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Overview
I was fortunate enough to
have my friend help me acquire a Nokia 8310 from Hong Kong before coming over to
Sydney in early November. On first
learning about the 8310 late last year, I have patiently been waiting for its
arrival – which has taken longer than anticipated (compared to previous Nokia
models) – and, finally, it has come to the market at last!
Having used all the
8000-series Nokia GSM phones so far, the 8310 poses several differences that are
felt physically and on using the phone itself compared to its predecessors –
with the primary difference being a change in the feel and use of the phone’s
software (firmware).
The first thing that struck
me was the feel of the phone in my hand. With
the new Xpress-On™ cover design for the 8310 covering the entire phone except
for the antenna area, this has made the feel of the phone more “solid”.
Although the phone now is physically more rectangular, this has given the
phone a more comfortable feel in the hand compared to that of either the 8210 or
8250. The overall curvatures
attempt to neutralise the phone’s oblong-feel.
Weight has remained pretty much the same – with the 84 grams
contributing to the overall phone’s solidity.
 The
Nokia 8310 has made the feel of the phone more "Solid".
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A downfall realised even
before I turned on the phone was the problem of putting the SIM card into its
holder. The reader is now located behind the battery and the flimsy
SIM holder makes it difficult to lock-in and remove the SIM.
Where I had more than one SIM card, this made it difficult each and every
time I wanted to swap the SIM in my 8310 over.
Having putting the battery
in, which now goes in upside down where the connectors are at the bottom now,
the screen lit up white showing a fine screen that was very easy to read.
After the phone logged onto the network, I checked out the menus –
which were pretty standard. In
reference to my previous comment regarding the software, Nokia has used the
platform that is currently used in the 62xx and 7110 phones – allowing for a
dynamic phone book and WAP functionality. A
dynamic phonebook is a new feature in the 8310 which allows for a phone book
entry to have up to five numbers and three text notes (for example: e-mail
address, address, etc).
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Overview (Page 1)
