Nokia Lumia 710 review

Of course, many of the Nokia Lumia 710′s interesting features can also be found in the Nokia Lumia 800, but that still makes the Lumia range unique when compared to every other Windows Phone on the market. There are also a couple of cosmetic features that you won’t find on any other Windows Phone device.

Customisable covers

Fed up of all smartphones looking the same? Sick of having the same-looking phone for the entirety of your 18 month contract? The Nokia Lumia 710 has the perfect answer with its swappable battery covers. Sure, it’s not a new idea by any means, but if you want a Windows Phone 7.5 device with such chameleon capabilities… well, good luck with that one.

The best bit is, the Nokia Lumia 710 comes with your first extra cover as standard. Check out the range in black, blue, yellow, pink and white at your local (or online) mobile peripheral shop.

Lanyard port

If you’ve grown accustomed to carrying your phone around your neck, or if you’re just a clumsy oaf who needs to secure their mobile to their wrist so it doesn’t go skidding across the street, modern phones might prove frustrating. In particular, we can’t think of another Windows Phone that contains a lanyard port for attaching some kind of restraining aid (though we’re sure someone will correct us!).

It’s a small point, but the Nokia Lumia 710′s lanyard port is just the little detail that adds to its unique appeal.

Nokia Drive

The Nokia Lumia 710 runs on Windows Phone 7.5, but it also comes with some exclusive software that only its Nokia Lumia brethren also contain. We’re referring, of course, to Nokia’s excellent suite of home-brewed apps. Nokia Drive is possibly the most impressive of the lot, offering up a full sat nav system on your phone.

Note that we’re not talking about an okayish mobile substitute that’s constantly pausing as it loses its network connection – this is a serious turn-by-turn guide that lets you preload maps. This means that Nokia Drive is brilliantly quick and accurate, making use of the Lumia 710′s strong GPS capabilities. There’s also all the voice guidance and 3D-view features you’d expect from your (now obsolete) sat nav system.

Nokia Music

Nokia Music’s another great tool that sets the Nokia Lumia 710 apart from rival devices on any platform. It essentially lets you stream free music playlists to your phone without having to sign up for anything. Just touch and play. Whether you’re into pop, rock, hip-hop or electronica there’s a playlist for you – and they can even be downloaded for offline listening.

Nokia Maps

Completely separate from Nokia Drive, Nokia Maps does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a mapping tool that lets you see where you are, plot routes (whether walking or driving), and even see what shops and facilities are in the vicinity. It’s an excellent way to get around a city – especially with the Nokia Lumia 710 and Windows Phone’s super-quick GPS lock-on ability.

What’s more, Nokia Maps is a whole lot better than Windows Phone’s Bing Maps, which also comes with the phone.

Contacts Transfer

While Windows Phone sports the ability to pull contact information from your email accounts and social media networks remarkably quickly and efficiently, there isn’t really an efficient tool for pulling across contacts directly from an older phone. Your Nokia Lumia 710 comes with the Contacts Transfer app that lets you hook up to your old device over Bluetooth and pull those names and numbers across. Handy!

What do you like best about the Nokia Lumia 710? Is there anything unique we’ve missed from this list? Let us know in the Comments section.

Nokia N8 review

Searching online, we found plenty of great deals. But do remember that there are hundreds of deals out there, so find the right one for you can take some time. To lend a helping hand, here’s a handful of great deals we found.

O2 deals
For a little more material incentive pick up a Nokia N8 deal, O2 deals involve a number of free gifts. Online you’ll find deals throwing in a Toshiba 22-inch HD TV, Nintendo 3DS, or a PlayStation Move starter pack, compatible with a PS3 games console. For a cheap Nokia N8 contract, you can pick up an N8 for £154.99 and pay just £15.50 per month on a 24-month contract. For a free Nokia N8 deal you’ll have to pay a little more on contract. For £31 per month you can get a free Nokia N8 on O2 with 600 minutes, unlimited texts.

Vodafone
Look around and you’ll find deals giving you a free Nokia N8, 500 inclusive text messages and 100 inclusive minutes when you sign up to a Vodafone tariff for £26 per month. You will also get 500MB of internet data and, a generous six months free line rental.

