Nokia 7310 Supernova candybar phone
Swappable covers make a comeback
Review Nokia is re-introducing the once-popular exchangeable Xpress-On cover concept to a new generation of impressionable mobile buyer with its Supernova range of budget mobiles.
The 7310 Supernova is one of a trio of blast-from-the-past cover-swapping mobiles aimed at cash-strapped phone users. It angles for a bit of low-cost style using a mirrored screen and chrome numberpad. Available in "steel blue" or white, it’s boxed with a clip-on alternative, either "candy pink" or "wasabi green". Others, including create-your-own designs, can be bought separately.
Nokia's 7310 Supernova: not exactly a stellar feature line-up
Despite its name, the 7310 Supernova doesn’t exactly have a stellar line-up of features. There’s no 3G, but it does have a two-megapixel camera, a music player, FM radio, and video record and playback options.
The 7310's slim-ish candybar casing measures 106.5 x 45.4 x 11.95mm, and is pocketable and comfortable in your hand. Its light 83g bodyweight is evident in the feel of the bodywork, though the Xpress-On covers actually look decent enough - for bright pink and green, that is - with a bit of patterned detailing added to the finishes. They’re no hassle to swap, either.
The low-budget chrome finish on the numberpad is cheap-looking, however. Still, the buttons are reasonably responsive for texting, and the navpad and soft-menu keys are perfectly serviceable. At rest, the display hides behind a large slab of mirrored screen, which is quite striking out of the box – and handy for checking make-up.
The 2in, 320 x 240, 16m-colour display that appears from behind it is fine for this level of handset. The out-of-the-box screen theme is less so. It's a messy mix of pastel blue, green, magenta and yellow circles that form a distracting background to the menus. Thankfully, it’s easy enough to swap themes to something that works better.
COMMENTS
damage not an issue
Don't knock the Xpress on covers. I love Nokia's monoblock format for it's lack of moving parts and because you used to be able to replace the cover, it didn't matter if the screen took a few knocks. I've been waiting for something to make me as happy as my 7610 did. s60, with a large keypad in a monoblock, changable covers, expanable memory. This isn't it, I was hoping for something similar in the N series, and am still denied.
there can only be one
Nokia 3210 FTW! until my dad killed it with a dodgy battery from the market pffft
looks like a womans phone imho and the series 40 OS is horrid
On the other hand
I think I'll get one for my mother. Her old nokia has finally succumbed to what basically amounts to "Years of abuse", and she hates my old K1, which I gave her as a temp.
Feature Set?
Feature 1 -- you can make phone calls.
Feature 2 -- you can send text messages.
Feature 3 -- battery stays charged for more than 3 days
Feature 4 -- other stuff nobody ever uses.
Seems like the same feature set as nearly every other mobile. Not many of the trendy expensive ones have Feature number 3 though.
I thought I understood Nokia's numbering system
but now I'm completely confused. I thought 7### was supposed to be the more expensive "youth" phones and 3### the cheap ones?
