If you look at the key characteristics of the smartphone, it is difficult to single out anything special. I will mention 1.4 GHz processor, 512 MB random access memory, 8 GB of internal memory, a 3.7-inch TFT screen with WVGA resolution, a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and, of course, Windows Phone 7 versions.
Equipment:
- Smartphone
- Headset
- Charger
- MicroUSB cable
- Instructions
Appearance
The tested smartphone looks less original than its older brother, and in general resembles Symbian phones, which were still actively produced in 2011. Nevertheless, the body features look decent; these are not the boring contours of a standard rectangular monoblock.
Buyers can choose between two colors: black or white. Depending on the color, the coating also changes. In the first case, the back panel will be made of soft-touch plastic, and in the second, glossy material will be at hand. Personally, I like the dark version better; the body is more pleasant to the touch and is not slippery. The assembly is excellent, the lid holds very tightly, there is no play.
Dimensions 119 x 62.2 x 12.5 mm, weight 126 g. Not very much, but not small either, average dimensions for a universal smartphone that fits easily into clothing pockets.
The screen is slightly recessed into the body; due to this technique, the device receives slightly protruding sides, which reduce the risk of scratching the display when the smartphone is lying on the table. At the top there is a small hole for the earpiece.
At the bottom there is a protruding strip that combines three mechanical keys. They are complemented by backlighting and are perfectly visible. They are convenient to use, they are pressed moderately tightly, so you won’t accidentally hit them.
There are no details on the left side.
At the top there is a universal microUSB port, as well as a 3.5 mm headphone output. In addition to them, there is a screen lock button. It has a small stroke and does not stand out with its relief.
There is a strap holder at the bottom corner.
There is a recess on the left to make it easier to remove the cover.
On the right side there is a volume control button. It presses clearly and is quite tight. There is also a dedicated shooting button here, which helps turn on the camera.
The back has sloping sides and beveled ends. Almost everything is covered with a removable panel, which is tightly fixed.
There is a hole in it for a 5-megapixel camera.
At the bottom there are many slots for the speaker.
If you remove the panel and put the battery aside, you will have access to the SIM card compartment. This model uses microSIM.
Display
The diagonal of the TFT screen is 3.7 inches with a resolution of 480x800 pixels. There is an additional layer, due to which the data is better readable outdoors under the bright sun.
The capacitive screen responds well to touch, there is a multi-touch that works smoothly and without twitching. The brightness margin is sufficient; at the maximum level, the picture turns out bright and colorful. Clear Black allows you to enjoy deep blacks that are not distorted even when you rotate the device. Viewing angles are not great, but very good.
Using examples Nokia Lumia 710 (left) next to HTC Radar (right).
I would like to note the presence of a special coating and Gorilla Glass, which should protect the screen from possible damage and reduce the risk of scratches on the surface. The display is easily soiled; if you do not immediately remove dirt from the screen, it quickly hardens on the surface and you have to subsequently spend some time getting the smartphone in order.
Platform
It offers a Qualcomm 8255 processor with a frequency of 1.4 GHz. The smartphone has 512 MB of RAM and 8 GB of internal memory. It is impossible to add space for content; the memory is not replaceable. But it is worth remembering that 25 GB is offered in the “cloud”, which is accessible via GPRS or Wi-Fi connection. The smartphone works very quickly, there is simply a lightning-fast reaction to all user actions.
Interface
The lock screen can be called the most striking element of the phone shell. Assigned here background image from the device memory. It can be not only an image offered by the manufacturer, but also any other one uploaded to the device by the user or taken using a camera. To activate the screen you need to press the lock key. After touching, the display will light up for a short period of time. You can see time and date information on the screen. At the bottom of the event line, icons of new messages or calls will be displayed if they were left unattended by the user. This also includes data about future events recorded in the calendar. The number of events of each type will be indicated.
Information about network connections. If the player is working, then from here you can control the operation of the widget responsible for the process of playing music. This element will also help you change the sound profile mode. To get to the phone menu, you need to swipe up from the bottom of the lock picture. For those who want to protect the contents of their smartphone from prying eyes, a password request function is provided.
The decoration of the main screen is simple and even ascetic. Nowadays, the majority of smartphones offer a variety of widgets and all sorts of functions in order to make maximum use of desktop space. The WP7 developers abandoned this idea. Instead, a unique way of organizing the menu is proposed. The status line at the top contains information about wireless connections and time. Data about new events does not appear here. In this case, most often this period disappears, the battery charge level is not visible. You must touch the top of the screen to bring up this menu.
Most of the space is occupied by large squares, which are responsible for access to certain sections. These are tiles, kind of application shortcuts; the menu itself is located on the next tab. Getting into it is easy, just follow the directions of the single arrow. By swiping your finger from right to left, you can get to the main menu. Here, in alphabetical order, all the programs that are installed on the phone are listed. They get here like standard applications, and subsequently added by the device owner.
From here, any icon is sent to the desktop. There they change places and are placed in the right order. You may notice that some elements occupy not one area, but two. These are large shortcuts that add some variety. Moreover, some of them are equipped with animation. For example, the gallery icon will show something like a slide presentation. As information about new events becomes available, corresponding icons appear on the icons. This is the number of new SMS, emails or missed calls. The list of shortcuts scrolls up and down; it doesn’t move any other way. The same principle applies to the main menu. To make it easier to manage a large number of programs in the future, there is a search function that will save you from tedious scrolling through a long string of icons.
If you want to change the design, you can choose from a black or white background, as well as color schemes. They do not transform the interface, they only change the color of the icons and some of the menu items.
The platform offers multitasking. You need to hold the return button, after which a menu of windows will open, among which running applications will be displayed. There you can switch between them.
Contacts
The phone book is divided into three sections. The first one shows all the names that are in the device's memory. The second one displays those that were used most often, these are the most popular contacts. The last column will connect together news from social networks, for example, Twitter or Facebook.
Contacts are displayed in a list that allows you to see the image assigned to the subscriber. The full first and last name cannot fit on one line. Taking into account the fact that there is a bunch of free space, such an implementation of a functional element looks controversial. Above the list of names, about a quarter of the screen is taken up by a large section header. A small area on the side is occupied by the adjacent column. The phone book is divided into small groups, with a letter highlighted in bright color above each of them.
In the settings, you select the type of sorting of names and the option for displaying them. There are book filter settings. From here you can remove data from social networks if they interfere. By holding your finger on the line with the subscriber's name, this contact can be moved to the desktop, deleted or edited.
When a new user is created, various data are assigned to him. Before this, you need to choose where the information will be saved: to your account Windows Live or another profile.
