Nokia Asha 210 Dual SIM Review
Interface and functionality
The new Series 40 UI for non-touch Ashas doesn't differ much from the one we already reviewed with the Asha 302. The icons are very Symbian-like and there is a shortcut row at the bottom for quick access to your most used application.
Above them the Asha 210 sports widgets for rapid firing of the music and radio apps, and the dual SIM version we have adds another widget at the top, which gives you the signal status of both SIM cards, and from where you can call the SIM Manager app that lets you control which one to use for calls, texts, data and so on by default. The SIM card is hot-swappable, meaning that you don't have to turn off the device first, as the phone immediately connects to the second line upon insertion.
Nokia is selling the 210 as a social and messaging powerhouse that would be suitable for the first phone of your teen, and WhatsApp as well as Facebook shortcuts are prominently placed on the homescreen. The WhatsApp application lets you quickly attach a photo from the gallery and shoot to your group on the fly.
The whole process is pretty cumbersome with the context menu and trackpad keys, though, not to mention the typing speed if you have larger hands, so the programmable messaging key seems to be there mostly for marketing purposes. That goes for things like the YouTube app, too, for instance, since it simply fires up the browser and takes you to the mobile version of the site.
Processor and memory
The Asha 210 feels pretty slow with a basic ARM11 processor of undisclosed frequency, and just 32 MB of RAM, despite that the Series 40 UI is not graphically intensive. Going in and out of apps or simply strolling through menus takes quite a bit for modern standards. There is a 2 GB microSD card for storing your pics, videos and files by default and you can always add another, for up to 32 GB of storage.
Browser and connectivity
The Nokia Xpress Browser precaches the pages on Nokia's servers and streams optimized content to you, saving you a lot on data traffic. That's similar to the Opera Mobile concept, but on the 2.4” screen you'd be hard pressed to stay in the browser longer than needed for a quick reference or just for watching low-quality YouTube vids.
The Asha 210 sports a simple 2G connectivity, so the addition of Wi-Fi is a huge plus. It also sports Bluetooth and FM radio through the connected headphones serving as the antenna. There's no GPS, though, so that Nokia Maps navigation thingy needn't apply here.
The new Series 40 UI for non-touch Ashas doesn't differ much from the one we already reviewed with the Asha 302. The icons are very Symbian-like and there is a shortcut row at the bottom for quick access to your most used application.
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Interface of the Nokia Asha 210
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Above them the Asha 210 sports widgets for rapid firing of the music and radio apps, and the dual SIM version we have adds another widget at the top, which gives you the signal status of both SIM cards, and from where you can call the SIM Manager app that lets you control which one to use for calls, texts, data and so on by default. The SIM card is hot-swappable, meaning that you don't have to turn off the device first, as the phone immediately connects to the second line upon insertion.
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The SIM Manager app
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Nokia is selling the 210 as a social and messaging powerhouse that would be suitable for the first phone of your teen, and WhatsApp as well as Facebook shortcuts are prominently placed on the homescreen. The WhatsApp application lets you quickly attach a photo from the gallery and shoot to your group on the fly.
 |  |  |  |
Nokia is selling the 210 as a social and messaging powerhouse
| |||
The whole process is pretty cumbersome with the context menu and trackpad keys, though, not to mention the typing speed if you have larger hands, so the programmable messaging key seems to be there mostly for marketing purposes. That goes for things like the YouTube app, too, for instance, since it simply fires up the browser and takes you to the mobile version of the site.
Processor and memory
The Asha 210 feels pretty slow with a basic ARM11 processor of undisclosed frequency, and just 32 MB of RAM, despite that the Series 40 UI is not graphically intensive. Going in and out of apps or simply strolling through menus takes quite a bit for modern standards. There is a 2 GB microSD card for storing your pics, videos and files by default and you can always add another, for up to 32 GB of storage.
Browser and connectivity
The Nokia Xpress Browser precaches the pages on Nokia's servers and streams optimized content to you, saving you a lot on data traffic. That's similar to the Opera Mobile concept, but on the 2.4” screen you'd be hard pressed to stay in the browser longer than needed for a quick reference or just for watching low-quality YouTube vids.
 |  |  |  |
The Nokia Xpress Browser
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The Asha 210 sports a simple 2G connectivity, so the addition of Wi-Fi is a huge plus. It also sports Bluetooth and FM radio through the connected headphones serving as the antenna. There's no GPS, though, so that Nokia Maps navigation thingy needn't apply here.
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Nokia Asha 210
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13 Comments
posted on 18 Jul 2013, 05:21
2
1. theminolaboy (Posts: 116; Member since: 18 May 2013)
I hate the idea of mentioning something negative after every praise. This is a feature phone not a smartphone. It doesn't have 1020's 41MP or SIV's LTE connectivity. Goodness.
posted on 18 Jul 2013, 05:33
4
2. jedpatrickdatu (Posts: 145; Member since: 24 Jan 2013)
Wow, the camera is better than some 3.2 MP cameras I've seen.
