Nokia weren’t too generous with the variety of alternate colors for their products; at the same time, Samsung offered their handsets in multiple colors. Supernova series is remarkable for the numerous color variants in which the associated products come; bright and vivid coloring is favored. Pink and red colors have been popular among the phone designers for quite a while, but now green, yellow, brown and sky blue are coming into action, - previously used but on a rare occasion. The good old Xpress-On changeable panels are back again – that’s what exactly Supernova products make use of.

According to the statements of Nokia’s designers, the company will continue the use of changeable panels; these will become part of even the non-fashion panels. Currently the three senior Supernova models come each with two complementary panels making three in total with the main one originally installed on the phone. Product personalization is swiftly pulling up the company’s priority chart, becoming a point of great importance. In addition to the bright changeable colors of the casing, the consumer gets a lot of preinstalled interface themes and an unique option allowing for making up a custom theme based on a color scheme comprising colors obtained from a photo which was taken with the onboard camera moments earlier. In other words, you will be able to expand the assortment of themes to an almost unlimited extent with a few clicks of the camera and no complicated settings at all.

The 7210 and 7310 are two entry level Supernova devices which use a classical candy bar form factor, being in essence two alternative developments of the platform originally used in Nokia 6300. The two handsets will start selling in the closest future.

Nokia 7310 Supernova

A compact-sized, lightweight candy bar. The handset is 12 mm thick which seems to be an optimal value, which makes your hand feel comfortable when you hold the phone. The keypad could have been a bit handier: the buttons are poorly segmented, blind SMS typing is a harder task with this model, requiring a bit of skill. The screen and keypad are surrounded by a glossy, mirrorlike surface, which stands for lots of fingerprints in almost no time. All the angles are slightly rounded, which gives the design a reserved feel; Nokia are viewing the product as a unisex one.

The key feature of the model is the changeable panels. Each of the alternate colors also sports a unique texture. Looks unusual and fresh. Two extra panels are included in the sales package. It takes no pain and requires no specific skill to swap the panels. Every part except the keypad switches its color.

The star stickers are another bonus item shipped along with Supernova products. Frankly speaking, they make the phone look too gaudy and out of style. Probably that will attract an extra bit of a youth audience.

The quality of assembly is remarkably high; even given the removable nature of the panels, no part feels loose. The panels are tightly fitting, at least in a newly bought product. Numerous sources claim the presence of a 3.5 mm slot; that is simply untrue. The only headset slow that is available is a 2.5 mm one, common to the whole Supernova series. That’s the biggest difference from 5310, which is generally regarded to be the prototype from which the former evolved. In a manner similar to the case of 7610, we get a second variant exploiting the same base concept, echoing the story of 6500 slide and 5610.

The overall functionality is on an average level, being an adequate solution for its price. The weakest points are the mediocre camera and small-sized screen. A memory expansion slot is available, yet you can’t do the hot swapping – battery cover removal is necessary. The battery still can be kept in play, you don’t have to remove it to swap the cards. All in all, the handset appears to be a balanced solution, yet lacking any prominent features. After all, it’s perfectly suitable for the target audience and the associated market segment.

The software platform used is S40 5th revision, sporting the standard set of applications. The full specifications are as follows:

• GSM/GPRS/EDGE 900/1800/1900 MHz
• Screen: TFT, 2", QVGA, 320х240, 16M colors
• Camera: 2 Mp, 4x digital zoom, QCIF video (176x120), 15 fps
• 32 Mb of onboard memory
• micriSD memory card support (до 4GB)
• Bluetooth, microUSB, 2,5 mm Audio Video (AV) TV-out
• FM receiver with RDS, formats supported: MP3/AAC/AAC+/WMA/eAAC+
• Battery BL-4CT 860 mAh
• up to 4 hours of talktime or 300 hours of standby
• Measurements: 106,5х45,4х11,95 mm
• Weight: 83 g

As it was previously mentioned, 7310 will start selling in the coming weeks; the estimated price is 155 euros. The handset looks quite appealing, powered by the fashionable Supernova and Nokia brands, though produces an ambiguous impression viewed against the background of the 5310 and 6300 models. We forecast a moderate demand for the model ; nevertheless it’s going to assume a leading position in its native niche, outpacing comparable competitive products by other brands.

Nokia 7210 Supernova

The junior model in the series sports few differences from 7310, basically limited to a lack of extra panels in the sales box and a missing TV-out. The keypad isn’t too convenient; the buttons are way too flat. The model is also equipped with a QVGA screen contrary to the misinformation which has been circulating about the Web lately. The price difference from Nokia 7310 will amount to 30 euros, yet the senior model looks a much better choice for its price. The 7210 model will start selling a bit later, about August or September.

7210 is even lighter and smaller, the body is less than a centimeter thick, which is an achievement for a budget-class offer. If it hadn’t been for the clumsy keypad, the solution would have made a justified product variation; but that’s not the case to be. It simply goes missing in the shadow cast by its senior counterpart, and the small price difference is hardly justified. In our opinion, the model will enjoy a very limited popularity.

Author: Ilya Solovyov

SMAPE.com

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