What do you want out of a night-out-on-the-town phone? Decent styling? Check. Shiny, show-off detail? Check. Lightweight? Check.
So far, so good. But the 7310 Supernova has another trick up its sleeve. Say you’re wearing dark blue tonight (strong, cool, meaning business).
Then the dark blue casing of the phone will match perfectly. But next time you may prefer a more playful look; bright green jumper to catch the eye (outgoing, confident, fun). No problem again, because there’s a wasabi green casing for the 7310 too. Without needing to buy another phone in the other colour, you simply slip one case off and another one on.
The Xpress-On cover was a Nokia innovation many years ago, which fell by the wayside as handsets got thinner. The phone comes with a spare case (although the one supplied in our review sample was pale pink, which may not convey the same feelings). Mind you, this feels much more a woman’s phone than a man’s, so maybe Nokia has got the colouring just right. Watch those nails
The casing, it should be noted, is not the easiest thing to swap and you’ll need to get used to the fixings if you want to swap them regularly. Still, it’s a cute function and having a spare cover is a good way to keep the phone looking fresh as it gets older.
This phone is budget-priced, so it’s no surprise that the feature list runs a bit cold after this. True, the design is fashion to its fingertips, even sparkling up the phone’s insides with crazy coloured patterns.
And the shiny screen looks compellingly like a mirror when it’s in standby; handy for checking make-up or if you did trim that annoying nose-hair properly. The keypad is designed to look good, but like the Nokia 6210 Navigator, the downside is keys that are a bit slippery for everyday use.
More serious is the camera, that’s just 2-megapixels and has no flash. Surely any good night out involves taking embarrassing pictures of friend and colleagues in dark corners? Without a flash their modesty is saved, but what’s the fun in that?
You can shoot video, but only in a resolution so low that even YouTube would laugh at you.
Nor was it likely that a phone like this was going to be packed with features, so there’s no 3G. If you want to check your email or get on the net (the excellent Opera Mini web browser is pre-installed), it’s at 2G speeds only.
At least there’s Bluetooth, so that’s a plus. It supports stereo sound too, so you can ditch the headset and listen to music without wires. You’ll need a microSD card for your tunes, mind, as internal memory is about enough for half an album.
The screen is good though, and the Series 40 user interface has come on leaps and bounds. The weight is low enough to mean you can plonk it in your pocket or, more likely, handbag and forget it’s there, while no 3G equals good battery life.
VERDICT
If your phone is too valuable, too sombre or too tatty to take out with you in the evening but you can’t keep swapping handsets, why not swap the cover and give it a new lease of life? The return of the Xpress-On cover is welcomed, although we’re not sure how many covers you’ll be able to buy for this phone – especially as you can only get it SIM-free for now.
It’s small, light and should have a long life because when it gets dirty; re-case it. The only problem is that it’s rather poorly specified, making its main selling point the changeable covers. If that floats your boat, then dive in.
Don’t be fooled by this phone’s model number. The original 6210 was an astonishingly successful business phone, but this is a completely different kettle of fish, with a colour screen, sliding form factor and GPS built-in.
A year ago, phones with GPS were rarer than hen’s teeth, so if you wanted to find your way you needed a top-end model like the Nokia N95 or something premium from HTC.
Now there are plenty that will guide you with the aid of GPS, but it’s still a difficult feature to implement successfully. The iPhone 3G scores highly because of its ease of use, while the Samsung i8510 grabs a satellite fix satisfyingly quickly.
But how does Nokia’s latest, a sequel to last year’s 6110 Navigator, fare? Last year’s model sat a little uneasily in the hand but worked okay. Its successor has a more stylish look, with gloss black replacing the silver framing, plus raised menu and clear keys that are easier to find than before.
The dedicated Navigator button is a raised cross-shaped key that is similarly accessible. The styling improvements have had a dietary effect; the 6210 is lighter than last year’s model, 117g instead of 125g, although you couldn’t describe it as Size Zero.
