Review: Nokia 3109 Classic

Nokia 3109 Classic Review

Phone rating:

In a nutshell: A highly recommended phone for those who don't want a camera in their phone. A classic user-friendly design, built to last and with excellent battery life, it will get on with the job without any trouble. It includes an MP3 player and has the benefits of an expandable memory card, Bluetooth connectivity and triband.
Best buy: Free from Vodafone Business Shop.

There aren't many phones around these days that don't have a built-in camera, but for those whose job prevents them from having a camera, the Nokia 3109 Classic is probably the best option available. It's almost exactly the same as the 3110 Classic, except that the camera and FM radio have been removed. The 3109 Classic has all the essential phone functions, and is a tough no-nonsense phone with a good battery and smart looks. The keypad and 5-way navigation key are very tactile, and this is a phone that you can just get on and use without having to worry.

Although it has no camera, it has easily the best LCD display in its class, and benefits from an MP3 player and a memory card slot that can take microSD cards up to 2 Gbytes. It also has excellent connectivity: Bluetooth, USB and Infrared. The only thing it's missing (apart from the camera) is an FM radio - if that's important to you then choose the Nokia 2310 instead, although the 2310 doesn't have an MP3 player.

Features of the Nokia 3109 Classic include:

• Display: TFT, 262,000 colours, 128 x 160 pixels
• Stereo MP3 player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, enhanced AAC+, WMA formats, DRM 2.0)
• MP3 ringtones / 64-voice polyphonic ringtones
• Integrated handsfree speaker
• Voice features: Push to talk, Enhanced voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording
• Messaging: SMS, MMS, and email with attachments, Nokia Xpress audio messaging
• Java games
• Wallpaper, animated screensavers, themes
• Organizer with calendar, to-do list, and notes
• Internet: XHTML browser, HSCSD, GPRS Class 10, EDGE
• Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB, Infrared
• Memory: 9 Mbytes plus microSD memory card slot (up to 2 GB)
• Tri-band (EGSM 900, GSM 1800/1900)
• Size: 109 x 46 x 16 mm
• Weight: 89g
• Talktime: 4 hours
• Battery standby: 400 hours

Nokia 3109 Classic Consumer Reviews

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Average rating from 14 reviews:

