Modern successor to the Nokia Navigator 6210? Recommendations...

Gnostikos on 24/05/2014 - 15:48
Last edited 24/05/2014 - 17:11

It's been more than 6 years I've had this antique and it's served me well, it's gone through ordeals that'd make modern smartphones look like they've just been on an episode of Will it Blend?, but for work-related purposes I do need something slightly more modern.

Trouble is, as much as I look, I can't find something that has all of the exact qualities of the old 6210 Navigator in a compact form-factor, with a superior, modern feature set.

Specifically something along these lines:

  • Alphanumeric keypad and navigation buttons (touch-sensitive display or not; doesn't bother me).
  • GPS with voice navigation
  • Stand-by time of 300 hours minimum; talk time of 6 hours minimum
  • Weight and Dimensions fairly close to the 6210 (103 x 49 x 14.9 mm; 117g). I don't mind something closer to the size of a Nokia Lumia 620 as I realise small form-factors are not vogue at the moment.
  • 3MP camera with flash
  • Good call quality
  • Screen no larger than 4.5 inches in diameter (under 4 is preferable)

Budget is whatever it costs, as long as it meets those demands and is well-regarded.

So far models from the Nokia C2 and Nokia Asha series have been close, but they're always lacking a few things like GPS/longer stand-by time. Things that tend to come with buttons in this day & age are quite often phones designed for emerging markets that are incredibly Spartan in features and quality.

I would have had gotten the Nokia 6710 Navigator (the last in the Navigator series), but at this point in time finding one in good condition is a bit hard, even on Gumtree and Ebay is chock full of refurbished duds and fakes.

Can anyone recommend me anything?

Mobile

Comments

  • lovesabargain77 on 24/05/2014 - 16:00

    Nice to run into a fellow Nokia 6210 Navigator user.

    I only just recently retired mine after 5 years even though it was still going strong as a phone (and on it's original battery)

    However decided I would like something with more multimedia capabilities.

    After hours and hours of researching what to buy I finally purchased an LG G2 and am so happy with it.

    However that wouldn't meet the criteria that you are looking for.

    Good luck with your search.

    • Gnostikos on 24/05/2014 - 20:17

      As I said…

      I would have had gotten the Nokia 6710 Navigator (the last in the Navigator series), but at this point in time finding one in good condition is a bit hard, even on Gumtree and Ebay is chock full of refurbished duds and fakes.

  • scrimshaw on 24/05/2014 - 18:11
    +1

    Development for Symbian has ceased meaning that if you want a 'modern device' that supports the latest apps (whether they be social or navigation apps), software updates, and such, you're out of luck as Nokia as officially closed developer support. If the navigation app is an important feature of the phone, you may be stuck using old versions and possibly even be out of new map data.

    Alphanumeric keypad and navigation buttons (touch-sensitive display or not; doesn't bother me).

    If you must have keypad and nav key, the BlackBerry Q10 might be up your alley. Navigation provided via Blackberry Maps.

    Screen is 3.1 inch. Dimensions 119.6 x 66.8 x 10.4 mm

    If you still want to stick with Nokia, I suggest looking at the Nokia E72, a business oriented QWERTY device.

    Or just buy a Lumia. Once you go touchscreen you'll probably never go back to anything with buttons again. There's just so much more you can do with a larger 4 inch touchscreen.

    • Gnostikos on 24/05/2014 - 20:22

      Development for Symbian has ceased

      The OS, hardware and app support is all fluid to me; my only specific need is something that isn't a gargantuan multi-purpose, all-in-one device that's mediocre at everything.

      Once you go touchscreen you'll probably never go back to anything with buttons again. There's just so much more you can do with a larger 4 inch touchscreen.

      I did have a HTC Incredible S for a while and a Samsung Galaxy S4 after that. I gave it a fair shot. Thanks but no thanks.

      If you still want to stick with Nokia, I suggest looking at the Nokia E72, a business oriented QWERTY device.

      A lot of the late generation, pre-touchscreen Nokia smartphones are quite good, it's just hard finding them in a decent condition now.

      I even bought a 6710 Navigator off Ebay last year; turned out to be a refurbished model with numerous issues.

      • scrimshaw on 24/05/2014 - 20:58
        +1

        If you search online there may be sellers selling brand new stock.

        E.g brand new E72 for $150 + 15 postage.
        http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Brand-New-Nokia-E72-Qwerty-Keyboa…

        And the updated version, or successor to the E72 is the Nokia E6, which has some vastly improved features, with a nicer looking Nokia Belle operating system, and 8 megapixel shooter with 720p recording. It still very much looks like a E72.

        Brand new E6 from Hong Kong $249 shipped

        None of the current Nokia Asha series have GPS functionality — according to Wikipedia, so you can forget about getting a Nokia Asha if you need GPS navigation.

        There is no direct successor to your 6xxx series because in 2009 Nokia ditched it's 4 digit naming scheme and seperated their phones into several series — and the only phones to retain Wifi and GPS features were their higher end N series and E series mobile phones.

        Click here to see Nokia's main product lines.

  • twocsies on 24/05/2014 - 18:29

    How about the Nokia Asha 501? Meets all your criteria except the flash…

    Keyboard: Touch display
    Navigation: Cellular and Wi-Fi network positioning (How Maps works on Asha 501 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MWWrZMCUXg and it requires Internet, also see http://store.ovi.com/content/379901)
    Battery: Standby time 48 days, talk time 17h.
    Weight and Dimensions: 99.20 x 58.00 x 12.10 and 91g
    Camera: 3.2 MP camera with NO flash
    Screen: 3 inch display

    http://www.nokia.com/global/products/phone/asha501/

    List of apps
    http://www.nokia.com/au-en/apps/asha/ or http://store.ovi.com and select Asha 501

    • scrimshaw on 24/05/2014 - 18:39

      You forgot to mention that there's no actual GPS positioning capability in the Asha 501 (i.e. it doesn't talk to GPS satellites), it only uses 2G cellular information and wifi geolocation, which is not accurate. Most other phones in the sub $100 range would have real GPS, e.g a Huawei Y300.

    • Gnostikos on 24/05/2014 - 20:23

      Meets all your criteria except the flash…

      And the lack of buttons.

  • mooney on 25/05/2014 - 09:06
    +1

    Hmmm, I like a good tech challenge. However yours is tough. I do agree with a poster on this thread, you're committing yourself to BlackBerry or buying old release phones. It appears physical keyboards of any description aren't sexy to consumers.

    If BB is no good the best android options I can find you are on the link below. I'd put forward the LG enact, though I'm unsure if it was ever released in oz.

    http://www.androidauthority.com/best-qwerty-android-smartpho…

  • Cheeper on 25/05/2014 - 10:17

    If you want navigation with voice etc and one that operates without internet connection then get an Android handset and install Sygic. It loads all the very detailed maps into your phone for all of Australia or any country in the world. Install it to your SD card, not phone memory/storage.
    (handset must have 1 mb ram)

    Huawei G526 works well with it but it does not have a physical keypad…. then again, these days they are obsolete.

  • Givemethemoney on 28/06/2014 - 14:13

    Have you considered any of the following:

    Blackberry Z10
    Samsung Galaxy S2
    Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
    Nokia Lumia 620
    Nokia Lumia 820
    Samsung Galaxy S Advance
    Motorola Droid RAZR M
    Samsung Galaxy Beam
    Samsung Galaxy R
    Motorola ATRIX

    http://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?sName=&idMaker=0&chkGSM…

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