts you have set up.

GAMES

4 games are provided with the phone, including everybody's favourite, Snake! This version is Snake II where you try to make your snake grow by directing it to the 'food' using the number keys on your dialpad. You can't make the snake stop, it moves continually and you are not allowed to hit the 'walls' or it's own tail, otherwise it's game over! You can choose from 9 levels to play, the game is exactly the same for each, the only thing that changes is the speed at which your snake travels and the number of points earned by eating each piece of food. At various intervals, a bonus yummy will be shown on screen, and if you can get your snake to eat that, you will earn extra points depending on how quickly you reach it! In all the games, the phone will store your highest score as an added incentive to try and beat it later and there are many levels of play available.

Rotation is the second game on offer, where you are asked to arrange the numbers in numerical order starting from 1 upwards. You can rotate the numbers inside the frame using keys on your dialpad and move the whole frame to another position using other keys. I find this really tricky but like all the games on here, very addictive!

Game three is Racket, a fun tennis game where you play against the phone's 'computer'. You use the roller button to move your racket/player up and down the screen and then press the roller to serve the ball and lob it back across the net. Great fun and another totally addictive game!

Finally, the last game is Opposite, where you try to change your opponent's pieces into your own colour. You win once the game board is full and if you have more of your colour pieces than the opponent. Haven't really got to grips with this one yet though I can see myself becoming addicted to this one too eventually.

CALCULATOR

This is a nice, big and bold calculator with the added benefit of an Exchange Rate converter included.

CALENDAR

This is a really useful feature, You can store birthdays, meetings, appointments, notes and anniversaries etc. and choose to be reminded by an alarm alert at a time you can schedule, a great bonus! I store all my pal's and families' birthdays on here and choose to be reminded a couple of days or a week before so I don't forget to go shopping! You can view your calendar entries at a glance, either daily, weekly or by month and can even print off all the notes and reminders you have stored. One of the most useful features on this phone I think!

SERVICES

This is the place to access your phone's WAP functions, update or view your bookmarks, empty your cache and determine your settings. The Orange WAP facility, my default, is very good, you can access the latest football scores, music, news items, view train times, check out restaurants, send emails and much more. Of course, you can take advantage of other WAP sites by signing up at various websites and set these up on your home page and flick between them as you wish. A nice feature is that you can choose for your phone to alert you when you receive an email..the phone gives you the sender's address, time and subject of the message but not the body of the mail itself. Still useful though if you're awaiting an important email and not wanting to be sat at your PC waiting for it to arrive! And best of all, if you are a Genie customer (UK only), you get five free hours of WAP connection every single month.

ADDRESS BOOK/NAMES LIST

The address book is an excellent and integral part of the phone and you can choose whether to save your numbers and details either to your SIM card or to the phone's memory itself. The phone's memory allows you to record much more information, you can list office, home and mobile numbers under just the one name and also record email and home addresses. It also allows you the potential to store up to 1000 numbers and names, more than you could possibly ever need!

SUMMARY

This has to be one of the best mobile phones currently available, with a wide range of features, compact yet sturdy and with the bonus of a larger than average screen. I'm delighted with mine, the sound quality is superb, and it's a phone ideally suited to both personal and business users. I wouldn't change to anything else!


Recommended: Yes