Nokia 8110 4G review

In the era of 5G phones, would you even consider getting a feature phone? Unless you live in an extremely remote place with completely no 4G connection or your work specifically requires you to use a feature phone for some reason, I can’t think of any good reason to do so. But what about 4G feature phones? I acquired and used a Nokia 8110 4G feature phone recently and here’s what I think about it.

Powering this banana phone is a modest Qualcomm Snapdragon 205 processor and just 4GB of internal eMMC storage. Ridiculous by today’s standard right? Well that’s the beauty of Kai OS that’s running this phone. A lightweight Linux-based OS targeted for feature phones in emerging markets. You get 4G and Wi-Fi connection on this phone which was one of the reasons I got this phone in the first place. But the truly main reason I got the 8110 is Whatsapp support. I got a kid in boarding school and letting him bring an iPhone to his dorm is a major security risk, not to mention specifically forbidden by the administration. So getting him use a feature phone albeit with 4G and Kai OS is the middle ground.

Apart from Whatsapp, Kai OS also supports a few other popular apps like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and a rudimentary version of Google Maps. While having those apps on this small phone is great, the user experience is a whole different thing altogether. With no virtual keyboard like ordinary smartphones, you do all your typing on the *gasp* numeric keypad. Needless to say, it’s not the best user experience for this day and age. It was acceptable 20 years ago but a real pain today. Imagine just typing a simple hello would require pressing the keypads 14 times. No wonder my kid begged me to switch back to the iPhone after a week.

Other than the horrible typing experience, watching content such as videos on YouTube is less than stellar. The screen is small and the quality is sub par to say the least. All those shortcomings add up, making it difficult for me to recommend this phone to anyone. And the price tag is not exactly cheap either for a phone with rather limited features, over 200 ringgit in the market. You can get a decent second hand entry level smartphone at that price or any of those cheap Android Go devices. There is simply no concrete reason to get the 8110 4G unless you have a propensity for self-torture.

If you think this semi-feature phone battery will last as long as traditional Nokia phones, you’re mistaken because they really did not last past a day of use despite the lightweight Kai OS. I suspect the main culprit is the battery-hungry 4G or Wi-Fi connection. In a nutshell, the 8110 is a good idea on paper but terrible in real-world use. I would definitely not recommend anyone to buy it.

Kindle Basic review

I like to consider myself a bookworm. At least I like to think that I love to read and try to find time in my busy schedule and life to read. Books are usually thick and heavy hence why I am reluctant to bring them anywhere much. They’re big and fill up space easily. So I thought an e-book reader would be a good idea for avid readers like me.





Torn between a Kindle and a Kubo, I decided to get a Kindle in the end. Yes, a Kubo, especially a refurbished unit is slightly cheaper than a Kindle but the latter trumps in quality and content. My unit was surprisingly, a brand new unit. The previous owner didn’t even take it out of the box yet. A brand new unit at secondhand price, almost too good to be true but it is true.







At a glance the Kindle Basic, like its namesake is just really basic. A rectangle slab with significant bezels all around especially the chin. There’s only one On/Off/Wake Up button and one micro USB charging port. The body is unmistakably plastic but it is also sturdy and really light.





After charging for the first time, it took me a while to figure out how to turn on the Kindle. Almost thought I got a dud unit. Fortunately it does turns on after a long press of the power button. The Kindle connects to Wi-Fi and I can sign in with my Amazon account to access the Kindle Store and buy/download books from there. I can also sync ebooks from my computer via the micro USB cable provided. Of course, I need to convert them to AZW file format first because it does not support other popular ebook file formats like epub or mobi. I use Calibre to sync files between my computer and the Kindle. And in case you didn’t know, Calibre can also be used to convert from all the popular ebook file formats to another. The Kindle Basic model comes with 4GB of space which may not sound a lot but when you consider that the ebooks are around 5-10MB in size in average, you’ve got plenty of space in there.

