Cellphones today are quite versatile and as a result of that they’re quite expensive too. For someone who doesn’t required much from a phone but still not satisfied with a basic phone, then this Nokia 3711 might be nice. As for the price, it’s quite reasonable, and for T-Mobile subscribers, it’s free! Yes, we’ll see what we can get for free from T-Mobile.
T-Mobile subscribers looking for a free flip phone should check out the Nokia 3711—even though it doesn’t look like much. Underneath its drab surface are some pretty powerful features, including a proper mobile Web browser, 3G data speeds, and decent music and video playback. Nokia made a few poor design decisions with the hardware, but even so, it’s worth a look.
The Nokia 3711 measures 3.5 by 1.8 by 0.6 inches (HWD) and weighs 3.3 ounces. The hard, rubbery finish features a textured wave pattern. I wasn’t thrilled with the look, but still looks clean. At least the material makes the phone comfortable to hold and resistant to light scratches. Build quality was also questionable, which is unusual for Nokia; the shortcut keys above the numeric keypad were uneven on my test handset, and the plastic frame around the keys felt excessively cheap.
The 2.2-inch QVGA (240-by-320-pixel) looked reasonably sharp and bright. Dialing numbers was super-easy thanks to the large, raised keys. The Nokia 3711 is a quad-band EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) and dual-band UMTS (1700/2100 MHz) device. It supports 3G data speeds, which makes it the first free phone I’ve seen on T-Mobile to do so. Voice calls sounded clear and warm overall. The Nokia 3711 doesn’t get very loud in the earpiece, but it was fine in quieter environments. Reception was average, calls sounded fine through an Aliph Jawbone Icon ($99.00) Bluetooth headset, and the phone’s voice dialing doesn’t require training. The mono speaker on the back was too quiet. Battery life was average at 7 hours and 3 minutes of talk time in EDGE mode.
Nokia’s Symbian Series 40 OS was responsive and easy to navigate in testing. The main menu employs a carousel on the home page for T-Mobile myFaves contacts, and another carousel one level down for basic media, messaging, and other functions. One of the 3711’s signature features is Maps, which can pinpoint your current location using the phone’s GPS radio, and then search for nearby points of interest (presuming you sign up for the data plan). TeleNav GPS Navigation was also on board for voice-enabled, turn-by-turn directions at $9.99 per month. This isn’t really a messaging phone thanks to the numeric keypad. But there were plenty of e-mail and IM options available for all major Web services, even MySpace IM.
The 2-megapixel camera lacks auto-focus or a flash. Test photos leaned toward red in the color spectrum, with overly warm tones indoor and out. The phone dealt surprisingly well with light sources and poorly lit interior rooms, though motion blur ruined a few shots thanks to the slow shutter. Don’t bother recording videos; the 176-by-144-pixel, 15-frame-per-second results were too small and pixelated.
Overall, the Nokia 3711 shows how much you can get for “free” nowadays. And the phone is admittedly not very good, but then again, still worth a look! And I actually quite like the look, it’s simple and professional. Take this to consideration: it’s ‘free’ after all! So I’m now really wondering: would you like to have this ‘free’ phone?
Summer of 2010, really the season of footballs, the World Cup 2010 is really exciting and it looks like everybody’s watching it. Guess what? Watching the World Cup Match is just not enough for some people, and for these there’re really nice gadgets to wear while watching the game. And this World Cup Cell Phone shaped like a soccer ball (football) is a quite remarkable one.