The Nokia 5210 has a lot of features for a mid-range phone, but they tread the line between useful and pointless.
The Nokia 5210 looks like a typical Nokia phone, although the usual hard plastic case is covered in a rubbery substance, creating a feel similar to a He-Man action figure. It weighs in at just 92 grams, making it reasonably lightweight.
One feature we really like is the 'Xpress-on' mechanism for opening the cover. This is a simple method for removing the case in two shells, leaving only the terminator-like skeleton of the interior itself. We found this made changing batteries and sim cards easier than other phones we've used.
Good performance, tough buttons
The number buttons seemed a little harder to press than we expected. This could be due to the detachable case that means the numbers aren't attached to the actual phone, or simply the newness of the phone, although the situation did not improve over the week of testing we had.
The phone performed reasonably well during calls, although the volume was sometimes a little soft. Messaging worked well, apart from the phone restarting itself once halfway through writing an SMS. The multi-part text system allows longer messages, although you are billed on how many standard SMSes it takes to send the message.
As well as the standard ability to create your own profile and ringtones, the 5210 includes a picture editor, which allows you to create or edit your own picture messages. It's quite tricky, drawing in a pen-up pen-down way on a 70x27 pixel screen, but if you have the patience you could create some of those really cool images that do the rounds. Sadly, we only managed to draw the outline of a pig.
Nokia advises that the talktime should be between two hours and 20 minutes and three hours and 50 minutes with a standby time of around 60 hours. This isn't exceptional, but it's hardly terrible either.Features you may not need
The 5210 is also WAP enabled, although we're yet to be bowled over by WAP. The phone also has a lunar and solar calendar, but for some reason you need to be in Chinese Character format to access them.
The 5210 comes with the Chat feature seen in other phones. We've never met anyone who uses this feature, which allows you to view a series of SMSes by the simple expedient of giving you less space to write. Given that the cost remains the same, we can't see a market for it outside those with exceptionally bad memories.
The phone also has the ability to send and receive data via infra-red (IR). This allows you to send business cards (simply the names and phone numbers in the phone book) and calendar notes to another device that is IR enabled. You can send both these things via SMS, so unless you commonly send large amounts of data between phones the saving probably isn't worth what the feature adds to the cost of the phone.
Lastly, the phone also comes complete with its own thermometer. For some people this will be seen as very practical. Others will see it as useless. Finally, some will simply use it as an excuse to stick their phone down their pants. (38 degrees Celsius, by the way, with a background temperature of 26 degrees Celsius).
The Nokia 5210 is a good phone with some nifty features, but the RRP of AU$549 is slightly higher than others. The budget conscious will find everything they need in a phone in one of the cheaper models. That price could drop depending on plan and contract choices, so if you don't mind potentially forking out for extra style and features, this is a decent phone to pick.
Nokia 5210
Company: Nokia
Price: AU$549
Distributor: Selected resellers
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