The new user receives a first name, last name, patronymic, place of work, nickname, title, picture. It is assigned several numbers different types: mobile, home, work, organization, pager, fax. At the same time, according to the creators of the platform, a person should have only one mobile phone. The issue is resolved by creating several contacts and merging them into one. But two home or work numbers. Three types are specified Email, as well as additional fields: address, website, birthday, note, anniversary, loved one, children, office location, position. You can set not only one of the files in the phone’s memory as a ringtone, but also any other one. The search menu will help you find the right person. The phone allows you to create user groups; they will be separately highlighted in front of the general list of names. By adding users to each group, you can follow the lives of your friends, see their messages and pictures. There is a separate application for transferring contacts from old Nokia to new model.
Calls
To go to the dialing menu, you need to click on the icon. After this, a list of numbers opens. The telephone part is divided into four groups: the call log itself, dialing, phone book and search. The device cannot remember the partition that was last used. Thus, to dial a number, you will always need to perform an extra action associated with moving from the call list to the virtual keyboard.
During the dialogue, information about the duration of the conversation is displayed on the screen, and before that a picture will be displayed if it has been assigned to the contact. The virtual keyboard displays Latin characters, but they will not help when dialing a number. There is no function for automatically selecting suitable numbers. The only assistant in this matter is the search option.
The call list is organized very simply. Here, in a long string of numbers, is the entire call history. It doesn’t matter whether there were identical numbers or not: the phone does not know how to combine calls of the same type. The caller's name or number will be displayed if the data has not been saved in the phone memory. In order to highlight the type of call (incoming or outgoing), multi-colored backlighting is used, which highlights the information under the number. The number is saved from the log to the phone book either for an existing user, or a new one is created.
Messages
Correspondence is formed in two sections. The first consists of messages in the form of SMS and MMS. The other includes Facebook contacts. Thus, you can correspond from here with users of the virtual community. Messages are displayed in a column, with the sender's name or number indicated in large font. The text of the latest message is displayed in small letters at the bottom. The day on which the message was received is indicated on the right. If you hold your finger on a line, a menu will open, which will delete the entire dialogue. If desired, single SMS messages are deleted in the correspondence between users. Any message from the dialogue can be forwarded. For clarity, text unread messages stands out in a bright color, like the selected design theme.
By opening the correspondence window, you will see messages that are divided into blocks. At the same time, incoming and sent SMS differ from each other in shades, which makes it easier to read. In addition, the date and time the message was received is noted here. The number or name of the person with whom you are communicating is displayed above the message. If you click on this line, a menu opens that allows you to make a call or see more detailed information about the subscriber.
When typing a message, you need to select the sender. You can simply type the numbers on the line at the top of the screen or select an existing contact. Previously used numbers cannot be used. The text entry field itself is located below; as new words are added, this space expands. When the number of characters exceeds sixty, the number of characters will be displayed below. This will help take into account the volume of a new SMS; sending combined, large messages is supported. A text message automatically turns into a multimedia message if you add a picture to it. In this case, only a snapshot from the camera or an image from the gallery is inserted. It will not be possible to convey any other information.
The settings in this section allow you to disable Facebook chat and activate a delivery report, which will be sent as a separate message. It’s inconvenient that the phone can’t save drafts in memory. The lack of templates is less critical, but this fact is worth mentioning.
The device offers a mailbox setup wizard. Several services are included, and these include popular resources among Russian users. Now it's not just Yahoo! Mail, Google, but also Mail.ru, Yandex and Rambler. You can specify other data yourself.
Each account is assigned a name, and the mailbox check interval is configured: push mode, every 15, 30 or 60 minutes. You can also check your email manually. The time period for loading correspondence is set: 3, 7, 14, 30 days or all the time. However, you cannot set a limit on downloading emails. The signature text that will be displayed on the sent letter is included. Mailbox offers several category headings: all, unread, due, important. The interface resembles a message menu. The sender's name is highlighted in large font, with the contents of the letter below in neat text. To the right is the time or date of receipt. New letters are highlighted in bright colors.
By holding your finger on a line with a message, you can delete it, mark it as read, move it to another folder, or assign a mark. Incoming emails with attachments will display a paperclip icon to help you understand that something has been added to the message. There is enough space on the screen for information about five letters. Below you can see four icons. The first allows you to create a new letter, the second is responsible for selecting several objects, the other allows you to check your mail. The latter opens a search menu within the correspondence archive.
When you open a received email, you will notice information about the sender, time and date of receipt, and content. Using multi-touch, you can easily scale text to a convenient size. However, text cannot adapt to the boundaries of the screen. The type of attachments is shown, the device allows you to download and view “office” type files, but you cannot see where the document was downloaded. For clarity, undownloaded attachments are displayed as a paperclip icon. Those that have already downloaded receive a different icon that corresponds to their usual symbol on the computer - icon Word file known to any user.
Entering text
You can choose from portrait or landscape mode. In both cases, about half of the screen is allocated for the keyboard. A separate key is available to change the input language. Another special button stores a variety of emoticons in memory. They are in the form of symbols, rather than the usual emoticons, which will require some knowledge in order to select the desired type when sending. Added sound when typing; it can be turned off. Select the desired language layouts from the menu. By holding your finger on a letter key, you can see a menu with additional symbols. For example, in the Russian keyboard, Ъ is called through ь, and Ъ through E.
Copying and pasting of text is provided. A cursor works on a similar principle, helping to correct typos. The built-in auto-word substitution works very well, it has a wide vocabulary, I liked it. Input speed depends on the user's skills. If you get used to the layout, you can type text quite quickly.
Calendar
The device offers a choice of several ways to display information. This is a day scheduled by the hour, a list of planned events, or tasks displayed in a separate column. In addition, all data can be displayed in the form of a regular monthly plan. In this case, you will notice that in some squares something will be written.
However, you can only see scheduled events if you go to the section with this data, click on the date and open a new menu. And this despite the fact that there is a lot of free space “walking” below, it could be used more wisely. The device allows you to simultaneously use several calendars, each of them is highlighted in a different color. In the settings you can change it by selecting one of the possible options.
When creating a new event, several fields are filled in. They can be: topic, place, selected calendar, time, duration. Additionally, a reminder is set that is triggered at the start of the event, 5, 10, 15, 30, 60 minutes, 18 hours, one day, one week in advance. A daily repeat is turned on, on every weekday, on every day of the week that coincides with the day the event was created, on every date that coincides with the date the event was created. Participants of the event are added and will receive notifications about it by email. Also to new entry notes are created.
Browser
HTML5 support borders on the lack of Adobe Flash. However, you can see animated advertisements on various resources, and videos are played on YouTube. The browser allows you to keep up to six windows open at the same time. The loading speed of resources is high, and the operation of the application itself is also pleasing. It is fast, scrolling through even large sites occurs without delay. Unfortunately, the browser does not know how to adapt a scaled font to the screen borders. You have to move around the page to see the hidden text.
The address bar is located at the bottom, right under your fingers, which is very convenient. There is an icon for reloading the page on the left, and an additional menu opens on the right. This includes your browsing history and bookmarks. The necessary resources can be added directly to the desktop. In the application settings, you can disable saving cookies and select a viewing mode. This item allows you to activate the mobile or full version. The application works in landscape or portrait mode, the set of capabilities is the same. The search for the required words on the page works.
