Nokia 6210 Navigator Review

Introduction:

Does it happen to you frequently, to be travelling in a new area not knowing where exactly you are? You are tired of consulting with the map and planning trips? The 6210 Navigator by Nokia is a solution to your problems. It is the second generation from the “Navigator” line, following the 6110 and is one of the first phones of the manufacturer to employ the Symbian S60 OS with the latest 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 interface. In addition, the new entry is equipped with a built-in magnetic compass, integrated maps depending on your region and a free six-month navigation license. If you are travelling overseas, you can download the necessary maps on the go, thanks to the high-speed HSDPA (3.6 Mbps).

The package includes:

Design:


The pleasant design is similar to the one of the 5-megapixel 6220 classic. Our unit is in a black-grey scheme, but the model is also offered in a red-gray variant. The materials, used to produce the device give it a high-quality vibe and provide a better grip. The compact size also makes it pocket friendly.


You can compare the Nokia 6210 Navigator with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

The 2.4” TFT display supports 16 million colors and has a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels. In a dim light, the picture is bright and the colors are very real. The light sensor helps for the screen top be readable in direct sunlight. The display usability is very important for devices as the Navigator and we are very happy with 6210’s performance.

The sliding mechanism is not very stable, but the very movement is quick and easy, almost effortless. The soft buttons and the keypad have a blue backlight, they are easy to press and have a very good tactile feedback, which makes them very pleasant to operate. As in 6110 Navigator, here we also have a separate key for turning on the navigational functions (Navigator key), which blinks when the GPS is operational.


On the right, we have the volume controls and the camera shortcut, which are also convenient and easy to press. The opposite side houses the microUSB slot and the one for the microSD card, which are hidden under lids. On the top you will find the charger port and the 2.5 mm jack. The power button used for activation, deactivation and selection of a sound profile, which is standard for all Nokia phones, is not present here.

The loudspeaker and the 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus and double LED flash are on the back. The lid is very hard to remove and this operation can cause some damage to your nails.

Interface:

As we’ve already mentioned, 6210 Navigator is one of the first model of the manufacturer employing the S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 interface. It is the latest and optimized version, adding a few things.

One of them is the option to choose a whether the StandBy application is visualized horizontally in the upper part of the screen or vertically on the left. The first mode we know from previous models, and here it also has six shortcuts, which can be modified according to your needs. The second option however, shows only four icons, which expand when selected and offer additional options.

The Task manager is now accessible from the options of every menu and also visualizes horizontally.

The phonebook brings no innovations, but the screen during a call has been modified. Previously, in the event of an incoming call the contact’s picture (if any) appeared very small. Now, that’s in the past, because the photograph takes up the entire screen and there is no need for additional applications.

Organizer:

All organizing functions can be found in the Organizer menu.

The calendar is the same as in previous Symbian devices. Yoy have the option to choose between four types of events (Meeting/Memo/Anniversary/To-do), Location, Start and end time, alarm, repetition and synchronization.

The Quickoffice application opens Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, made only with Office 2003. If you want to edit and work on 2007 documents, you’ll have to buy an additional license for the “modest” $70.

The Adobe PDF reader LE (Light Edition) 1.5 will let you view fast and quick files with large content without any trouble with the pictures and the text.

The Zip manager allows you to open archives, compressed in Zip format. This could be a very handy application.


In the same menu you’ll find the Notes, Clocks, Alarms, Calculator, Dictionary, Converter and Active Notes.

Messaging:

From here, you can send an SMS, MMS or e-mails. Unfortunately, for the last ones you can only configure one mailbox. At least the settings for the more popular web mail servers (Google, Yahoo) are automatically filled in.

You have a Message reader at your disposal, which is usually seen in the business class of the manufacturer. In case you don’t feel like reading or have troubles with your eyes, this application can be very handy. When activated, a mechanical female voice starts to read the entire contents of the specific message, including the name/number of the sender and the title.

Connectivity:

Nokia 6210 Navigator is a quad-band GSM with dual-band high-speed (UMTS/HSDPA 900/2100 MHz) 3G support, but 850/1900 MHz and 850/2100 MHz versions will be offered as well. Unfortunately, there is no built-in Wi-Fi.

The Internet browser is the standard one for this OS and is excellent. Pages load fast and navigating through them is fast and easy. You have the convenient Page overview (Pan View), minimap, which appears after continuous scrolling, text shrink and zoom in/out. In addition, thanks to the accelerometer, the screen rotates by itself when you turn the phone vertically.


For local connectivity can be used the built-in Bluetooth 2.0 or an USB cable. The phone also supports A2DP profile, which allows it to transfer stereo music wirelessly.

