phone 4 – nokia n70 (a)

released on 2005, this was a dream phone that i cannot afford… yet on 2005. and my parents were not willing to spoil me with gadgets. but one day, i saw a used one, on a sidewalk on 2009, i went back the next day and bought it. it was a second hand device that still looks good and just in time for a good upgrade since i promised myself to replace my nokia 1600 (bought in 2006) before i graduate in high school.

it is bulkier than my previous phones but better in so many aspects. it was able to browse the internet better than alcatel ot c552; better colors and no problem with memory management. i was able to play snake and card games, and install applications. has bluetooth for data transfer and wireless music play. has radio app, but i have to use a connector for wired headset. in general, it is better for productivity and multitasking, unlike the previous nokias i had – nokia 1100 and nokia 1600. it is obvious, since nokia n70 is already on smartphone category. camera is good back then. loudspeaker is also usable and has acceptable sound.

currently, i am using it as one of my back up phones for calls and sms. i also use it as a music player with the loudspeaker on. it can fill my small room back at home, but not where i reside now. i also use both cameras, front and rear, not for taking a good shot but to just check if it still works.

this is the oldest phone that i can test the battery. so i made a battery score card for this phone. charging the 970mah battery from 0% to 100% lasts for more than 2 hours with standard charger that is similar with what comes with the phone (it is a charger that comes with another nokia i bought, also using bl-5c battery). my test for battery life lasts for more than 21 hours – only more than 3 hours for active use. you can check phone reviews –introduction and benchmark plans for the battery test standard i made.

battery score card

as for web browsing, i am already having problems opening websites; no successful opening of any website. so for my web browsing, testing was only for trying to connect to the network. games are good since i enjoy playing card games. the snake game is also there. for photo and video experience, it is good, but i cannot say the same thing for the output.

phone 3 – nokia 1600

because of features and issues on alcatel ot c552, i went for an upgrade that has potential less issues than that and few goodies than my nokia 1100. this was the time when nokia was already known as a sturdy phone and it is easy to buy just anywhere. so, i decided to get this nokia 1600. this was released on 2005, but got it on 2006.

it is comparable to my older nokia 1100, though typing is still better on that phone. but, keys on nokia 1600 is better and more comfortable than on alcatel ot c552. i just miss the rubbery keys on nokia 1100 though, since nokia 1600 has clear plastic keys.

nokia 1600 also has colored display but there is no way i can add images to make use of such display. it was just good for its user interface as you can also select themes for the phone interface. it has games, but no snake game on the unit i bought.

some of the features i enjoyed back then are “send to many”, “send later”, and “speaking clock”. the “speaking clock” was funny in tagalog though. i cannot remember what the actual time was but it mentions “pitumpong minuto” (70 minutes). i also tried to learn saying time in chinese before, as there is an option for changing the language and it affects speaking clock. the “send to many” feature was a good help for gm (group messages). i also used “send later” extensively. i used to set sms to my friends “happy birthday” to send at 12 midnight while i am asleep – pretty useful, right?

just like my two previous phones, this phone cannot boot anymore and kept on my secondary gadget box. so, no battery score card again. and upon checking the box, the phone is not there. i guess, it was left at home along with my broken electronic devices.

phone 2 – alcatel ot c552

released on 2005, i got hands on this feature phone on 2006. as a first upgrade, i considered this phone due to features my nokia 1100 lacks. replaced my main phone with this, it was not only used for calls and sms.

it is only a bit bulkier than my previous phone. but, i have to adjust my muscle memory for typing. the alpha numeric keys are all the same for most phones during those days, so no problem with that. my adjustment is due to navigation keys and how the keys are crammed and quite uncomfortable to type on. it makes me switch to nokia 1100 from time to time.

what made me enjoy it somehow is its colored display. larger than nokia 1100, too. though i miss the always on display of nokia 1100 – not the kind of always on display we have now, which means a backlight is needed. the older kind of always on display does not need a backlight, it is similar to digital wristwatch.

it also has VGA camera and it brought more memories than my nokia 1100.

i also managed to transfer music files and images after converting them into low resolution, low fidelity. also, the phone lets me browse wap sites where the phone manages to play some video clips.

it is a good feature phone, but it does come with issues. the most common, as i read from some forum sites, was the mismanaged memory and storage. sadly, i experienced it myself. when i filled up the 3MB storage, there were occasional reboots. when i deleted almost everything from it, the storage still shows it is near full. then the worst thing happens – one day, it reboots infinitely. if i can remember it right, i only used this phone less than a year. i was a freshman high school when i made memories with this phone.

currently, it is on my secondary gadget box where i keep my non working gadgets – or dead ones, like the nokia 1100.

phone 1 – nokia 1100

this phone was released on 2003. i was able to buy it on 2005. its main purpose is for my parents to contact me anytime. but, also used for keeping in touch with friends at school and everywhere i go. being a first time mobile phone user, i want to collect phone numbers of anyone i meet.

it was a sturdy phone. no nonsense. it just gets things done. handy. comfortable to type on its soft keys. the flashlight is a good add on. i used that feature everytime there is a chance, but a real flashlight is better, since the light is a bit diffused and dimmer than most dedicated flashlights.

the display is good. no need to unlock it to check the time. the screen is always on, except for the backlight that has a time out.

as a basic phone, you do not get a music player, internet, camera and most features that modern phones have – even the modern basic or feature phones have a lot to offer than nokia 1100.

the last time I tried booting this, the board seemed to be damaged already as i cannot boot using a working battery (BL 5C). so, there is no battery score card for this phone – the score card i planned to do for all the working phones.