Music
The phone supports .m4a, m4b, .mp3, .wma formats. The section with music and video is combined into a common group. This also includes podcasts and radio. Another tab shows history. Here you can look at songs that you have listened to before or at films. Latest list will show new data that has been added to the phone. In each of the categories, except the first, file covers are shown, it all looks very nice.
The Music section will offer a list of files, which are ordered by name depending on the selected criterion. The following options are offered: artists, albums, compositions, playlists, genres. If you click on one of the letters, you can use the quick search function among the data.
When a song is played, the file's cover art appears on the screen. At the top there are three standard player control keys. Below is information about the artist, album and track title. Under the song name, the names of the next two songs are indicated in small print. There is also information about the playing time and total duration of the song. However, there is no rewind function using the scroll bar, it does not work. To do this, you will need to hold down the Forward or Backward key to move to the desired area. The repeat mode is turned on for all songs or just one. There is a mixed playback mode. You can also mark your favorite composition separately. If you click on the volume control button, a small menu will open, which will display information about the track and buttons for moving between songs. It is also available when the screen is locked, which is convenient.
The sound quality is good, you can use your phone as an alternative to the player. However, you should definitely replace the supplied headphones with something of better quality. We can also note the absence of an equalizer, but it’s still pleasant to listen to music without it.
Music Nokia
This is a kind of duplicate of the built-in player, but in addition to the usual music playback function, there is another option: using playlists. Playlists are created based on the music store that Nokia offers. You can not only purchase licensed content there. By the way, one song in it costs 20 rubles. It also creates lists by genre, you can listen to songs, but you will need a good Internet connection. You can subsequently listen to this music again; the data is saved offline. Therefore, it is optimal to use Wi-Fi. The advantages of such an application include the opportunity to expand your horizons; I liked the selection of compositions. In addition, everything is beautifully decorated, nice to look at.
Radio
The receiver is ascetic; only a line is displayed here where a scale with numbers is displayed. Not only manual search works, but also automatic search. The desired stations are stored in the device memory. Some data is missing here, for example, RDS information is not displayed. The design is very simple: white numbers on a black background and nothing else.
Video
The player is extremely simple and ascetic. This shows a list of files in the phone's memory: when you select the one you want, it will open in full screen, although there may be black bars at the top and bottom. The screen displays the duration of the video and the time since the start of its playback. There are three player control keys, as well as a scroll bar that helps you quickly move through the movie. Declared formats: 3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .m4v, .mbr, .wmv. There is no DivX or XviD support here. However, when you copy a movie to your device via Zune, the app will automatically convert the file to required format. Of course it will take time.
Camera
A 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash is installed. Shooting is launched not only from the menu, but also using a dedicated button on the side. You need to press it and hold your finger for five seconds, and then start taking pictures. The button is two-position, comfortable. An excellent opportunity is to start shooting in locked mode, this allows you not to waste extra time, but to immediately start taking photographs.
The screen acts as a viewfinder. On the right is a button for switching between photo and video shooting modes. Below is the digital zoom key. The last button is responsible for the settings menu. On the left you can see a small part of the previously taken frame. From here you can go directly to the gallery if you click on this picture.
Settings:
Reset settings.
Flash: on, auto, on.
Contrast: minimum, low, normal, high, maximum.
ISO: auto, 50-100, 200, 400, 800.
Exposure metering: center weighting, frame averaging, center.
Focus: macro, auto.
Saturation: minimum, low, normal, high, maximum.
White balance: auto, tungsten, fluorescent, daylight, cloudy.
Effect: black and white, negative, sepia.
Shooting modes: auto, backlit, beach, twilight, macro, landscape, night, portrait, snow sports.
Size: 5M (2592x1944 pixels), 4M (2592x1488 pixels).
General settings.
In the examples, it may seem that the colors look somewhat gloomy and darkish. But the camera conveys the situation well, the white balance works correctly, there is decent detail and a moderate amount of noise.
 Gallery Camera shots and other images are included in the general section. It's called Photos and consists of several categories: favorites, new, programs. Pictures are sorted by albums, dates and people. Photos from Facebook appear here if you add your account to your smartphone.
Viewing data is simple and convenient. The screen displays a 2x3 or 4x5 matrix of folders or the icons it contains, respectively. You can change the image scale with a multi-touch or double click. Any image can be set as lock screen wallpaper, sent via MMS, email, posted to Facebook or Twitter, or uploaded to SkyDrive. The image is also added to the favorites list and opened using an editing program.
The unnecessary file is deleted from here, while batch selection of several objects is impossible; each of them will have to be erased in turn. The facial recognition feature allows you to tag people in your photos.
Watch Several alarms are stored in memory. Each of them is given a signal time and a repeat mode by day of the week. You can choose from melodies from the device's memory. You can also give your alarm a name.
The calculator offers all the necessary functions to carry out calculations. If you turn the device on its side, an additional settings menu will open.
Navigation Bing Maps currently performs poorly. The application's capabilities are extremely meager and limited. For example, you can’t even get directions. However, there is no localization; street names are indicated in Latin letters.
However, buyers Nokia smartphone get excellent navigation, which the owners of all other devices on this platform are deprived of. Maps with excellent detail, street names in Russian. Moreover, it is worth noting that there is also a numbering of houses.
Several terrain display modes are supported: schematic map, satellite and diagram indicating public transport. It is convenient to lay out travel routes here; the path from one point to another is calculated, both by car and by public transport or on foot. In this case, key points are indicated, and the entire upcoming road can be assessed in advance.
2D and 3D modes are implemented, and the interface is displayed in dark colors to make it more convenient to navigate in the dark. You can download the necessary maps of the area, as well as a package with voice prompts.
Marketplace As the name suggests, this menu serves as a source for finding new programs. You will need a Windows Live account to make purchases. It’s easy to get it, then you need to add your data bank card to purchase software. If you don’t add it, you’ll only be able to install free apps, which is logical. The menu is divided into groups. The first consists of programs and games. Then they go separately. The latter includes some application. On home page The number of available software updates, if any, is displayed. By selecting a section, you will see the offered software, divided into different categories for ease of searching.
Each application is provided with screenshots and an icon picture. The price is indicated, and it is given in the currency of the state whose information is indicated in the account. For example, I have an English Live account and the prices are quoted in GBP. When I started using Russian accounts, the price tag became in ruble equivalent. The program's rating, reviews, and its size are displayed. If you wish, you can download the demo version and try it before paying money for a full-fledged application.
Games For those who like to game on their phone, the Xbox LIVE section will be of interest. It duplicates the capabilities of the Marketplace by offering a variety of entertainment apps. The user receives a virtual character who earns new achievements over time.
