Good-looking mid-budget phone, but stay away if you're a heavy 'phone talker'

Jan 23, 2009 17:01 GMT  ·  By

Nokia's Supernova series continues to grow each year with various handsets usually targeting people looking for a stylish mid-budget mobile phone. The series already features five models, but other Supernovas are in the making, which will probably be seen on the market this year. While not the latest launched, Nokia 7210 can be considered one of the highlights of the series because of its design and price. If you're not used to see slim Nokia handsets, then you'll be surprised to check out Nokia 7210 Supernova.

Announced in June 2008, Nokia 7310 Supernova was made available on the market in September the same year. The handset can be acquired for no more than US$150, without any plan. Prices may vary by location and carrier, so chances are high that you'll be able to get it for under US$150. The phone is available in a wide range of colors: Bubble Gum Pink, Vivid Blue, Graphite, Passionate Purple.

Design

Nokia 7210 Supernova is one of the nice surprises coming from the Finnish handset manufacturer, in terms of design. If you're looking for a cheap, stylish and slim mobile phone, then this is one of the Nokia's I would recommend. I held in my hand the Bubble Gum Pink, but the pink color was only applied on the stripe that frames the devices and on the keys. The white/pink combination looks extremely cool for a girl. Still, there are other nice color combinations for you to decide upon. The phone is made of plastic, very well polished, nice to the touch, with no sense of cheapness. Even if it's not one of those under 10mm thickness handsets, its measures (106 x 45 x 10.6mm) make it one of the slimmest phones made by Nokia.

The candybar is also very light, weighing only 88.8g (including battery). There are few external keys placed on the sides of the phone to make it more appealing. Even if the lack of dedicated camera or volume keys will considerably lower its functionality, let's not forget that this is just a mid-budget mobile phone. Therefore, Nokia 7210 Supernova features only a small charger port on the left side, while the microUSB and 2.5mm jack ports are placed on top of the phone. There's also a small click button on top of the phone that enables users to pull out the back cover.
The 2 Megapixel camera can be found on the back of the phone, as well as the three loudspeakers. If you're wondering whether this phone features a microSD slot card, then the answer is 'Yes.' To be able to access it, you need to pull out the back cover and check the small slot on the upper part of the right side of the phone, right under the SIM slot. The keypad on the front is one of the main drawbacks of the device. The buttons look nice and are separated by a thin pink thumb. Unfortunately, they're very hard to press, no matter what you do.
There's no time limit that will make you get used to the keypad, as the keys simply won't budge when you want to text fast. The same goes for the big D-pad. Because of the compound used, the phone is protected against fingerprints and that includes the small display. Overall, Nokia 7210 Supernova looks solid enough to endure soft drops, but its solid construction won't save it from damage in case you intend to throw it on a wall.

Display and Camera

Nokia 7210 Supernova features a very small 2 inch TFT display, supporting 262k color and 240x320 pixel resolution. Besides its small size, I had trouble trying to distinguish something on the screen when outdoors in strong light. Sadly, the quality of the image displayed is well under the standards that Nokia usually offers to its customers. Browsing on such a small screen, almost unreadable under the sunlight, is another big issue of the handset.

  The 2 Megapixel camera lacks auto-focus and flash capabilities, but at least it can record videos. The maximum resolution available is 1600x1200 pixels for pictures and 176x144 pixels for movies (15 fps).
  Camera interface doesn't come up with anything new; it's pretty standard and straightforward. There are the usual settings such as Effects (False colors, Sepia, Greyscale, Negative, Solarise), White Balance (Daylight, Tungsten, Fluorescent), Landscape mode, Self-timer, Sounds. The camera lens is somewhat protected by the metallic plate that surrounds it.
The phone doesn't feature a dedicated camera button, so you'll have to use the big, hard to press, D-pad. Moreover, after getting some pictures, I was convinced that Nokia should've delivered the device without a camera module.
The pictures are simply horrible, and like that's not enough, it takes about 10 seconds to save one. This is one of the few phones to feature such low quality camera I have ever met; it's like the manufacturer didn't test it at all. So, the 2 Megapixel camera is definitely a “no go,” unless you are very patient and have the guts to shoot a few dull and full of noise pictures. Check out the samples below to see what I mean.

Menu and Software

Nokia 7310 Supernova classic runs on a S40 5th Edition interface with Feature Pack 1, which is the latest user-interface coming from Nokia. If you have owned a Nokia handset before and it didn't have a Symbian OS, then this candy-bar will probably feel the same. One of the most user-friendly interfaces on the market, the S40 seems unchanged on the surface, and offers the Nokia 7310 Supernova user an excellent experience. The phone's firmware include Flash 3.0, animated menus, submenus and icons.

Nokia's Series 40 5th Edition UI allows users to experience streaming videos, image rendering, mobile 3D graphics and scalable 2D Vector graphics. The Series 40 5th Edition also supports the latest version of Adobe's Flash Lite 2.1, the interoperable platform that enables the accelerated development and delivery of rich graphical mobile content, and includes audio file playback and streaming capabilities that provide audio and music enhancements to mobile gaming and multimedia experience.

