The 2125i is a small Nokia model offered by Virgin Mobile and Bell Mobility in Canada. The model begged for comparison with the 6015i, which Virgin also sells. I never actually tested a 6015i, but it is apparently identical to the 6016i, which I did test and is available on Bell. Last Updated: 08-Nov-2005 |
Before reading this review, please read Some Thoughts on Phone Reviewing.
RF Performance
RF Sensitivity: Despite some serious flaws that I
have yet to get to, I could hardly complain about this specific aspect of the
phone. The RF sensitivity of the 2125i was nothing short of excellent, and even
slightly better than the 6016i. This makes the 2125i among the best CDMA phones
out there in this category.
Over-the-road Performance: The 2125i also shares all
of the other Nokia phones’ ability to provide almost faultless over-the-road
performance, especially compared to phones that use the Qualcomm chipset (which
is virtually every other CDMA phone out there that doesn’t have the name Nokia
on it).
Click on this link for a full description of
RF Performance, and how to interpret it.
Audio Performance
Tonal Balance: So with such a glowing review for
the phone’s RF prowess, this is where things totally fall to pieces. I can only
HOPE that the 2125i I had was faulty, because if it wasn’t then this phone has
the TINNIEST sound of any phone I’ve heard in ages. It sounds like I’m listening
to a super-cheap kid’s toy instead of a serious piece of electronic equipment.
Earpiece volume is quite acceptable, but you’ll probably keep it turned down
anyway to avoid the headache-inducing tonal quality from getting to you.
Sound Reproduction: As if tonal balance wasn’t bad
enough, the sound reproduction on the 2125i was dreadful. I’ve had my
reservations about other Nokia CDMA models, but they sound positively gorgeous
compared to the 2125i. As I noted above, I can only HOPE that the phone I tested
was faulty, because it’s hard to image that Nokia would let something like this
out of the factory.
Fortunately outgoing sound quality isn’t all that bad in a quiet environment.
However, when there is a lot of background noise (such as the food court over at
Square One) the overall sound quality of the outgoing audio degrades rapidly.
Unless you get a kick of out of punishing your callers, try not to use the 2125i
in noisy places.
Speakerphone: At last, an audio-related feature
that the 2125i actually does well. The speakerphone on the 2125i produces lots of
volume and it can be understood even in noisy environments. The tonal balance of
the speaker is decidedly tinny, like the earpiece, but it doesn’t seem to matter
as much under these circumstances. The microphone sensitivity is boosted
slightly in this mode, but that only serves to worsen the problem I noted above
with loud background noises.
Click on this link for a full description of
Audio Performance, and how to interpret it.
Support Features
Ringer Volume: Because the ringer uses the same
high-volume sounder as the speakerphone it is capable of very impressive
volumes. Like all phones that contain a number of musical ringtones however,
you’ll have to make sure you choose your rings carefully to get the maximum
effect from the sounder. Certain frequencies come out decidedly louder than
others.
Keypad Design: I didn’t like the all-in-one keypad
design at first, but I found that it had good tactile feel, and the slight
valleys between the keys (horizontally) actually made it possible to feel which
key I was pressing without having to look at the phone. I still had a small
problem with pressing two keys simultaneously, but as funky keypad designs go
however, this is probably one of the least annoying.
Display: There is only one word to describe the
display on this phone, and that’s TINY. It’s even smaller than the display on
the old Nokia 6190. The resolution of the display is
a mere 96 x 65 pixels, which also happens to be the same resolution as the
ancient 6190. However, I will agree that the text looks crisp (if colors are
properly chosen) and within the limited resolution it provides a surprising
amount of information with fairly handsome fonts. Nokia provides a way to
display photographs, but with so little pixels, don’t except to make out much in
the image.
Conclusions
If it weren’t for the simply horrible audio qualities of this phone, it would
actually be a fairly decent low-end model for Virgin and Bell. However, the 6015i provides
virtually all of the same features with vastly superior sound quality and a
larger screen (though admittedly with the same low resolution). The only thing that the 6015i doesn’t do as
well is the speakerphone.
If it were me having to decide to buy this phone, I wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot
pole. The sound quality is just SO ANNOYING that I don’t even consider it a
possibility, even if it came with lifetime free service.