Engaging with Communications

Nokia 8110 / 8110i

Released in 1996

Network = GSM 900MHz

Weight = 151 g

Dimensions = 141mm x 48mm x 25mm

Battery Life = 300 mins talk time and 9000 mins standby

The Nokia 8110 (Nokia firmware code NHE-6BX) was released in 1996 and was Nokia's first slide form factor mobile whereby a sliding cover protected the keypad and was moved downwards to give access to the keys and to bring the microphone closer to your mouth. Nokia claimed that it was the first mobile to be uniquely designed to fit the contour of the human face. Consequently, the side profile of the mobile had a distinctive curved appearance which became more prominent when the slide was opened thereby earning it the nickname of a banana phone.

In order to address a broader international marker, the Nokia 8110 was one of the first Nokia mobiles to feature the Asian language in addition to English. Based on the Nokia 3110 (see separate entry), the Nokia 8110 was also the first Nokia mobile with a dot matrix full graphic display that changed the text size automatically for easy viewing. The phone book stored telephone numbers and associated names either in the phone's memory where 125 entries could be stored or on the SIM card where a further 199 entries could be stored. Call registers recorded the most recent 10 dialled, missed and received calls and there was a choice of 16 pre-loaded ring tones.

The upgraded Nokia 8110i model (Nokia firmware code NHE-6BM) was released in early 1997 and was the first mobile to support Nokia's Smart Messaging which offered access to a wide range of new applications, information services and the Internet via the Nokia Netgate web viewer. This technology was in effect a precursor to the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and was subsequently discontinued by Nokia in favour of the widespread adoption of WAP. It was also the first Nokia mobile to support downloadable ring tones.

However, the Nokia 8110i is probably best known as the Matrix phone after it was used by Neo in the 1999 feature film, The Matrix. In fact the version of the Nokia 8110i used in that film was slightly modified to include a sprung loaded slider; a feature that would later be incorporated in the Nokia 7110.

Both models are shown here; the Nokia 8110 has its slider closed whereas the Nokia 8110i is shown with its slider open.