Nokia has recently completed the acquisition of the Navteq company in America, one of world’s leading map suppliers. GPS is Nokia’s biggest pain and priority for the next few years. Every new arriving smartphone comes with an onboard GPS unit while the Nokia Maps application has finally reached the conventional phones like Nokia 7510, 6300i, etc. Only few models get labeled as ‘Navigator’ ones, due to a reason of undisclosed nature. All the Nokia smartphones possess equal GPS capabilities, yet through a series of subtle touches of the promotional tools the consumer is mislead into thinking that certain models do better in navigation than the rest. That’s what ‘product segmentation’ stands for.

	Nokia 6210 Navigator main specs
Связь:	EGSM 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS/HSDPA 850/2100
Storage:	120 Mb available, microSD slot, 1 Gb memory card included
Screen:	2,4" , QVGA (240х320), 16M
Connectivity:	USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, A2DP is supported
Camera:	3,2 Mp (up to 2048x1536), AF
Battery:	BL-5F 3.7V 950 mAh up to 3,6 h talk time up to 220 h standby
Dimentions:	103 x 49 x 14,9 mm
Weight:	117 g
Price:	€300

Nokia 6210 is meant to replace the unsuccessful 6110 from the market. The company seem to have realized what was wrong with the predecessor, compensating for the weaknesses in the successor gadget. The new Navigator is slimmer, better-looking and less expensive than the old one (in the sense of the starting price), and generally is much better balanced. All of this seems to guarantee a bright outlook, but look…

Design and ergonomics

The design requires little description, for photos say for themselves. In a few words, the exterior looks in a way like a variation of Nokia 6220 classic, which has been reviewed in this article , and also shares some ideas realized in Nokia 6260 slide, Nokia 3120 classic and others. The design is rather neutral, better to say versatile, lacking anything which ‘shouldn’t be there unless it’s necessary’, even to the point of looking like a budget product – ‘Spartan’ would be the best fitting word to describe the looks. You won’t find any metal parts or feel the pleasant touch of the soft-touch coating. But that’s just mid-end and nothing more, therefore no reasons to have high expectations. The assembly quality is slightly better than in Nokia 6220 classic, where the situation leaves much to be desired, but the latter is quite a different story. The best thing you get is the fact that 6210 has no loose parts, the sliding mechanism is sturdy and goes all the way around in a quite smooth manner. The keypad at times gives a screech, most likely because of a poor fixation to the underlying base.

The glossy plastic of the front panel and the matte rough plastic of the back panel look fair; the back surface may even be mistaken for a kind if ceramics, I especially liked this handy sort. For months it can keep out of harm’s way, avoiding scratches and worn spots in a very effective manner. The battery cover is fastened very tightly, even intentional removal proves rather hard, let alone accidents.

Two alternate color versions of the smartphone are available: black and red. The black one looks a bit too square, being another faceless addition to the already existing host of black Nokia items. The red one apparently is more energetic. It doesn’t so vividly expose the left fingerprints, the color is even unlike the lilac version of 6220.

The right edge of the casing is the base to the volume and zoom controls, as well as the shoot button. The microSD memory card slot is found on the left edge, protected with a plastic flap, sharing a company with a microUSB slot. The flaps easily deflect at 90 degrees and cause no nuisances.

The top edge hosts a slim charger slot and a 2.5 mm headset minijack. This is another peculiarity differentiating the new product from the senior members of the Nseries family. You can still buy a 3.5 mm adapter at any time though, getting one is no problem for they are commonly found in retail. If you manage to get one, thus plugging a quality headset into Nokia 6210 will put it on a level with music-proficient models like Nokia N81… and apparently better than N82. You will still be missing dedicated player control button, but that’s something you cannot change. The music player has a universal interface common to all the latest Nokia products; Nokia is seen differentiating their products between music and non-music categories by bundling them with headsets of varying quality and adding or taking out adapters and remote control units from the sales box.

Look at the back surface and you’ll spot the lens of the integrated 3.2 Mp camera. You won’t find a protective glass, that’s why you have to take away the cover every time you want to clean the lens. Not too bright an idea but let’s leave it at that. The model doesn’t pretend to be a cameraphone, so it’s a passable solution. Not far away from the lens sits a LED flash of a rather mediocre quality – losing its usefulness at distances larger than about 1.5 meters.

Only one speaker is found on board, the quality is good but still this won’t compensate for the two speakers of 6110.

