Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Review & Specification Details
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is very wll known polpular Smartphone.many of you wish to buy it.So here's an exclusive review for you.I cover all its feature and specification for you.
At first Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
is a full touchscreen phone and its ExpressMusic.Its also being the 1st device run Series 60 5th software. It's touchscreen o'clock for Nokia and the stage is set for the 5800 XpressMusic. Go ahead and touch it. We did and we've got a story to tell.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is unthreateningly and unobtrusively positioned in the mid-range and the XpressMusic branding helps share some of that first-S60-touchscreen weight. Still, it's way more than an affordable music-centered handset. The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has a strong and unmistakable Nokia identity and delivers multimedia performance.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Key features:
- 3.2" 16M-color TFT LCD 16:9 touchscreen display (360 x 640 pixels)
- Symbian S60 5th edition
- ARM 11 434 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 of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic:
- 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 camera image quality
- Touch web browser not quite polished
- No office document editing out-of-the-box
- Doesn't charge off microUSB
Now we can go deeper in our review section. Lets start with Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Retail package opening part.
Retail package: Box opening
What's a better way to start a review than a retail package brimming over with goodies. We cannot quite remember a handset to offer this much in the box without getting out-of-reach kind of high-end.
For starters, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic comes with an 8GB memory card - not bad for a sub-300 euro handset. There is also a microUSB cable to use for your data connections, a TV-out cable that normally ships with high-end N-series models only and a two piece handsfree. It's 3.5mm on either end so you can easily replace the provided headset without sacrificing the remote.
And if you're still not impressed, Nokia 5800 won't stop there. That sweet touchscreen needs protection and the carrying case sure comes in handy. Made of rubbery plastic, the case is pleasantly soft to the touch and seems durable enough. Another nice surprise is the desk stand which according to Nokia will also be included in every retail package. Well, we didn't get it so we guess there is some market dependency here.
But recently For some reason Nokia have replaced the rubbery carrying case with a TV-out cable in the 5800 XpressMusic retail package. To be honest we liked it better the way it was before but it's still one of the best (if not the best) retail packages you can get in this price range.
It also has an eyelet to attach the spare stylus or the plectrum-shaped alternative. Yep, if stylus ain't your game you're not entirely optionless. Now, for all we know, there's no better substitute for stylus than our very own thumb but we're yet to see about that with Nokia 5800.
To complete exploring the retail box, we should also mention the mandatory DC charger and the bunch of manuals and quick start guides provided. There is also a mini DVD containing a presentation of the phone features and the required PC sync software.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Size & Weight
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic stands at 111 x 51.7 x 15.5 mm in its full touchscreen shine. That totals a volume of 83cc, which isn't the most compact you get in the class. This however is mainly attributed to the considerable thickness and height.
The weight of 109g is an entirely different story and Nokia 5800 XpressMusic beats almost every other handset in the touchscreen class.
The 15.5 mm girth still isn't too bothersome while the tall and slender build do give the Finnish touchscreen a distinct and recognizable identity. We find it fitting perfectly in hand - and most pockets - but the greatest benefit is the easy single-hand operation.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Design and construction
The elongated body is the most notable design feature of the Nokia touchscreen. The 16:9 display is enough of a rarity - Samsung F490 is probably the only handset to be used as a reference.
The touchscreen form factor leaves little room for variation, and Nokia 5800 XpressMusic looks to build an identity by staying as close as it can to the house styling. So, instead of looking at just another touch phone, you're faced with a handset that's unmistakably and proudly Nokia.
Up front, the touchscreen is recessed into its frame more than usual, while the hardware keys' styling clearly repeats recent Nseries. The Nseries influence is even more distinct at the rear, but this time the cheap gloss is graciously traded for soft rubbery finish. The color accents on the sides - red or blue - are a nice touch.
The phone is a tad bulkier than we would have liked but still by no means a burden to carry or operate.
The front of the fully touch-operated Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is dominated by the 3.2" touchscreen. Above the display, it's a bit more crowded than usual. What you get there is the tiny cleft of the earpiece, the video-call camera a touch-sensitive Media key and a couple of sensors.
The Media key triggers a drop down menu of shortcuts to media and web. Other than that, an ambient light sensor and a proximity sensor to turn the touchscreen off during calls are squeezed between the earpiece and the front-facing camera.
Below the display we find three slim keys - Call and End knobs, with the menu button in the middle. The call buttons are just a little stiff, with not the best press feedback. The menu key is definitely better in terms of response. A press-and-hold on it launches the task manager - in the long-standing Symbian tradition - to let you easily terminate or switch between running applications .
