| Nokia 6310 |
| General |
| Network | Gsm 900 / Gsm 1800 |
| Announced | 2001 |
| Status | Available |
| Size |
| Dimensions | 129 X 47 X 19 Mm, 97 Cc |
| Weight | 111 G (ultra Slim Battery) |
| Display |
| Type | Monochrome Graphic |
| Size | 96 X 65 Pixels, 6 Lines |
| | - Dynamic Font Size
- Softkey |
| Ringtones |
| Type | Monophonic |
| Amount | 30 |
| Customization | Download, |
| Vibration | Yes |
| | - Ascending Ringing Tones
- Personal Alert Tones |
| Memory |
| Phonebook | 500 Names X3 Numbers |
| Call Records | 10 Dialed, 10 Received, 10 Missed Calls |
| Card Slot | No |
| | - 3 Phone Numbers Per Name
- 150 Text Messages
- 10 Voice Dial Numbers |
| Data |
| Gprs | Class 4 (3+1 Slots), 24 - 36 Kbps |
| Hscsd | Yes, 43.2 Kbps |
| Edge | No |
| 3g | No |
| Wlan | No |
| Bluetooth | Yes, V1.1 |
| Infrared Port | Yes |
| Usb | |
| Features |
| Messaging | Sms |
| Browser | Wap 1.2.1 |
| Clock | Yes |
| Alarm | Yes |
| Games | 3 Games (snake Ii, Opposite, Pairs Ii) |
| Colors | 3 - Jet Black, Lightening Silver And Laser Red |
| Languages | Major European And Asian Languages |
| Camera | No |
| | - Syncml
- T9 For 10 Languages
- Calculator
- Calendar
- Voice Record
- Voice Command
- Infrared Transfer Of Data Between Compatible Phones
- Profile Selection |
| Battery |
| | Ultra Slim, Li-po 1100 Mah (bps-2) |
| Stand-by | Up To 430 H |
| Talk Time | Up To 5 H 30 Min |
|
Nokia - 6310Wireless's with the Nokia 6310
Major Differences
Built-in Bluetooth connectivity
WAP over GPRS
T9 predictive text input
Dynamic phonebook feature
Voice functions (commands, dialling, memo/recorder)
Personal organiser functions (alarm, calculator, calendar, to-do list)
Stopwatch and countdown timer features
Synchronisation with the phone’s organiser features Problems/Issues?
Backlight slightly too dim
No Bluetooth timeout function
Sales package (should contain):
1 x Nokia 6310 handset
1 x Nokia BPS-2 Li-Polymer battery (1100 mAh)
1 x Nokia ACP-8A travel charger
1 x Nokia 6310 software CD-ROM
1 x Nokia 6310 user manual
Overview
We’re beginning to see more Bluetooth-enabled devices hit the market this year. Whether it’s for PCs or mobile phones, they all have the same objective - and that’s to provide wireless connectivity between devices that support the Bluetooth standard. Nokia’s latest contribution to the list of Bluetooth devices available is the 6310 phone - being the first Nokia phone to have the standard built-in, and an upgrade to the popular 6210 model as well.
Although the phone boasts a similar shape and size, it does come with a facelift - including larger buttons for the keypad, numerous colour schemes and a refined earpiece area which should help with sound distribution during calls. In addition to Bluetooth being included into the actual phone (not like the 6210 ‘Cyber Silver’ versions, where you needed a Bluetooth battery), the 6310 comes with virtually the same software system used on the recently-released 6510 phone.
WAP over GPRS is now available on this 6210 upgrade. Battery life and voice quality have also been improved on the 6310. So expect more time spent on this phone from the Li-Polymer battery supplied with the sales package!
For those who have previously used the 6210, most will find the new model appealing in every aspect - whether it’s the looks, feel or functionality, or just everything about the 6310.
