It was the first GSM phone to use an ARM processor,[1] as well as the first running on Nokia's Series 20 user interface.

[2] The phone shared the same platform as the Nokia 5110 targeted at the consumer market; unlike the 5110, however, it had the advanced user interface with menu icons (it was the first phone with this new interface that would become the future standard), and featured an infra-red port (once again being Nokia's first phone with it).

It was also the first phone from Nokia to have the popular Snake game pre-installed.

Nokia 6190 is a version of the phone for the North American market, although the infra-red port was removed.

This was also known as the NK702 on the Orange UK network with a slightly different fascia, however the inside was identical.