Unlike the first model, this one has Nokia’s own Maps application instead of Route 66 as the provider of navigation software.For the first six months, the GPS navigation licence is free. Unlike standalone systems, you have to accept an ongoing cost, but the upside is getting access to the latest maps without needing to pay an annual upgrade fee. Watching over you
The overhead maps are decent enough, showing nicely on the large screen, and a pedestrian mode suppresses one-way street information. A compass is handy for those of us who can’t tell north from east and works particularly well in pedestrian mode.
The camera is a decent 3.2 megapixel offering, with a LED flash and VGA resolution video capture. There’s Nokia’s de rigueur FM radio and also multimedia functions. All of this is thanks to the fact that it’s yet another model to use the Symbian operating system and Series 60. If you wish to enjoy its multimedia potential, or download maps in advance to save time (and money) downloading on the go, a microSD card is an essential additional purchase.
For surfing the net or getting your email, the phone supports HSDPA at speeds of up to 3.6Mbps. More than enough for most, considering higher speeds aren’t widespread yet.
As a S60 phone, it’s capable of doing more than just the functions it’s marketed for. Indeed, you can set up push email, run business applications, or buy some excellent games.
The keypad is smooth, but this does mean your thumb can slide from one key to the next a little too easily, yet this is a minor moan.
As a phone the 6210 Navigator is great, but it’s really only good as a personal navigator, and not a replacement to a standalone SatNav for car use.
VERDICT
Nokia’s 6210 Navigator may not be as big as the iconic phone from 2000 that shares its name, but it’s efficient and usable, as you’d expect from the Finnish giant. The handset is let down slightly by an average keypad. The satellite guidance is decent enough, thanks to Nokia’s excellent Maps software, but you will have to pay to use it for navigation beyond six-months.
The camera is decent, the music player is fine and it’s a reasonable, pocketable size. It’s a good navigation device, but one that’s best used on foot, not in the car. For driving, a standalone system is still best.
When Samsung signalled its intention to overtake Nokia and become the UK’s number one handset manufacturer, we didn’t realise they were going to use Nokia to make it happen!
The i8510 isn’t the first time Samsung has employed Nokia’s Series 60 user interface, but it’s by far the most impressive looking. Compared to the N96, the i8510 has everything except the DVB-H television receiver, which won’t even work here until the relevant licenses are issued. As this could be as far away as 2012, you won’t exactly miss it.
Samsung has produced the i8510 with 8GB or 16GB of storage. The latter matches the N96, while the additional microSD slot enables you to add a further 8GB, or 16GB in the near future. If you decide to add a card, it means you get a C: drive (internal memory), E: drive (8 or 16GB) and a further F: drive. The phone collates files automatically from all three locations, so you can fill every single byte with music and not have to change folders in the music player to access them.
It’s more likely you’ll want to use the storage for a range of things though. In addition to the Quick Office application that lets you view Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, you can also view PDFs and manage ZIP files. Or you could just use it for pictures and video. Samsung has packed the phone with the latest edition of RealPlayer, including support for DivX files and with the large 16-million colour display, it’s perfect for movies. The video camera will also record at 640×480 pixels (VGA) and can record in two slow-motion modes, like the LG Viewty, for super slow playback, Six Million Dollar Man style.
On the camera side, the phone has an 8-megapixel sensor. More pixels doesn’t always mean better pictures, but the camera really is something else. For more information about it, check the separate box below.
The build quality of the phone is excellent too. In fact, it’s a way of showing Nokia how a slider should be built. There’s no sideways movement on the slide, and that’s even after I managed to drop the phone no less than three times in the first week (tip; attach a strap to the phone as soon as you can). Besides a bit of chipped paint on one edge, it’s as good as new. Certainly a product to inspire confidence. Size 0 need not apply
Size wise, it’s no Ultra Edition. Of course, neither are any of the Nokia Nseries models that this competes with. It’s hard to make it small when there’s so much going on inside and users also want a large screen to enjoy the multimedia.
