Nokia X1-01 Dual SIM Music Phone Review



Here is the Fonearena review of the Nokia X1-1. This is Nokia’s first Dual SIM Music phone that comes with dual standby. The phone was announced in May, and it is now available in the market in four colors, Red, Ocean Blue, Dark Grey and white. We have the red colored one. This Music phone has speaker that can produce up to 106 phon of loudness and it runs on S30 OS.

Specifications of the phone

  • 1.8 inch (128 x 160 pixels ) 65,000 colours, TFT display
  • 16 mm thick and weighs 91.05 g
  • Dual SIM with dual standby
  • Expandable external memory up to 16 GB with MicroSD
  • 500 phone book entries and 250 SMS storage
  • Stereo FM radio and Music Player
  • 3.5mm audio jack
  • Dedicated music keys and torch
  • 1320 mAh Li-Ion battery with 786 min talk time, 43 days of standby and 36 h music playback

Hardware / Design

The design of the phone is unique with a curved look with the front part of the phone in black color and the the back part in red color. The phone is easy to grip and has a a 1.8 inch TFT display and a 4 row T9 keypad.


The name of the phone X1 is on the top left corner and the Nokia logo in the center, below the ear piece.

The menu keys are present below the display along with the call and end keys.There is a 4 way navigation key in the center. The Microphone is present at the bottom, below the keypad.

The dedicated music keys are on the left side to play / pause, move to previous and next tracks or radio stations.


The MicroSD card slot is on the right side that supports up to 16GB. It is hot swappable so that you can insert it while the phone is on without removing the back cover.

The 2mm Nokia charger connector slot, LED torch light and a 3.5mm audio jack are on the top


The back is glossy with the large speaker grill at the top and a Nokia logo below that.


When you open the back cover you can see the 1320 mAh BL-5J 3.7V battery. After you remove the battery there are two SIM card slots, SIM 1 slot on the left and the SIM 2 slot on the right.

Software

UI


This phone runs on S30, so it has minimal UI with the two SIM card signal status on the home screen. The SIM number is mentioned 1 and 2, but you could also give it a custom name from the settings. The time and date are displayed below that. There is a menu key that takes you to the Menu and a Go to key that gives quick access to the Music Player, FM Radio or any custom programs.

When you press the dial button, it show the recently dialed and received numbers and the power / end button is used to disconnect a call or power on or off the device. The power button can also be used to change the profile to silent, outdoor, power save mode etc. The 4 way Navi keys in the center can be used to get quick access to create message (Left Key), View Contacts, (Down Key), Open Calendar (Right Key) and Switch on LED Torch (Top Key).

The Menu is simple, and you can navigate between the different items with the navi key in the center.

Messaging and Contacts


The Messaging has several options such as create message, inbox, sent items, drafts, picture messages and deleted messages. It also has some of the other features that include distribution lists that can be used to send messages to a group, screened messages that lets you screen a incoming text message, and message counter that keeps a count of sent and received messages.

You can screen a contact after reading a message or manually enter the contact number  on home screen and add it to screen list. Once you do that, you will not get alerts when you receive message from that number. You can read those messages from the screened messages folder.

The contacts menu shows the stored numbers with name. You can also search a contact by name, add new contact or copy the contact from either SIM to the phone. It has Multi-Phonebook feature, so that you can maintain 5 separate phonebooks to store contacts. There is also speed dial that lets you call a person quickly from the home screen. The Contact screen is also present in this, and you will receive the call from the screened contacts but it will not ring.

Music Player and FM Radio


The Music Player shows the folder and the songs below them when you select all songs that can be accessed quickly from the top navi key in the music player. You can add the songs to favorites by pressing down navi button while the song is playing, to access it quickly and also set a song as ringtone. Right and left navi buttons could be used to adjust the volume since there is no volume rocker. There is always dedicated playback buttons to play / pause and move to next or previous track. Only MP3 format is supported.

Games and Apps


There are 3 games, Snake Xenzia which is the 3D version of good old Snake game, Sudoku and Music League. Nokia Life tools offer informative messages on topics such as agriculture, education and entertainment. Nokia Money lets you pay your bills, recharge prepaid and lots more. Nokia Money is available in select cities in India via select banks only.


There are also some common apps in the Extras menu such as Calendar, Alarm clock, Calculator, Converter, Spreadsheet, Countdown timer and Stop watch.

Verdict

Nokia X1-01 is a perfect phone for Music lovers with nice loud speaker and a 3.5mm audio jack that lets you plug-in your earphones. The MicroSD hot swap is nice option to switch memory cards easily. This doesn’t have GPRS / EDGE support, so if you are looking for browsing or downloading songs, you will be disappointed. The battery life is sufficient, and it lasts for more than 3 days on a single charge with average use like Music (Both on earphone and loud speaker), FM radio, few calls and text messages. The lack of volume rocker and SIM card hot swap are a bit disappointing. They could have added hot swap for at least single SIM card.But then another model C2-03 offers this feature. Priced at just under Rs.2000, the X1-01 is a good value for money Dual SIM Music phone.

Pros

  • Good Battery life
  • Excellent Loud Speaker
  • Message and Contact Screening Option
  • MicroSD Hot Swap
  • Dual Standy

Cons

  • No volume rocker
  • No SIM card Hot Swap
  • Only MP3 format support in Music Player

Author: Srivatsan Sridhar

Srivatsan Sridhar is a Mobile Technology Enthusiast who is passionate about Mobile phones and Mobile apps. He uses the phones he reviews as his main phone. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram