(Pocket-lint) - Remember when you had a mobile phone with interchangeable covers? Ahh, the innocence. Well Nokia is trying to bring that back with the launch of the 7310 Supernova, a fashion conscious handset. But can it succeed? We slip into something more comfortable to find out.
Candybar in its design, the 7310 Supernova features interchangeable back and front plates at its core. The plates, which are very easy to swap over to match your mode or your outfit (oh please), come in a variety of colours.
In our review box was a bright and rather uninspiring pink cover and a dark blue option. Both come with a mirrored screen, so, you guessed it, offer you a place to check out your makeup or spots when the phone's screen isn't on.
The mirrored screen admittedly got Mrs Pocket-lint excited for about 30 seconds, but beyond that there is a very standardised keypad, a couple of shortcut keys and that's about it. The back offers a 2-megapixel camera while the sides have a volume control and 2.5mm headphone jack, but nothing else.
The mirrored screen hides a 2-inch QVGA screen, which is large and clear to read and the phone runs the Symbian Series 40 offering you access to some third-party apps, but not to the same level as the bigger more powerful S60 OS. Storage isn't great but tucked under the covers is a microSD slot that supports cards up to 4GB.
Past the basics of actually making a call, there isn't much to shout about. You get an FM radio and an MP3 player that supports all the usual formats including MP3, Midi, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, and WMA files. There is also Nokia's Push To Talk.
The Nokia 7310 Supernova is one of the most basic handsets we've seen in a long time here at Pocket-lint.
That's not necessarily a bad thing considering the number of handsets that we see on a daily basis whereby everything from GPS to 8-megapixel cameras is included, it's just once you get past the 90s gimmickry of the face plates this phone offers little else.
If you're just making the odd call that's fine, if you’re hoping for more, then there are better looking, better featured, handsets out there.