By Joseph Hanlon, CNET.com.au
Mar 09, 2009

Nokia's third Navigator in the series, the 6710, is barely the best of the bunch thus far, with specs and features too similar to last year's release.

Editors' note:
This preview was first published on our sister site CNET.com.au. References made to some other products or telcos in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia.


Upside
The most obvious improvements over last year's 6210 Navigator will be a slightly bigger screen (up from 2.4 to 2.6 inches) and a curved slider design for improved ergonomics, similar to the design of the HTC Dream.

The 6710 Navigator will include the latest version of Nokia Maps pre-installed, version 3.0, giving users access to aerial photography (like Google Maps), built-in weather display and Navteq's new 3D landmarks. To make using the maps easier, the 6710 sports a touch-sensitive zoom area below the screen and appears to have more accurate incremental zooming than was possible using keypad shortcuts.

Most of the phone's hardware will remain the same; HSDPA, Wi-Fi, A-GPS (of course), a digital compass for more accurate pedestrian navigation, plus this year's model will also include HSUPA (the uplink sibling of HSDPA) to help you upload those geotagged photos you take to your Flickr account faster. Speaking about photos, the 6710 will also feature a 5-megapixel Carl Zeiss camera with an LED flash and autofocus.


Downside
The fact that the phone's hardware, especially its screen size, is mostly the same as the former is a disappointment. Someone needs to make a navigation mobile phone with a 3.5- to 4-inch display and turn-by-turn directions. Nokia has half of this equation taken care of, and with its new touchscreen-capable fifth version of its Series60 platform, now is exactly the time we'd expect the world's largest phone-maker to act.

Also, call it an educated guess, but we aren't expecting Nokia to include a lifetime navigation licence with Nokia Maps like it did with the first Navigator model. Instead, we expect to be offered a try-before-you-buy style package with a few months of turn-by-turn directions. Press releases from Nokia about the 6710 have cautiously avoided the issue, but don't get your hopes up for a phone plus GPS package without being prepared to pay a little extra.


Overall
From a distance, the 6710 seems an underwhelming announcement. We want a more considered approach to a navigation phone, not just another Nokia slider with Maps installed. There's still space in the market for a truly terrific mapping handset, but we're pretty sure this isn't it. Nokia could stitch up the competition with its maps, plus a huge touchscreen and lifetime turn-by-turn directions built into the price, but we're still waiting.

r u sure about that? please quote your source. if its true, thats pretty cool i say

im 6210n owner now. well, if da price is not so expensive,as well as da functionality of wifi is available in tis model..definitely i wil go n upgrade it..
so it seems it totally like N series phone rite? there r plenty of ppl holding N series in da market now... i wan to hv some different one... tats y im holding 6210n n 6220c!opps i sold 6220c, i miss da phone...

RM1500 from nokia store gardens midvalley.Just went there to ask.

In stock but none for display.

They gave me a nokia brochure and in the brochure it stated it had 3 colors brown,titanium and black.But Ive seen so many websites and I dont see any black color for this phone.

Wierd.