GPS:

In contrast to 6110 Navigator, the new entry is not equipped with a special (paid) navigation software, and only has the free Nokia Maps 2.0. Every 6210 Navigator comes preloaded with such software, the maps for the given region and a free six-month voice navigation license for the same area. This saves you about $110, but since the phone we are talking about is Navigator, we think that the period should have been at least twice as long.

The manufacturer uses two companies for the creation of the maps: NAVTEQ and Tele Atlas. To get additional maps, you’ll have to either download them via the Internet or by using the Nokia Map Loader on the computer. The maps supported by this model are a product of NAVTEQ, and there’s no other option to choose additional ones via the installation software. This could be a huge drawback, because for some regions (Southeastern Europe for example) Tele Atlas offers more detailed and complete maps.

When starting the interface, a window appears, asking you if you want to use an Internet connection for faster positioning (A-GPS) and downloads of missing maps. At the primary start (cold), you’ll have to wait for about 3-4 minutes until the GPS determines your position, and the next time this will happen almost instantaneously (5 seconds at the most).

You will see your position on the homescreen (red dot), the zoom in/out indicators, the compass and a bar, housing the search field and the Internet traffic used. If you choose the option My Position, the red dot will be always in the middle of the screen, but you can scroll freely around the map.

This is the first Nokia with a built-in compass. It will come in handy only in case you have selected the Walk mode option. If it is surrounded by a red circle, you will have to calibrate it, by turning the phone at 360 degrees until the red turns green. This will make the map position according to the direction you are facing, which is very convenient, because you’ll know where is left or right, for example.


The navigation options standard for most programs are available here as well: search by address; Points of Interest, including restaurants, airports, stores, gas stations, parking lots and many more (if this option is supported for your region); saving a screenshot and purchasing various navigation licenses.

The GPS reception is good and rarely falls below the middle even when walking around in an area with high-rise buildings. In a non-residential area, the situation is even better. Overall, we are happy with the navigation offered by 6210 but we have some serious remarks regarding the map coverage although we were in a region for which we received a paid license.

Camera:

The 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus and double LED flash has a simplified and easy to use interface. To find the settings however, you’ll have to go through a few menus. This shortcoming is compensated to some extend by the toolbar added, which is activated when pressed left or right. Some of the buttons on the keyboard give fast access to the options, but there are no indicators whatsoever.

The pictures made outdoors have unreal colors, and the detail level is far from good. In an artificially lighted area, especially if the source is weak, the situation is much worse and the saddest part is that the double LED flash doesn’t illuminate the objects well enough.



It’s good that you can record videos in VGA (640x480 pixels) resolution and 15 fps. Their quality is nothing special but it’s quite good for a Navigator.

Multimedia :

The music player can sort tracks by artist, album, playlists, genre, composer and podcasts. The interface doesn’t offer anything new and you’ll be able to see the album art (if any), track information and indicators. As additional settings you can use some of the equalizer presets, to activate Loudness or Stereo widening effects. We recommend using the last two with headphones or you’ll not feel the difference.

The FM radio supports RDS and has a very simple interface. You can look for the available stations in your area not only automatically but via the Internet as well.

The video player will let you watch files converted in mp4 format with H263 or MPEG-4 codec and resolution no larger than 320x240 pixels. However, despite what the manufacturer claims, you won’t be able to play H264 coded ones. This is sad, because they have a much better picture and audio quality.

During music playback, the sound from the loudspeaker is with good quality. Nevertheless, listening to your favorite tunes with the headphones is much more pleasant. We are happy with 6210’s performance in this aspect.

Performance:

Nokia 6210 Navigator runs very fast, but not as fast as one of the quickest Symbian phones we have seen, Nokia 6120 classic. There is a light lag when the accelerometer rotates the screen, but you’ll get used to it.

The sound during a talk is above the average. You will hear real voices with good sound volume and quality, but at times, they could be kind of sharp. At the other end of the line, the sound is slightly louder but the  quality level is lower. The collocutor will hear an unreal and sharp voice, but this shouldn’t prevent him from understanding clearly everything you are saying.

According to the official data, the battery should provide up to 3.7 hours of talks, 244 hours in standby mode or 6.2 of using the GPS. Compared to all the other phones, the first two values are low, but the time it allows you to use the GPS deserves a praise.

Conclusion:

If you are looking for a user-friendly, navigation phone, 6210 Navigator is a good solution. However, you’ll have to live with the partial maps for some regions which can be a huge drawback. An alternative option is 6220 classic. It is in the same price range and functionality-wise, the differences between the two are that the latter is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera and offers three (as opposed to six) months of free navigation. We would’ve preferred the second option, because of the higher class of the camera.