Nokia 6110 Navigator GPS phone
Gets you from A to B without going via L, O, S or T
Review Nokia has decided satellite navigation is where it’s at. The Finnish phone giant released its first GPS-enabled mobiles this year, and is promising a whole heap more for 2008. And its multi-billion dollar purchase of map supplier Navteq leaves no doubt how seriously Nokia is taking sat nav.
The pertinently-monikered 6110 Navigator isn’t Nokia’s first GPS-enabled phone, but it is the first to be explicitly designed for and sold on its sat nav capabilities. The N95 and E90 offer GPS as one of many other features, but with the 6110 you get a full-blown voice-guided sat nav system. It leaves behind the Nokia Maps over-the-air mapping solution of the N95 and E90, instead utilising Route 66 software.
The Nokia 6110: sat nav special
The 6110 is a quad-band GSM/GPRS/Edge slider phone with HSDPA 3G, so it's capable of downloading, streaming and internet surfing at speeds of up to 3.6Mb/s. It’s a smartphone too, based on the Symbian S60 Third Edition Feature Pack 1 platform, so it delivers a healthy spread of functionality along with the flexibility to add more software. There’s no Wi-Fi on this device, however, which some might pine for.
There’s a standard-issue two-megapixel camera in the back of the phone, with a sliding lens cover that protects and activates the camera. Video calling is part of the 3G deal, with a secondary camera poking above the display. This lovely, bright 2.2in, 320 x 240 display can show up to 16m colours, and provides plenty of detail for close-up map reading and website browsing. It’s pretty fine for eyeballing video content and snaps on screen too.
Multimedia playback is taken care of with a multi-format music player and RealPlayer video player, plus an FM radio. A Micro SD card slot is on the side of the phone - Nokia supplies the 6110 with a 512MB storage card loaded with the Route 66 navigation software.
UK mobile users can enjoy maps and navigation software for the whole of the UK and Ireland. There’s still plenty of room on the card for jamming in tunes, pics and videos, so you’re not obliged to elbow the sat nav card when you want to indulge in some multimedia fun.
COMMENTS
Vodafone PAYG?
Is there any point in getting a phone like this sim free to use on a PAYG network?
Which functionality can I expect to lose? Can I use 3G etc? I mostly crave the GPS for pedestrian mode so I don't get lost all the time and don't like contracts.
The lack of Wifi is a sore point too... Any chances Nokia have something up their sleeves to address this point any time soonish?
N6110 / N95
It's a pity they didn't implement standard gps interface. Although I can load tomtom, it won't find the GPS, I can use a bluetooth one, but defeats the object.
Route 66 is poor by comparison. I'm sticking with my N series until there is something better, like the Orbit, but with a decent camera.
Mr.G
I own this phone
The battery is only a problem when you're steaming audio over bluetooth and have the gps functions on. It'll last you only a few hours like that, but the only time I ever opperate the phone like that is in the car where it can be charged. Out and about, it's never run flat on me and I always leave the bluetooth on anyway.
Yeah, the camera is only average and the phone comes with a load of junk on it you can't delete, but you can move the stuff you don't want into a folder somewhere.
The only real downside to this phone, is the lens cover is difficult to open.
PS I got mine from vodafone for £40 as a regrade on my contract. All in, I think a very good phone at an outstanding price.
Bloody expensive maps
If you should desire to get all of Europe, it will set you back 8 x 50 Euro.
This adds up to a grand total of 400 Euro, and the same set of maps can be purchased as a complete pack for just 120 Euro from Route 66 if you buy them for any other phone.
Route66 even claim that the regular software won't run on the 6110, so this sweet phone is bait for expensive maps down the road.
Battery life
Everyone moans about battery life when using the GPS, it's the backlight that kills the battery not the GPS. Leave the backlight on full blast on any phone and it will discharge fast.
Use the option to dim the display between instructions, it lasts for ages then.
I have a Tomtom one v3 as well as a 6110, the Tomtom has 2 hours battery life, so I don't see the point about battery life being poor on this?