Reviewed by Sean Hodges from UK on 3rd Jun 2008
I was given mine by work to replace my old 6021, but I am about to give it back and stick with the 6021. The reason? Reception on the 3109 is very poor - I get no signal at home or in the place I stay in Germany, even though every other phone I and my family use can get a signal. Very nice phone in many other ways, but if you can't make a call, it's just a piece of useless metal and plastic.
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Reviewed by NORRY from UK on 29th May 2008
I have bought a number of these handsets over the last few months for company use but have stoped doing so due to a higher than average fail rate compared to the 6021 I had been purchasing. users find them ok to use but quite a few returned due to charging problems and one way transmission
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Reviewed by Craig from UK on 17th May 2008
Best phone I've had in a long time, very long battery life (over a week between charges), simple to use. I tried a Motorola F3 but was frustrated with text messaging function (otherwise a great piece of design itself) so switched to this instead. Excellent for those people who require a straight forward piece of good design without adornments such as camera etc. Cannot recommend this enough. Outstanding.
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Reviewed by carlos from England on 16th May 2008
A great reliable work phone. Easy to use. Good MP3 sound quality for a budget phone and quite loud too. An expandable memory, good battery life even when playing mp3 files. Easy to connect and download media onto memory card. Well done Nokia!
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Reviewed by mick from england on 11th May 2008
i have been giving this phone by work,and i love this phone ,does what it says on the tin,this phone is not a brick and feels quality
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Reviewed by Alex Meah from England on 27th Apr 2008
simplicity is the key. best low entry phone for years. highly recomended
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Reviewed by Mick from Russia on 25th Apr 2008
This is good, reliable tool for many purposes but most importantly communicating and also recording up notes from meeting, mainly for its good microphone reception. It has good coverage and best feature is that you can get EDGE capable triple-band data transfer for $150, not SIM- or operator-locked so it can be used basically in any place with any operator globally. Only negative feature is that it can't be charged using USB cable.
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Reviewed by jill from uganda on 5th Apr 2008
wow.... I bought this phone last week .. and its doin wonders in my palm.... Gr8 phone and a cool buy....
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Reviewed by Alan from England on 24th Mar 2008
I wanted a phone that was simply a phone i.e. with as few bells and whistles as possible. I already have a Nokia 1112, which is an excellent phone, but I occasionally lusted after a colour screen and a more robust build. I tried the 2310 mentioned in the main review as an alternative for those who require a radio. Don't buy it - the screen is awful. Enter the 3109, which I got free from Vodafone on a cheap contract. The phone is a little larger than average in the hand (it dwarfs the 1112). It has a very bright and clear colour screen (tick box number one), and it has no camera or radio (tick box numbers two and three). The build quality is very good (tick box number four), and the extra size of the phone allows room for a larger keypad, which, combined with the Nokia interface, makes texting about as easy as it is possible for it to be. Battery life is excellent (tick box number five) - not as good as the 1112, but then nothing is. I've had the 3109 a week now, I've only charged it the once when it arrived, and it still has rather less than half the battery power still remaining (though I'm not a heavy user). It has Bluetooth AND Infrared for those who want them, and you can also connect by USB. I can't fault the phone in any way except for the presence of the unwanted MP3 player, but I'm not taking a star off for that. If you want the radio and camera, get the next model up, the 3110. Otherwise stick with this - I can't speak highly enough of it.
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Reviewed by Trev Knight from uk on 11th Mar 2008
This is a great work phone....does what it says on the tin....people who say it is a brick dont want it for a phone but an accessory to show off to their no brain mates, if you want to pose dont buy it, if you want it to be a very very good phone and mobile office then do...it is very good.
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Reviewed by frank domican from uk on 9th Mar 2008
This is easily one of the best nokias without a camera that iv ever owned and iv owned a lot. it has a usb port but i found the bluetooth really quick it has a very loud speaker on the back great for the mp3 player and ring tones there are good size keys for texting and for anyone not sure of them selfs it is menu driven on screen you will hardley ever if at all have to get the intructions out if you dont want a camera then this is the nokia for you superb.
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Reviewed by Banny from UK on 28th Feb 2008
Just bought this phone. Its not rubbish and its not a brick! It really is an amazing phone. It may not be as pretty as some of the phones out there, but it's smart and brains wins over beauty everytime!;-) It does everything well, it's battery life is amazing! Ringtones are the clearest and loudest i have ever heard and great too, unlike the Samsung F210 which i recently bought and sold (low and rubbish ringtones!!) It has all the connectivities you could ask for, the PC suite is easy and fast to use, transferring files is a doddle,(the best PC suite so far). It boasts a fantastic MP3 player, which in my view is even better and clearer than other walkman phones out there who claim to be just that. Its even better than the last sony ericsson walkman phone i bought! Everything the review above says about it in this website is true and more, It does not have a camera, but after owning so many phones, i did not want one, no matter how good they claim to be, putting a camera in a mobile phone was the worse idea ever, i know people who have 5 megapixel cameras on their phones and they are still complaining about clarity! If you want quality pictures, buy a decent camera!! Phones were meant to be just that, phones! I have just woken up to reality and gone back to basics and just wanted an excellent phone that did everything perfect and i am glad to say i have found it! This really does deserve every star it gets from me, and if i could i would have given it more! If its a no nonsense capable, reliable, worth every penny phone you want, this is it! Have tried so many makes and they all let me down, but once again Nokia prove to be the best!!! Well Done Nokia!! A+++++
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Reviewed by Lisa from U.S.A on 13th Feb 2008
RUBBISH! Don't buy it! It is absolutely rubbish BRICK BRICK BRICK BRICK BRICK BRICK BRICK BRICK
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Reviewed by AMRAEZ from ENGLAND on 26th Jan 2008
BRICK ABOUSULUTLY BRICK
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Nokia 3109 Classic Links