What do you want out of a night-out-on-the-town phone? Decent styling? Check. Shiny, show-off detail? Check. Lightweight? Check.
So far, so good. But the 7310 Supernova has another trick up its sleeve. Say you’re wearing dark blue tonight (strong, cool, meaning business).
Then the dark blue casing of the phone will match perfectly. But next time you may prefer a more playful look; bright green jumper to catch the eye (outgoing, confident, fun). No problem again, because there’s a wasabi green casing for the 7310 too. Without needing to buy another phone in the other colour, you simply slip one case off and another one on.
The Xpress-On cover was a Nokia innovation many years ago, which fell by the wayside as handsets got thinner. The phone comes with a spare case (although the one supplied in our review sample was pale pink, which may not convey the same feelings). Mind you, this feels much more a woman’s phone than a man’s, so maybe Nokia has got the colouring just right.
Watch those nails
The casing, it should be noted, is not the easiest thing to swap and you’ll need to get used to the fixings if you want to swap them regularly. Still, it’s a cute function and having a spare cover is a good way to keep the phone looking fresh as it gets older.
This phone is budget-priced, so it’s no surprise that the feature list runs a bit cold after this. True, the design is fashion to its fingertips, even sparkling up the phone’s insides with crazy coloured patterns.
And the shiny screen looks compellingly like a mirror when it’s in standby; handy for checking make-up or if you did trim that annoying nose-hair properly. The keypad is designed to look good, but like the Nokia 6210 Navigator, the downside is keys that are a bit slippery for everyday use.
More serious is the camera, that’s just 2-megapixels and has no flash. Surely any good night out involves taking embarrassing pictures of friend and colleagues in dark corners? Without a flash their modesty is saved, but what’s the fun in that?
You can shoot video, but only in a resolution so low that even YouTube would laugh at you.
Nor was it likely that a phone like this was going to be packed with features, so there’s no 3G. If you want to check your email or get on the net (the excellent Opera Mini web browser is pre-installed), it’s at 2G speeds only.
At least there’s Bluetooth, so that’s a plus. It supports stereo sound too, so you can ditch the headset and listen to music without wires. You’ll need a microSD card for your tunes, mind, as internal memory is about enough for half an album.
The screen is good though, and the Series 40 user interface has come on leaps and bounds. The weight is low enough to mean you can plonk it in your pocket or, more likely, handbag and forget it’s there, while no 3G equals good battery life.
VERDICT
If your phone is too valuable, too sombre or too tatty to take out with you in the evening but you can’t keep swapping handsets, why not swap the cover and give it a new lease of life? The return of the Xpress-On cover is welcomed, although we’re not sure how many covers you’ll be able to buy for this phone – especially as you can only get it SIM-free for now.
It’s small, light and should have a long life because when it gets dirty; re-case it. The only problem is that it’s rather poorly specified, making its main selling point the changeable covers. If that floats your boat, then dive in.
RATINGS (OUT OF 5)
PERFORMANCE: 3
FEATURES: 2
USABILITY: 3
OVERALL: 3
