Nokia 7310 Supernova Review: Cheap mid-tier handset with good features

Starting 2008, Nokia launched a new series, mostly targeting emerging markets, but also fans that could not afford the Eseries, or the more expensive Nseries devices. The new Supernova series of mobile phones is also a remake of the older devices that “amazed” Nokia fans thanks to their exchangeable covers. Almost all Supernova mobile phones are offered now with various exchangeable covers, which are meant to keep the owners interested for much longer. Even if based on mid-tech features, Supernova series devices are offered at lower prices, to attract as many potential buyers as possible. Nokia 7310 has been included in the first wave of Supernova devices, which were meant to test the handset market. Today, Nokia has 5 Supernova series mobile phones available on the market, which means that Nokia 7310 has had a certain amount of success since its debut.

Announced in June 2008, Nokia 7310 Supernova was made available on the market at the same time. The handset can be acquired for no more than US$180, 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.

Design

The candy-bar form factor is the one with the highest longevity through Nokia handsets, and the Finnish giant seems to have learned the secret recipe for its successful bar devices. For those interested in “history,” there are 2 candy-bar Supernovas, 2 sliders and 1 clamshell. Nokia 7310 Supernova can be easily included in the “classic” category in terms of design, as it doesn't stand out from the crowd because of its forms. The handset features the same “old school” bar form that Nokia took to the highest level of art. Still, without impressing too much at first glance, Nokia 7310 will eventually catch your eye only if you manage to stay with it a little longer. The device measures 106.5 x 45.4 x 12mm, and weighs 83g (including battery).

It feels good and fits perfectly in hand, while the construction is very balanced, even if it's made from cheap plastic. Users who aren't too careful with their phones may probably break it a few times, but, fortunately this one comes with an exchangeable cover. Nevertheless, the thing is that the supplementary cover is pink and, naturally, if you're not a girl, you'll surely dislike the color. Either way, let's get down to business and see what this phone has to offer in terms of design. Being a mid to low-end device has its advantages, so Nokia 7310 Supernova includes only a few external keys. Therefore, you'll only notice the dual-volume keys on the right side of the phone.

There's also a 2.5mm jack port on the top of the phone, together with a micro-USB port, whereas the charger port has been placed on the left part. The back cover of the phone is pretty thin, and made from a cheap plastic, as I have already noted above. Three loudspeakers are placed near the bottom of the back cover, and a 2 Megapixel camera on the upper part. However, this device also comes with some disadvantages, such as the lack of a dedicated camera button, and the hard to find memory card slot. The latter can be found under the back cover, so getting to it if you’re in a hurry can be a little bit hard. You can either power off the phone and pull out the back cover, or you can simply carefully take it out, so you won't move the battery.

The main attraction of the phone is undoubtedly the mirror effect of the display. Basically, the screen has been covered with a special plastic that mimics the mirror effect, pretty much like LG Shine and Sony Ericsson Z555i. The keypad has been also covered with the same plastic that simulates the mirror effect, but what's more important is that it’s not really a fingerprint magnet. Of course, it will be soiled and fingerprints will stand out, but only to a small degree. Otherwise, Nokia 7310 looks like an ordinary Nokia bar, neither too bad, nor all that great. The innovation comes in the form of exchangeable covers and the mirror effect of the small display.

Display and Camera

Besides the mirror-like effect, the 2-inch TFT screen supports 16 Million colors (24 bit color depth) and 240x320 pixel resolution. I wasn't too pleased with the quality of the imaging, but thankfully, it's readable under strong sunlight. As long as the phone is in standby mode, you'll only be able to see yourself reflected in the screen, as only after pushing a key, the display will actually be ready for use.

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. Nothing has really changed and you'll notice the same menus, submenus and icons, even the same animation.

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 both 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 also did not change, but you might want to use Opera Mini for faster and smoother browsing.

The phonebook can store up to 2,000 contacts, and each one 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 – Sudoku, Snake III and Backgammon. 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 yourself.

Communications

Nokia 7310 Supernova is fully compatible with GPRS Class 32 (88 kbps), HSCSD (57.6 kbps) EDGE Class 32 (296 / 177.6 kbps), but as benchmarks revealed, the device attained average scores in terms of data transfer speed (EDGE only 82 Kbit/s download and 49 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 don't forget to install the software that comes with the phone before.

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