Office functions The section includes applications that work with Word, Excel, Power Point and One Note. Accordingly, these are programs for text documents, tables, presentations and notes. The device allows you not only to view data on the screen, but to create new files of these types or edit existing ones. There are quite a lot of settings, it is unlikely that anyone will manually create a large presentation, but it will be convenient to make adjustments to a text document. But it is worth considering that Word format 97-2003 cannot be edited. These steps only apply to newer versions. It all comes down to the fact that file sharing is difficult here. The document can be sent by email, uploaded to SkyDrive or Microsoft server SharePoint Server 2010.
Search The dedicated key is responsible for the Yandex search engine. It opens when you click on this button and will search for data based on the words entered. You can assign another system, but it will only be Bing. Therefore, another system looks more advantageous; more useful reference information is immediately displayed on the screen.
Connections The smartphone supports GSM850/900/1800/1900 and WCDMA 900/2100 frequencies, provides reception speeds of up to 14.4 Mbit/s, and transmission speeds of 5.76 Mbit/s. Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n works well, reception is reliable, network passwords are saved, and locking the screen causes disconnection from the Wi-Fi network. Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR will allow you to listen to music on wireless headphones. Transferring data to other devices is not possible; the phone does not allow such an operation.
Profiles The device offers a single sound profile. It is not possible to configure multiple alert options. At the same time, a significant drawback should be considered the combination of sound in applications and alert signals. For example, if you mute the music in the player, it automatically decreases the volume for calls, SMS notifications, and alarms. It is difficult to understand what caused this logic, but in practice this option is inconvenient. You can set your own ringtones via Zune; the principle here is somewhat similar to creating a ringtone in iTunes.
Battery Nokia Lumia 710 has a removable lithium ion battery capacity 1300 mAh. According to official data, the phone operates up to 400 hours in GSM/WCDMA standby mode, or up to 7.5 hours in talk mode. As a player - 38 hours. In terms of battery life, the phone is no different; it lasts for a day. Moreover, in conditions of active correspondence via SMS or in social networks The charge is enough for a working day. The player works for 2-3 hours, 20 minutes of calls, 30 photos. Also included are 3G, Wi-Fi and background synchronization of mail and social services. If desired, some of the functions can be disabled, but then it is no longer so interesting to use a device with deep integration of various communication services. The battery saving option will extend the life of the phone; it will disable some functions. Charging from a computer's USB connector is supported. The total charging time for the phone is just over an hour. In continuous video playback mode, phone smartphone for 3 hours 20 minutes at maximum screen brightness with Wi-Fi turned on. The indicator is frankly weak. Conclusion The speaker doesn't have much sound headroom, so you have to use it on maximum volume or at a level close to it. The vibration alert is average in strength and is not always felt. The ringing volume is low. It’s enough for indoors, but there will be problems outside; there’s clearly not enough “vocality” here. Nokia Lumia 710 can become (for some it has already become) a successful ticket to the class of new devices. Not everyone is ready to start getting acquainted with a non-standard platform by buying a flagship: it is better to start with a cheaper model. I think that if you know what the device is capable of, and sensibly evaluate your claims and Windows features Phone 7, then the buyer will be satisfied with the purchase. Among its rivals, the device stands out for its interesting services - music, navigation, which are really well-designed and easy to use. Despite its advanced age, the device is still on sale, and if the version of the operating system is not critical for you (now version 8 is held in high esteem), then you should pay attention to the Lumia 710. Of the minuses, I would note the rather modest design; I personally prefer the materials of the metal Samsung Omnia W. If optional services do not play a role, then I would opt for the Korean device; in my opinion, it is nicer with the same characteristics and similar cost. In any case, the smartphone from Nokia turned out to be balanced, although it cannot be said that it is significantly better than its classmates. In the case where additional services are not of significant interest, choosing among Samsung, HTC and Nokia becomes a matter of loyalty to a particular brand, because the smartphones themselves are very similar to each other.
© Alexander Pobyvanets, Test laboratory |
“Lumia Nokia 710” is a smartphone based on Windows Phone 7.5 OS, which was released on October 26, 2011. Equipped with a 3.7-inch high-contrast TFT display with protection (special glass that protects the display from scratches and impacts). For a small one, excellent: 480 x 800 pixels (252 pixels per inch). The matrix can reproduce 16 or more million colors.
Appearance
The design of the Lumia Nokia 710 smartphone is reminiscent of Nokia 603 - the previous model of the Finnish manufacturer, but still on the Symbian operating system. The front panel of the smartphone consists of several elements: on top - a lighting module, a speaker, on the bottom - a back button, access to the main desktop and calling the search function. The opposite side contains a camera (5 MP) with an LED flash on top and a grid of holes for the main speaker on the bottom. The manufacturer equipped the right edge with a volume rocker and a button to launch the camera. On the left there is only a recess that helps to remove the back cover. A 3.5 mm jack, on/off button, MicroUSB are located on the top edge. Stylish panels in bright colors will help diversify the appearance.
Camera
The Lumia Nokia 710 uses a 5 MP photo module with the following capabilities:
- LED flash.
- Autofocus
- Quadruple zoom.
It will be a godsend for travelers new feature cameras - Geotagging. This mode adds points where the shooting is taking place to the photo. For this function, you must keep the GPS turned on, which quickly drains the battery " Nokia Lumia 710". The photo turns out to be of average quality - sufficient for social networks, but it will not suit professionals. The camera can be set to HD video mode. The maximum resolution for video recording is 1280 x 720 pixels (30 fps). You can see an example of a photo taken by the 710 below.
Hardware
The Nokia Lumia 710 smartphone has a standard single-core ARM processor, as for all budget devices. It is made using 45 nm Qualcomm MSM8255 technology with clock frequency 1.4 GHz and Adreno 205 graphics. For operating the interface, making calls, sending/receiving messages, Internet and wireless networks The processor performance is even excessive. The menu works without freezing, smoothly, and is responsive to touch. Nokia has always been famous for its interface design.
The graphics chip is head and shoulders above its predecessor (Adreno 200) and is comparable in computing power to its competitor Mali 400. Multimedia content is reproduced correctly, and you can watch HD video without converting to the screen resolution. Most games can be played without fear of system lag.
ARM MSM8255 belongs to the second generation (S2) of Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor family. With its help, smartphones support DDR2 memory, HD video recording, 12 MP camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth.
Specifications
The Lumia Nokia 710 contains the following modules:
- Wireless Wi-Fi module (b/n/g).
- Two communication standards - 2G/3G.
- GPS (A-GPS) navigation.
- DLNA is a technology that connects a smartphone with home network(laptops, computers, consumer electronics, other phones). Allows you to receive and broadcast video, music, pictures in real time.
- Bluetooth 2.1, supporting technology that reduces energy consumption by 5 times (EDR function).
Device memory - 512 MB of RAM and 8 GB of internal flash memory. Additionally, you can add 25 GB of memory reserved for the smartphone buyer in Microsoft's cloud storage. Such a generous gift will help you not to clog up the memory of the Lumia 710, but to upload any files “to the cloud” with 24/7 access from any device if the Internet is available.
