Nokia Lumia 710 – hands on review

Nokia Lumia 710 – design

Compared to its polycarbonate-clad brother, the Lumia 710’s plastic body feels a bit – well – plasticky. No surprise there given the budget label affixed to Nokia’s second Windows Phone handset, but its hardware buttons are also uglier and less pleasant to use than the touch-sensitive ones found on the Lumia 800 (read the hands on here). On the bright side, you’ll have the option to adorn the Lumia 710 with a variety of coloured plastic back covers – ‘90s Xpress-On fans rejoice.

Nokia Lumia 710 – screen

The Lumia 710’s 3.7in 480×800 LCD screen is by no means an eyesore but looks a bit washed out and dull after gazing upon the AMOLED sheen of Nokia’s Lumia 800. We aren’t fans of the lower resolution either, but we were still able to prod and swipe around the Lumia 710’s start screen with ease.

Nokia Lumia 710 – under the hood

The Lumia 710’s 1.4GHz processor and 512MB RAM keep up with most basic smartphone functions, and although its non-expandable 8GB of storage isn’t massive, the 25GB of SkyDrive cloud storage offered with Windows Mango more than makes up for lack of storage space.

Nokia Lumia 710 – 5MP camera

Clearly the 5MP snapper doesn’t hold its own against the Lumia 800’s higher resolution 8MP offering, but photos on the Lumia 710 are more than adequate for casual point-and-shoot moments, as long as they don’t involve low lighting levels – the single LED flash isn’t enough to reduce noise for either photos or 720p video recordings.

The age-old adage of getting what you pay for applies – to some extent – to the Lumia 710. Sure, you won’t getting a meticulously crafted polycarbonate body, an AMOLED screen or a fancy 8MP snapper, but the core Windows Phone Mango experience remains the same and runs just as well on the Lumia 710 as its peers, thanks to the impressive power hidden under its bonnet. We’ll be back with a full review in good time.

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Nokia Lumia 710 verdict