It’s a boat! It’s a tank! It’s the physical description of the Nokia X100 budget phone

In my last post, I mentioned that I would provide a physical description of the Nokia X100, the budget phone I’m using to re-discover Android. As of this writing, T-Mobile offers the X100 for $252, however promotions can bring this price down even further.

When I first beheld the Nokia X100, my initial impression was one of solidity. This phone only weighs 7.65 Ounces, but somehow, it feels much heavier, possibly because of its aluminum construction. When I placed the phone on my desk, my immediate thought was that while empires may rise and fall, this phone will stay exactly where I put it, defying the forces of nature and time if need be.

The Nokia X100 display measures 6.7″ diagonally from corner to corner. In practical terms, this means that the display is larger than the decks of many cruise ships. A small aircraft could land on the X100’s display and easily have enough room to take off again. For those that are into specific measurements, the X100 measures 6.74″ long, by 3.14″ wide, by 0.36″ thick. I realize that phone size is a personal preference, but I find the X100 a bit too large for my liking: I often carry a phone in my pocket and use it one-handed, both of which are tricky to do with a device of this size. That said, if you prefer a larger screen, you will not be disappointed. Speaking of the display, the Nokia boasts a Max Vision HD+ display. I have no idea what that means, but it’s a highlighted feature, so obviously it must be important. 🙂

I absolutely love the way controls and ports are laid out on the Nokia. Along the right-hand edge is a volume control and also a slightly recessed button which serves as the lock/unlock/power button and integrated fingerprint sensor. Having the fingerprint sensor integrated directly into the lock button makes total sense to me since you have to touch that button to unlock the device anyway, why not have it read and verify the fingerprint at the same time? I don’t know what company was the first to integrate the fingerprint sensor into the lock button, my first introduction to this bit of awesome was with Apple’s iPad Air 4TH generation and ever since then, I’ve been wondering why more companies aren’t doing this; that Nokia and other Android manufacturers are doing this fills me with much joy. As a quick aside, many Android devices still have fingerprint sensors. For me, this is a major advantage because while I have learned to live with Apple’s Face ID, I have not learned to like it. Back to the X100: the right-hand side has the volume control and the power/lock/fingerprint sensor and that’s it. Along the bottom edge of the device are a speaker, a microphone, a USBC port, and a headphone jack. That’s right, in an era when most devices have done away with the headphone jack, the X100 still makes one available; it’s like coming home to an old friend. Along the left-hand edge of the X100 is a single button, a dedicated button to activate the Google Assistant. At first, I found it a bit disappointing that this button couldn’t be reassigned to some other application or function, but as I realized just how much I could actually do with the Google Assistant, I’ve come to appreciate having a dedicated button to activate it. There are no controls along the top edge, just solid aluminum, probably thick enough to come in handy during those times when you need to break your way through an ice jam, or hammer stone from a quarry. The back of the device is relatively flat with the only prominent feature being a slightly raised circular glass housing which contains the 48MP Quad Camera System.

One aspect of the 100 that I absolutely cannot fault is its battery life. I have tried and tried and tried to drain its battery and yet usually I’m the one who winds up drained and needing to recharge. According to the T-Mobile spec page, the X100 has a 4470 mA battery capable of delivering “up to 2-day battery life”. More specifically, they claim 25 hours of talk time and 39 days, (yeah, days), of standby time. I haven’t experienced this much battery life in a mobile device since, well since the last time I owned a Nokia back in 2005. Having enough battery power to get through my day has been a real challenge, often requiring me to bring along an external battery pack if I’m away from home for any length of time. With my not quite two-year-old iPhone 12 Mini, the low battery conversation goes something like this.

Phone, “Hey, alert! 20% battery remaining.”

Me, “OK, hang on, let me get your charger.”

Phone, “Hurry up, I was just kidding about that 20%, it’s actually more like 15% now.”

Me, “Seriously? How? It’s only been like five minutes since you told me you were at 20%.”

Phone, “Yeah I know, I just figured you could use some false hope in your day. 10% now by the way.”

I should note that I’ve been trying to get Apple to replace my iPhone’s battery, but apparently, it hasn’t lost enough total capacity yet. Put another way, I just haven’t suffered enough.

In contrast, the low battery experience with the Nokia is very different:

Phone, “Hey, just thought I’d let you know, my battery is at 20%.”

Me, “Oh shoot, I have a bunch of Apple chargers around, where the heck did I leave the USBC charger?”

Phone, “Hey, don’t stress, you can take the next day or two to find it, I mean any time this week is probably fine.”

There’s nothing more frustrating than running low on battery power and the idea of having a device that can get me through my day, while having enough battery left over to possibly power a small village, is a definite win.

There’s a few more aspects and specifications of the X100 that I should call out. First the processor, the X100 has a Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 480. This is hardly the newest or fastest processor available on Android devices, but given the price point of this phone, it seems more than adequate. My usage and testing has admittedly been limited thus far, but I have not encountered any significant issues attributable to this processor. Another thing worth mentioning is that the X100 is a 5G phone meaning that the device can function on the latest mobile networks. More specifically, the X100 supports the following frequencies and bands — don’t worry if you don’t know what these numbers mean, basically, the phone works on a bunch of different networks in a bunch of different countries, with a bunch of different providers: GSM: 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz; UMTS: Band I (2100), Band II (1900), Band IV (1700/2100), Band V (850), Band VIII (900); 5G: n25, n26, n66, n71; LTE: 2, 4, 5, 12, 25, 26, 41, 66, 71; LTE Roaming: 1, 3, 7, 8, 13, 20, 38, 39, 40

Regarding memory, it is possible to expand the 128 GB of built-in memory storage with the use of a memory card, it’s possible to expand storage to 1 TB according to T-Mobile’s specifications. I don’t anticipate needing more storage than the built-in 128 GB, but it’s nice to know I have the option to add additional storage if I’m wrong.

I’m really pleased with the Nokia X100. While I personally prefer smaller devices, the X100 is a very solid phone at an extremely attractive price point. The X100 may not have all the bells and whistles found in higher priced Android devices, but when it comes to getting stuff done, the X100 seems more than up to the task.