The Windows Phone operating system is beginning to take over the low-cost smartphone segment. The first truly affordable device on this platform was the HTC Mozart. Now this title has been taken over new Nokia Lumia 710 costs a little more than 10,000 rubles. At the same time, functionally the device is almost a complete copy of the Finnish flagship Lumia 800. What is interesting about the Nokia Lumia 710, and is it worth our attention?
The Windows Phone platform still remains quite exotic in our area. Stores sell at most 4-5 models, which is not enough for the audience to perceive this operating system. But even among what exists, there are no truly affordable smartphones. The price tag starts at 15,000 rubles (it’s impossible to buy a new HTC Mozart now). Alas, this is not so much the policy of the manufacturers themselves mobile devices, how many Microsoft. This is largely due to the hardware requirements that the software giant places on vendors. But they are quite rigid and it is almost impossible to save on components. Microsoft, of course, is aware of the problem and promises the appearance of budget devices on the Windows Phone 7 operating system.
In the meantime, promoting the mobile operating system Microsoft systems was taken up by Nokia, which began selling its new smartphone Lumia 710, running under Windows control Phone 7.5. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the device has the lowest price on the market. This step will allow Nokia to introduce new interfaces, functionality and high performance WPOS. Moreover, the Microsoft operating system is becoming the main one for the Finnish vendor.
At first glance, the new product is quite a standard Windows Phone Mango device. Processor, screen, functionality - everything is like everyone else. However, Nokia tried to bring something of its own. These “friends” were the services “Nokia Music” with the ability to listen to music for free via the Internet, “Nokia Maps” - with free navigation and maps around the world, as well as design. But first things first.
Dimensions. Contents of delivery.
id="sub0">The new Nokia Lumia 710 is made in a classic form factor and has standard features modern smartphones dimensions: 119.5x62.4x12.5 mm, weight - 126 grams. The weight of the device is evenly distributed over the area, the device does not tend to slip out of your hands.
The branded box with the smartphone contains:
- Nokia Lumia 710 phone
- Battery Nokia BP-3L 1300 mAh
- USB Charger Adapter
- Interface cable miniUSB connector CA-185CD
- Nokia Stereo Headset WH-902 [3.5mm Jack]
- Instructions
Design, construction.
id="sub1">Nokia 710, despite its cost, can be called average or budget smartphone The tongue just won't turn. The device has a rather laconic and even modest appearance, which is compensated by the abundance of body colors from classic black and white to blue, yellow and pink (in our case, the black version was presented). The case materials are very good: glossy plastic on the front and plastic with a velvety coating (soft touch) on the back. It all looks very stylish. The edges of the case have rounded edges, making the smartphone fit comfortably in the hand. The velvety back surface prevents the smartphone from slipping out and does not leave marks from use.
In general, my impressions of the appearance of the Lumia 710 remained purely positive.
What else is there in this communicator? On the front of the phone you can see a speaker for voice calls. Nearby there is a position sensor (G-sensor), a digital compass, a proximity sensor, and a light sensor. Front camera Lumiya does not, therefore, does not have a video calling function.
Most of the front side of the smartphone is occupied by a 3.7-inch touch screen. Surprisingly, it doesn't get dirty as much as other touchscreen devices, no matter what you do with it.
Below the screen there are three mechanical control buttons: “Back”, “Windows” (“Home”) and “Search”.
The volume rocker is located on the right side. Just below there is a button to turn on/off and lock the screen, and even lower there is a camera key. A connector for connecting an interface cable and a microUSB charger, the on/off and unlock button is located on the top end. Here you can also find a hole for connecting a 3.5 mm headset.
There are no controls on the left. And at the bottom end there is a microphone.
On the back of the Lumia 710 there is a speaker for external calls (at the bottom). The built-in speaker has average volume reserves. In most cases, it is clearly audible so as not to miss a call in a noisy room.
At the top you can see a 5 megapixel camera lens with autofocus and an LED flash that can be used as a flashlight.
The back cover can be removed quite easily; just pry off the groove on the left side. Behind the cover is a battery and a micro-SIM slot. There is no slot for memory cards, only built-in memory. This is Microsoft policy.
There were no questions regarding the build quality during the test. “Lumiya” does not crunch when squeezed, the lid does not play and does not bend towards the battery. The model is assembled at a factory in South Korea.
Graphics capabilities.
id="sub2">Nokia Lumia 710 uses touch TFT screen 3.7 inches, made using capacitive technology, using ClearBlack technology (allows you to see clear black color in bright sunlight). The display sensitivity is high; a light touch is enough to register. There is support for multi-touch technology. The display resolution is 480x800, it displays 262 thousand colors. Thanks to the G-sensor (accelerometer), the screen can automatically change its orientation. The display is protected by durable Gorilla Glass. As practice shows, it successfully prevents scratches during smartphone use.
The screen has good color rendition, brightness, contrast and viewing angles. The brightness of the backlight is adjusted automatically, but at the same time there is manual setting. The display fades in the sun, but all information is clearly readable.
Job touch display does not cause any complaints, the screen perfectly recognizes even light touches. As noted earlier, the picture changes its position depending on the location: vertical or horizontal. But this does not happen in all programs and applications.
Keyboard and information input
id="sub3">Nokia 710 has three mechanical buttons: Back, Windows and Search. I didn’t like that they all had minimal travel and the pressure was very tight. It would be better if they were sensory or not so tough. The backlighting of the keys is white, dim.
Functions are controlled on the Lumia 710 using touch screen. At the same time, you will not find keys for accepting and hanging up calls. Thus, you can accept or reject a call only using the touch display. This is implemented quite simply.
Text typing is carried out using the on-screen QWERTY keyboard. It is quite convenient even in portrait display orientation - and all this is due to large display. IN landscape orientation the size of the buttons increases by about 45%.
In general, you can enter text in several ways: using a QWERTY keyboard in horizontal or vertical layout. To type a special character, just press the “&123” button. To switch the layout from English to Russian, there is a dedicated “ENU” or “RU” key to the right of the spacebar. In horizontal orientation, for unknown reasons, there is an empty space of 5 mm on each side on the left and right. Couldn’t it also be used under the keyboard, increasing, for example, the size of the virtual buttons?
Interface and navigation. Functionality
id="sub4">Nokia Lumia 710 runs the latest version of the operating system Windows systems Phone 7.5 Mango. In functional terms, the Lumia 710 is a complete clone of the Lumia 800. By and large, the only difference is in the built-in camera matrices: the younger Lumia has 5 megapixels.
The WP7 user interface looks original and fresh. Well, what about lawsuits for copying? appearance developers are not threatened. The design and organization of the menu are not similar to either the rather forgotten operating systems or the current Android and iOS.
Thus, in WP7 the desktop is presented in the form of a scrollable vertical column of squares and rectangles, the so-called “hubs”, where each of them can carry one of many functions. It can be either a shortcut to a specific application, or a link to a person from your contact list, to a photo, to a web page or service. The squares can be combined, and for some pre-installed applications (for example, photo galleries) this is an excellent solution. By the way, because of this, the WP7 interface was nicknamed “tiled”.
