(Our Tech Blog) Introduction. The Nokia X1-01 hides two SIM cards underneath its cheerfully colored shell, both active at the same time. And with a price lower than what some contracts cost per month, the X1-01 takes over where the C1-00 left off. There are several key improvements however, like dual-standby, microSD card slot, MP3 player and dedicated music keys.We liked the Nokia C1-00 for what it was – an ultra-simple cell phone with a couple of SIM slots that let you make calls from either card. Now the Nokia X1-01 comes to make take the next step, adding dual-standby,.which means you can receive calls to both SIM cards at all times.
The X1-01 seems well fit for emerging markets, where one phone is shared among a whole family. Having two SIM cards facilitates such usage patterns, while two carefully selected call plans the monthly phone bill can be reduced. Also, there’re five separate phonebooks maintained on the phone, so several people can use it without mixing up their contacts.
Here’s the summary of the Nokia X1-01 features, just keep in mind that the intended price range is €30-€40.
Key features
- Dual-band GSM connectivity
- 1.8″ 65K-color 128×160 TFT display
- Simplistic Series 30 user interface
- Multi-phonebook feature – 5 separate phonebooks
- MP3 player with dedicated music keys
- Powerful loudspeaker
- microSD card slot (16GB supported, hot-swappable)
- Stereo FM radio
- 3.5mm audio jack
- Massive 43 days standby, 13 hours talk time
- Flashlight
- Very low price
Main disadvantages
- No quad-band connectivity for either SIM card; no data connectivity
- Rather limited music player functions; no RDS for the radio
- No smart dialing
- Miserable display (almost no such thing as a viewing angle for this one)
- No camera
- No Java apps
- No image gallery or file management of any kind
There may not be much else in terms of features, but the dedicated music keys and support for 16GB microSD cards make the Nokia X1-01 a good alternative to a dedicated MP3 player. Plug in the provided headset and the powerful loudspeaker turns the phone into a portable FM radio. Nokia claim the loudspeaker is the loudest they’ve ever produced.
There’s a built-in flashlight too, which will be appreciated by those inhabiting regions with unstable electricity and those who just enjoy camping. And don’t worry, the battery won’t run out of juice any time soon.
The Nokia X1-01 can’t offer luxury, but it makes up for it with bright, lively back covers an as-low-as-it-gets price tag and simplicity of use.
Calling with two SIM cards The phonebook on the Nokia X1-01 isn’t as powerful as the one on S40 models, but you still get plenty of functionality.
You can store up to 500 contacts in the phone with up to three numbers each, plus however many contacts you can fit on the two SIM cards (typically, 250 contacts per SIM, but may be more for newer SIMs).
Each contact has a default number (the one dialed when you just highlight the contact and hit the green key), you can also assign numbers to speed dial or to the list of screened numbers (calls from those are blocked).
There’s a search function in Contacts but no smart dial. Contacts can even be assigned “images” – not really images in the sense of photos, but more like one of the several pre-loaded icons.Contacts can be copied to/from phone memory and SIM cards (including between both SIMs) and that can be done one by one or in bulk. That means copying the phonebook from one SIM to another is quite easy.
The Nokia X1-01 can also splits its phonebook into 5. Each separate phonebook be named and has a different set on contacts (you can assign one contact to multiple phonebooks if you want to). That works only for contacts stored in the phone memory. Choosing “Shared contacts” as the current phonebook shows all contacts stored on the phone.
To make a call, you need to select which SIM the phone should use. You can set a default SIM, which will always be used for calls too, if you don’t want to be faced by the Choose SIM menu every time.
To bring up that menu manually, press and hold the * key. Selecting a default SIM for messages works the same way so you can have one SIM as default for calling and the other as default for texting. You can also toggle the standby mode – dual SIM, or either of the two SIMs (for lower power usage). Each SIM has its own ringtone.
The Nokia X1-01 can remember up to 5 SIMs – each SIM can have a name and an icon. This gives you easy at-a-glance info on which SIMs are currently inside the phone, no need to pop open the back and remove the battery just to check that.
In-call sound was loud and clear and the reception was solid – we didn’t experience any dropped calls. The only downside of the X1-01 is that both its GSM radios are dual-band only – the 900/1800 bands are pretty wide spread, but they don’t give you world-wide coverage.
Something to keep in mind is that if you’re in a call on one SIM card, incoming calls to the second SIM will get a message that your phone is switched off, rather than getting a “busy” message.
The C2-00 had a problem where the in-call sound would come out of the loudspeaker (quietly, but still) during a call (even though the loudspeaker was supposed to be off). It was an odd problem, which is not present in the Nokia X1-01.
source: http://mobilereviewspk.com/?p=1793