Review Roundup- Multiple T-Mobile 710 Reviews from Around the Interweb

Earlier we posted Engadgets Lumia 710 review, their overall consensus was that the Lumia 710 is a above average Mid-range phone considering it’s pricing and capabilities, with the exception of a pretty bad Autofocus 5MP camera sensor.

Here’s what the rest of the WorldWideWeb thinks about it (mostly taken from the comments in our post about the Engadget review; Thank Everybody!). So some highlights of multiple reviews:

The Verge:

– Enjoyed the “Long Single Bar of Buttons” rather than multiple capacatives, calling it “refreshing”

-Similar to engadgets review they talk about bad viewing angles (obviously compared to Amoled screens), but also a pink/Purple washout of the screen colors.

-“Call quality, quite frankly, is some of the best I’ve had on a Windows Phone yet (and high up there for smartphones in general); and the call quality was clear throughout without a single dropped call”

-Average Camera nothing special, Similar to other Mid-ranged WPs: “the 710’s photos are on par in quality with the Radar’s and Focus Flash’s 5-megapixel snapshots”

-Overall: “Although it was never built to be an aspirational device, as Nokia’s first US product in its new era, I can’t help but be disappointed.”

Full Review here: http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/5/2682681/nokia-lumia-710-review-t-mobile

MobileBurn:

-Not too impressed by the design or the build feel:  “pedestrian design and significantly cheaper-feeling materials. :

-Average camera, but with sub-par lowlight performance: “image quality from the camera isn’t terrible, but it certainly is not as good as seen with other smartphones on the market. Images taken in good light retain a fair amount of detail, but the camera struggles in low light.”

– Didn’t like the camera key at all, stating it was Horrible: “the camera key is nothing short of terrible, with a mushy feel and little to no feedback to the user when it is pressed. Thankfully, Windows Phone 7.5 now lets users tap the screen to focus and snap a picture.”

-Decent Battery life considering todays smartphone standards: “Users who are less demanding on their devices may be able to get the vaunted 24 hours of battery life out of the Lumia 710, so it’s not a bad performer here at all.”

-“As it represents Nokia’s first effort in the U.S. with a Windows Phone 7.5 smartphone, it’s hard not to feel disappointed with the Lumia 710. It doesn’t turn any heads or break any new ground in design or performance; still, it is a solid smartphone that offers a simple interface, quick performance, great call quality, and decent battery”

Full review: http://www.mobileburn.com/18088/review/nokia-lumia-710-for-t-mobile-usa-review

AnandTech:

-Also talked about the Camera shutter button: “The button is two-step, yet the first detent (for focus and exposure) is impossible to feel on our 710 review unit. Only the second stage which captures is clicky enough to actually be felt.”

-“the camera seems to have some issues (just like the Lumia 800) with white balance, producing an image with a definitely reddish cast” However “Sharpness however is good, though I still feel that JPEG compression is turned up too high. For a 5 MP camera however, the 710 doesn’t look bad at all ”

-“710 ends up creating excellent quality 720p video”

-As mentioned by the others, cellular connectivity/reception was superb “I had no issues at all with the Lumia 710 on cellular – connectivity is excellent”

-Contrary to the 800 the 710 speaker is REALLY loud: “as its speakerphone is eardrum-shatteringly loud. In our sound datalogger test, the Lumia 710 placed literally at the top of the ranks for volume, so if you absolutely need speakerphone volume the 710 is an excellent pick. Earpiece volume is also subjectively top notch.”

-“By most measures, the 710 is a great entry-level device. Its in-hand feel doesn’t feel cheap or flimsy, and at $50 on contract feels a lot better than some of the first generation entry level Android phones I’ve handled but never formally reviewed. The only downside is that the 710 still strikes me as being larger than it really needs to be”

-They were puzzled by the release of the 710 and not the 800 but also said that “I noted earlier that the midrange is where I wager the volume of the smartphone platform war will be fought and won, and it’s here that WP7 is in a unique position to finally make feature phones obsolete”

-Overall quite decent “For its first entries into the market as a Microsoft partner, Nokia has done reasonably well. Both the Lumia 800 and 710 are good phones, although neither admittedly has the sort of earth shattering appeal that Microsoft needs to truly win this race”

Full review: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5284/nokia-lumia-710-review-tmobile-nokia-wp7

PhoneArena:

-competitively priced

-Front facing buttons rather than capacative is an excellent move, the side buttons- not so much: “Accidental presses are pretty much non-existent with the Nokia Lumia 710, thankfully, because it employsphysical Windows buttons as opposed to capacitive ones. Physical buttons are abundant with this one, but with its volume rocker, shutter key, and power button, they’re notoriously difficult to feel out – not to mention lacking a decent response too!”

-Average camera, with ‘acceptable’ shooting capabilities  “hardly comes off as being spectacular in the quality department, but at least it’s decent enough to accept. Specifically, its details tend to appear slightly softer looking, plus, digital noise run rampant with shots taken under very low lighting. Thankfully, the colors are naturally representend and also the even the flash doesn’t ruin this. However, its potency is only established up to 5 feet away.

-First of the reviews I see who have had issues with the video recording: “The handset’s 720p video capture is nothing more than average. For starters, we do like that it captures video at the smooth rate of 29 frames per second, records mostly clear audio, and details are acceptable. However, there are some things that dull its quality – like the presence of some artifacting when panning quickly and its sluggish exposure.”

-Able to play HD videos smoothly without any drama at all “it’s able to play out test video, which is encoded in H.264 1920 x 1080 resolution, without much problems. From its smooth playback to its punchy looking colors, we’re naturally content with the entire experience.”

-Confliction much??? Anand tech we’re complaining about the sound being TOO loud, and even engadget approved of the call reception: “Despite having a weak volume output with its earpiece, we still find its calling quality to be tolerable”

-I’m interested in knowing how they test their speakerphones?? according to Anandtech it topped the charts “additionally, its speakerphone might not be the strongest as well,”

-No complaints about battery life: “After charging the Lumia 710 completely, we’re able to get approximately 1.5 days of juice on normal usage, which is easily a winner in our books.”

-“ it simply lacks the star power to propel it over other recent Windows Phones. Frankly, it is a nice Windows Phone and the best thing going for this one is its $49.99 on-contract pricing right from the starting line – so it’s sure to attract those on a budget. Beyond that, it’s hardly a gleaming competitor to even things like the HTC Radar 4G or the Samsung Focus Flash.”

Honestly I’m tempted to think that phonearena tested a different phone than the 710, they’re reviews were almost the complete opposite of everyone else, there was no mention of screen viewing problems, but the video ranked barely average while the camera was the good one????? The call quality was low and the speaker was ‘acceptable’ ??? Regardless read the full review here: http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Nokia-Lumia-710-Review_id2939/page/4

Category: Nokia, Windows Phone