And I agree, PhoneArena should keep in mind of the price range of the phone while reviewing it.
posted on 18 Jul 2013, 06:56
3. Ohrules (Posts: 299; Member since: 11 Jun 2012)
wait a sec! isn't the 210 supposed to have a whatsapp button rather than a FB button?
http://cdn2.gsmarena.com/vv/pics/nokia/nokia-asha-210-2.jpg
posted on 18 Jul 2013, 08:35
1
7. kaikuheadhunterz (Posts: 557; Member since: 18 Jul 2013)
Certain markets have different buttons. If I'm not mistaken, US gets the Facebook button while Asia gets the Whatsapp one.
posted on 18 Jul 2013, 06:57
4. WhatTheBit (Posts: 5; Member since: 18 Jul 2013)
Hey! I'm curious, how tight is the WhatsApp integration? I'm a high-end smartphone user (Note II), but sometimes I'd like to take a phone out with me that lasts a few days at a time. Does WhatsApp work perfectly on it? Do you have to leave the application open all the time or does the device somehow multi-task and keep WhatsApp always on in the background?
posted on 18 Jul 2013, 07:58
5. sinple (Posts: 85; Member since: 04 Nov 2011)
In my opinion, i think whatsapp on asha work better than whatapp on windows. Emotion and filetransfer do work properly.
there is also line and wechat on asha. Line on asha works the same as windows 8, no voice call. But there is still stickers. Not sure about wechat
posted on 18 Jul 2013, 08:33
6. kaikuheadhunterz (Posts: 557; Member since: 18 Jul 2013)
Multitasking is supported for Whatsapp for S40, so you don't actually have to leave it open all the time. I've tried it on the Nokia Asha 306 and this should work for this phone
posted on 11 Aug 2013, 08:01
8. JWallis (Posts: 3; Member since: 11 Aug 2013)
I do really like the keypad...I thought it was only a Blackberry thing. It's one of the things I miss most since venturing into Galaxy land.
posted on 11 Aug 2013, 13:58
9. MK_II (Posts: 1; Member since: 11 Aug 2013)
excuse me, sir
where can buy this phone or where are u come from?
because i am a HongKonger and i need a chinese input.
would you mind to reply me is that your phone have a "繁體中文" in Device language?
the different between HongKonger and Chinese is HongKonger is used in "繁體中文" but Chinese is used in another one.
thank you for waste your time to reply me and sorry about my poor english.
posted on 21 Aug 2013, 00:17
10. dewadewa (Posts: 2; Member since: 21 Aug 2013)
bakwas phone basic feature of name search is also not available. do not purchase west of money
posted on 01 Sep 2013, 03:58
11. Ashmi (Posts: 2; Member since: 30 Aug 2013)
I like the fact that PA has given this phone a rating of 7 and has kept in mind the price of the device ($72)
But I just wanted to say that low end androids don't really compare to featurephones. I owned an Asha 302 and it was by no means slow, although apps took about 2 seconds to load, but that was about it. Apart from that, I owned an HTC Explorer (a budget android device) and it had an extremely low internal memory and used to hand very frequently. I had got it for about $180 about a year and a half ago.
Save for the gaming and web browsing experience, the Asha matched the low end android in almost every aspect. The call quality and the overall responsiveness of the Asha was much better, along with the camera. The sound quality through the headphones was almost the same. A huge plus was the qwerty that came with the Asha 302, it was better than typing on the 3.2 inch screen of the HTC by many times.
So, my point is, you can't really compare low end budget androids to feature phones like the Asha series.
The Nokia Asha 210 is for those who like to text message a lot, want good call quality from their device, want a great design and like to stand out from the sea of black slabs, want a bit of social networking like twitter, facebook and whatsapp, some basic web browsing basically for referencing to sites such as wikipedia, want an acceptable camera and decent music playback, and of course, an extremely well designed qwerty keyboard with a long battery life.
Keep away from this who want an excellent gaming experience. This phone will only be able to provide you with an average one with basic games like tetris (which is quite addictive I must add). Also, those who want a great web browsing experience, keep away! Look to shell out more cash for higher end models with bigger screens and better OS'.
But at the end of the day, this device will keep you connected through social networks and whatsapp, snap a picture of two, play music out loud and offer a great qwerty experience. I must add one thing though, the phone does not automatically capitalize the letter i in my Nokia Asha 302, nor does it automatically insert apostrophe marks wherever necessary. For that, you'll have to turn on the prediction.
I'm looking forward to buy the Asha 210 either in magenta or cyan. Hope you all found this helpful :)
posted on 01 Sep 2013, 06:49
12. dewadewa (Posts: 2; Member since: 21 Aug 2013)
i know this is basic phone . but this is not having a basic features also. i am resale this phone with 2 days with half of price after tired a name search . and with the same price go for samsung . and i am happy. nokia is making bakwas . phone latest my friend purchase lumnia. and he use map application in lumnia in traveling. he is not found location compare to google map. so nokia all phones and models are west for money.
posted on 02 Sep 2013, 10:17
1
13. Ashmi (Posts: 2; Member since: 30 Aug 2013)
LOL do you even know how to use a cell phone?
I have a Nokia Lumia 520 and I used the maps application without any
glitch. It took me to where I wanted to go and I must say those maps
were better than the google ones I later installed. Don't you think you
should have done your research before splurging? Don't blame Nokia for a
mistake you made. This phone is for qwerty fans, and nobody else. Buy
hey, I'm sure you'll remain happy with a phone that runs android way
beyond it's handling capacity.
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