It's quite crowded at the top of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic as well. In the top right corner is the Power key, that also handles ringing profiles. On the opposite end is microUSB port, the charger plug and the 3.5mm standard audio jack in between.
The microUSB connector is hidden under a protective lid to prevent it from filling up with dust and dirt, while the 3.5mm audio jack is exposed. The possible explanation is the XpressMusic branding, which suggests frequent use of the audio jack.
Unfortunately, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic doesn't charge via the microUSB port.
The right side of Nokia 5800 hosts the volume rocker, the screen-lock switch and the camera key. The screen lock switch is an essential shortcut - the implementation in the 5800 is quite ergonomic and friendly. Locking/unlocking of the screen is marked by a short vibration.
The volume rocker - serving as a zoom lever too - is quite flat and stiff. The nicely projecting shutter key fares a bit better: it offers a distinct half-press but the overall feel is well short of the soft and responsive camera button of N95.
The bottom of the handset features the microphone pinhole and a small groove to place a finger and lift the battery cover up.
The lanyard eyelet is all the way down on the left side of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. On the same side you'll find the microSD card slot and the SIM compartment - both covered protective plastic covers. Yep - you got that right - the SIM card gets in and out on the side of the handset.
But don't get this wrong - it's not hot-swappable or anything. You still need to remove your rear cover and battery. Then you put the stylus in a little hole to push the SIM card out. In fact it's so unusual that they drew a manual on the inside of the battery cover about it.
The last thing to note here are the stereo speakers, marked by small clefts on either end of the phone's left hand side.
The back side of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic features the 3 megapixel autofocus camera, which comes with a dual-LED flash. The other thing of interest here is the stylus which slides smoothly into the back panel.
Removing the battery cover reveals the Nokia 1320 mAh Li-Ion BL-5J battery. Quoted at the impressive 406 hours of standby and 8 hours 45 minutes of talk time it is sure to keep your phone going for quite a while.
The commitment to 35 hours of music playback is something we're more inclined to believe than doubt. But these are of course the maximum values achievable.
The real life performance is also quite impressive with the handset easily managing to go through three to four days of moderate usage (about 20 minutes of calls, 30 minutes of browsing through Wi-Fi and 20 minutes of fiddling with the other features a day).
The large screen and the power-hungry features like Wi-Fi and GPS can get tough enough on even the most powerful of batteries. In real life scenarios you can be looking at two days of regular use but should be prepared to charge daily if the screen is constantly on and you're hardly giving the handset a break.
The general build-quality of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is good but the XpressMusic branding does make it hard to expect anything more than decent plastic. The fact of the matter is the first S60 touch handset doesn't get noticed for elaborate exterior. We guess when it's midrange, it's midrange all over. Though we wish the same held true on the high-end too (N96, anyone?).
Anyway, the exterior gives a nice sturdy impression, which however is ruined by the almost constant unwelcome creaks by the rear cover - the Nokia 5800 looks and feels more like a wobbly slider than a monolith block.
The 5800 dimensions are altogether friendly, and the consistent and identifiable styling will be appreciated by brand loyal users.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: An impressive high-resolution screen
The Communicator series and the exotic 77xx tablets aside, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic 3.2" display is the largest in the Finnish family. The resolution of 360 x 640 pixels is also second to the E90 business monster only. In fact, outside the Windows Mobile realm there isn't any other device to match the display resolution (no - not even the omnipresent iPhone 3G).
So the large and pixel-dense screen, building on the Nokia expertise in displays, grants the 5800 XpressMusic a top spot in the company portfolio. The contrast and brightness are great, although - we have to admit - they are no match for the OLED technology in Nokia N85. But talking about displays, size does count above all.
Unfortunatelly the legibility of the display under direct sunlight is rather poor. It is at about the same level as the HTC Touch Diamond which means that it is rather hard (but not completely impossible) to find a proper angle for working with the phone on a bright sunny day. We guess the interface isn't the only place where Apple have blown the competition away.
As already mentioned, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic uses a resistive touchscreen as opposed to the capacitive displays in devices like LG Prada and Apple iPhone 3G. This means there's a need for a bit of extra pressure to the screen for a click to be registered. The resistive display technology has the dubious advantage of allowing the use of stylus (and fingers with gloves).
When using the stylus, the 5800 display is absolutely on par with any competing touchscreen. On the other hand, sensitivity to fingers is quite adequate but slightly short of the, say, HTC Touch Diamond, which uses the same touchscreen technology.Haptic feedback is of course enabled. Vibration intensity is adjustable, with three different levels available.
You might have some trouble getting used to the screen sensitivity at first, but problems will be sorted in a short while of using the phone. Besides if you prefer the stylus (which we certainly don't), it gets even easier.
