Nokia 5800 XpressMusic review: Young as you feel
Gsmarena have posted their review of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. Here are the key features, main disadvantages and final impression.
Key features:
3.2" 16M-color TFT LCD 16:9 touchscreen display (360 x 640 pixels)
Symbian S60 5th edition
ARM 11 369 MHz CPU, 128 MB of SDRAM memory
3.2 megapixel autofocus camera with dual-LED flash
VGA video recording at 30fps
Dual-band 3G with HSDPA support
Quad-band GSM support
Wi-Fi
Capable GPS receiver and Nokia Maps 2.0 Touch
microSD card memory expansion, ships with an 8GB card
TV out
FM radio with RDS
Bluetooth and USB v2.0
3.5mm standard audio jack
Excellent audio quality
Landscape on-screen virtual QWERTY keyboard
Proximity sensor for screen auto turn-off
Accelerometer sensor for automatic UI rotation and motion-based gaming
Rich retail package
Affordable price
Office document viewer
OVI and MySpace integration (direct image and video uploads)
Main disadvantages:
Limited 3rd party software availability
UI is still immature with somewhat dodgy user experience
Touchscreen sensitivity not the best in the class
No smart dialing
Poor image quality and no GPS geotagging
Touch web browser not quite polished
No voice-guided navigation license
No office document editing out-of-the-box
Doesn't charge off microUSB
OK then, what we have here is two newbies in the touchscreen league. A fact's a fact, but it's not exactly the kind of newbies everyone will look down at. Market leaders Nokia and the top selling smartphone platform must be ready to take a few beatings at the start of season but will hardly settle in for a long losing streak.
The competition is already in their second or third generation of touchscreen devices so the battle will be tough. Apple, WinMo, Samsung and LG have statistics in their favor. What's more, the number two manufacturer, Samsung, is also into S60 so Nokia may as well be taking due precautions against getting beaten in their own game.
That said, introducing a mid-range handset to debut the touch-enabled S60 sure looks a smart move. It lowers the expectations (flaws are less of an issue) and makes sure the platform sells well so that it can build up a wider user and developer base. And once it has enough reach - and testing time - the real flagship descends to reap the benefits.
For an even more effective camouflage, there goes the XpressMusic branding. And Nokia have done well to eclipse potential touch UI glitches with the best audio quality the house has pulled off to date. Not least, the Comes with Music service does get a boost too.
Anyway, at the end of this review we still feel Nokia 5800 is a worthy deal. Sure you get an interface that's immature, inconsistent and quite clumsy but the package you get for that kind of cash is a bargain and even Nokia's sworn enemies admit that.
The full house retail box and the highly competitive sub-300 euro price against most of the touchscreen competition should be enough of a motivation. It's also likely for third party applications to grow at a frantic rate over the next couple of months, as the market for them gets larger and larger.
And you can bet that there's a bargain at the other end too. Nokia's gain is feedback on its new Touch UI. We just hope that feedback gets smartly used.
Key features:
3.2" 16M-color TFT LCD 16:9 touchscreen display (360 x 640 pixels)
Symbian S60 5th edition
ARM 11 369 MHz CPU, 128 MB of SDRAM memory
3.2 megapixel autofocus camera with dual-LED flash
VGA video recording at 30fps
Dual-band 3G with HSDPA support
Quad-band GSM support
Wi-Fi
Capable GPS receiver and Nokia Maps 2.0 Touch
microSD card memory expansion, ships with an 8GB card
TV out
FM radio with RDS
Bluetooth and USB v2.0
3.5mm standard audio jack
Excellent audio quality
Landscape on-screen virtual QWERTY keyboard
Proximity sensor for screen auto turn-off
Accelerometer sensor for automatic UI rotation and motion-based gaming
Rich retail package
Affordable price
Office document viewer
OVI and MySpace integration (direct image and video uploads)
Main disadvantages:
Limited 3rd party software availability
UI is still immature with somewhat dodgy user experience
Touchscreen sensitivity not the best in the class
No smart dialing
Poor image quality and no GPS geotagging
Touch web browser not quite polished
No voice-guided navigation license
No office document editing out-of-the-box
Doesn't charge off microUSB
OK then, what we have here is two newbies in the touchscreen league. A fact's a fact, but it's not exactly the kind of newbies everyone will look down at. Market leaders Nokia and the top selling smartphone platform must be ready to take a few beatings at the start of season but will hardly settle in for a long losing streak.
The competition is already in their second or third generation of touchscreen devices so the battle will be tough. Apple, WinMo, Samsung and LG have statistics in their favor. What's more, the number two manufacturer, Samsung, is also into S60 so Nokia may as well be taking due precautions against getting beaten in their own game.
That said, introducing a mid-range handset to debut the touch-enabled S60 sure looks a smart move. It lowers the expectations (flaws are less of an issue) and makes sure the platform sells well so that it can build up a wider user and developer base. And once it has enough reach - and testing time - the real flagship descends to reap the benefits.
For an even more effective camouflage, there goes the XpressMusic branding. And Nokia have done well to eclipse potential touch UI glitches with the best audio quality the house has pulled off to date. Not least, the Comes with Music service does get a boost too.
Anyway, at the end of this review we still feel Nokia 5800 is a worthy deal. Sure you get an interface that's immature, inconsistent and quite clumsy but the package you get for that kind of cash is a bargain and even Nokia's sworn enemies admit that.
The full house retail box and the highly competitive sub-300 euro price against most of the touchscreen competition should be enough of a motivation. It's also likely for third party applications to grow at a frantic rate over the next couple of months, as the market for them gets larger and larger.
And you can bet that there's a bargain at the other end too. Nokia's gain is feedback on its new Touch UI. We just hope that feedback gets smartly used.
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