- Model: 5180i
Product Details
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Product Description
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The Nokia 5180i is a handset offered by TracFone, a leading national prepaid service provider. The 5180i, matched with TracFone's simple and hassle-free service, is a convenient way to own a cell phone without contracts, credit checks, security deposits, monthly bills, or age restrictions.
The 5180i is a lightweight personal phone with impressive talk and standby time that's loaded with classic, simple-to-learn features. Its changeable faceplates, 30 different ringers (and room for 5 downloadable tones), and an expansive world of accessories, makes the 5180 a fun, general-purpose phone. And with predictive T9 text input, wireless business card and e-mail capabilities, Nokia has created a more competent business communications tool (although they have yet to introduce a Web-enabled phone).
Weighing in at 6.2 ounces (including battery), the 5180i measures 5.2 inches high, 1.85 inches wide, and 1.2 inches deep, not counting a stubby antenna that extends another 0.7 inches. As a moderate-weight, midsize phone, the 5180 is highly portable. It's also extremely rugged in typical mobile phone environments--including being thrown into bags and cases and occasionally dropped on the ground.
Four buttons handle most of the menu navigation: a hefty button in the middle that Nokia calls the Navi key, up and down arrow buttons that control volume during calls, and a key marked "C" for "clear." Menu navigation is very intuitive. If you tap the Navi key, the first of a series of graphical menu items pops up. Hit the Navi key again to drill down to options within the menu or tap the up or down arrow keys to choose a different menu. The top-level menu choices are phone book, messages (SMS and voice mail alerts), call log, settings (for calls, phone, and security), system, games (Memory, Snake, and Logic), clock, tones, and keypad lock. The brightly backlit display works well with the control keys to simplify finding and making choices. In text mode, five 16-character lines are displayed.
If you like distinctive ringing tones, you'll be satiated with the 5180, which lets you select from 30 preprogrammed tones. You can also download an additional five ringer tones from your service provider's website, if applicable. And while there's no internal vibration mode, an optional vibrating battery is available. You also can store electronic business cards in your phone book. Any friend or associate can forward their name, number and e-mail to your phone, and you can automatically store their information with some deft menu navigation.
One caveat worth mentioning: Not all faceplates work with the 5180i phone. Nokia-brand faceplates will work, but faceplates from other manufacturers will not fit the 5180i. Although this is a 5100-series phone, the keypad is a unique size, and it does not accommodate other manufacturer's faceplates.
The Nokia 5180i has the usual array of standard call and messaging features. If supported by your carrier, you can use this phone with caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding, and voice mail alerts. A call history maintains the last 10 dialed numbers, 10 most recently received calls, and 10 missed calls. The phone supports two-way SMS text messaging, but is not WAP- or Internet-enabled.
The 5180i offers four basic security features: An initial security code, keypad lock, call-restriction modes, and a lock code that can activate or deactivate memory and menu options. One nice thing about the lock-code feature is you can store numbers in a secret unlocked location, which will allow you to make calls even if the phone is locked.
The 5180i's NiMH battery is rated to last up to 180 minutes of digital talk time and 200 hours of digital standby time. In our testing, we achieved 180 minutes of digital talk time and over 225 hours of digital standby time.
Overall, Nokia's 5180i is a noteworthy addition to their 5100-series phones. Choose your favorite faceplate color and ringer tone and shock the world!
--Brown Consulting Associates
Pros:
- Airtime balance display
- Inexpensive prepaid option
- Easy activation
Cons:
- Lacks standard vibration mode
How We Tested Battery-Talk/Standby Time
When reading our reviews, you should view the test results of mobile-phone battery talk time and standby time as relative information only. Many variables, including carrier signal strength at your location, signal consistency (including incoming and outgoing calls), display and ringer settings, and battery charging methods and history, will affect performance. When handset manufacturers and mobile phone carriers list talk-time and standby-time ratings, they usually include disclaimers about variable performance and often refer to the times they publish as maximum times. Some quote expected battery life ranges, and in this case you're probably safe to assume you'll experience at least the minimum rated range. Note that manufacturers of dual-mode digital and analog handsets publish battery-life rates for both digital and analog modes, as analog mode consumes much more power than digital mode.
