• Review: Nokia X1-01

    Review: Nokia X1-01

    Nigel Almeida, Oct 07, 2011 1953 hrs IST

    Dirt-cheap durability.

    Good dual-SIM capabilities; Rock-bottom pricing; Ultra-loud speaker; Torchlight.

    Bad reception through earphones; No multimedia messaging; No fast-forward in music player.

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Nokia X1-01
MRP: Rs 2000
Street Price: Rs 1800 (Flipkart.com; Letsbuy.com; Naaptol.com)


No-frill phones have their own appeal and market as they have an extended battery life and are cheap. Nokia, one of the biggest brands in mobile technology, has recently introduced one of its entry-level mobile phones in the Indian market, called the X1-01. This is a dual-SIM phone that comes with a 16 GB microSD slot and MP3 playback capability. Available at dirt-cheap rates, the product is squarely targetted at the budget-conscious consumer. Let's see if its performance is as good as its price.


Design And Build
Let's start with the design. The Nokia X1-01 comes packaged with all the basic accessories of a mobile phone. The box is bundled with a charger, user manual, and earphones that feature a mic. To top it off, there is a spare battery in the box as well. (Nokia has clarified that the spare battery was included in the review unit inadvertently).

The X1-01 has a very sleek and vibrant design and comes in a variety of colours, namely red, blue, black, and white. The review piece that we received was red, with an attractive glossy finish on the back. The front of the phone has a black metallic finish, and is made of sturdy plastic. Overall, the phone is pretty sturdy and the plastic on the side does seem like it can withstand a fair amount of damage.

Review: Nokia X1-01



 



 

Review: Nokia X1-01





The X1-01 weighs in at 91 grammes, making it lightweight and portable. The phone has a height of 4.4" and a width of 1.9". Its 1.8" display features pixel dimensions of 128x160. As expected from a budget phone, it has several limitations: the display is barely visible in direct sunlight, and has severely restricted viewing angles.


Features
For an entry-level phone, the X1-01 has a satisfactory interface, being bright and appealing. It has up to twenty themes to choose from, as well as a variety of colour schemes to jazz the display up. The menu icons have a pretty basic look and can be aligned as per the grid or list views. Having said that, a few more tweaks could have been made to improve the appearance of the icons, as they look a little too plain.

One major plus point is of course the dual-SIM feature. You can locate the dual-SIM on the home screen of the device -  all you have to do is press the [*] key on the keypad and it will give you three options: Dual-SIM, SIM 1, and SIM 2. When choosing Dual-SIM, the phone prompts you to select the SIM you want to use before every call. Our call tests yielded satisfactory results. There were no call drops or interference noise when on the call. The reception quality was good and the voice on the other end was loud and clear.

Messaging on the X1-01 is simple and easy. However, it does not support e-mails and multimedia messages. The device can store up to 250 text messages and up to 500 contacts in multiple phonebooks for both SIM cards.

Review: Nokia X1-01



 



Multimedia And Battery
The X1-01 possesses a pretty average MP3 player. Nokia should have done a little more by adding a few more options to it. Overall though, it gets the job done. I tested a couple of tracks using a 2 GB micro SD card. The sound quality is average, but the volume is pretty loud, which is a good thing. The buttons on the side are quite responsive while toggling between songs. Having said that, it would have been a lot more convenient if fast-forward and equalizer options were available. The device supports a playlist, as well as integration with FM radio. Overall, the MP3 player certainly scores a few plus points for the phone.

The supplied earphones have good clarity and fit comfortably. Their output is loud and clear, however when using it for calls, the volume subsides to a great extent. This makes the earphones useful only for music.

On the entertainment front, the device includes some classic yet addictive games such as Snake, Sudoku, and Music League, which brings in a touch of nostalgia.

The X1-01 ships with a 1320 mAh battery, which is more than enough for this phone. Even after eight hours of use, the battery indicator dropped only by two bars out of five. Altogether, you can rely on the phone's power source to not fail, if you have another phone that does (*cough* Android *cough*).


Verdict
The Nokia X1-01 is priced at Rs 1800, and is pretty much in the budget of the majority. Sure, it lacks a number of features, but if you're willing to sacrifice them for a sturdy, durable, and not to forget affordable device, this is the phone for you.


Features: 4/5
Design And Build Quality: 4/5
Performance: 4/5
Value For Money: 4/5
Mojo: 3/5

Overall Rating: 4/5

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Discussion Board
(10) Comments
Chuck Sumit
,Chennai, on Dec 24, 2011 08:34 PM
I bought this phone a week ago and it's a junk. Network drops in every 5 minutes and comes back after 10-15 minutes after a couple of restarts. I tried with Aircel, Idea,Airtel and Vodafone sim cards and it is all the same. Whereas the same SIM cards show full coverage on my other Nokia C1-01 cellphone.I live in the heart of Chennai where 'no covergae' is beyond any question. Moreover if you get a call on SIM 1, the SIM2 goes off the hook. So please please don't buy this junk as I did a big mistake.
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france rayven v
,binan city phillipines, on Dec 10, 2011 01:56 PM
its so beuatiful celphone
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ashwani pal
,meerut, on Nov 28, 2011 08:05 PM
most of d tym whn i enter same security code it doesnt open, it says code error even if i enter d correct code. . . wt is d solution????
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Sandy
,Mumbai, on Oct 08, 2011 09:09 AM
Are you sure of Spare battery?....never seen this before in nokia phones.
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Rizwan
, TechTree, on Oct 10, 2011 03:45 PM
Thanks for bringing this to our notice. We contacted Nokia, who informed us that the extra battery was supplied by mistake. The review has been corrected accordingly.
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nitin
,shimoga, on Oct 08, 2011 12:56 PM
How is the key pad of this phone?
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Nigel Almeida
,Mumbai/maharashtra, on Oct 10, 2011 03:31 PM
The Key pad is slightly tough on the fingers, but it is pretty responsive and there were no technical problems with it.
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MOHD DANISH KHA
,LUCKNOW, on Oct 08, 2011 10:56 PM
THEIR IS NO SPARE BATTERY IN THE BOX......and Nokia India website so not say any spare battery......please confirm from your end....
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nitin
,shimoga, on Oct 09, 2011 01:17 AM
If they add spare battery then overshoot the cost of phone.wonder if TT have really reviewed this phone.
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Debi Prasad
,Bhubaneswar, on Oct 07, 2011 11:29 PM
@Reviewer Nice and clean review. For comments. It would have been good if nokia had included internet facilities with the device. But despite that I have tried this mobile and found it to some extent better than many in the range.
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