if only this phone works until now, it will be good for social media detoxification. will i buy another one? no. aside from it would most likely be a refurbished item with counterfeit parts, i cannot justify to include another nokia 1100 on my collection. besides, there are other phones of yesteryears that i am considering.

overall, this phone left a good experience and memories even before i hit puberty. oh, puberty.

phone reviews – introduction and benchmark plans

before graduating in elementary i had my first mobile phone. it was just a basic mobile phone, or some people call it dumb phone, lately. but some phones were equipped with other features back then. so i thought that in the future, more features will be put into such small device.

fast forward, many improvements were present to mobile phones and the market went mostly to smartphones – which means it is now stuffed with sensors and software to do “smart” stuff.

main purpose of this blog and the succeeding ones about phones is to provide feedback to phones i owned. mostly, these are subjective, meaning, how i see it and how it fits to my usage and preferences. one particular aspect where i can provide a, somehow, objective feedback is on battery charging and discharging or usage. despite of pointing out that i also have a preference with charging time and usage, i would still show data objectively and present it in a way that it is easy to compare a phone against another phone. as for that personal preference, my ideal charging time is about three hours or so and on usage, i am fine with an entire day of casual use. screen on time, six hours is already great. i can top up some juice just within the day anyway.

and as somebody who is quite interested to mobile phones, i made a plan to collect a number of phones based on my age. though not all phones are usable and accessible (i am not sure where few of my phones are), i consider everything i owned as part of the collection.

initially, you can see here the battery charge and discharge test i made last year. i used original charger, charging them from 0% to 100%. for now, i will be hiding the identity of the phone. i will reveal each one after each ones’ review.

ranking 2020	phone	duration of charging (hh:mm)
1	phone 18 - sony xperia z1 compact (b)	00:15
2	phone 17 - sony xperia z1 compact (a)	01:08
3	phone 5 - lenovo e156	01:49
4	phone 26 - sony xperia 1 ii	01:54
5	phone 8 - nokia n8 (a)	01:57
6	phone 7 - nokia asha 202	01:58
7	phone 9 - htc desire 200	01:59
8	phone 24 - nokia n8 (b)	02:04
9	phone 25 - sony xperia xz2 compact	02:11
10	phone 4 - nokia n70 (a)	02:13
11	phone 22 - sony xperia z5 premium dual	02:22
12	phone 13 - nokia n9	02:29
13	phone 15 - nokia lumia 1020	02:31
14	phone 21 - lg g4	02:56
15	phone 12 - asus fonepad note fhd6	03:01
16	phone 16 - sony xperia z3 dual	03:24
17	phone 27 - lg v50s thinq 5g	03:45
18	phone 6 - sony xperia miro	04:17
19	phone 10 - htc windows phone 8x	04:29
20	phone 23 - nokia n70 (b)	not tested
21	phone 20 - firefly mobile aurii secret 4g	not tested
22	phone 19 - cloudfone thrill plus	not tested
23	phone 14 - nokia x2 dual sim	not tested
24	phone 11 - asus zenfone 5	not tested
25	phone 3 - nokia 1600	not tested
26	phone 2 - alcatel ot c552	not tested
27	phone 1 - nokia 1100	not tested

 

i would also like to show you my preference ranking. i have two main criteria in ranking – usability and uniqueness. again, this is among my collection. so that means, uniqueness and usability among my collections.

ranking 2020	phone	rating
1	phone 15 - nokia lumia 1020	excellent
2	phone 25 - sony xperia xz2 compact	excellent
3	phone 26 - sony xperia 1 ii	excellent
4	phone 7 - nokia asha 202	very satisfactory
5	phone 18 - sony xperia z1 compact (b)	very satisfactory
6	phone 27 - lg v50s thinq 5g	satisfactory
7	phone 22 - sony xperia z5 premium dual	satisfactory
8	phone 4 - nokia n70 (a)	satisfactory
9	phone 16 sony xperia z3 dual	satisfactory
10	phone 24 - nokia n8 (b)	satisfactory
11	phone 21 - lg g4	satisfactory
12	phone 12 - asus fonepad note fhd6	good
13	phone 17 - sony xperia z1 compact (a)	good
14	phone 10 - htc windows phone 8x	good
15	phone 6 - sony xperia miro	good
16	phone 5 - lenovo e156	good
17	phone 9 - htc desire 200	good
18	phone 13 - nokia n9	good
19	phone 8 - nokia n8 (a)	good
20	phone 23 - nokia n70 (b)	good
21	phone 1 - nokia 1100	good
22	phone 2 - alcatel ot c552	good
23	phone 3 - nokia 1600	good
24	phone 14 - nokia x2 dual sim	poor
25	phone 19 - cloudfone thrill plus	poor
26	phone 11 - asus zenfone 5	poor
27	phone 20 - firefly aurii secret 4g	poor

 

as battery degrades and also the phones might perform differently this year, both of these rankings will change.

so here is the set up i made this year.

for charging i am still going to use the included charging brick and cable unless it appears damaged. i will charge them from 0% to 100%. some of the phones boot when enough charge is present and i will let them charged, turned on. as for others, i will not boot them up. meaning, i will charged them “naturally” – whether they boot or not. for some other cases, it will be mentioned on respective phone review.

the discharging has the following plan

tasks*	minutes
music play	20
web browsing	10
gaming	10
photo shoots	5
video shoots	5
video play	10
* in the absence of a task, other task will be used

 

daily testing	24 hours
active use	5 hours
inactive use (still switched on)	19 hours

 

that is it. again, this will be updated as i review each phone.

will this be relevant to you?

i really do not know…

Display Resolution Comparison