Nokia Supernova brings colour to S40 v6

The Nokia 7610 Supernova is the highlight of this new collection, which was already leaked some time ago. There are four new phones that are part of this series, and all seem to be very friendly and colourful devices, but there is a hidden innovation: It uses S40 6th edition User Interface. More pictures, specifications, discussion, and also live images after the jump.

The 7610 Supernova has a 3.2 megapixel camera with a dual LED flash on it. Sounds like a mid-end device to me, or perhaps something between low-end and mid-end because there is no 3G. It also has TV-out, Bluetooth v2.0, FM Radio, microSD memory card support and Nokia Music store access. When you hear about the dual LED flash it might lead you to think that the phone is centered around the camera, but it's only Nokia increasing their standard, as you can see that there is access to the Music store as well. The prices aren't too bad either, 225€ w.s.o.t.. Well done Nokia.

"Featuring a slide design and smooth curves, the Nokia 7610 Supernova offers Xpress-On covers in a choice of a set of 'steel blue' and 'red' covers offset by a muted gray front surface, or 'bright lilac' and 'steel blue' contrasted against a pristine white front surface." The live picture is 'bright lilac' I trust.

Next we have the Nokia 7510 Supernova. The phone has a 2 megapixel camera with NIPS, whatever that is, and a LED flash. It seems that we are descending in terms of specifications. The price should also decrease, and it does: the Nokia 7510 Supernova is available from 180€ w.s.o.t..

Share on Ovi is now reaching S40 devices as well, and it is a smart move from Nokia, to present something attractive to the people. However, there is no mention of a dedicated application, but you can always use the new Nokia web browser that comes with this S40 6th edition.

There is support for A-GPS, but there is no GPS built-in. There is also Nokia Maps 1.2 with free mapping, routing, and local search. The only way to enjoy this is really to buy a Bluetooth GPS device. S40 6th edition is improved towards this. And the Bluetooth included on the phone is v2.0

"The Nokia 7510 Supernova boasts an iconic fold design with a push-to-open side key. Available with Xpress-On front and back covers in 'storm blue', 'red', 'emerald green' and 'espresso brown' the Nokia 7510 Supernova features magical light effects with a hidden-until-lit display and a reminder light."

Next is the Nokia 7310 Supernova. The price has been decreases to 155€ w.s.o.t. and so have the features. There is a 2 megapixel camera with no flash. There is TV-out and the possibility and encouragement to play the pre-installed games on TV. microSD memory cards are supported, and there is Bluetooth v2.0 connectivity.

FM Radio with RDS is included and so is MP3 playback. These are basic multimedia features for the phone, and the only new features here are the design.

"The slim and sleek Nokia 7310 Supernova includes Xpress-On covers etched with daring 3D textured designs available in 'steel blue' plus a second front and back cover in 'wasabi green' or 'candy pink'. A further five front and back cover options will be available for purchase in select markets in 'mushroom silver', 'plum jam', 'electric blue', 'yellow mellow' and 'espresso brown'."

Lastly, the Nokia 7210 Supernova ends the collection with a price of 120€ w.s.o.t.. The features remaining are the 2 megapixel camera with a Dual LED flash, and access to photo sharing websites. There is Bluetooth v2.0, FM Radio with RDS, and microSD memory card support.

"For trend watchers who want simplicity with style, the Nokia 7210 Supernova has a chic, slim design and is available in a choice of 'bubble gum pink' and 'vivid blue' in a gloss finish. "

The Nokia 7610 Supernova should be released by Q3 of 2008, while the 7510 Supernova on Q4 of 2008, the 7310 Supernova on Q2 of 2008 already, and the 7210 Supernova on Q3 of 2008.

So what else is new with the S40 6th edition?

Location API for J2ME™ (JSR-179), which enables the creation of location-based applications. These applications can utilize an external Bluetooth GPS unit to obtain location information.
Series 40 6th Edition adds support for Flash Lite 3 Player from Adobe.
Browsing — Browsing is offered for HTML, XHTML Mobile Profile (XHTML-MP), and WML 2.0, so existing WML content is viewable on Series 40 6th Edition devices.
Series 40 platform also supports the format Windows Media Video (WMV)

These are for me the four most important additions to this new S40 edition. LBS (Location-based services) will be an important addition to phones while combining GPS and internet to provide information available on your current position.

FlashLite 3 means playing YouTube videos, and it has been begged for many S60 v3.1 phones as it's an important feature of the web browser.

Talking about the web browser, it has been improved with full HTML browsing. We can't tell you much right now, but when we take it for a review, we will notice the changes.

WMV is a feature for multimedia purposes. Playing more formats means more choice for the user, and less trouble for converting.

If you believe Nokia holds more treasures in this software platform that I didn't cover, check the white paper.