Nokia 6210 Navigator Review

The selection of the slider, as the basic form factor, is due to the desire to emphasize the large display and the convenience of working with a unit in the format of a navigation device. In closed position, Nokia 6210 Navigator has a small size; it can be conveniently attached to the torpedo of the car or is simply placed comfortably in the hand.
For the latest generation of smart-phones its physical characteristics are standard – 103 x 49 x 14,9 mm and weight is 117 g. Because of rounded shape, dimensions of the phone are visually perceived in a better light than they really are.
As for the weight, when it comes to the smart-phone the rate of more than 100 grams is the norm, nothing is surprising. Carrying the phone, despite the proportion is comfortable in most cases.
Nokia 6210 Navigator came into the market in two colors – red and black. However, in both cases, the device ends remain grey. One could say that the red version is designed for the beautiful half of humanity, but, in truth, it is difficult to imagine a girl with the “Navigator” in the hand.
The front panel is glossy and easily stained. The back cover, however, is completely matte. Subjectively, it looks simple, does not give seriousness to the device. By the way a general feeling of dealing with a toy did not leave the author of these lines during all the time of communication with the device. When looking at l Nokia 6210 Navigator, an association with a soap-dish climbs to the head in the literal sense of the word. In this regard, the pioneer 6110 looked harsh in a good sense.
However, the high quality of build should be noted – no gaps or creaking were observed in the operation.
The USB port and memory card slot are located on the left end of new item and are closed with special plugs.
And if the USB is not a problem, then slot of the card is too deeply recessed into the body, reaching the microSD card is rather problematic.
The upper end has a connector for connecting the charger and a 2.5 mm jack for the headset.

In general, the appearance of Nokia 6210 Navigator left a pleasant impression. All elements of management and other technical units are in place, but it is no wonder, because these indicators the 6210 has completely copied from other models.

Display
In the process of getting acquainted with new phones I again and again catch myself at the thought that, in general, today’s screens of mobile phones are equal among themselves. This is particularly true for Smart-phones, and even more so for the platform S60. If earlier the consumer quality was judged by the number of supported colors, today, in most cases, this parameter is equal. Nevertheless, let us run through the technical data of the display of the 6210. The screen has a QVGA-resolution (240 x 320 pixels) supports up to 16 million colors (24 bit). With regard to physical dimensions, here too everything is in order- 2.4 inches.
The front panel is the light sensor that regulates the intensity of illumination of the screen. The function is not only convenient, but also useful. In fact, although slightly, but it saves battery power.
A unit titled with the responsible name of Navigator simply must demonstrate excellent results in the intense daylight. Unfortunately, these rates are at the secondary level. Neither under the direct (the use of navigation in walking mode), or under the slanting (used in car) rays, the 6210 has not shown any special abilities. The phone display goes fairly blind though the information is still legible, but to call this kind of work comfortable is not possible. However, we should note that in the standard mode, the screen displays 8 lines of text and 3 service lines of information (up to 14 lines in certain modes) and it again is a standard for such devices.
In general, the 6210 has a modern display that can handle most multimedia and functional tasks. Naturally, we would like to see something more, but in the present form it is already not bad.

Keyboard
There is no innovation in the navigation block of the 6210, which is perhaps for the better. Keys are few, so they all are of a size more than comfortable to work with. You can forget about such troubles as false clicking. The progress of the keys is smooth and soft enough, and it is a genuine pleasure to work with them.
Additional controls are focused on the right end of the phone and are presented by a coupled volume key and the key of the camera activation.
The dial unit also deserves praise. All keys are large-sized, of a standard form and configuration. Working with such buttons is a pleasure.
It is heartening that the novelty has been able to avoid artful design decisions and acquired a standard (comfortable) keyboard, and this statement is relevant to whole management of the phone. The milk-white backlight of the keys is in perfect harmony with the varnished plastic of the phone.

Functions
Technically, the model 6210 Navigator is a S60 device of the latest generation. Analogues are found in N-, and E-series of the company. The operating System Symbian OS v9.3 (S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2) and the ARM 11 processor with a clock speed of 369 MHz are more than adequate for the challenges facing a smart-phone.

But the 20 MB of RAM is extremely small. For example, the N70, the 2005 model, had a maximum memory of 22 MB and in the new N78 this figure is 48 MB, the popular N82 model has a 90 MB of operation memory. What does this figure influence? It affects the quantity and quality of work with multiple applications. For example, the 6210 is beginning to experience problems with the downloaded applications Nokia Maps, the Internet browser, and MP3-player. To continue the comfortable work with the device it is better to close one of the applications. If additional programs running in the background are installed in the phone, then the free memory will be even less.
The phone has a motion sensor. It is used in several modes, for example, in the Internet browser; depending on the status of the phone, the screen orientation changes from vertical to horizontal. False abrasions occur, but they are rare and do not cause inconvenience.
Despite the availability of the latest version of the operating system with Feature Pack 2 (the analogue has recently been considered in the review of Nokia N78), in the 6210 the menu and other options are closer to the possibilities of Feature Pack 1. For example, the 6210 has no multimedia menu and the gallery, the media player and the camera are as in older versions. And this is even more surprising because we tested the pre-sales sample. In fact, along with the N78, the new 6210 Navigator, possessing all the features FP2, would stand out against the background of other solutions from Nokia.
Thus, in functionality Nokia 6210 Navigator is a typical representative of the glorious family of S60 devices, the capabilities of which have been considered in our reviews.
One fact will upset fans of free Internet – there is no Wi-Fi in the 6210, and it is a serious minus on the background of competing devices from the same Nokia.

