Announced last year at the Nokia World in London, the Nokia Lumia 710 (codenamed ‘Sabre’) was one of the first two Lumias introduced by Nokia in partnership with Microsoft. This was categorized as a mid-range device due to its plastic construction, low-price point and limited features compared to its sibling, the Nokia Lumia 800. Given the “not so good looking but decent” built of this phone; it still follows the strict requirements of Microsoft for the Windows Phone platform. Learn more about the device after the break.
Nokia Lumia 710 was first released in the US and then followed by other countries until it was made available and launched here in the Philippines last April 19, 2012 by Nokia Philippines in partnership with Smart Communications. Available in black and white, it retails at Php 1,450.00 with a two year agreement including a monthly allocation of 500 SMS to all networks, 500 minutes to Smart and TNT and a 1 GB of data for mobile browsing. It was indeed an affordable device for those who are looking on the performance rather than the design.
IN THE BOX
Included in a pretty large slider box are the Nokia Lumia 710, documentations, a charger, a micro USB cable for data syncing, a headset and the battery pack. I was expecting for a free back cover but it’s not included.
THE DESIGN
At 119 x 62.4 x 12.5 mm and weighs only 126 grams, the Nokia Lumia 710 was designed to really fit in the hands and due to its plastic construction, it’s even lighter than the iPhone 4. The curve on the edge of the phone lets my thumb rest whenever I was holding it and even more relaxing when playing my favorite Xbox Live Games. It has a 3.7” WVGA screen with 480X800 pixels resolution and a pixel density of 252ppi using Nokia’s Clear Black Technology. The scratch-free display cover was also a plus feature on this device, thanks to the Corning Gorilla Glass. In front, you will see the proximity sensor and just below the screen is the soft key button for back, menu and search. On top are the unprotected micro USB slot, a 3.5 mm headphone jack and the power/lock key. On the right, there are the volume rocker and the dedicated camera button which can be accessed even if the phone is locked. Nothing can be found on the adjacent side except for the latch to open up the back cover and access the battery and the micro sim. At the back, there is a 5MP AF camera with f2.2 lens that can shoot a video on 720p at 30 frames per second and the single LED flash. There is also a grill below at the back portion of the device for loudspeaker. At the bottom, you will just see a hole for a lanyard. Nokia Lumia 710 black variety has a matte finish back cover for easy handling (I guess the white has a glossy finish).
THE INTERNALS
Equipped with 1.4 GHz single core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 512 MB of RAM, this device can compete on its classy sibling, the Nokia Lumia 800 and even the HTC Titan in terms of performance. The built in 8GB of storage seems to be small for a power user but Microsoft offers a free 25GB of storage through its SkyDrive. Nokia Lumia 710 runs on the latest Windows Phone 7.5 Operating System also known as “Mango”. Sweeter than its competitor, the OS offers a no compromise, consistent performance, and fast and fluid experience.
THE HUBS
One of main feature I mostly like in Windows Phone is the integration of different social networking sites into one hub called the People Hub. At a single tap on the tile I can access and see updates on my all social networking sites. This prevents me from opening every social networking app like what I was doing on my other device (oh did I mentioned Android?). I can also create a specific tile for my group for easy accessing; sending emails and see all their updates instantly.
Another cool feature is the Messaging Hub, wherein all my threads (text, messenger, facebook messages) are rolled into one place. It also lets me know if the user is already offline so that I can switch instantly on available media. Talking about emails, you can link all your emails into one live tile and access it in just a single tap.
Are you a gamer? Then you’ll going to love the Games Hub on Nokia Lumia 710. This is the place where you can access all your downloaded games. With Xbox Live as its core feature, it covers almost all features of the regular Xbox (you will notice it if you’re playing on an Xbox console), from the avatar to your profile to the achievements that you are earning. You can customize your own avatar, right on your phone. You can also view your friends’ credentials and compare your scores.
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The Picture Hub is a one place for all your picture-related needs including photo and video effects. The hub has 4 options so that you can easily locate the photos that you need. These are camera roll, albums, date and people. Nokia had made a pretty good job on this 5MP camera, although encountered some problems with half-pressing (maybe there’s no half-pressed at all), the colors are accurate and the video recording is very detailed both on high and low lighting conditions.
Here are the sample photos and video taken from Nokia Lumia 710
Powered by Zune, the Music and Video Hub is where you can access all your entertainment needs. Starting the hub will deliver you to your previously played media. With the music and video hub, you can play music, videos, listen and watch to audio and video podcasts, listen to FM radio and even get an instant access to Marketplace. The sound quality on this device is quiet good.
Microsoft Office applications, Office 365, Sharepoint and SkyDrive are integrated in the hub called the Office Hub powered by Microsoft Office for mobile. And this is a no viewer; you can actually edit, comment and do calculations straight from the Windows Phone.
How Nokia Lumia with Windows Phone differs from other OEM is that they introduce their own native apps which is really of great addition to the user experience. Comes out of the box, are the Nokia Drive, a turn by turn navigation app, a Nokia Maps which shows detailed location, App Highlights and Nokia Music with almost the same functions as Windows Marketplace and Music + Video app respectively. There is also the Contact Transfer app to easily transfer your phone contacts from your other phone to your Nokia Lumia device. Still on work are the Nokia Transit and Reader.
FAST AND FLUID INTERNET EXPERIENCE
Nokia Lumia 710 has a support for both quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and 3G with 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.7 Mbps HSUPA. It also supports Wi-Fi b/g/n and stereo Bluetooth 2.1. The Bluetooth didn’t support file transfer and mass storage mode. In order to transfer files from PC to your Nokia Lumia 710, you will need Zune software (both available for Windows and Mac) and transfer files through USB cable or Wi-Fi.
Nokia Lumia 710 and other Windows Phone devices use the latest browser from Microsoft, Internet Explorer 9 with Bing. Windows Phone takes advantage of the HTML5 power of the browser. And like the other apps, you can share webpages instantly.
HEY C’MON, TELL ME!
In Windows Phone 7.5, Microsoft adds a voice search feature called Tellme where you can “Find” a specific place and weather, “Call” anyone in the Contacts list, “Open” an application or games installed in the device or “Text” one of your friends without the hassle of touching the screen. I find it very useful especially when you’re carrying a lot of thing and you can’t afford to properly handle the phone. I made a quick video on how this feature works on the Nokia Lumia 710.
WHAT ARE THE DISADVANTAGES?
With Nokia Lumia 710 powered by Windows Phone, there are lot things that you can do in the smartphone. This is indeed a smart choice but not a perfect phone. So what are the downsides of this device?
- Internet Explorer 9 for mobile only used HTML5 so no support for Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight.
- No support for Mass Storage Mode
- Uses LCD instead of AMOLED display
- No front-facing camera (no video calling)
- With low capacity 1300mAh battery pack, you really need to monitor all your running apps.
- Limited 8GB of internal storage and the absence of external memory support
- Camera was reduced to 5MP
CONCLUSION
With a phone on-the-go, although lack some features, and a reasonable price of Php 1,450 under a two year contract from Smart including delicious packages, this is a must have for all the smartphone starters out there. You will not regret buying this phone. I almost forgot my Android device because of this. Till next time! Enjoy!
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