Nokia 7610 Supernova vs LG KF300

You’ve got the look
Gimmicks are fine with us if and when they work but herein lies the problem with the Nokia 7610 Supernova. Its screen turns into a mirror when not in use. But not a very good mirror at that; one that gets pretty smudged so you can’t really see anything properly in it. Sigh.

Nokia ’s Supernova range (yes, there are more of these things!) was heralded as a product line up that would “let consumers express their personal styles on a number of levels ranging from stylish designs, to personalisation through vibrantly hued exchangeable covers.”

If a couple of – pretty unexcitingly hued – exchangeable fascias are what you need to truly express your personal style, then we’d advise a hotline to Trinny and Susannah. We felt the same about the ability to personalise themes.

Our test 7610 Supernova came with red and blue covers. No, the earth didn’t move for us either. In fact, neither did the cover. It took us ages to get the back of the bleedin’ thing to insert our SIM card. Not quite simplicity personified.

The 7610 is not the ugliest handset to ever grace our palms, but it’s certainly not the sexiest either. With Nokia bolding claiming that it evokes “the allure of the latest statement handbags or must-have sunglasses” we’re thinking more market stall than Armani.

Don’t get us wrong, budget phones have their place. Especially during a credit crunch. But cheap doesn’t have to necessarily mean, well, cheap, does it?

Indeed not. The KF300 clam shell phone is quite unique against the backdrop of all the touchscreen noises – and products - coming out of LG of late. It’s an exclusive Orange UK network tie and is being marked as a text and talker’s kind of phone that’s not bad looking either.

The marketing is right. It’s no glam clamshell but it certainly casts a more appealing shadow than Nokia’s offering. Chrome edging, patterning and a smooth plastic front panel provide classier aesthetics that are a tad more super than the Supernova.

Vital Statistics
Size-wise, there’s not much in it between the two. Nokia’s 7610 Supernova weighs in at 99g and with dimensions of 48x15x98mm (WDH), it’s pretty slimline.

At 97g we’d be silly to try and pit one handset against the others weigh-wise. When it comes to dimensions, you’d be hard pressed to make a call on which is best with LG’s 50x16x99mm (WDH) vital statistics standing shoulder to shoulder with what Nokia has conjured up.

Usability and features
Without wishing to come down hard yet again on Nokia’s offering, we found the keypad cumbersome to use and then some as the keys had an almost unnatural attraction to the recess.

The dimensions of the KF300 make button action a bit more of a pleasant experience. With big and broad keys with distinct labelling, this handset is certainly more user friendly.

The Supernova’s 3.2-megapixel camera was OK, although what we thought we were taking pictures of and what we actually took pictures weren’t one and the same thanks to a bit of grainy misrepresentation lens-wise.

A 2-megapixel snapper sans flash or autofocus is what you get with the KF300, making image performance quite limited and resulting is average shots.

Nokia’s bundled folder of apps (like shoe/clothes size converter and Flickr shortcut) are likely to appeal to younger phone users. And we were surprised to find a 3.5mm headphone adapter with LG’s budget blower.

Not so happy talk
Despite all the fancy bells and whistles you get on phones these days, they all need to fulfil one basis requirement: the ability to call people. But with pretty scant talktime from its battery (just two hours compared with Nokia’s 5.4), LG loses out big time in this respect. It would seem it’s good to talk unless, of course, you happen to have the KF300.

Standby time is not so abysmal with just 100 hours separating the two handsets and, after all, what’s one hundred hours between friends?

Verdict
Despite dank battery life, LG and its KF300 wins this competition. We can see what Nokia’s attempted with its changeable covers but the colours were a bit sickly and the handset felt a bit – there’s no nice way of saying this – cheap. The 7610 Supernova is likely to appeal to so-called tweens, but it’s unlikely to thrill anyone over the age of 13.

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