Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Phone Review

Techie Gadgets has been talking abut the new Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Phone from it’s pre-order until the release and last week, we got to play with a test model for three weeks! The Nokia 5800 is the Finnish manufacturer’s first foray into an all-touchscreen mobile phone, which will inevitably bring up comparisons to other touchscreen phones like the iPhone, LG Secret, and HTC Touch Diamond. But having had no hands-on experience with the other touchscreen phones beyond the iPhone, this review will be more about the things I like and don’t like about the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic phone than a comparison to other similar mobile phones.

Design and Hardware

The handset is simple, unassuming, and feels sturdy in the hand. The phone also comes with a stylus, which I had a hard time trying to dislodge at first. Once you do get it out though, using the phone becomes a lot easier.

The controls are conveniently located in areas where you’d expect to find them on a Nokia phone. To the right is a camera button, a slider for unlocking and locking the phone, and a volume rocker; at the top is the 3.5mm headphone jack, micro-USB port, the charger port, and power button; to the left are the covered slots for the SIM card and microSD card.

Usability

As Nokia promised, the screen is class-leading, bright, and crisp from the outset. It’s also very responsive; the touch sensitive slider makes it easy to browse through the phone or control the volume. You can even select text to cut and paste by dragging your finger across the screen, much like you would with a mouse.

I’m a very heavy texter and what I like about using the Nokia 5800 for text messaging is that it offers both a number pad and a QWERTY. It’s also easy to navigate through the phone thanks to a touch-sensitive button on the top right hand that lets you access the media bar.

However, if you’re big on having tons of applications onto your mobile phone, you won’t like the Nokia 5800 because too many applications slows everything down. There’s also an obvious lag in music playback when you switch between applications.

Media

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Phone does one of the things it’s supposed to do well – play music and media files. The music from the loud stereo speakers is crisp and clear enough to be used alone, without headphones (though you’ll probably irritate people to no end if you use it in public). Browsing through photos is all right, and the video playback is superior. The large 3.2″ display is wide enough for it to be considered a good alternative to the iPod Touch, and the movie quality is crisp and clear.

Value for Money

For a phone that costs P19,990, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Phone has a lot of high-end features such as WiFi, HSDPA, TV-Out, quad-band GSM, and a long battery life. The phone also comes with an 8GB microSD, which makes storage a non-issue to new users. Sure, the phone has a few quirks but I think the affordable price will probably make you forget about it. Overall, I was pretty happy with the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic phone, and I’m betting Nokia lovers probably won’t even need to try this model out to decide for themselves.