Nokia 7310 Supernova

Nokia's 7310 Supernova sounds more like a TV show than a new mobile phone. Featuring exchangeable Xpress-on covers, a 2-megapixel camera and a mirror-style finish on the keypad and display, the 7310 aims to add some spice to the entry-level end of the mobile phone market.

The 7310 Supernova looks largely unremarkable. This candy bar handset features curved corners and a lightweight design. Nokia's attempt to add some bling to the phone is a hit and miss affair — the mirror-style finish adorning the display and keypad may look good but it certainly attracts plenty of fingerprints. In our view, it also cheapens the look of the handset. Combined with the lightweight, plastic design, build quality isn’t great. The rear casing squeaks and rattles when pressed, as does the five-way navigational pad.

Although the design won't be everyone's cup of tea, the 7310 Supernova is certainly simple to use. Nokia makes use of the common Symbian Series 40 interface. It’s a little sluggish when quickly scrolling or browsing, but it means using this handset is straightforward. Combined with well designed controls, including the large and comfortable keypad, first-time users shouldn't have any issues.

Another downside to the glossy finish on the display is its performance in direct sunlight. Thanks to this and the screen's poor viewing angles, the 7310 can be difficult to use outside on a sunny day. It's excellent for the rest of the time, though, being quite large for a handset commanding this price.

The phone's features are largely unremarkable. The highlight is the expandable memory, with a microSD card slot capable of storing cards up to 4GB in size. Multimedia is fair with a 2-megapixel camera, a video recorder, music player and FM radio with RDS all present. Bluetooth with the A2DP profile will also let you stream your music to a wireless pair of headphones.

Other additions include a range of PIM functions including a converter, world clock and calculator and a preinstalled Yahoo! Go service. The lack of 3G restricts this application from being as good as it could have been, though the ability to quickly access Yahoo! services is still pretty handy.

Unfortunately, at this price point the 7310 hardly seems good value. If it was at least $50 less then we'd have no trouble overlooking its shortcomings, but as it stands there is nothing really appealing about this handset.