Nokia 110 4G review: a cheap burner phone with a battery that lasts for weeks

Feature phones are like the phones most people used to have in the early 2000s. They can access the internet, and may even be able to run specific apps like Facebook… but their online use is very limited. They're primarily designed for making phone calls and sending texts. 

The Nokia 110 4G is one of the cheapest around, offering a modern take on the classic feature phone at a very affordable price.

As a company, Nokia sold off its phone division years ago. HMD Global has continued to make Nokia-branded phones, though, and the 110 4G is one of many on the market today. It serves several distinct audiences: digital minimalists attempting to reduce screen time, elderly users who prefer physical buttons to touchscreens, and those wanting a cheap backup phone.  

After spending a few weeks with the Nokia 110 4G, I've got a clear understanding of its strengths and limitations. Read on to find out what I learned.

Nokia 110 4G: Specifications

Nokia 110 4G: Pricing and availability

The Nokia 110 4G retails for approximately $40 USD / £30 GB / AU$60, making it very cheap, even compared with other feature phones. At the same time, the price feels appropriate given its limited capabilities.

Nokia 110 4G: Build and handling

This small and basic phone immediately impressed me with its solid construction and rectangular design, which is quite distinctively retro. It's very small (121.5 x 50 x 14.4mm) and very light (94.5g), making it hugely portable and able to fit into the slimmest of pockets. This phone felt good in the hand. The textured plastic back provides excellent grip, and while plasticky, its overall design feels sturdy enough to withstand daily wear and tear.

To be frank, I wasn't so keen on the tiny 1.8-inch screen, which is significantly less nice to use than the 2.8-inch screens of the Nokia 225 4G and Nokia 3310. Then again, if you're digital detoxing and want to spend less time staring at a screen, perhaps the smaller and nastier, the better.

I found the physical keypad well-designed, with decent sized, nicely spaced buttons offering satisfying tactile feedback. The T9 predictive text input works efficiently, and the navigation experience felt intuitive. The direction pad is responsive, and the menu system is straightforward to navigate. Like most feature phones, though, the buttons are quite small and fiddly, so I wouldn't recommend this handset for a frail and elderly family member.

There's also a charging port (micro USB) on the bottom, and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top, both of which did their jobs well.

Nokia 110 4G: Performance

In real-world usage, I found voices calls to be very good quality, with clear audio and good volume levels. The HD voice support makes a noticeable difference on compatible networks, and the speaker is surprisingly loud and clear for such a small, cheap device. 

As is typical for a feature phone, I found battery life to be exceptional, easily lasting three to four days with regular use for calls and texts. With minimal usage, it stretched to nearly a week between charges; a refreshing change from modern smartphones.

The 4G connectivity allowed for basic tasks like sending MMS messages and light web browsing. Text messaging works reliably, though the lack of conversation threading (organising messages by contact) feels outdated. The Opera Mini browser handles simple websites, but complex modern sites can be very challenging to navigate on the small screen. 

As expected, though, more involved stuff like streaming video on YouTube, ordering stuff on Uber or Just Eat, using GPS, or even scanning a QR code, isn't possible on this device. Another limitation is the absence of Wi-Fi hotspot functionality, which would have been useful for occasional tethering to other devices. Again, though, if you want a dumbphone in order to digitally detox, you'll consider these restrictions a bug, not a feature. 

One thing you can do is listen to music, in a couple of ways. The included FM radio functions well, with the ability to work without headphones connected (though reception improves with them). The MP3 player is basic but functional, supporting playback from microSD storage. Note, though, that there are no physical volume controls, so you have to do that within the interface, which I found fiddly and awkward.  You also get a lot of little in-built apps including a voice recorder, some simple games, including Snake, a calculator, a calendar and a small torch.

Nokia 110 4G: Photography

The camera on this phone is extremely limited. It doesn't offer video, and with stills, the picture quality is as poor as you'd expect from a 0.3MP sensor. It's even bad for a cheap feature phone. The shots I captured were noticeably smaller and grubbier than those of the Nokia 225 4G and Nokia 6310, for example. 

Those cameras aren't great either, but they are a tiny bit better so you can at least use them for reference photos. With the Nokia 110 4G, though, photos I took of text such as the one below were unreadable. Also, unlike said rivals, this phone doesn't let you shoot video at all.

Another thing I hadn't really anticipated was how difficult it is to share pictures I'd taken with other people. That's something that didn't really bother me when I used a dumbphone back in the late 90s, but nowadays it's something we're so used to doing on our smartphones, it really hurts. Then again, the pictures are so bad, then you probably won't want to.

Nokia 110 4G: Verdict

The Nokia 110 4G succeeds admirably at its core purpose: providing reliable voice and text messaging in a simple, durable and light phone... all at a very low price. For those seeking a digital detox, or anyone wanting a dependable backup phone, it offers excellent value. 

Just don't expect anything more, and especially don't expect the camera to take usable photos. For a little more money, you can get a Nokia 225 4G or a Nokia 6310, both of which offer slightly nicer screens, slightly better photos and the ability to shoot low-res video.

Check out our guides to the best burners phones and the best dumbphones for alternatives to the Nokia 110 4G