New/outstanding features
The most obvious new feature about the 6310 is the inclusion of the Bluetooth wireless standard - allowing for connectivity between other Bluetooth-enabled devices. Organiser features now coincide with those available on the 6510 - a full 4-week calendar which fits comfortably on the screen, a calculator, to-do list, and dynamic phonebook functions gives the user all he/she needs whilst out of the office. Software included with the 6310’s sales package allows for the synchronisation of these features with preselected organiser software packages on your PC (for example, Microsoft Outlook).
Voice functions are now included with the 6310 - including commands for changing profiles and activating certain features, dialling, and recorder that allows the recording of memos and phone conversations for up to three minutes.
Physical aspects
The 6310 retains similar sizing and dimensions of its predecessors, while the facelift brings in a new set of curves and a larger-sized keypad to match the new styling. The keypad’s re-design seemed to provide a more comfortable experience during inputs, thanks to the resizing of the keys (with the average key sizing now slightly larger than previously) and a slight improvement in keypad tactility.
Some may love it, some may hate it. The display protector on the 6310 has been extended all the way up to the top of the phone, where it now encases the earpiece as well. Depending on the colour of your phone, the protector comes in a variety of colours - including a gold-based one that some may find either “different”, “weird” or simply “repulsive” - as one of my friends had commented. Surely, there must be a colour of the phone that’s right for you! :)
"You will find the Navi-key replaced with two soft-keys below the base of the screen"
User Interface
Nokia users would know that there’s nothing much to talk about here - since all Nokia phones are designed with similar user interfaces, which makes adapting one’s ability to use the phone “as easy as A-B-C”. For those previously using a Nokia 3xxx-series phone (with the exception of the 3350), you will find the Navi-key replaced with two soft-keys below the base of the screen, and an answer/reject set of buttons instead.
And for those who have not used a Nokia phone ever before, the only thing I can say about them is that they are very simple to use and to get accustomed with as well.
Making and receiving calls
Call handling with the 6310 is very similar to the 6210, but is virtually the same as the 6510. You may find that the sound quality of calls on the 6310 has been improved (similar to both 8310 and 6510 phones) as compared to previous Nokia phones. Calls can now be taken through three methods - via the phone itself, via the standard headset or car kit connection, or via means of a Bluetooth connection.
Although the Nokia Bluetooth headsets were not on the market when this review was done, I was able to use the Ericsson HBH-20 Bluetooth headset with the 6310 successfully without any major dramas (Bluetooth-compatible headsets can be used with phones of other brands). One of the differences here as compared to using an Ericsson phone with Bluetooth (T39, T68 or T68i) is that the headset fed back most of the phone’s actions, which produced some kind of sound, to the headset (for example, keypress sounds, gaming and ringtone sounds). I was able to do a voice recording with the HBH-20 as well. Unfortunately, the only downside was that the “reject” button on the HBH-20 didn’t work with the 6310 - instead, using the “answer” button to pick up and end calls.
Messaging
The widened numeric keys and increased tactility means that typing SMS messages has been made slightly easier compared with the same experience on the 6210. Additional T9 dictionaries were available on our 6310 test unit, which included the Indonesian and Malaysian T9 languages on top of the already-existent English one found on nearly all T9-enabled mobile phones.
If you want the ability to type long (concatenated) messages, this option is yet to be available on the 6310. This means you will still be restricted to the 160-character limit on this phone.
Battery life
Similar to the 8310 and 6510, battery performance has been improved on this phone. You can expect approximately 20% more time from the 6310 based on your usage patterns. On average use, you may be able to get around 3-4 days’ standby and around 4-5 hours’ worth of talk time.
Major differences...
"The 6310 is the first Nokia phone to feature built-in Bluetooth support"
Built-in Bluetooth connectivity
The 6310 is the first Nokia phone to feature built-in Bluetooth support - enabling wireless connections with other devices that are compatible with this standard. Some of the more popular devices that you can connect with the 6310 include PCs with Bluetooth cards, headsets and car kits - with the advantage being connectivity without the clutter of wires everywhere!
