Key features:
* Affordable feature phone with GPS navigation capabilities
* Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
* 2.2" 16M-color QVGA display with good sunlight legibility
* Refreshed S40 user interface, 6th edition
* 2 megapixel fixed-focus camera
* QVGA video recording at 15fps
* Stereo FM radio with RDS
* Bluetooth (with A2DP) and microUSB port
* microSD card slot (16 GB supported, 2GB included)
* Standard 3.5mm audio jack
* Rich preinstalled application package
* Ovi Maps, Store, Contacts and Share
* Opera Mini 4.2 web browser
* Digital compass
* Top-notch audio output quality
* Bundled with car holder and car charger
Main disadvantages:
* Smallish display with narrow viewing angles
* Maps only work in portrait mode
* Camera lacks autofocus and flash
* Doesn't charge off the microUSB port
* No smart dialing
* No multi-tasking
* No office document viewer
The Nokia 2710 Navigation Edition is a somewhat low-end Nokia S40 phone, for all the good and bad that entails. However, the GPS receiver and navigation software as well as the well-stuffed retail package mean good bang for your buck, which is a big plus in its favor.
Not all people need their phone to have access to tens of thousands applications – calling, messaging and music player is enough for many. The allure here is that the Nokia 2710 Navigation Edition can replace a dedicated SatNav unit which costs as much (or even more) than it does.
The best part about the 2710 Navigation Edition is that it’s ready to go right out of the box. There’s an easy-to-use car stand and a car charger and while our unit didn’t have any maps preinstalled, yours should at least come with your regional map preinstalled. If not, the Map Uploader app will set you up with all the maps you need.
As good as it is in navigation, in the end of the day the Nokia 2710 is still a low-end S40 phone. Other, more capable phones can easily take its place and for not much more money.
Any Symbian-powered phone from Nokia with built-in GPS would do – Ovi Maps for Symbian comes with a free navigation license as well.
So, the Nokia C5, for example, costs a bit more, but it’s proper mid-range Symbian smartphone with metal used here and there, not to mention the zippy 600MHz CPU. You get the same screen, slightly better camera, 3G and you get to keep the 2GB microSD card.
The Nokia 5230 is another alternative. It has a 3.2” nHD screen, which offer noticeably better resolution and screen real estate than the 2710 Navigation Edition. It has a 2MP camera but it manages to squeeze out VGA@30fps video, which is not a bad achievement at all. It comes without a microSD card, which you’ll need to download the mapps, but if you don’t have one already, they are already dirt cheap.
What is more Nokia is currently running a promotion, offering a free car stand for Nokia 5230, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia E52 and Nokia E72. A free car stand and a car charger comes with Nokia X6, Nokia N97, Nokia N97 mini and Nokia 6710 Navigator. All these are Symbian phones with GPS – so they offer free navigation with Ovi Maps. The promotion is not available in all countries and Nokia’s website says the offer is for a limited time only (no end date is listed though).
But still, at the time of this writing (early June), on some markets the Nokia 5230 goes for less than the 2710 Navigation Edition in the UK. Granted it doesn’t have a car-charger, but you can get one on the cheap. With its current price tag, it’s very hard to recommend buying the Nokia 2710 Navigation Edition over Nokia’s own 5230 unless of course you’re absolutely scared of touch phones. Moving the 2730 down a notch to a more competitive price point would certainly help for the success of this sturdy little fella that always seems to know its way around.
Labels: Nokia
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