You can send it to your desktop as a square separate page. If you like, say, reading news from Yandex or Vedomosti, then you can, without launching the browser or digging up a journal entry, go directly to the last page you read by clicking on its shortcut on the desktop. Alas, the user does not have the opportunity to change and decorate the desktop with various pictures. The background here is purely black or white! You can only change the color of the design and that’s it.
At first I was surprised by the lack of indicators at the top of the screen showing signal strength, battery status and similar system notifications. But after some digging, I found them. To display you just need to click on top part screen and that's it, they will appear automatically.
If you try to scroll the screen from right to left with your finger or click on the arrow at the top of the display, a list will open installed programs. They are not divided into catalogs, but are displayed all together in alphabetical order. To add them to main screen just hold your finger on the corresponding icon for a long time - it will appear context menu with a choice of actions.
The overall style of switching between applications is reminiscent of flipping pages, and it all happens almost instantly. The speed of the interfaces is high, and the effects are quite appropriate; you have to do something to hook the audience.
WP7 was criticized a lot for its lack of multitasking. In the Mango update, the developers tried to take into account the comments and changed the presentation of programs running in the background. So, by holding the "Back" button you can access the list of recently running applications. If they support multitasking, then when you click on the thumbnail, the program will launch in the same form in which you left it. For now, not all applications can be worked in this way. Only built-in applications work reliably with multitasking mode: notebook, player, gallery and some others. Third party programs Most of them just start again.
It’s not surprising, but during a month of active use, the Nokia 710 never crashed or hung up, which is a big plus. The device is stable.
Telephone features
id="sub5">First of all, these include “Phone”, “Contacts”, “Messages”.
The "Contacts" hub represents data from detailed information O telephone numbers and subscribers. A record can have two dozen fields, be it last name, first name, patronymic, mobile number, home phone, email address, date of birth or anniversary, Accounts social networks, microblogging services, etc. The search in contacts occurs immediately across all fields of the client, that is, you can dial the number, first name, last name, etc.
Another feature of WP7 is the close integration of the Messages hub with social services. All correspondence with a specific person is displayed as a dialogue. It makes no difference how the next message is sent or received - via SMS or chat on Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Dialing a number can be pulled out into the squares screen, or you can use the “Phone” hub for this. Using calling services is intuitive and understandable. From experience, I really didn’t like it when to answer a call you need to make two movements, not one: the first is to unlock the screen, and the second is to answer directly.
Internet and Microsoft services
id="sub6">The standard package includes a browser Internet Explorer 9 with support for HTML5, Canvas and hardware acceleration, as in desktop version Internet browser. However, Flash is not supported, and there are no such plans yet. The browser works quickly and without glitches. Among the features: address bar is located at the bottom of the screen and is much easier to reach if you operate the device with one hand. But there is no Flash support here. The IE browser loads pages very quickly and supports modern operating algorithms, which is what a progressive browser should do.
Access to Microsoft online services (music, games, office, mail, etc.) is provided using Live ID. At the same time, with a Russian account, as it turned out, you cannot use everything that is in the Marketplace store. Only applications for Russia and the CIS are available. In particular, there is no official Twitter client. Or rather, it exists, but is not available in our region. Moreover, everything works and is located with the American Live ID. One can only guess about the reasons for such discrimination.
Windows Phone Mango offers a number of cloud-based features. Plastic bag Microsoft Office 365 allows you to create and edit presentations, text documents or tables, and the result of the work can be saved in the SkyDrive online storage.
Multimedia capabilities
id="sub7">Nokia is positioning the Lumia 710 as a smartphone with rich multimedia capabilities. Among other things, the manufacturer focuses on sound High Quality. In headphones, the device really sounds very, very decent. The device can be used as good player. However, it is better to replace your original headset with something more decent.
There is a separate hub for playing music and video. It is built on the famous Microsoft Zune service. What can I say? The media manager is quite clunky and requires itself to be installed to sync to your computer (much like iTunes).
Among the unique programs, it is worth noting the hub Nokia Music. It can play music already on your phone, as well as show announcements of upcoming concerts of a wide variety of artists and groups. True, this feature doesn’t work in Russia, which is a pity.
In addition, using your OVI store account details, you can access the Nokia music store and the free music streaming service Mix Radio. Mix Radio has ready-made playlists of six genres. The trick of the service is that these playlists can be downloaded for local listening. All this looks clearly more advanced than that of other manufacturers. Nokia has definitely succeeded here.
Installing new programs
id="sub8">New programs and other applications can be downloaded for free and installed from the Marketplace via the Internet directly from your phone. There are currently over 40,000 apps in the Marketplace. The appearance of the program is intuitive, there is a search for applications by category. They, in turn, are divided into “Programs” and “Games”. Within each section there is also a breakdown into categories. Most of their Marketplace software is paid, and the cost of similar software is 2-3 times higher than for Android, Symbian or iOS.
Of course, in a year the situation should improve, especially since tools for developing applications for this operating system are freely available on the Microsoft website. Free programs A little. All that remains is to wait.
Photographic Opportunities
id="sub9">Nokia 710 has a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash, which can also be used as a flashlight. The interface for working with the camera is ascetic, simple and intuitive, present standard list settings. The maximum resolution of photographs from the camera is 2592x1944.
It is worth noting that the smartphone camera allows you to take high-quality images in natural lighting conditions. But when you need to take a photograph in limited lighting conditions, using a flash leads to overexposure of the frame, and refusing it significantly reduces sharpness.
The device can record video in H.263/MPEG4 format with a resolution of 1280x720, 800x480, 640x480, 320x240 at a speed of 30 frames per second. Videos are of good quality, moving objects are not blurred. Lumia 710 supports formats and codecs: 3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .wmv, .avi (MP4 ASP and MP3), .xvid (MP4 ASP and MP3).
Navigation and maps
id="sub10">The Nokia 710 has two applications for working with maps: Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive. The first application is intended mainly for viewing the map on foot, the second - for navigation in a car. It is worth noting that detailed maps of a larger number of Russian cities are available here; there is no need to talk about Europe - they are there in full, and similarly for other countries.
When the program is launched, information is downloaded from base stations operator and GPS satellites about the location, current time, and maps are downloaded. After obtaining the coordinates, you can determine where in this moment You are at. The program menu includes a search for objects by text information, address, geographic location, history, and contacts stored in the phone. All objects on the map are displayed with a corresponding icon. It is possible to display street names and other information in Latin. There is support for searching in Cyrillic.
The user can choose the map display option - 2D or 3D image, day or night mode. In addition, a “satellite view” display option has been added, which is similar to what we see in Bing maps.
When navigating, large bold arrows display a pre-designated route. Among the pleasant features you can find information about the weather, the situation on nearby roads, etc.