WAP over GPRS
High-speed Internet and WAP access can be experienced thanks to the availability of GPRS on the 6310. Connections can be set to being always-on, and data downloaded via GPRS are calculated on the amount of data consumed, and not by the amount of time spent online.
T9 predictive text input
Similar to its predecessor, SMS messages on the 6310 can be written with the T9 predictive text system enabled, which gives a user the ability to compose a message with single keystrokes, and without the need for continuous tapping of the keypad until you get the letter you want!
Dynamic phonebook feature
This feature allows the storage of up to 5 phone numbers and 4 text fields (info such as postal, email and web addresses, and other notes) under a single phonebook entry on the 6310. Convenient when you want to have everything under the one name in your phone book. Sorting your phone book is now a thing of the past.
Voice functions (commands, dialling, memo/recorder)
The addition of voice commands allows you to utilise various features of the 6310 with just a touch of the button and saying what you want it to do (of course, you will have to program it first!) A voice recorder, allowing for up to three minutes’ worth of recordings, can be either used to record phone conversations undertaken on the 6310 or simply for the sake of taking down memos and reminders.
Personal organiser functions (alarm, calculator, calendar, to-do list)
The standard personal organiser functions are included with the 6310. Similar to the 6510, the 6310 comes with a month-view version of the calendar feature and a to-do list.
Stopwatch and countdown timer features
The 6310 also comes with stopwatch and countdown timer features - adopting this from previous 33xx models.
Synchronisation with the phone’s organiser features
The provided CD-ROM with the 6310 sales package comes with software that enables a user to synchronise information - such as those from a phone book or calendar - with those found on a 6310. When the information is updated on either PC or phone, a synchronisation procedure will merge these updates providing identical copies of your information in two places. All the convenience of a diary now can be found in a 6310.
Problems/Issues?
Backlight slightly too dim
Although the illumination is sufficient to read what’s on the screen, the backlight on the 6310 could have been slightly brighter - which would further improve visibility. It may be that the dispersion of light on the 6310’s LCD screen is better distributed than those on previous Nokia models (excluding 8310 and 6510). But when you compare the backlights on the 6210 with those on the 6310, you will know what I mean. Again, slightly brighter would have been better.
No Bluetooth timeout function
For those who may have used a Bluetooth-enabled Ericsson phone before, you may be wondering why there isn’t an “automatic” option, in addition to the “on” and “off”, for the 6310’s Bluetooth feature. I was wondering the same thing.
Basically, the Ericsson’s allowed a user to have the Bluetooth feature to be set to “automatic”, which meant that the wireless feature is only enabled when either a call is received or through user interaction, and disabled after the completion of a call or when the timeout period (of around 3 minutes) expires. To switch off the Bluetooth on the 6310, you would have to manually do this through the menu options.
At the end of the day, some people may like the Bluetooth feature enabled full-time. But for those people who wants to get the most out of a full charge, having Bluetooth on at all times will deplete the battery faster. It wouldn’t have been hard to put such an option (automatic) into the phone, which would be a good energy-efficient option available to users.
In Summary
For those 6210 users out there who thinks their phone is great, you will probably agree with me that this new product from Nokia will do the same, and more! The inclusion of Bluetooth and GPRS on the 6310 will be one of the primary reasons for people wanting to upgrade to this phone. When the Nokia Bluetooth accessories become available sometime in the near future, that is the time when this phone will become more than popular.
Of course, we can’t discount the fact that there’s a price to pay for having the latest technologies, which are supposed to make our daily lives less hectic and troublesome.
But if you are the sceptical type who wants to “wait and see”, please do so. Over the next few months, we are going to see more phones being released into the market that will have Bluetooth connectivity available to them. Choice is somewhat limited in the meantime, but it won’t be for too long.
Yes, Bluetooth is still very new to the market - but I foresee it being something that’s going to change how a lot of things are going to be done. A world where devices can do without wires to achieve connectivity is going to be a sight that I’m willing to wait around and see for myself! |
| Common misspellings on this brand: |
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