Our Tests: We tested digital-mode talk and standby times with each phone. Prior to each test, we fully charged the phone's battery according to the manufacturer's directions. To test digital-phone talk time, we turned the phone on, established a digital carrier signal, dialed a number in our test lab, and, when the call rang through, took the receiving phone's handset off the hook. When all went well, we didn't do anything else except record the time when the phone died. In a couple of cases, the phones lost the signal and dropped the calls. If we were right there and could redial, we did so immediately and continued running the test. Otherwise, we halted the test, recharged the battery, and started the test over. Assuming consistent carrier-signal strength, this test should represent best-case talk time. And it's worth noting that several phones' talk-time performance significantly exceeded the manufacturers' ratings.
To test digital-phone standby time, we turned the phone on, established a carrier signal, and left the phone in standby mode. We checked the phone every few hours (for what was often days on end) until the phone finally cut out. Since no outgoing or incoming calls occurred during testing and because the phone was not moved, this method should represent best-case standby time, again assuming consistent carrier signal strength.
Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good but has some problems,
By A Customer
This review is from: Nokia 5180i TracFone Prepaid Cell Phone with 10 FREE MINUTES (Electronics)
Have had my TracFone for a couple weeks now. Set-up on the internet was no problem and did receive the extra minutes for doing so. Find the phone to be a bit on the heavy side and bulky. Does not fit in a pocket very well unless wearing a jacket. Battery charge does not last the 250 hours on stand-by as the Nokia book states it should. Get about 48 at most in a digital area.Potential buyers may be warned that TracFone "piggy-backs" with different carriers across the US. My local carrier is Verizon Digital. The Nokia Phone features such as voice mail indicator and text messaging do not work in my service area. As I purchased the phone to free up my land line for job hunting, the voice mail indicator is important to me. Have missed calls not having this feature. Had to call the outsourced customer service in India many times before they finally admitted text messaging and voice mail indication is not offered by Verizon in my area. If you do not like using the outsourced customer service reps, and are still having problems, ask them for the customer service number in Miami. I just wish they would be more truthful to customers about what services are offered by their various carriers. One last thing, beware your unused pre-paid units are not refundable.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Little Personal Customer Service: Buyer Beware.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Nokia 5180i TracFone Prepaid Cell Phone with 10 FREE MINUTES (Electronics)
I received a new Tracfone as a Christmas gift from my husband. We attempted to activate the phone for 10 days. We used the internet site, it was down. We tried the phone contact, it was down with heavy traffic, or involved a long wait. We kept waiting. Email contact netted a standard computer reply after 4 days from the initial inquiry directing us to use the company website. We continued to call and call the 800 number. We finally reached someone after 5 days and supposedly our phone was to be activated. It didn't activate properly. Again we contacted customer service and were told our phone was "used". Next we received a shuffle around through various managers. They finally stated we would need to reactivate and wait another 24-48 hours. We'd also have to eat 6 days of service because they stated our contract would be up one year from the initial phone contact even though we've had no service. Don't waste your time or money. We're trying to return our phone (didn't get to use it), although if you buy a prepaid card, they are nonrefundable. Our lesson learned, prepaid services may provide a phone but stick you with no service.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect for us,
By Kelly Oliver (Connecticut) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Nokia 5180i TracFone Prepaid Cell Phone with 10 FREE MINUTES (Electronics)
My husband and I have had Tracfones for about one year. It is a perfect plan for us, as neither of us enjoys talking on the phone very much and had no desire for another monthly bill. The Tracfone is ideal as long as you promise yourself you won't use it to make those "So, I'm here in the aisle at Wal-Mart ... what are you doing?" calls.My complaints are that the live customer service is AWFUL, but fortunately you can do pretty much everything on the website, and that the voicemail feature is impossible to figure out.
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