In general, navigation using Nokia maps is similar to other similar services, only here the maps can be used offline.
Performance and memory
id="sub11">Inside the Nokia Lumia 710 is a single-core Qualcomm MSM8255 processor with a frequency of 1.4 GHz. The amount of RAM is 512 MB. The same processor is installed in the Nokia Lumia 800 and Samsung Omnia W.
The installed hardware allows the communicator to work without any hitches. The speed of the interfaces, as well as the loading of programs and utilities, fully corresponds to the requirements of the time. Everything works quite quickly and without brakes, and the special design effects enhance the experience.
8 GB allocated for data storage internal memory. Moreover, as experts write, it turned out that the device has a built-in slot for microSD memory cards. Moreover, the 8 GB of built-in flash memory that the device has is nothing more than a card this standard, but access to it is closed to mere mortals. It is located inside the case. This means that this amount of memory cannot be expanded - Microsoft policy.
Communication capabilities
id="sub12">You can connect to another computer or the Internet via Wi-Fi or interface USB cable[version 2.0].
Nokia Lumia 710 supports wireless accessories and bluetooth headsets 2.1 with EDR and A2DP, including wireless stereo headsets. Unfortunately, you cannot transfer files from phone to phone via Bluetooth.
In addition to supporting packet data transfer using GPRS and EDGE technologies, the smartphone supports 3G. The device can be used as a modem. The data transfer rate will be up to 14.4 Mbit/s for data reception.
You can access the Internet from your smartphone using Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, and also turn your device into a hotspot Wi-Fi access. In addition, there is built-in GPS/A-GPS and a navigation service with online maps.
Duration of work
id="sub13">Nokia 710 has a BP-3L Li-ion battery with a capacity of 1300 mAh. According to the manufacturer, the device's talk time is up to 7.5 hours; standby time up to 12 days.
Under testing conditions, with a number of calls of 20 - 30 minutes per day, listening to an mp3 player through a headset for about 4 hours a day, and periodic access to the Internet via Wi-Fi, the device worked for 1.5 days. These are good performance indicators, however, with a lower load, longer operating time can be achieved. With very active use, the smartphone will have to be charged at the end of each day. Charging accumulator battery in two hours.
Nokia Lumia 710 video
id="sub14">
Results
id="sub15">Based on the testing results, the Nokia Lumia 710 proved itself to be very good. The smartphone has a stable operating system with a pleasant user interface and rich functionality. The device is well assembled and has its own design and appearance. The Lumia 710 also has a good 3.7-inch screen and a price of just over 10,000 rubles.
Nokia 710, and WP7 in general, also have some disadvantages that should not be forgotten. These are, first of all, applications. You will not be able to install Skype. Same with Russian version of Twitter (available version does not work with Cyrillic) and a number of other programs. Another unpleasant point is that in the Marketplace, programs and content are more expensive than in the AppStore or Android Market. But this is all a matter of time: the more users Windows Phone 7 has, the lower the price of the final products will be for them.
If we talk about competitors, then these are, first of all, Samsung Omnia W, HTC Radar. All of them, with general functional similarity, cost 4-5 thousand more than a smartphone from Nokia. In turn, the Lumia 710 can additionally boast mapping and music services.
Advantages:
- Fresh and fast user interface
- High quality build
- Integration with Xbox and Microsoft services
- Availability of Nokia Music service
Flaws:
- There are a small number of programs in the app store, and those available are 2-3 times more expensive than their counterparts on iOS and Android
- Sometimes poorly thought out interfaces
- Multitasking is not for all programs
- Support Micro-SIM instead of regular SIM card
On the day of publication, Nokia Lumia 710 could be purchased at a price starting from 10,490 rubles.
The phone for testing was provided by Euroset.
Lumia 710 is Nokia's pioneer in the WP smartphone market. The model was released simultaneously with the very end of last year and was positioned as « smart phone» average price level, even slightly below average. At the same time, apart from the design and a few not the most important technical characteristics, the smartphone did not differ much from the flagship.
True, as usually happens in "our Palestines", for a long time the price tag on the Lumia 710 was hanging too high. The turning point occurred this summer, when the price of a smartphone finally dropped below $300. Now the device can easily be classified as a budget device. This, in turn, makes it a potentially very interesting product for large number users.
We will not go into detail about the layout of the buttons and connectors on the Lumia 710; we will only briefly mention the specifications and technologies. Instead, let us dwell in more detail on the nuances of operating the device from the point of view regular user. How relevant is the Lumia 710 from the perspective of today, when the release of Windows Phone 8 is just around the corner? What are the pros and cons of the model compared to other representatives of the Lumia line? Can it compete with the horde of cheap Android smartphones? In the end, what is the Lumia 710 from a practical point of view?
Appearance, practicality of materials
To be honest, during the presentation, I did not like the smartphone in question, unlike the Lumia 800. The color combinations are too much "not for everyone", the visual feeling of inexpensive plastic, the unmemorable shape, the physical block of control keys under the screen today looks retrograde.
I can’t say that my opinion has changed radically after more than a week of active work with the phone. However, the Lumia 710 is perceived much better in person. Perhaps it's all about the black design - the colorful versions of the device are still alarming.
The cover of the smartphone deserves the highest praise. In our case, it is rubberized, with "soft" matte surface. Something similar was encountered in and Lumia 800/. But, unlike Japanese and Taiwanese devices, the coating on the Lumia 710 is more practical: after 8 days of not the most careful use, no abrasions appeared. The other advantages of this design of the cover have not disappeared anywhere: dirt does not remain on it, the phone does not slip out of your hand, the device is well fixed on any surface, even smooth.
I was pleasantly surprised by the build quality of the smartphone, especially after. Although the model in question is not made in a solid body, like its older brothers, the lid fits very tightly, like a glove. The disadvantage of this solution is that it is not very comfortable to open it, you will have to practice. Although there is still nothing interesting under the rear panel, except for the battery and SIM card slot. So if you are not used to changing SIM cards and batteries on the go, then this will not create any unnecessary problems.
A few words about buttons. The double sound control key is located on the same level with the end edge, but can be easily felt thanks to a small notch in the middle. With a hardware camera button it’s more difficult: at first you have to look for it with your eyes, but after a certain number of shots your finger "remembers" key location. The travel of all buttons is short, but very clear and reliable. Inherent in Lumia 610 "looseness" No. The same goes for the block with three buttons below the screen. By the way, they are quite convenient to use, certainly no worse than their sensory counterparts, which you can just try to feel in the dark.
Of all the models in the Lumia series, this smartphone is the lightest. However, the differences are within a few tens of grams. The main thing is that the phone is comfortable to use, the weight is optimal, and the thickness of 12.5 mm is not noticeable due to the rounded and beveled side ends.
Returning to the design of the Lumia 710, I would call it practical, neat, but unmemorable. Given the price set for a smartphone, this is rather a plus. I asked six people to express their opinions regarding the appearance of the device. One person really liked the smartphone, three were neutral about it, like me, two more said that they would not buy the Lumia 710, since it reminds them of Symbian-based devices (the smartphone is really similar to the Nokia 603).
Display
The only major difference between the Nokia Lumia 710 and older models is the display technology. Like the Lumia 610, the device is content with a TFT matrix, while the Lumia 800/900 flaunt AMOLED screen. The resolution of the displays is the same, and the Lumia 710 and 800 have the same diagonal (the Lumia 900 has a larger screen).
At first there were fears that the device would have problems with backlighting, which were observed in the Lumia 610. But no, this time there was no such failure, the unevenness of the backlight was barely noticeable only in the upper part of the display. And even then, you need to take a closer look.
The Lumia 710 uses ClearBlack technology, so the black color on the screen of this smartphone looks better than on the display of the Lumia 610. However, both phones are still far from AMOLED matrices. If you look at the display at the right angle, the black color looks really black, but when you tilt the phone a little, it turns into a brownish-gray color.
More recently, IPS matrices () have made their way into the budget segment, so the Lumia 710 screen cannot be called the best. Nevertheless, the display is decent, with imperceptible pixelation, plenty of brightness and responsive multi-touch.
The smartphone screen is protected by first generation Gorilla glass. We didn’t test it under harsh conditions, but the Lumia 710 traveled all week in a small bag, next to a handful of flash drives, a couple of pens, a bunch of keys and a few coins left over from visiting one of the fraternal countries. As expected, no scratches appeared on the glass. This means that Gorilla Glass fulfills its main function, and nothing more is needed.
Functionality and bugs
Windows Phone 7.5 is a very easy OS to learn. As practice has shown, many of those who encounter this platform for the first time are initially confused by the flickering, winking tiles of the main screen. But after 10-20 minutes people get the hang of it and say that the organization of the interface is easier and more logical even compared to simple "dialers". But that is until you have to launch the Microsoft Zune.
Mastering a desktop application takes much longer than getting used to the UI of the smartphone itself. I still try to stay away from the Zune as much as possible: for example, I’m used to sending photos by e-mail. The only time the desktop app was truly useful on the Lumia 710 was when the device announced that an update was available. The device received firmware with Windows Phone 7.5 Refresh. No serious innovations have appeared, except perhaps the function of an access point with "distribution" Internet, the ability to attach several photos, videos, audio notes or melodies to an SMS. Everything else is unnoticeable little things and bug fixes.
The Lumia 710 does not have any restrictions on installing applications, so the first thing I did was install it on smartphone Skype. Fast, convenient and without support for working in background- no surprises, the program works exactly the same on Lumia 800. Let us remind you that on Lumia 610 Skype application does not load due to the halved amount of RAM.
Another necessary mobile applications- client for Twitter. The corresponding program does not have the highest rating. As it turns out, many Russian-speaking users are unhappy with the lack of a Cyrillic menu. Frankly speaking, the Twitter client interface is so simple that the complaints seem strange.
To test the performance of the smartphone, several demo versions of games were also downloaded from the Marketplace: Mirrors Edge, Asphalt 5, Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja. All of them, thanks to Microsoft, started without problems.
The Lumia 710, like other devices running Windows Phone 7.5, has two problems. One of them is related to the Marketplace: there are still not enough programs for the OS, even if Microsoft reports at least three times that it has surpassed the milestone of 100 thousand applications. The second problem of the platform is itself, or rather its rapid obsolescence. This partly explains the decline in prices for WP smartphones. With the transition of the Lumia 710 to the budget segment, this issue is partially leveled, since even without further software support, the device will cope with telephone functionality and already created applications will still be available for it.
Unfortunately, during the operation of the smartphone there was an annoying bug. One day Lumia 710 without visible reasons lost the network. It was possible to restore the device's functionality only after a reboot. To be fair, it is worth noting that "glitch" was caught only once.
Some Lumia 710 owners complain about the quiet call speaker. In my opinion, the device has enough volume, the main thing is to choose a normal melody. On the first day, I actually had to miss a couple of calls on the street in quite noisy places. The problem was solved by selecting more "vocal" melodies.
Camera
The camera installed in the Lumia 610 left a very unpleasant impression. According to the specifications, the Lumia 710 also received a 5-megapixel photo module. Is it possible that even now the pictures will be faded, overexposed, with unnatural color rendition and extremely low detail?
Both smartphones once again proved that the camera is different from the camera. The five megapixels of the Lumia 710 behave much more adequately than the five megapixels of the Lumia 610. The photo module, however, does not demonstrate miracles and produces images of average quality. Good macro photography, normal colors, but noise is noticeable in almost any photo. In general, it's a typical average camera, there are many better 5-megapixel cameras, and there are also some that are noticeably behind the Lumia 710.
The smartphone shoots HD video surprisingly well, the only pity is that it has monophonic sound.
Productivity and time battery life
Hardware "filling" Nokia Lumia 710 is fully consistent with older models, so the phone did not bring any surprises in this regard. The device copes well with all applications that exist for Windows Phone. This is the key difference from the younger model with the amount of RAM halved and a processor with a frequency of 800 MHz instead of 1.4 GHz.
As for battery life, I expected a more expressive result. When using the Lumia 710 as the main phone (about 20-30 minutes of calls per day, about an hour of Internet work, including web surfing, Twitter and Skype, active photography and games launched from time to time), it lasted a day.
Activating the energy saving function, if it increased this figure, did so only slightly, by a couple of hours. In a week, the Lumia 710 battery still does not "swayed": The smartphone had to be charged once a day. Let me just clarify that the device was operated with maximum level display backlight.
conclusions
I won’t hide that I liked the Nokia Lumia 710. It's rare that you come across a model that you would like to keep as your main phone. This is exactly the case. At its price, the smartphone offers everything that the Windows Phone platform is capable of. Didn't fall victim to low cost specifications devices, as happened with the Lumia 610. The difference between the two models is cosmic, and the price of the youngest device in the line is only $20-30 lower.
The Lumia 800 smartphone, on the contrary, is one and a half times more expensive. The overpayment is justified by an AMOLED display, a higher-quality 8-megapixel camera and twice the storage capacity (16 GB versus 8 GB). Everyone will decide for themselves whether all this will justify the difference in price, but in my opinion, the Lumia 710 looks more balanced.
What about competition with state employees on Android? The Lumia 710 smartphone, of course, cannot boast such a diverse number of applications, but it is much more pleasant to use. Almost all the programs necessary for everyday work are available for Windows Phone, but in terms of speed, the model leaves everything behind inexpensive smartphones running Android.
Probably, enthusiasts who like to delve into settings, firmware and software will not agree with me and will choose the operating system from Google. And they will be right. But those who decided to switch to it from a regular phone will certainly be satisfied with the Lumia 710 model. Simple, easy and fast interface, no matter what, but still "smart" possibilities, high-quality assembly and materials and, finally, the low price make it stand out among the variety of smartphones "up to $300".
A source of information: