Pros

· Vibrant 4,096 color display. At 128 x 128 px the resolution blows the current competitors away.

· Good messaging software. Supports MMS, and concatenated SMS. A plus for messaging maniacs.

· Excellent list of multimedia options. Large 128 x 128 px wallpaper, polyphonic ring tones, color schemes to customize your phone.

· Cool downloadable games. With the 7210, you're no longer limited to the games they put on the phone for you. Bounce and Triple Pop are pretty fun too.

· Incredible sound quality. What makes the sounds so great for FM radio, games, and ring tones, is the mini sound card this phone has built-in.

· Built-in FM radio. Definitely a major plus. Stereo sound and the ability to save up to 20 radio channels. Also a headset that's functional and pretty cool. One of the best we've seen.

· Loudspeaker that's loud. At first we were afraid you would have to talk practically with your head next to the phone. However, that's not the case. Excellent range and clarity for a loudspeaker.

· GPRS support. With all the downloading this phone can do, it's good to know you won't be waiting a lifetime..

· Good reception. This phone can hold a signal. It doesn't sound like much, but many phones can't even do that.

· Great bundle of software for the Nokia 7210. Too bad it's not on CD. You'll have to download it from the Nokia website.

Cons

· Radical keypad design. Maybe, good or bad depending on who you are. For me, it made text messaging difficult.

· No voice dialing or commands. C'mon Nokia, even cheap phones are starting to have this.

· Small memory. With Java applications and games, you'd think they would have put more memory on it.

· No Bluetooth. If you don't need it then its no big deal. I just like using my Bluetooth headset.

· Weak vibrating option. You might miss calls if you leave it in silent mode.

Conclusion

Nokia took a chance with the 7210 with its unconventional look. I think overall it did fairly well. The new cool will definitely draw a crowd when people see its artistic design. But as for functionality is sacrificed for form. The keypad is differently spaced on the top and bottom, making text messaging difficult.

We were definitely surprised by the 7210. One one had it had features we weren't expecting from a mobile phone in its price range. Most notably, the mini sound card, excellent FM radio, a loudspeaker that worked well, and downloadable Java application and games. On the other hand we thought that certain common features for the 7210 were left out that should have been included. Most notably, the voice dialing, and a larger memory for storage.

Overall, I think this is a good phone. The RF reception is great, and the software bundle is top of the line. It's definitely not a bad phone, but it's not the best in its class. Therefore, we give the Nokia 7210 a rating of:

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