T-Mobile
If internet browsing is your thing many of the T-Mobile offers online offer generous amounts of internet data. Some of the cheapest pay monthly deals start from £26 per month for 100 inclusive minutes, 500 text and unlimited internet data. The internet data is the jewel there.

Orange
If you’re more inclined to Orange you can find an equally good Nokia N8 deal for the same £26 per month. For that price you’ll get 500 free minutes, unlimited texts and three months half price line rental. And of course, a free Nokia N8. You will have to sign up to a 24-month contract, but at least you’ll be tied to one of Nokia’s best ever phones, made better by the recent Nokia Belle update.

Spotted any Nokia N8 deals you think are worthy of mentioning? Let us know.

Locating the best deal can take some time. It’s always important to think about how you plan to use your phone. The Nokia 700 is a great phone for listening to and streaming music, and browsing the web, so you may want to think about internet data.

It’s just one of the many considerations to take into account when buying a Nokia 700. With some of these considerations in mind, here are some deals worth checking out.

O2
O2.co.uk is offering the Nokia 700 from free to £80 on a Pay Monthly contract. The cheapest monthly tariff you can get costs just £10.50 per month, but for that price you’ll need to pay £80 for the phone, too.

Or you can get a Nokia 700 for free from £15.50 per month with 200 inclusive minutes and unlimited texts. Data allowance comes at an extra charge, starting from £3 for 100MB up to £10 for 1GB. While that is costly, you’re still getting an unlimited text supply. And everyone knows we text more than we talk nowadays.

If Pay & Go is your thing you can own the Nokia 700 outright for £250.

Vodafone
Vodafone is offering the Nokia 700 with 100MB of mobile internet data contract from £13 per month. For that you’ll get 100 free minutes and a healthy 500 free texts per month.

If you want to spend a little more, we recommend the second of Vodafone’s £20.50 per month deals. Here you get 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 250MB of data. You also get 500MB of BT Openzone Wi-Fi access, should you find yourself needing to dabble online in a cafe somewhere.

T-Mobile
For a very credible monthly, deal head over to T-Mobile. There you can grab a Nokia 700 from £26 per month in a deal. The first of these offers 600 minutes of inclusive calls, 500 texts and 100MB of internet data.

The second Nokia 700 deal has 300 minutes, and 500 texts, but 750MB of internet data -  a great package for heavier mobile internet users. Both are 24 month contracts, so it’s best to think about how you use your Nokia 700 before putting pen to paper.

Orange
The cheapest of our chosen deals is £20.50 per month on the Orange network, from online store BuyMobilePhones.net. The deal includes 100 inclusive minutes across any network, unlimited texts, 500MB of Anytime Mobile internet browsing and free BT Openzone Wi-Fi.

Have you recently spotted any bargains you’d like to share with us? Let us know in the comments section.

Nokia Lumia 800 White Edition Hands-on Preview

Our hastily reached conclusion is that the Nokia Lumia 800 is a good-looking phone in any colour. How could it not be with those sculpted looks, and that all-in-one polycarbonate shell? Its 3.7-inch ClearBlack AMOLED display helps in the swit-swoo department too, of course.

But deciding a favourite colour is tough. We use the sleek black model here on NokNok, but we can’t deny the allure of the vibrant cyan model. Magenta has to be the funnest colour in the range, but we’re simply not flamboyant enough to pull it off. Plenty of you are, no doubt!

Which leaves us with the Nokia Lumia 800 White Edition. Love it or hate it (we love it), it certainly stands apart from the rest of the range by virtue of it having a glossy finish. As such, it’s possibly even more eye-catching than the magenta model.

What do you think? Check out the following video and let us know which colour you prefer in the Comments section below.

Nokia Lumia 800 review

To celebrate reaching 200,000 fans on their Facebook account, Nokia UK is giving away a Nokia Lumia 800 to four lucky winners. These aren’t just any Nokia Lumia 800s though – they’ll be signed by one Tinchy Stryder.

The hip-hop star and multimedia mogul can be seen rocking a Nokia Lumia 800 (in stylish black) in the video for his latest single, Bright Lights featuring Pixie Lott, which you can check out below.

Even if you don’t win a Nokia Lumia 800, three runners up will receive a pair of Nokia Purity HD headphones from Monster. Not only do these crystal-clear, bass-rich headphones make your Nokia Music play lists sound extra good, they’re also fully optimised for use with your Nokia Lumia 800. They fold up into a compact carry case, and they also possess integrated call handling so you won’t miss any incoming phone calls.

Nokia Lumia 800: Top 5 peripherals

To be in with a chance of winning one of these seven fine prizes, simply head on over to the Nokia UK Facebook page and Like them. Then, click on the Enter Now button and fill out your details. It really is as simple as that!

In the mean time, take a look at Mr Stryder listening to music on his Nokia Lumia 800 through a pair of Monster headphones. Then imagine yourself doing the same when you win this competition…

Nokia Lumia 800 White Edition Hands-on Preview

It’s not until you see the Nokia Lumia 800 White Edition on video that you truly realise how pretty it is. You might wonder how different a white phone can look, but it’s not just about the colour (or lack thereof) – it’s about the finish. While the rest of the Nokia Lumia 800 range come in a matte finish, this one goes all-out with the glamour and applies a shiny finish.

Check out the video below and you’ll notice the pronounced glossy effect as Stephen rotates it under the glare of the Nokia UK HQ lights. Mmm, shiny.

Of course, underneath this glossy exterior lies the same 1.4GHz processor, the same 3.7-inch AMOLED display, the same 8-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and – of course – the same revolutionary Windows Phone 7.5 operating system. If you don’t know what all this means, then you can catch up with our Nokia Lumia 800 review. Go on.

In the meantime, what do you think of the new glossy white shade Nokia has gone with? Is it indeed – as Stephen contends in the video – “one of the most gorgeous phones we’ve ever laid hands on”? Let us know what you think in the Comments section below the video.

Nokia Lumia 710 review (hardware)

The Nokia Lumia 710 is exciting news for anyone who wants to experience the latest in Nokia design couple with Microsoft’s revolutionary Windows Phone OS without paying top dollar. We rated it pretty highly in our hardware review, thanks to its solid build quality, sharp 3.7-inch LCD screen and swift 1.4GHz processor.

Here’s a closer look at what you’ll get in your Nokia Lumia 710 package, straight from the horse’s mouth. Check out the official Nokia UK video, which not only runs through what you’ll get in the box, but also finds time to show off some fetching Monster headphones that will really do your Nokia Music playlists justice.

How about an unboxing featuring a comparison with Nokia’s other recent Windows Phone device, the Nokia Lumia 800? This one from Netbook News in Taiwan does just that, and throws in the the Nokia N9 to boot. Don’t they look lovely together?

In keeping with the Windows Phone OS’s minimalistic, straight-to-the-point style, this video’s entirely wordless and pretty short. Unlike the Windows Phone OS and the Nokia Lumia 710 in general, it’s also a bit shaky, but never mind.

For a true amateurish unboxing, though, check this one out from some chap who couldn’t even wait to get out of his car before ripping into the box. That’s enthusiasm for you. Shaky cam and excessive lap-shots aside, it’s a pretty informative vid.

Have you seen any interesting, amusing or downright bizzarre Nokia Lumia 710 unboxing videos floating around the web? If so, feel free to share them with us and the rest of our readers below.

Nokia N8: Why you need to upgrade to Nokia Belle

Here at NokNok we know just how much all of you have been waiting for the Nokia Belle firmware update to land on your Nokia smartphone. So we’re very excited to learn that, starting from February 7th, Nokia Belle will begin rolling out to the following handsets: Nokia N8, Nokia E7, Nokia E6, Nokia C7, Nokia C6-01, Nokia X7 and Nokia Oro devices.  A Nokia Belle update for the Nokia 500 will also be arriving in the upcoming weeks, Nokia also confirmed.

“With that, millions of consumers around the world will get a totally fresh experience to their Symbian smartphone.”

New Nokia Belle handset owners will be able to download Nokia Belle from Nokia Suite on their PC, or via an over the air update straight to the device over Wi-Fi.

Like you, we’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. It means that some of our favourite ever Nokia devices such as the 12-megapixel camera-toting Nokia N8 will soon be given a new lease of life, delivering a revamped user-experience to give existing owners that new phone feeling.

