Engaging with Communications

Nokia 5146

Released in 1998

Network = GSM 1800MHz

Weight = 170 g

Dimensions = 132mm x 47mm x 31mm

Battery Life = 180 mins talk time and 3600 mins standby

The Nokia 5146 (Nokia firmware code NSK-1NX) was a version of the Nokia 5110 released in 1998 for use on the Mercury one2one network. Apart from this one difference, it had the same specification as the Nokia 5110.

Nokia introduced the 5100 series of handportable phones at the CeBIT 1998 exhibition in Hannover, Germany. With the 5100 series Nokia recognised that the mobile phone was becoming a fashion item that people wanted to personalise and so introduced the concept of Xpress-on interchangeable covers. The Nokia marketing campaign stated that now you could match your Nokia mobile phone with almost any clothing, style and occasion. Initially a simple colour range was available but the concept of changing your mobile cover soon grew to become a standard feature of mobiles and a major business with an enormous range of designs becoming available.

Its screen was a monochrome graphical one that could display 5 lines. Menu access was facilitated through Nokia's Navi key feature that was first introduced in the Nokia 3110. The phone book could store telephone numbers and associated names within the SIM card memory which allowed for up to a maximum of 250 entries. Speed dialling was provided on nine entries using the keypad keys 1 to 9. Call logs recorded the duration of calls and the last five missed and received calls and the last eight dialled calls. It also included a calculator, clock with alarm and a selection of ring tones.

The Nokia 5146 has another important feature in common with the Nokia 5110 and that was the introduction of the mobile version of the popular computer game, Snake. This game went on to become an enormous success and many have claimed, kick started the whole mobile gaming industry. Nokia introduced two other games at the same time and these too were included on the Nokia 5110; these were Memory and Logic.