Screen

Nokia 6210 Navigator comes with a standard screen. The diagonal is 2.4 inches long, the physical dimensions amount to 36x48 mm. The screen size is comparable to Nokia N78, N82, E66 and others. The TFT screen can display 16M colors and is equipped with a mirror surface backing to counter the direct sunlight and keep the information legible at any view angle. The view angle range is indeed nice, the color rendition is very natural, all in all here’s a very decent screen without apparent downsides, obviously better that what the predecessor model had and looking better than the screen of 6220 classic. Right above the screen you will see the pinhole of the frontal camera used for video calls, the speaker hole and the luminance sensor.

Keypad

The keypad is rather standard. The buttons are large, tight and responsive; on the other hand, they feel a bit wobbly and occasionally crackle on pressing. Perhaps this is a local problem found with the initial shipments of the product. The menu and delete buttons are especially convenient, even regardless of the small size. They’re lifted above the main block of controls and can be easily felt. The keyboard backlight is of an even blue color.

Right below the navigation button is found the Nokia Maps launch button. Nokia 6220 classic allowed to reassign the function bound to it, but this model won’t let you do that. The Nokia Maps button for Nokia Maps, that’s the rule. During the navigation mode it flickers with a blue color; pressing it during the navigation mode requests the user’s own location.

Battery

Nokia 6210 utilizes a BL-5F, 1200 mAh battery. The same battery is used in Nokia N95. As I have already mentioned in the review of Feature Pack 2, certain applications now waste less charge. Comparing the new devices the older FP1 products, e.g. N82, the biggest charge economy is notable while watching videos and listening to the music. This can be partially explained by certain differences in the hardware platform as well. In any case, the results are above average, a continuous MP3 cycle can last for up to 18 hours provided that the GSM unit is switched off – a nice achievement for a compact-sized smartphone. Nokia 6210 was also able to stand for 3 hours of continuous GPS navigation before the charge was completely drained.

As stated by the manufacturer, the battery can last for 3.6 hours of GSM talktime which is roughly equal to 220 hours of standby. A moderate duty cycle (about an hour of talktime, four hours of listening to the music, menu actions and working with other functions) wasted a fully charged battery in about two days and a half, which is an average standard score.

Nokia 6210 Navigator battery

Phone	Nokia 6210 Navigator	Nokia N82
Regular using	2,5 days	3 days
Multimedia cycle, video (3GP)	3:55	3:40
Multimedia cycle, audio (MP3)	17:30	11:20
GPS	3:46	3:31

An easter egg to crown the story: a battery extracted from a Nokia 78 (BL-6F, 1200 mAh) worked for 6210 Navigator just well, even the battery cover fits (contrary to all expectations).

«An easter egg to crown the story: a battery extracted from a Nokia 78 (BL-6F, 1200 mAh) worked for 6210 Navigator just well»

Connectivity

The gadget has no internal Wi-Fi unit, which is one of the most serious limitations of this models. The Home Media application (realized through the UnPNP) is left out, reserved for the multimedia member of the Nseries product family. You won’t find in this model.

The version of the USB protocol is 2.0, the Mass storage mode is fully supported, the user can select one of the following connection types: Disk Storage, PC Suite, Image Print, Media Player. Both the memory card and the onboard storage are visible in any of the modes. On connecting the phone in the Disk Storage mode, the handset doesn’t go offline and still allows making calls or executing any other function that it normally can. In the Mass Storage mode, the data transfer speed reached 900 Kb/s.

According to the specifications, the Bluetooth version is 2.0 + EDR, all the main profiles are supported:

• A2DP
• Audio/Video Remote Control
• Basic Imaging
• Dial-up Networking
• File Transfer
• Generic Access
• Generic Object Exchange
• Handsfree
• Headset
• HID
• Object Push
• SIM Access
• Serial Port

The support for the A2DP profile allows using a wireless headset, which works just fine. Bluetooth settings include an adjustable device visibility period and a list of blocked devices.

The contact book now includes a special SIP address field for each record. According to the SIP protocol standards, four address types are allowed:

• name@domain;
• name@host;
• name@IPaddress;
• phone name@gateway.

Functional peculiarities

The device fully supports GPS and A-GPS functionality and offers an interesting geo-tagging function (Location Tagger) This application combines three modes: Sharing, GPS and Photo. The camera application includes an option to capture the coordinates on taking a shot, attaching a meta tag to each photo. Upon uploading the photos to the web, the information will be available to the visitors of your blog. A special indicator showing the number of uploaded files is shown on the desktop.

The implementation of the gallery is different from what we have with Nseries models – the Photos application is missing, and all the photos are shown as thumbnails. Sorting is possible by the criteria of date, filename and size, but there’s no slideshow option, everything’s pretty ascetic.

The hardware platform utilized by Nokia 6120 Navigator is also found in Nokia N78 and 6220 classic, so no extraordinary things are expected. The CPU operates at a frequency of 369 Mhz, if you turn off the extra effects brought in by Feature Pack 2, the performance rates should be equal. There are 64 Mb of RAM installed on board, 20 of which are left available to the user applications after the OS has booted. That’s something of an unpleasant limitation, yet it caused no real inconveniences over the course of our tests. The TV Out originally present in 6220 classic is nowhere to be found in this model.

Just like in other S60 devices, the navigation can be done through the means of voice control; the device automatically adapts to one’s voice, though this is a feature that can be deactivated in the settings, in case the handset is used by more than one person. The voice control mode can be activated by holding the right functional button. The list of applications contains five entries by default (Modes, Mail, Bluetooth, Voice Recorder, Camera) but can be expanded with an infinite number of shortcuts to other applications selectable from an exhaustive list.

Just like in a number of other Nokia models, Nokia 6210 supports the Active Notes application, which is the next step towards the ultimate comfort of operation. That’s more of a business application and won’t find many fans among the casual users, but it surely shouldn’t be left unattended in this article. Usually a Note is presumed to be a short piece of text information which can be printed or sent over to another device; Active Note is what makes possible embedding into a Note images, audio and video tracks, namecards and contact records, and anything else, enveloping the data in the XHTML format. Such an expanded note can be viewed from a web browser or sent over SMS (in this case only the text is sent), MMS, Bluetooth or IRdA. The Note Manager allows to move and copy the notes from the phone memory to the SIM card and back again, create folders. A note can be assigned to a contact record or a contact group from the phonebook (only one associated note is allowed per contact record).

The preinstalled applications include three games and a vocabulary which can pronounce a selected word. Two alternate font sizes are available in the options.

The onboard accelerometer can function regardless of the mode the phone is currently engaged in. It can optionally turned off. Just like in Nokia 8800 Arte, the sensor can be used to mute the ringtone of an incoming call simply by turning the handset the screen down.

Phone	Nokia 6210 Navigator	Nokia N95
Jbenchmark 1.0.1 Score	5601	5311
Text	1580	1419
2D Shapes	1446	1303
3D Shapes	691	640
Fill Rate	370	336
Animation	1512	1613
Jbenchmark 2.0.1 Score	595	568
Image Manipulations	376	410
Text	716	710
Sprites	533	520
3D Transform	906	817
User Interface	591	476
Jbenchmark 3D HQ	199	973
Jbenchmark 3D LQ	360	1018
Triangles ps	51455	48330
KTexels ps	3443	6393
Jbenchmark HD Gaming Score	156 (5.4 fps)	91 (3.0 fps)
Smooth triangles	102251	44190
Textured triangles	83512	27310
Fill rate, KTexels	2175	1107

A comprehensive analysis of the features available in S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 has been available on the site for quite a while, so please refer to it for extra details. There are a few minor differences from the standard realization in the multimedia department (photos, gallery), but the rest is virtually the same with the rest of S60 E3 FP2 phones. Only a couple of themes come preinstalled, one of them tagged ‘standard’ and the second bearing a ‘navigator ’ label.

GPS

GPS is one of the hottest lines on Nokia’s priority list. Enormous amounts of money have been invested in this direction; multiple navigation companies were acquired and merged into the Nokia corporation, and the market expectations are amazingly high for the current year: a total of 35 million of GPS-equipped devices are estimated to be sold over the course of 2008, which is more than the whole market of navigation devices in 2007. No new Nokia smartphone goes without a GPS unit.

Nokia Maps 2.0 is not just a cosmetic update but rather a comprehensive overhaul of the application’s interface. It grew to become more intuitive, informative and user friendly. Nokia Maps 2.0 is available for download at http://europe.nokia.com/A4984199

A major addition is the dedicated pedestrian mode (Walk) which is an exclusive feature as stated by the company representatives. Pedestrian-friendly features include special voice reminders, step-by-step visual hints (e.g. the ‘footprints’), the onboard compass helps to indicate the wanted direction. The maps are incredibly detailed, displaying anything from highways to walking paths in a park. The compass needs calibration prior to starting work. The integrated accelerometer is what allowed for adding such a feature.