Multimedia
Like any product on the S60, the model 6210 Navigator is not only a tool for navigation and other complex tasks, in many ways it is a multimedia entertainment center. At the service of users are all modern services and facilities starting from the radio and the Internet (through the air, of course) to watching movies and listening to music.
The music player has a large capacity, lets you sort songs in the phone memory in many ways, there is an equalizer with the ability to create your profile, a number of standard capacities – balance setting, extended stereo.
The sound quality of the 6210 is comparable with similar models of the manufacturer, which means that you can listen to music in comfort. However, the headset coming in the kit is more suitable for the radio perhaps; more demanding listeners will connect more serious headphones. It is good the 2.5-mm jack allows it.

Navigator
It is too early to make any conclusions, but there is a feeling that in Nokia they have come to the rake. It is seen in the totally lost uniqueness of the 6210 Navigator both as navigation and a competitive device.
If in the 6110 the default main program was the application Route66, and if you wanted any other navigation program (Nokia Maps, etc.) could be set in the phone, in the case of the 6210 the basis of the new program is Nokia Maps 2.0. Symbolically, it appeared long before Nokia 6210 Navigator, so that even in this aspect the model is not unique.
With all devices equipped with A-GPS module, Nokia offers a trial period for the navigation software. In the case of the 6210 the license Drive & Walk (pedestrian and car navigation) is pre-paid for 6 months. Further extension of the license will be expensive. There is a division into zones (Local, Mega Region, All regions) and time (1, 3 or 12 months). The price depending on the package can vary from 9 to 130 euros.
In the future, Nokia Maps can be used without paying for licenses, but the route organizing and navigation will be unavailable.
The second feature of the Navigator is the presence of an electronic compass. It is useful in pedestrian navigation (for example, in the forest, to determine the side of the light), in which case the map and the route will always be in front of you. The ability is convenient but it is not an ace yet. On this the peculiarities of the 6210 Navigator are exhausted.
And, of course, let us not forget the separate key of GPS (Nokia Maps) launch, with an indicator displaying the compass.
Thus, the main bonus of the Navigator is the quite lengthy license for Nokia Maps 2.0. Finally, we will return to the miserable 20 MB of active memory. Additionally, it affects the loading of the application Nokia Maps, and while working with background programs the loading time of navigation can take more than a minute. Trifle, but again, very unpleasant.

Camera
Unfortunately, the camera of the 6210 is clearly not the strong point of the device. Following the trend, the manufacturer has established a 3.2-MP CMOS-matrix with autofocus. The lens, unfortunately, is not from Carl Zeiss, but has a good performance – 4.6 mm/f2.8, minimum focusing distance is 10 cm. This is a modern solution with no additional features. In general, for the status of the 6210 Navigator, nothing less could be expected.
Structurally, the camera is not protected, the glass lens is slightly recessed into the body, but getting scratched, and even more so getting dirty is just a matter of time. In the horizontal position (and you can only shoot so) over the lens there is the built-in flash. At a distance of about 1,5-2 m, it is quite useful, which again is a norm for this type of devices.
Unfortunately, the interface of the camera is different from what we saw in the N78 (by the way, this model is not “photo-oriented”). Maximum resolution of images is 2048 x 1536 (also resolution modes of 1600 x 1200, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480 pixels are available), while the average size of the image at maximum quality and resolution is about 1 MB (supports JPEG / Exif).

The twenty-fold digital zoom, to a large extent, is useless, because when using it the picture quality becomes insufficient even for viewing on the phone. However, judicious use (up to x5) is perhaps possible, but still undesirable.
The governance is realized conveniently, all features are available on a horizontal strip. Among the options, to the obligatory (the white balance, brightness setting, etc.) were added and the elements from the major league (ISO setting, shutter speed). The capabilities of the 6210 are comparable with the camera solution used in N78, only the graphical shell of the interface is different.
The camera located on the front is especially designed for video communication, but in the absence of such, it can be used for taking self-portraits.
Video capturing with a VGA-resolution of 640 x 480 pixels and recording speed of 15 frames per second (formats H.263, MPEG-4) is a good complement to the photo-abilities of the 6210. In general, the camera left a positive impression. It is comfortable to work with and in the case of the Navigator you can’t expect miracles from a built-in camera, while the images sometimes please the eye.
The examples of images can be seen below, and the archive can be downloaded here.

Outcome
The model is complete with a BL-5F 3.7V battery, with a capacity of 950 mAh. By today’s standards, this is not much, but in practice this allows the phone battery about 2 days of intensive use (up to 30 minutes of conversation, about 1 hour of navigation and 30 minutes of other functions) which, in our opinion, is a fairly good indicator.
It remains to add that the phone has 120 MB of internal memory and a microSD card of 1 GB in the set. The supplement Nokia Maps is stored in phone memory, so that the user has enough space for additional programs and content.
In conclusion, we should note that the phone, and the entire line, and did not find a way to a bright future. In Russia, the popularity of this unit is below of the popularity of the pioneer model 6110. If this continues further, the very line of devices with the prefix Navigator will soon come to naught. Actually, the 6210 Navigator is a good phone, a decent member of the S60family. And it should be chosen by general criteria, forgetting about the prefix Navigator.