The handset also includes some useful applications, such as Search, Alarm clock, Calendar, To-do list, Notes, Calculator, Countdown timer, World Clock and Stopwatch. The menu is fully customizable and you can designate any MP3, MIDI or AAC file as ringtone. Nokia's integrated browser has trouble in opening websites with rich image content, so I suggest using Opera Mini.

The phonebook can store up to 2,000 contacts, and each can be filled with up to five different phone numbers. The fonts can be customized, but only those displayed when opening Contacts, Web browser and messaging sections.

Also, some Java games come preinstalled – Bubble Bash, Seasweeper, Sudoku and Snake III. The phone is compatible with Java MIDP 2.1 applications, but there is a limit to the size of any application that you might want to install on the phone, and that's the usual 1MB. This might be the case for most Java compatible applications, but I noticed that I could run some files that were around 1.5MB in size. Nevertheless, not all Java applications will work on this mid-end device, so you might want to try that out for yourselves.

Communications

Nokia 7210 Supernova is fully compatible with GPRS and EDGE Class 32, but as benchmarks revealed, the device attained average scores in terms of data transfer speed (EDGE only 114 Kbit/s download and 57 Kbit/s upload), but that may greatly vary depending on the location and carrier.

The phone also features Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and EDR for faster data transfers. Synchronization with PC is possible through the proprietary microUSB port, but charging through USB cable is not available.
In terms of messaging, the phone accepts standard text messages, MMS (300 KB attachments), as well as emails. The message client works with POP3, SMTP, and IMAP4 protocols, and supports more than one email account.
The tri-band (GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900) network compatible candy-bar has a good GSM signal reception. The sound is above average in quality at both ends, and pretty loud. The vibration alert is somewhat good, but you might still miss some calls because of the slimness of the device.

Processor and Memory

Nokia 7210 Supernova isn't compatible with JBenchmark Pro, so I was forced to use the obsolete JBenchmark 1.0, 2.0, 3D and HD. Even if current devices are over-optimized against many of these old tests, I say that the results are pretty relevant if compared with other devices in its range.

Nokia 7210 Supernova is most likely powered by an ARM9 family processor running at speeds of up to 220 MHz. While not the fastest phone on the market, Nokia 7210 Supernova won't lag more than its class competitors when browsing through the menus.

The Nokia 7210 Supernova bar phone embeds 30MB user free internal memory, which can be expanded as the phone features a microSD slot card. The memory is hot-swappable, but you must pull out the back cover to notice the microSD slot card.

Officially, Nokia 7210 Supernova is compatible with 2GB microSD memory cards, but I tested it with 8GB cards and everything worked fine. This is one of the few positive things I have noticed.

Multimedia

I was surprised to discover a new Stereo headset for this Supernova model – WH-501, manufactured in Vietnam. The wired earpieces are white and sound pretty good. Unfortunately, there's no 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter included in the sales package, so you won't be able to change the headphones.

The bar features a cool integrated MP3 player, compatible with MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+ and WMA formats. The interface of the MP player looks nice and supports album animations, as well as some basic settings such as Equalizer, Stereo widening, Shuffle and Repeat. Equalizer can be customized, or you can use the predefined settings: Normal, Pop, Rock, Jazz and Classical.
Lack of music dedicated external keys can be replaced by a Bluetooth headset, as the phone supports the A2DP profile. The loudspeaker sound is average in intensity, but clearly lacks any sort of bass. There's also an FM radio with RDS function that can replace the music player. All three speakers placed on the back of the phone offer users the option to listen to music without headphones.

Battery

The 860 mAh Li-Ion (BL-4CT) battery has an officially stated life expectancy of 250 hours in standby and about two hours in talk time mode. If you're a heavy phone-talker, I don't recommend this phone at all. It will need daily or two-day charging for sure. This phone is only for soft usage. Sadly, the low talk time of the device will surely prevent many potential buyers from getting one.

Impressions

At first glance, I was thrilled by the 7210 Supernova look, but after using it for a while, I found out that its design is the only thing above average. Nokia 7210 Supernova is a phone made to target youngsters with a low-budget, looking for a trendy phone. If you're not one of these, then this handset is not for you.


The Good

The form factor and the design are definitely the strong points of the device. I could also enlist here the low price for such a good looking and slim phone. The fact that it supports 8GB microSD cards is a nice addition. The rest of its features are average to low, so I cannot add anything else.

The Bad

The main drawbacks of the phone are the keypad and camera module. Both perform badly, to the point of driving the user mad. The screen and the battery can also be listed as negative points.

Sales package

Nokia 7210 Supernova handset 860mAh Li-Ion Nokia Battery BL-4CT Nokia Compact Charger AC-3 Nokia Stereo Headset WH-501 User Guide.

 

 

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