Which of the above Nokia Belle-in-waiting devices do you own? Exciting news, huh?

Roger C. Barber loves his Nokia E5, but evidently realises it’s now getting a little long in the tooth, and that it might soon be time for an upgrade. The question is, which phone should he go for? Allow us to offer two perspectives – one from Mr Symbian himself, Stephen Ebert, and another from our resident Windows Phone expert… er, me.

Nokia E5 in review

Question: I’ve got an E5 and I think its a great phone myself it does what I want it to do very well. When I upgrade do I go for an E7 or the new Lumia? I’ve got plenty of time to make up my mind although I may just stick with my E5!!

Jon

It turns out Roger uses his Nokia E5 in a fairly traditional way – phoning, texting and emailing on the move. He doesn’t listen to music or play games on the phone, and only accesses the web very occasionally. For this reason, the E5′s physical qwerty keyboard and small screen are ideal, which would seem to make the Nokia Lumia 710 a bit of a tough sell as a replacement. 

However, while the Nokia Lumia 710 might not have a physical qwerty keyboard, it does have an excellent virtual equivalent. We won’t pretend that it rivals the ‘real thing’, but it does offer some excellent advantages, such as a fine word recommendation system. As you’re typing, the Lumia 710 figures out what word you might be attempting and offers suggestions just above the keyboard (which it can manage just fine thanks to its large 3.7-inch display). Just tap the one you want and it will be inserted into the text, no messing.

I’d also like to point out that the Windows Phone OS is probably the simplest smartphone platform to use of them all, which I think would appeal to Roger. He’ll find that there’s no more messing around with multiple menu, settings or home screens – you’ve just got your main screen and a list of all your applications. That’s it.

It’s the same with its SMS and email systems. Text conversations are brilliantly easy to follow, and setting up your email account is far quicker and easier than on Symbian.

Stephen

While the Nokia E7 is a great phone, its large screen and slide-out keyboard may be less suitable for your needs. The keypad is great, but you’ll need to ask yourself whether having to slide it out to quickly type out emails is right for you.

You’ll probably be able to type much quicker on a Nokia E6, which has an identical form factor to your Nokia E5. It’s a trade-off between having a large screen, and having the same style of keypad you are used to – but I’m guessing from how you use your E5 that the keypad advantages will be more of a factor.

So, like your E5, the Nokia E6 is brilliant for email and text messaging, and will work with all your existing email accounts. It has a touchscreen too, which will help when you want to access the web from time to time. We reckon it’s a nicer looking phone too. 

With the Nokia E6 you’ll also get a better 8-megapixel camera and 8GB of built-in memory that you can upgrade to 32GB, and a battery that lasts up to two hours longer.

Nokia E6 review

Conclusion: If Roger wants a like-for-like update on his Nokia E5, then we’d recommend forgetting the Nokia E7 and checking out the Nokia E6. It’ll be instantly familiar, with a very similar form factor and OS – but still superior in every way, from its sharper and touch-enabled screen to its slimmer form factor and faster processor.

If he wants to stretch out a little and get a taste of the cutting edge – and maybe indulge in a little more web browsing – then the Nokia Lumia 710 would be the ideal choice. It’s extremely easy to use and contains far more intuitive messaging and texting facilities (virtual keyboard aside) than the E6 with Symbian.

Have you got a Nokia-related question that needs answering? Let us know in the comments section below, and we’ll endeavour to answer you.

The Nokia Lumia 800 White Edition launched this morning and will be hitting the shops in March. However, we’ve managed to get some playtime with the 3.7-inch smartphone that is finished in arctic white, which is the perfect colour for the wintery weather outside. right now! 

According to Ilari Nurmi, Nokia’s vice president of product marketing, the new white Lumia 800 “brings with it a more premium look and feel”.

To mark the launch of the Nokia Lumia in white, there’s a new ‘White’ selection on Nokia’s Mix Radio service in the Nokia Music app. This free playlist features music from the likes of White Stripes, Barry White, and a whole heap of white-related artists.

We’re hoping to bring you some video later but in the meantime, check out what has to be the best looking smartphone on the planet right now! 

Check out our Nokia Lumia 800 White Edition Hands-on Preview photo gallery: