(SPOT.ph) When you think of Nokia, you probably picture their 2000s-era mobile phones—an almost symbol of the times. Who can forget that week-long battery life, the near-unbreakable exterior, and the oh-so nostalgic Snake game? These days, Nokia has shifted their focus. Though they’ve still got phones on their gadget lineup, they’ve also made strides in the audio game. In March, they introduced their stylish E3100 wireless earbuds and the Internet totally swooned over the device's cute color-blocked designs. Now, they’re back with the E3101 Wireless Earbuds, which they dropped in early October. Much like the previous model, these buds boast a wallet-friendly price tag just under P2,000. But are they any good?
SPOT.ph Roadtest: A Comprehensive Review of the Nokia E3101 Wireless Earbuds
Nokia E3101 Wireless Earbuds: Fast Facts
Price: P1,999
Where to buy: Shopee, Lazada
Available colors: Black, White, Blue
Battery life: Five hours continuous playback, 20 hours total on the charging case
Charger input: USB-C
Nokia E3101 Wireless Earbuds: First Impressions and Initial Setup
In the E3101 box, you’ll find the earbuds, the charging case, and a USB-C charger, though no electric adapter was provided. We tried out the Black variant of the device, which sports a matte finish on the outer part of the casing while the earbuds and inner portion of the case are both glossy. We started out by charging the device to full power. According to Nokia, total charging time is about four hours—two for the earphones and another two for the case. It was a little less for us, but likely only because the earbuds already had a little bit of juice in them upon first unboxing.
Once charged, we connected the device to a smartphone—in this case, the iPhone 12—and the process was pretty intuitive for anyone who’s used a Bluetooth device before. All you have to do is hold down the button on the charging case to put the earbuds on pairing mode, and select "Nokia E3101" on your phone’s Bluetooth menu. You’ll hear a sound in your ears as soon as the device is successfully connected to your smartphone or whatever device you prefer. We later tried it out on a 2017 MacBook Retina and found the setup process just as easy.
On iPhone, the wireless earbuds automatically appear on the Battery widget, which you can put on your home screen if you’ve got iOS 14 or higher installed. That way, you can check with just a glance how much battery life is left in the earbuds. The case, on the other hand, has four lights on the front that indicate how much power it has left.
Nokia E3101 Wireless Earbuds: Listening Experience
To test out the Nokia E3101 Earbuds, we listened to a variety of musical genres and media. On first impression, the device delivers balanced, true-to-production quality. Don’t expect thumping bass tones or ultra-immersive sound, but you can count on the E3101 to play your tunes in the most straightforward way possible. At low to mid volume, the audio is just loud enough to casually listen to music, but may be too faint for those used to turning up their fave bangers to ear-splitting loudness. The good news is that the lower volume range is office- and public space-friendly—loud enough to keep you entertained, but not too loud as to keep you from hearing what’s going on around you.
We were pleased to find that even at the highest volume setting, the E3101 stayed as crisp and balanced as it did at the lower levels. You’ll have no problem with most modern pop songs and acoustic tracks as well as genres with more intense or instrument-heavy sounds like rap, EDM, heavy metal, punk rock, or whatever floats your musical boat. Luckily, we never noticed any cracking or graininess even at the highest volume. As far as the the quality of the stereo sound, we tested it out by blasting the cult-fave 2016 song "Hallucinations" by dvsn, an R&B track known for its mix of melancholy melodies and club-style thumps that quite palpably travel from ear to ear. We found that the separation and balance between left and right earbuds functioned pretty well, especially for the price range.
Note that for older tracks (particularly those that aren’t remastered or just don’t have well-preserved production) and in some cases, live tracks, the production may sound a little rougher. You should be mostly fine when listening on Spotify, Apple Music, and other well-known streaming sites, but should you encounter non-official song copies or recordings on sites like YouTube or SoundCloud, expect the audio to be a little rougher around the edges and possibly muddier.
If your main priority when listening to music is the lyrics—because what Pinoy doesn’t love to sing along to every song ever?—the Nokia E3101 doesn't disappoint. On everything from syllable-heavy, tongue twister-like tracks (think Eminem’s “Rap God”) to slow and powerful ballads like Adele’s “Easy on Me,” every word came through crystal clear.
But if instrumentation is more your thing, you may be somewhat disappointed as this is not usually the device’s strongest point. Though the sound comes through with clarity, it often lacks the depth and dynamic quality you’d expect from more expensive models. The result is that production or instrumentation can be a little muddy with the various musical elements in one song sometimes blending together instead of each being able to sharply shine as intended.
Nokia E3101 Wireless Earbuds: Touch Controls
While listening to music, you can move forward or backward in your playlist with the touch controls on the Nokia E3101 earbuds. Tap once on either earbud to pause, twice on the right to skip to the next song, and twice on the left to play the previous one. Pausing, playing, and moving between tracks was fairly smooth and worked with even light, careless taps. Note that each touch command causes the earbuds to create a soft beep sound, which may be bothersome to those who don’t like any interruptions while listening to albums or podcasts.
Nokia E3101 Wireless Earbuds: Microphone Quality
As far as calls go, we found the Nokia E3101 to provide pretty clear audio input and output both on phone calls and video calls. Don’t expect them to deliver the loudest possible sound to whoever you’re speaking to on the phone—which might be an issue for those taking calls in noisier spaces—but you can be sure that your voice won’t have that irritating grainy sound.
For audio recordings, we were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the earbuds: better than we expected, especially at this price range. Don’t expect condenser microphone-level recordings, but for voice messages, important interviews, and recorded Video calls, you should be just fine. We definitely noticed a significant improvement compared to the microphone quality of the previous E3100 model, particularly clearer sound and less grain in the recording. Plus, we found that a voice recording still came through pretty understandably even with some ambient noise in the background.
Conclusion: Should You Buy the Nokia E3101 Wireless Earbuds?
It should be pretty clear by now that the Nokia E3101 Wireless Earbuds are not the ideal pair for diehard audiophiles who pay attention to every little detail in the sound. Nor are they the right gadgets for meticulous musicians who need a good grasp on every vocal and instrumental detail a cut has to offer. We think they’re a fair option for casual listeners who just want balanced, reliable sound on their favorite songs. We’d argue that in this price range, the device is one of the safer and more reliable options out there. As far as all the basics in audio output and input go, beginners, budget shoppers, and casual listeners should have no problems with the E3101.
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Source: Spot PH
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