Nokia Lumia 710
The Lumia 710 is a midrange smartphone with decent specs in terms of its ClearBlack display, long battery life and zippy performance. If you can overlook its plain looks, it is a capable phone that won't hurt your pocket much.
| The good | Compact and lightweight; durable build; good battery life; vibrant screen. |
|---|---|
| The bad | No front-facing camera; basic design; lacks Internet sharing. |
CNET Editors' Rating
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CNET Editors' rating
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Rating breakdown
First announced at last year's Nokia World along with the Lumia 800, the Lumia 710 marks the early beginnings of the Finland-based company's partnership with Microsoft.
It may not have the good looks of the Lumia 900 and 800, but the 710 has been seeing brisk sales--in Singapore at least. As the lowest-end Windows Phone (WP) device currently available--until the Lumia 610 is released--the 710 has inched its way into our list of top 10 phones for the month of March.
Design
The Lumia 710 has a compact design that's rounded at the sides and around the back. It's not as aesthetically exciting as its higher-end cousins, the Lumia 900 or 800 and could be considered rather ho-hum.
Its plain looks belie its durable construction though, which Nokia has proven its expertise in. We like the interchangeable back covers which are made of a soft touch material. This makes the phone grippy and helps it sit comfortably in small hands.
Due to its midrange specs, it does not boast the premium materials of Nokia's other WP handsets, but is made of a lightweight plastic instead. However, we found this plastic to be sturdier than the Samsung Omnia W, another midrange WP handset. You seem to be getting what you pay for here, as the Lumia 710 is slightly pricier than the Omnia W.
The Lumia 710's 3.7-inch WVGA (800 x 480) screen is sharp and clear for basic Web surfing and viewing YouTube videos. It has Nokia's ClearBlack technology, which we find gives deeper blacks without compromising on detail. Colors seem natural on the TFT screen, yet and aren't saturated like Super AMOLED displays. The viewing angle is pretty wide, too.
Finally, the Gorilla Glass display puts clumsy folk like this writer at ease as we don't have to worry about scratches. However the screen is not oleophobic at all, so we were always wiping away fingerprints.
Features
The Lumia 710 is powered by Windows Phone 7.5, Microsoft's mobile operating system (OS). Since the Redmond-based company keeps an iron fist on the OS (read: No proprietary UIs like Android) and hardware specifications, handset makers have to differentiate their products through design and bundled apps.
Here's where Nokia has the upper advantage. Like the Lumia 800, you get the standard Microsoft apps (Bing, Xbox Live and Office), as well as Nokia Drive, Music and Maps preloaded. Nokia Drive and Maps provide the convenience of offline navigation, which is ideal if you travel often and don't want to incur data roaming costs.
Unfortunately, Nokia has left out the Internet sharing feature, even though the Mango update introduced support for Wi-Fi hotspots. Other Mango-powered handsets have already included Internet sharing since the update was rolled out to manufacturers. Nokia has stated that it would include this feature, but we're still waiting for it to hit the Lumia 710 and 800.
It is also a pity that Nokia is pushing for near-field communications, but WP still does not support that feature.
You can read more about the OS here.
In the meantime, a useful feature Microsoft has specified is the hardware shutter button, which you can press to access the camera app even when the phone is locked. You can half depress the hardware shutter button to focus and press it fully to capture the image. Tapping on the screen also focuses the image and snaps the photo.
The Lumia 710 features a 5-megapixel camera that, like most smartphones, performs fairly well in daylight, but produces grainy images in low-light conditions. Even though it has a lower megapixel count, images taken with the 710 were sharper than the Lumia 800.
The Lumia 710 is also able to capture 720p video, which tended to look either yellow or underexposed, under fluorescent lighting.
There's no front-facing camera here, so you can't do video conferencing.
In terms of connectivity, you get the standard HSDPA, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth options. As for storage, it's non-expandable at 8GB, but you get 25GB of space free with Microsoft SkyDrive.
Performance
The Lumia 710 runs on a single-core 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset and 512MB of RAM, as specified by Microsoft. It's snappy when performing light tasks, such as email, messaging and calls, and we didn't experience much lag when switching between applications.
While we complain about lousy battery life on high-end smartphones, this fortunately isn't an issue on the Lumia 710. Even though its battery capacity is smaller than the Lumia 800, we got it to last around a day and a half on a single charge. This was with two email accounts set on push and Twitter and Facebook refreshing at 15-minute intervals. This is probably due to the smaller screen which consumes less power.
Call quality was generally fine. In our time using the handset, we didn't experience any dropped calls. Plus, the speakerphone audio is sufficiently loud for voice calls and listening to music.
Conclusion
If you want a midrange Windows Phone handset that won't hurt your pocket, the Lumia 710 may be worth a look. With its pocket-friendly features and interchangeable back covers, it seems to be targeting the student crowd and anyone who's looking to upgrade to a basic WP handset for the first time.
Although the Omnia W is cheaper, the Nokia Lumia 710 has a better build and more useful bundled apps. If you're undecided, our advice would be to try both phones out at the stores before committing to one.
The Lumia 710 is now available at a retail price of around S$505 (US$403) without telco subsidies. If that's still too pricey for you, you may be better off waiting for the entry-level Lumia 610, which should be available in the coming months.