If you buy ebooks from the Kindle Store, they will be synced across all your Kindle devices and Kindle app on your phone. Transferred ebooks however are device-dependant. What I love the most about the Kindle is the Futura font. It just looks so nice and legible on the e-ink display of the Kindle. Sure there are other fonts available but I just love Futura the most. Reading on the Kindle is also a pleasant experience. I can swipe back and forth to turn the pages just like on a real book. If I need to find the meaning of any particular word, I can just highlight the word and long press to see the definition in the dictionary. The device is super lightweight compared to a physical book and the battery last for 2 weeks minimum even if you use it one to two hours every day.



The only downside of the Kindle Basic is that it does not have backlighting so you need proper lighting to read your ebook just like reading a real book. Reading on your bed in low light is not ideal. That’s why I got myself a little reading light to clip on my Kindle for the purpose. The Kindle Paperwhite or any of their more expensive models does have backlighting but they cost a lot more of course. Other than reading ebooks, this Kindle Basic features an experimental web browser app in case you’d like to do some light web-browsing on the device. Since its experimental, the browsing experience is rather poor and slow on the e-ink display. So unless you need to do some emergency web-browsing, you’d be better off using your phone or regular tablets. Oh one more thing, this Kindle Basic shows only monochrome display on its screen so no colour pictures for you.

For something that’s under 300 ringgit, the Kindle Basic is one of my best purchases in recent memory just for its usefulness. The fact that it weighs very little and is compact and slim compared to a paperback also explains why I like to carry it every where I go. I must admit, I still read on my Google Play Book app from time to time simply for the fact that it syncs across all my devices but for a fully immersive reading on my hands, nothing beats the Kindle.

2019 family update

Let us start with the newest member of the family, Asif Yusuf. At the time of writing he is now over 6 months old. Thankfully he has stopped crying a lot at night. He is still breastfeeding, fortunately. I don’t know how long that will last. Let’s hope his mother will continue to produce milk for as long as she can. Asif is now crawling on the floor all over the house which could be a concern sometimes. Other than that, he’s growing into a beautiful little boy.



Hana Alisha is now in standard three. How time flies. She has grown into this friendly and confident little girl. She is not shy making new friends at her new schools. Like at her old school, she was appointed as a prefect in this new school as well. I guess her teachers saw some leadership qualities in her. Or perhaps it is because she’s so warm and friendly to people. During weekends she attends a taekwando club at her school. At 9 years old, Hana is into Boboiboy, football and just recently basketball. I won’t be surprised if she finds a new interest next week.



Mia Ariana had a rather difficult time assimilating with her new friends at her new school. Maybe because she’s shy in nature and doesn’t readily warm up to new people, her classmates saw that as a sign of arrogance. But that was in the early days. Right now I can say she already found a few friends if not best friends to mingle around with. And like her little sister, Mia is finally selected as a prefect at her new school. She was quite down when she wasn’t selected to be one at SKTD so this is kind of a big deal for her. Academically, she’s doing okay. I mean there’s a noticeable gap in standard between her new school. And since she’ll be sitting for UPSR later this year, it is important that she improves her scores to get good marks for that exam. We are planning to send her to a boarding school so it is imperative that she get good grades.



Adam Farihin scored 8As and 1B in his recent PT3 exam. Honestly I did not expect him to do so well in that exam since they changed the exam format yet again for his batch. But when a number of his friends got straight As and he did not, you can see the disappointment in his face. Again I was not so concerned or let down if he didn’t do well in this exam because it is still early days. His next exam, SPM would carry much more weight because it will decide which university he’ll be accepted into and what course he can apply.

At 16 years old, Adam has grown into this skinny young lad. Not surprising since he likes to fast every other day and skip meals every now and then. After his intense relationship with his first girlfriend last year, Adam is now single again and I hope he’s not pressured into getting into another serious one. You’re still young lad, there’s ample time for you to find the one.



My wife Linda is doing quite well. Yes her daily schedule is quite busy, with the new baby, breastfeeding and all. There’s additional chores to do at home and while I do help out whenever I can, she occasionally grumble about being tired after a long day at work. Also, she got promoted last year at work, with a sweet raise in tow but that comes with added responsibility and workload. I hope her never-ending work load does not put too much pressure and stress on her.

Well what about me? I have ranted about my progress, plans and hopes on this blog post here. Life begin at 40? I do hope this year will be the beginning of better and good things. Amen to that.