Upside
With Nokia putting GPS receivers in all their upcoming releases, the continuation of a dedicated Navigator series may seem redundant. But for people who rate navigation highly on their must-have phone features, the 6210 should still be the pick of the latest Nokia litter for two reasons.
First, is the inclusion of voice-guided turn-by-turn directions, a service other Nokia users will have to pay a subscription to take advantage of. Second is the combination of an integrated digital compass and an accelerometer -- technology that rotates the user interface. This results in Nokia Maps turning on screen to display the users current direction, a feature that is especially handy when you're on foot.
Also included across Nokia's new mid-to-high end range is HSDPA data speeds as standard. Not only will the 6210 Navigator download at 3.6Mbps but we have noticed that it's compatible with the WCDMA 850Mhz frequency meaning we could see the phone being sold by Telstra on its Next G network, although, whether this is an upside is a matter of opinion.
A Nokia spokesperson told us that the latest version of the S60 operating platform would be significantly faster than its predecessors when we saw the 6210 at a 2008 Nokia Showcase earlier this year. We did notice a pretty swift user interface in action and we'll be keen to see just how fast it is when we get the 6210 into the Lab.
Downside
Of all of the new Nokia handsets that could have benefited most from the 2.8-inch display of the N96, the 6210 Navigator is the obvious candidate. One of the strongest criticisms levelled against mobile handset navigation is that the smaller screen sizes make them significantly more difficult to use than standalone systems. Many will find the 2.4-inch display adequate, but this is one area where bigger is definitely better.
We obviously haven't had a chance to fully test the 6210's battery charge cycle, but we have our doubts. In the literature Nokia have estimated 2.8 hours of talk-time and 230 hours of standby. We're guessing that after you add an hour or so of turn-by-turn navigation you'd be looking at the poorer side of a single day's battery life. This is speculation however, we'll have to wait until we have a chance to perform our tests before we get too concerned.
Overall
The 6210 looks to be a strong contender for 2008. It's a decent step forward from the previous model, the 6110 Navigator, and it has all the features of the others in Nokia line-up, and could turn out to be the best GPS-enabled phone of the year. We look forward to seeing the 6210 when it's released locally in Q3 of this year.
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whatajoke
11/08/2008, 06:48 PM
rating
9/10
When is this phone due for release in Australia? Looks like a pretty good phone.
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ma678
14/04/2008, 03:46 PM
rating
7/10
Please check specs carefully because I don't think it comes with integrated wifi.
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anianna71@yahoo.it
29/02/2008, 09:36 AM
rating
8/10
Hi Joseph, how are you? I have to agree with you regarding the standby time ( usually it is NEVER correct), but as you know, normally GPS devices are to be charged in the car during use - people shouldn't be concerned about how long the battery will last in GPS mode - TIP: get an in car charger when you buy this phone :-)
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