(Credit: Jacqueline Seng/CNET Asia)
(Credit: Jacqueline Seng/CNET Asia)
(Credit: Jacqueline Seng/CNET Asia)
(Credit: Jacqueline Seng/CNET Asia)
(Credit: Jacqueline Seng/CNET Asia)
(Credit: Jacqueline Seng/CNET Asia)
About the author
Jacqueline Seng is a presenter/writer for CNET Asia, focusing on mobile phones. Her induction into the world of IT involved typing out stories on a computer in kindergarten--not that much has changed. The only girl on the editorial team (for now), she is also an avid potato chip connoisseur, heist movie enthusiast and indie/hiphop music aficionado.
Latest comments
I really think many people do not know how to use the phone and comment on it.. I have used the operating system and so far so good... Maybe you should find out more like maps there is Nokia maps which is offline supported and even do they also have the maps built in to the phone. The market place might the limited but the phone built on the concept of not having to open wait and enter an app to do the daily functions. If you are looking for hardware a better option is the lumia 800/900.. This phone is the cheaper version which has limited specs. Syncing was never an issue all I did was signin with my live account(Gmail) for those who only think you can do it only with hotmail... Research and do your homework. To sync contact the built an app to bring in contact from other phones via Bluetooth..i really think many people do not know how to U the phone maybe you should really ask if you don't know.. :) all I can say is it takes time to discover the beauty of the phone and the hidden features if you are not sure YouTube it... The have improved alot and what I heard is that the next update will include tethering as well... These are the comments they hear from us the users... Windows phone has the slogan put people first so it you can do help by giving feedbacks not endless complains... You know where you can give feedback? Its also in the phone under settings if I not wrong but well all I can say is features that you spoke about are there because the platform is new does not mean its not there.. Ask and you might discover...
Pros: smooth gui, fast, camera, gps navigation, solid build
Cons: marketplace, sync issues, no editing software, feels limited, limited sorage
Summary: a love and hate affair
I was a Nokia user before this, and I have an android and an apple product. One day the Nokia had to go. After useless and endless research I decided to buy a Lumia 710. Before the purchase, I had in my hand a Nokia 700 and a Nokia lumia 710. Told my self that I would get the best of both worlds if I bought the lumia. Was I ever wrong. When starting the phone for the first time I was expecting the friendly Nokia and resources of windows in a device this small. What they didn't tell you are fine prints that they never show in the adverts. The apps are good, and the so called metro GUI with live tiles are a changer, but I only bought it for a day or so. The limitation of the apps and the limited number of apps is the down fall of marketplace. The worst thing is that the put country control on the content of marketplace. In Malaysia, which has a bigger licence hold numbers than Singapore gets a watered down version, no Xbox themed games, and the popular apps are being rewritten by someone by the name yalla. The user friendliness of the old Nokia is not there anymore. No profiles, no Nokia suite to edit the phone via a pc, no integrated drive and map, no good set of apps like in obi store. All you get now is a so called smartphone with any personalization, with lots of integrated social apps built around it, and different versions of itself in different countries. Apple doesn't do that. I notice a UK iPhone looks and has the same apps content as Malaysia. Even Google play has a better content in terms of quality content, and to me most of Google play apps suck. In terms of hardware, I have no gripe what so ever, feels great in the hand, love typing on the keyboard so much so, that I'm typing this review on the lumia 710. The camera is incredible for a 5mp cam. Shooting quality video was a surprise. Liquid is, neveronce did it lag. The weight of the phone is just nice but its bulky. I've had hates and dislikes about this phone, but I'm sticking to the phone. Due to not being able tosethe phone out and not getting a buyer. The tiles, quality of apps, personalization, needs to be addressed. And don't be fooled by the office hype the push forward in the adverts, it does less when compared to office apps in google play and app store of the apple. And where is the so called update to enable hotspot, have you forgotten Nokia?
Pros: Looking very business like
Cons: What has happen to NOKIA since the good old days?
Summary: No one would keep this phone for very long!
Although all the buttons work superbly, operation wise, this has to be send back to the drawing board. The competition namely HTC, I phone and Samsung Galaxy are all so much ahead now! Syncing is an annoying problem especially for business users like me. Does not work as advertised at all!
Pros: Smooth operation
Cons: The software is not ready yet
Summary: Rush to the market, nothing is ready
Before Lumia 710, Nokia X6 was my previous phone. I was forced to switch the phone because the GPS software on X6 crashes all the time. I have to drive in various countries, GPS is a thing I must have. Then I get this Lumia 710, yes, the GPS works but the funny thing is, you just have no way to save a destination for the future use or pre-plan the trip by setting various locations. I used to use ovi maps on PC to find locations then sync the locations to the phone. It doesn't work that way any more. Also, the Microsoft software doesn't not even allow you to sync Outlook contacts and calendars to the phone. I really can't believe that. If Nokia wants to use WP software to win back the market share, take a look what you had before. Worst thing, Nokia Suite doesn't work with this phone. In this case, why we need Nokia, any Chinese factory can come up with a better cheaper hardware.
Pros: smooth, attractive interface
Cons: everything else
Summary: After one week of owning it, I would like to return it for good.
What good is a phone if it takes an impossible amount of your time to figure out how to back up stuff like contacts , calendar, sms? Zune is for media files like audio/video only. Windows Live is some crap. They expect you to migrate to Hotmail first, update your stuff there and sync that with the phone. If you have contacts and other stuff on your phone that you simply and without much hassle want to make a back up of, if case the phone catches fire or something, there is just no way to do it. They expect everything to go to Windows Live and Zune. They dictate what you should do with your personal info and preferences. That is why they don't provide a memory card slot on this phone, and you can't save anything to the sim card too. Nokia Suite does not work with the Lumia. Good phone completely screwed by questionable/dubious implementation of essential features and applications. Buy and REGRET two days later.
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