The search interface is now improved, the search results can be sorted by a number of categories; a so-called quick search function is in the place, allowing for searching without calling on the context menu. Hybrid maps are a perfect addition to the two alternative viewmodes. The route calculation is done on the basis of the three values and can be dynamically rearranged in cause of sudden traffic jams; the map coloring is changeable between the day and night variations. Once GPS has been initiated, a small icon depicting a satellite is shown on the status bar at the top of the screen, that’s how you see when the positioning is being done. Nokia Maps 2.0 offers an impressive variety of features, keeping them together in a friendly interface which will never cause confusion to the newbies.

The application features are virtually the same regardless of the smartphone model, even 6220 classic and 6210 Navigator (why ever so?) are no exception, so don’t expect any extra GPS features (save for the compass found in 6210, which is apparently not enough to position the product as having an exclusive GPS proficiency). The only thing which differs is how long the GPS license will last. 6210 Navigator comes with a six-month license, that’s just enough for a beginning, afterwards you’ll have to buy a subscription or decline the service. Judging from this position, I can draw the following conclusion: firstly, none of Nokia smartphones has a GPS implementation better than in the other models, and, secondly, the currently available GPS possibilities of Nokia products are boosted up to the maximum if we take and view the phone and smartphone markets combined (let alone the limited segment of WM PDAs). Nokia Maps is inevitably becoming the prevalent choice on the market, enjoying a global scale backup from the abundant portfolio of associated Nokia products.

Camera

The phone has got a 3.2 Mp auto-focusing unit for a camera, looking quite good for its class. The interface isn’t as exquisite as in Nseries or in 6220 classic, but still very usable. The accelerometer can’t work simultaneously with the camera, and the only available screen orientation is horizontal. A small setting bar with the necessary functions represented as small icons can be shown on the screen in the viewfinder mode.

The settings include:

• switching to the video mode
• auto-focus on/off
• flash control (auto, on/off)
• timer (10, 20, 30 seconds)
• nighttime mode
• multi shot (once per 10, 30 seconds or 1, 5, 10, 30 minutes)
• white balance setting (auto, sunny, cloudy, glow lamp, fluorescent lamp)
• effects (Sepia, negative, black and white)
• landscape mode
• contrast level (20-notch scale)
• brightness setting (ten-notch scale)

ISO setting is unavailable, the number of options and applicable special effects is rather limited; the landscape (panoramic) mode is very close to the similar feature found in Motorola ZN5.

Samples of photos:

Videos taken with Nokia 6210 Navigator are recorded at 640x480, 15 FPS. The quality is fair, but obviously inferior to 6220 classic which does the job at 30 FPS.

SMAPE's opinion

The new Navigator appears to be a very interesting solution because of a lower price. This is one of the few available slider smartphones which offers good quality and looks, the device size is standard for its class. You shouldn’t really take it for a niche solution just because of the ‘Navigator’ label. The thing is that you can just as well attach this word to the name of any other Nokia smartphone which has Nokia Maps 2.0 since the functionality is the same in all cases; at the same time, 6210 is stylish, slim-built and has a large screen. It bases off the latest revision of the S60 platform and offers good functionality along with a nice set of additions like a compass, an accelerometer and so on.

Just like 6220 classic, the device will start selling by the end of July at a price of 300 euros. It’s hard to point out a direct competitor for this gadget, the only likely candidate being Nokia E66 with similar features but an added Wi-Fi. The price will be accordingly 100 euros higher, which is a substantial deal… Nokia 6210 navigator no longer has any of the predecessor’s weaknesses, which didn’t look good against the background of competing solutions of those days, mainly because of the (un)impressive size, small screen weak camera and a boring design which didn’t go well with the high price. The starting price for 6210 is considerably higher, and the specifications are all up to the modern expectations. Sony Ericsson W760i can be viewed as a direct competitor to this handset. The prices of the two are comparable, though W760i offers fewer features.

If you aren’t restrained with money, the choice between 6210 and 6220 is apparent. The senior model offers a much better camera compensating for such limits as an average-looking screen and not the best ergonomics and assembly quality around. 6220 classic also has a TV-Out, which to some users might prove useful. As far as navigation goes, the onboard accelerometer of 6220 can also be of real help. It’s up to you to make the pick; the new Navigator isn’t much of a real impression, far from that. It’s but a standard smartphone with average specifications which needs a relatively low price among its primary attributes. Otherwise it would have no reason to exist, getting lost in the shadow cast by 6220 classic and N78… and a slightly larger sum of money will enable you to take a E66.

+ Quality screen
+ Good audio
+ FP2
+ A six-month navigation license
- Limited RAM
- Average quality of materials and assembly

Author: Spiridonov Anton, editor@smape.com

SMAPE.com

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