Nokia 8110 4G review: Freedom and restrictions in one tiny device

When it was announced in March it was eye-catching.  The pricing looked good too – but just who is the Nokia 8110 4G for? And can you really live with it in the age of the smartphone?

I took the plunge. I wanted to use it for a week.  Spoiler alert – I didn’t make it.

I was never truly disconnecting – my iPhone was still around the house, but I wasn’t taking it with me places, but boy oh boy it was a breath of fresh air to not feel the urge to check twitter, Facebook and Instagram every waiting moment.

We went to the shops, the boys needed a haircut.  As always, Mum sends through the stock standard photo of the haircut they like – the hairdresser had to squint to see it on the tiny screen and the resolution was far from ideal – there was a risk they’d get a number 1 all over at this stage.

They didn’t, and all went to plan.

Took the obligatory photo of the boys to send to Mum. She seemed ok with the pic – I was less so.

So yeah, it’s got a camera – but at 2MP it’s not going to be one for sharing much.  Plus, there’s no Instagram here either.

Sure you can install Twitter – but who would, you’re clearly choosing the 8110 because you want to switch off – at least a little bit – from the outside world.

And that I did.  I found myself at the local sports grounds doing the BBQ on the weekend with nothing but the actual games of sport going on to take my interest – and it was bloody fantastic.

If I wanted to Google something, no need to try typing old school – Google Assistant works a treat and comes pre-installed.  Seriously, just ask it!

Google Maps is there too – not to give you turn by turn as you drive, but to give you directions at the start of the trip, or guidance step by step.

Very cool

I was even able to synchronise my Google Contacts and Calendar.  Quite easy too.

Perhaps the coolest thing is the Internet Sharing.  You can turn your 8110 4G into a mobile hotspot, so your iPad can connect to the internet still, despite you being back in the dark ages.  Netflix sorted!

But – that comes at a price.  Battery life.  They say it has days and days of standby time.  I didn’t see that.  Because I either left the hotspot on too long, or was using other features like Snake too much.

I’ve no doubt this thing could sit in a drawer all week just waiting for calls, but in reality it’s a couple of days battery life guaranteed and no more.

Why didn’t I last the week?  Simple.  My Wife and I send a LOT of text messages.  At the shops, from work, school pickup, organising the life of a family is not as easy as you might hope.  So it’s an important way to keep in touch and get answers.

I just wasn’t able to respond fast enough.  There’s no T9 predictive text here, it’s old school 44,44408443377733, Just to say “Hi There”.

And that frustrated the hell out of me.

So, if you can get by with more calls and less texts, this is for you.

If you think your kids will love it – they will – my Son wants it – But he doesn’t know how hard it is to Text on.  I think he just wants to play Snake.

Look, for a now and then contact on the phone kinda person – love it.

For the weekend digital detox – bloody perfect.

One problem though, it’s not a Nano SIM – so you will need a Nano to Micro SIM converter to switch from smartphone to 8110 4G if you want to go back and forth.

Good fun, classic hits.  The Nokia 8110 4G is on sale now for $129.