I’m glad Samsung wasn’t tempted to shave off a few millimetres by using a smaller battery. Instead, the battery is large enough to last a whole day, even when you’re picking it up every few minutes to play with it. Again, Nokia should look at this phone and take note.
There’s so much you can do with a S60 phone, but a lot of people never realise how many applications you can get.
With the i8510, Samsung has preinstalled a range of applications to get you going. These include Shozu, for sharing content with almost every online service known to man, like Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and most blog sites, plus a copy of Route 66 SatNav software. Maps must be purchased separately, so if you want to use the GPS receiver straight away, there’s Google Maps installed as well.
Amongst the other applications, including CNN, Yahoo! Go and two games (Asphalt3 and FIFA 08), the phone also has a Roadsync for hooking up to your Microsoft Exchange server for email.
The ordinary email client is rather basic, but the web browser is excellent. Featuring a full desktop view, the other trick up Samsung’s sleeve is the virtual mouse pointer. By gliding your finger over the D-pad, you can move a mouse pointer over links and scroll around with ease. This also extends to normal phone operation, but can be turned off if preferred.
The screen also rotates as you turn it, and because it’s part of the OS, this works on almost every application.
As long as you use a PC, the software is virtually identical to Nokia’s PC Suite, letting you back-up data, sync contacts, manage your content or hook the PC up to the net. With support for HSDPA at 7.2Mbps, and Wi-Fi 802.11b & g, it’s fully connected.
On the side is a 3.5mm headphone socket, which doubles up as the video out port. While the TV lead is extra (but the N95 one works fine), Samsung has bundled a pair of decent in-ear ‘phones. Or, you can pair up wirelessly using Bluetooth.
All things considered, this must be another five-star rated product? Well, not quite. The i8510 is undoubtedly the best S60 multimedia phone you’re going to get, but losing a signal too easily in poor coverage areas lets it down. I often saw ‘Limited service’, and if you’re travelling a lot, this could be a big problem.
If you’re mostly in a car, a car kit that supports the SIM Access Bluetooth profile will give you a separate transceiver and antenna, but when you’re on foot it’s something you need to bear in mind. However, the odd missed call might be a worthy compromise for having the ultimate all-rounder. The Camera
Higher pixel counts won’t always produce better pictures. With the need to keep the size down, smaller sensors are used that can struggle to let in enough light to produce decent images. This might not matter in perfect lighting conditions, but it can have a drastic effect on everything else. To compensate, noise reduction filters are used that gives softened images that lack impact.
This isn’t the case with the i8510, which works well in all conditions, although it can slightly over expose if you take extreme close ups with the super bright LED flash.
Besides the shutter lag you’ll need to get used to, the i8510 produces sharp photos that are comparable to a standalone digital camera.
The camera interface is also different to the one used by Nokia, introducing a wealth of cool features like face, smile and blink detection (photos can be taken automatically when the subject smiles), easy access shortcuts via the keypad and GPS geotagging.
There’s also an improved picture viewer and lots of video options including slow motion. Key features
3G + HSDPA + Wi-Fi
8-megapixel camera
8 or 16GB + microSD
Good
There’s too many good things to mention here; this is the ultimate multimedia powerhouse Bad
Signal reception can be an issue in weak coverage areas
VERDICT
If you’ve been looking to upgrade from your Nokia N95, it’s sensible to assume the N96 is your logical choice. However, ignore the i8510 at your peril. Not only does the specification list impress, but the quality and performance is exceptional; from the media player (with DivX support) to the pictures produced by its amazing camera.
Because it employs Nokia’s S60 user interface, it’s easy to use and work just like any Nseries phone. In fact, the only reason this isn’t a five star handset is because it can lose signal a little too quickly in rural areas. If you can live with that, this is the best S60 smartphone ever (at the time of writing!). RATINGS (OUT OF 5)
PERFORMANCE: 4FEATURES: 5USABILITY: 5OVERALL: 4
What do you want out of a night-out-on-the-town phone? Decent styling? Check. Shiny, show-off detail? Check. Lightweight? Check. 
