Well, the Nokia 6210 (Navigator) is going back tomorrow. I've had it for a few weeks but I've hardly put it to the test that I would have liked - mainly due to workload and the fact that I have 5 loaners on the desk at the moment! Regardless, I've managed to get a quick feel for this cool smartphone and have seen the good and the not so good.
A few more teaser pics of this sporty S60 device are provided below along with a list of a few quick comments about the device. Overall, if you asked me if I would buy one and use it as me full-time mobile I'd definitely give you a thumbs up!
Things I like about the 6210:
Size and shape - the device is small and comfortable, fitting easily into your hand or in any pocket. The slider is very smooth (akin to the excellent Samsung sliders) and the buttons very comfortable to use/text.
Decent Camera - at 3.2 megapixels it definitely gets the job done. Toss in an LED flash and you have a very nice unit!
Gallery in grid display - with this release of S60 many apps function a little different that what us old time users are accustomed to... I use the Gallery app a fair bit and the little things like providing a grid display are very handy and useful - sometimes the little things make a big difference!
Lighted Map Button - the dedicated map button that lights up blue is very slick and provides one-click access to Nokia maps - it looks really cool as well!
Grippy - The roughed up plastic shell feels very nice and even better, makes sure that the device likely won't slip out of your hand. Given that this is a "Navigator" and optimized for location services, using GPS and other outdoor activities, this is an important feature. I also appreciate the way the back casing covers the entire unit so when removing you have easy access to your battery, SIM card and anything else you might need to get at. The grippy, grayish casing looks very fashionable too!
Different! - Not sure about you but I like being different. And so it follows that having a device that nobody around you has is a very cool feeling. It's likely that when you get your 6210 you'll be the only one on the block with one and it will turn a few heads!
The Box! - yes that's right, this device comes in what I would have to say is the coolest package for a smartphone I've ever seen!
Navigation! - this device is all about maps, navigation, and the GPS... how cool is that?
Things not so good:
Finding apps - since the Navigator isn't quite as popular as the N series devices (N92, N95, N82 etc...) there wasn't as many supported applications available for use. Not a totally limiting factor although it could be a bit disappointing to locate a cool application only to find out the device is not supported.
Loading Nokia Maps 3 - perhaps the biggest disappointment I had with the device was that installing Nokia Maps 3.0 (see more on maps 3.0 below) simply wasn't a simple task. The latest version of "maps" was supposed to support this device, however, after several attempts to install and repeated failure to run the application, a lack of available time to screw around forced me to abandon this task... too bad as I was really looking forward to using maps 3 and the free navigation license. Like many Nokia apps, the lengthy download of files, installation on PC (like for map loader) and then PC-suite driven installation was simply too painful... I want OTA, fast, seamless, and painless installation of my mobile applications (given that I get that from the Apple shop and Android market it is now expected)
Panorama - I was very excited to see different camera tools provided with the device, most notably, a panorama utility. unfortunately, when trying to use it I kept running into obstacles! After about 12 attempts to stitch together a panoramic scene I eventually gave up. I did manage to create one panorama, however, I was not able to easily recreate the steps I went through! Like the installation of maps 3.0, using an application like this needs to be much more user-friendly and essentially a "no-brainer".
Overall, its a sleek device and fun to use, however, like many Nokia S60s getting the apps on your device can be a pain, fumbling through many clicks to get to what you need can be annoying, and the constant need for firmware updates and the lack of a killer app store will leave many would-be users asking for more. At a cost of about $349 via online shops this one may not run out of stock but if you have a some spare cash this could be a fun investment, particularly for the North American S50 device user.
What’s new in Nokia Maps 3.0:
Enhanced car navigation, Drive, through lane assistance, speed limit warners, improved sign post design and new ‘Route overview’ mode during navigation,
Enhanced pedestrian navigation, Walk, through shortcuts (virtual connections) in urban areas, straight line guidance for off-road terrain and beeps and vibrations before next turn,
Significantly improved map data quality and content,
3D landmarks for over 200 cities – can be displayed in 3D and 2D map modes,
New Terrain map mode,
Hi-res aerial images for Satellite and Hybrid map modes,
Nokia Maps Updater for PC, to update your Maps application and existing map data,
Synchronisation of Favourites and Collections with MapsBeta on Ovi and vice versa (use in online mode, enable Internet connection).
