Nokias new Babe (Nokia 7210)

Member Name: Bazza1603

Product:	Nokia 7210
Date:	15/10/02 (6423 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: New look willl stand out, but only for the time being, Triband

Disadvantages: Expensive, Key spacing is weird, Will become as common as 3310/30

See www.foneseller.co.uk for the best deals including Pay and Go Video Phones for only £49.99. Also Nokia 6100 on T Mobile only £14.99 and then £13.99 a month for 750 off peak and 50 SMS

I came across the new Nokia 7210 while our IT manager was evaluating them as a replacement for our company phones. I know that?s it been released for general sale this week so I will give my first impressions of Nokia latest handset to help people make there mind up.

Prices.
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Try £370 plus for a handset only or £255 on an o2 lower user package Leisure time 500. Whichever you go for its going to hurt your wallet and badly at that. Most top of the range phones retail at under a £100 on a contract at the moment, so this model will stay out of reach of most of the general public until the prices drop to a more realistic level hopefully before Christmas.


What about the phone?
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With such a hefty price tag, will the phone has got to be up to the job and meet expectations? Firstly I am impressed with the colour screen which is far better than that of a Sony Ericsson T68 series. The phone is also is in a very funky red-orange. The phone will be released in three colours: - Blue, Orange and Brown, but as with most of the Nokia range the covers are interchangeable so replacements should be available from around the £20 mark. This is handy if you scratch the phone, so that it can be cheaply made to look like a new phone again with a new cover. You will also be able to buy a lovely Newcastle United cover!

The phone itself is slightly bigger than the Nokia 8310 and is very light and comfortable to hold. The buttons do take a bit of getting used to when dialling, as they are not set out like a normal mobile. There is a four-wheel dial button, which is actually split into two buttons. One moves down and left and right. The top one moves up only. I find the joystick on my personal T68I better and easie
r to use. I found myself not misdialling, but having to watch which numbers I pressed. I think that unti
l
I got use to the keyboard set up I would be unable to dial quickly without dialling inc

orrectly. I also found because of the keys I had problems sending text messages ?again however with time I believe I would master them.

One big advantage is that this model is a Triband model so you can use the phone in USA and Canada. The Nokia 6310I was also triband but this handset is aimed at the business market. So as long as you ring your network provider about 2 weeks before travel you will be able to use your phone abroad. This phone also works on Dual bands as well which is handy for many other places in the world that have a good mobile telecom network. This is welcome development in my eyes, as being able to use the phone in America will be a big bonus because I always managed to get stung for expensive calls from Hotels I stay in.

The phone also has a built in hands free speaker phone. I don?t like using handsfree kits, but I did feel more comfortable using this. Quality was clear and acceptable, but is not anywhere as near as good as talking into the headset. If there is background noise this can have a big effect on sound quality This may appeal to people that are worried about the effects of radiation that mobiles give off, as it means the phone is not being used close to your head.

The phone also uses polyphonic ringtones, which allow you to download near music quality music. Ring tone quality is now greatly improved and sounds life like as the sound is played out via a speaker. This phone also uses Java, which will let you download better quality games that were previously available for mobile users. I hope my boss wont mind when the calls don?t get answered, as I will be playing games!

Battery life is meant to be good at over 9 days in standby mode and over 4 hours talk time. I cannot confirm this as ou
r phone was only charged twice, but was not lasting anywhere near that perhaps because of the attention it wa
s getti
ng from me!. However the battery will not hold full charge until charged a
nd fu
lly discharged a couple of times.

One thing we did not like is the lack of Bluetooth technology. Bluetooth allows 2 devices to communicate with each other within a 10-metre range without cables. Bluetooth equipment is expensive, but is worth it for the business user.
As with all of the Nokia models we did not find any problems with reception or call quality. One small complaint is that the sound volume couldn?t be turned up high enough.


Conclusion
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It?s a nice phone which is more advanced than the main competition from Sony Ericsson. However saying that out of the two, if it were my money I would go for the Sony Ericsson T68. The T68 is a better-looking phone, but is does have problems with reception . The main thing that puts me off is the 7210's looks but. I am sure it will be a hit with Girls and teenagers.If the look put you off, why not look at the 6610 which is basically the same phone under a better wrapping.

The company I work for decided not to upgrade our phones to the 7210 and stick with the 6310I for the future as they do not fill our future mobile needs.

Saying that its going to be best seller-its got the Nokia name on it!

Thanks for Reading

Baz

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