Nokia 1100 - Best Budget Cell Phones

The Nokia 1100 (and closely related variants, the Nokia 1101 and the Nokia 1108) is a basic GSM mobile phone produced by Nokia. 250 million 1100s have been sold since its launch in late 2003, making it the world's best selling phone handset and the best selling consumer electronics device in the world at the time. The model has been discontinued.

The 1100 achieved its popularity despite being made during a time when more modern cellphones with more features (e.g. colour screen, internal camera) were available in the market. It was targeted towards developing countries and users who do not require advanced features beyond making calls and SMS text messages, alarm clock, reminders, etc.

The 1100 is similar to the discontinued 5110/3210/3310 models that were among the most popular cell phones in the world during their time, before handsets developed several new features such as cameras, polyphonic ringtones and colour screens.

The Nokia 1100 was designed at Nokia Design Center in California, and patented for the US by the Bulgarian-American designer Dimitre Mehandjiysky.

Nokia's one billionth phone sold was a Nokia 1100 purchased in Nigeria in 2005.

In early 2009, it was in the news due to a firmware flaw in a batch of phones that were manufactured in a plant in Bochum, Germany. The phone could supposedly be programmed to receive messages directed to a different phone number, thus receiving sensitive data such as online banking details. This flaw was brought to authorities' attention after some phones were sold for over US$32,000.

Features

• The 1100 features a built-in flashlight, activated by pressing and holding the C key once, or by pressing it twice to lock it on when the keypad is unlocked. It can also be accessed via a menu item.
• The 1100 and 1101 are only able to play monophonic ringtones, which can be selected from a list of 36 pre-installed tones or from 7 self-composed ones.
• It features Nokia's traditional-style navigational keypad, which uses a single button to connect and end calls, bi-directional keys and vibrating alert.
• The Cingular-branded version features a built-in AOL Instant Messenger client.
• The 1100 is compatible with Nokia's Xpress-On covers (including matching battery compartments). In addition to the default light blue, orange or black, there are also dark blue, yellow, red, green and pink versions offered by Nokia, as well as many 3rd-party covers.
• It has been specifically designed for developing countries: its keypad and front face have been designed to be as dustproof as possible, and its sides are non-slip for humid weather.
• Other features include a 50-message capacity (inbox and drafts, with 25 messages in the sent items folder), alarm, stopwatch, calculator, 6 profiles, contacts storage (capacity 50, with the ability to assign different tones and icons to different contacts), games (Snake II and Space Impact+) and the ability to compose your own ringtones.

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Variants

There are four distinct variations within the series: the 1100a, 1100b, 1101 and the 1108. They differ as follows:

• The 1100a operates on the GSM-900/1800 network.
• The 1100b operates on the GSM-850/1900 network.
• The 1101 replaces the green backlighting with a white backlighting and adds a simple WAP 1.1 browser.
• The 1108 also replaces the green backlighting with a white backlighting. Mainly made for Asian markets.

Firmware history

The phone's firmware version can be checked by dialling *#0000#.

Use

The phone uses a GSM method of activation via a SIM card. The Nokia BL-5C battery has a long standby and talk time â€" this battery is used in more advanced models that have increased power needs for their features, but in the basic 1100 it consumes a fraction of the power and therefore lasts for up to 400 hours between charges. The phone is offered for use with a wide range of mobile phone networks.