The plectrum is somewhat of a bogus alternative to the stylus - we mean an alternative would be anything that makes the whole thing more thumbable. The plectrum is just another thing to poke your screen with. Now, we are obviously not the kind to go Jimi Hendrix on our phone. Others might find it cool though.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Symbian S60 (r)Evolution
We now come to probably the most important part of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic performance. We do need to rethink our perspective and, instead of looking at the 5800 as a standalone touchscreen device, get to the real point of exploring the level of touch optimization of the S60 interface. How good - or bad - Nokia 5800 is very much depends on how well S60 translates to touch.
You can go ahead and call S60 the most mature, user-friendly and stable smartphone interface but that won't necessarily make its touch reincarnation any better at this point. The pains of growth can't be helped we guess.
The fact is that Nokia have not done a great job at creating a user-friendly touch interface. At this stage we're not looking at an elaborate touch interface but the first stages of touch-optimizing an existing UI. S60 is more of a curse than a blessing at this point. Honestly, at times we felt as if Nokia is using all 5800 users as a giant focus group to test out various elements of their new interface - try this scrolling and that scrolling - which one do you prefer?
Comparing the S60 5th edition to LG and Samsung touchscreen interfaces or Windows Mobile is not in favor of Nokia. And even the mere mentioning of iPhone would be devastating on the 5800 morale.
Nokia have slowly but steadily been making improvements of the interface usability. S60 touch edition is still playing catch up with the competition, and it's still behind.We appreciate the effort and the recently added kinetic scrolling works pretty well, even though only in list menus. Now if they come scrolling in icon menus, it would be just great.
This was more or less expected - there aren't absolute deal-breaker issues but the interface is obviously immature and the touch implementation inconsistent. The great asset - which could prove vital in the long run - is the familiarity, predictability and comfort of the original S60.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: User interface basics
The homescreen layout of the S60 5th edition is similar to previous S60 versions - all the status indicators are at the top, plus the clock and the calendar. A single press on the clock starts the clock application (with an option for setting up an alarm) while tapping on the date opens a drop-down menu where you can either enter the calendar application or change the currently active profile.
You have three layouts for the homescreen to choose from - an active-standby kind of shortcuts bar, contacts bar or blank screen (called Basic). Activating the latter will let you enjoy your currently selected theme but the large homescreen will be quite lacking in functionality - save for the status bar and the two touch buttons at the bottom. One launches the virtual num pad, while the other opens the Contact list.
In fact, we can't help but notice Nokia 5800 fails to make the best use of the screen estate that's available. Not only are the available shortcuts notably less than on regular D-pad-controlled S60 handsets but some of the additional controls (like the bar for the quick WLAN search) are also removed.
Touch navigation on the homescreen boils down to a few buttons/icons. What we miss is at least a basic degree of gesture control - a finger sweep for example could toggle the main menu or an extra set of shortcuts.
The Shortcuts bar in its current implementation accommodates four large touch-optimized icons at the top of the homescreen. Below them are the reserved lines for the search application, calendar and the currently running music track or radio station. The number of shortcuts has obviously been reduced to make each icon big enough to touch.
It still seems though there is plenty of unused space on the display most of the time so we find the decision of removing the quick WLAN search from the homescreen totally wrong. You can assign the WLAN wizard to one of the shortcuts, of course but that leaves you with only three remaining for you other favorites.
You can also access the connectivity menu by tapping around the battery status indicator, which is the quickest way to initiate a WLAN search. It is not quite as quick as the 3rd edition plug-in where you only needed a single click for the purpose but it is better than nothing.
The other option is the Contacts bar where you can place shortcuts to four favorite contacts. Given the limited number of slots here and the available space on the screen, this could've been way more convenient if displayed along with the shortcuts bar. On the positive side selecting one of the contacts brings out a list of all your recent communications.
With the latest firmware Nokia updates the contacts bar functionality as well. Now it features the contacts icons at the top and four customizable shortcuts at the bottom. The number of contacts that you can add is no longer limited to four and their thumbnails have been increased in size to make them more thumbable.
Most menus can be set to show as either a grid of 4x3 icons or a list of nine items per screen. The exception is the settings menus, which can only appear as lists.
S60 users will of course feel at home but the interface is intuitive enough as well, even if not the best in terms of touch control. Each screen and submenu comes with its contextual touch buttons, so navigation won't differ much from a D-pad and soft-key controlled device.
Strangely enough, opening an item in any of the listed submenus calls for two presses - one to select, and another one to confirm the action. Now that's something that you don't normally see in other touch phones and seems to hurt usability. You get used to it with time, but the main issue here is that the interface logic is different when you deal with icons instead of lists.
When the opened menu uses icons to represent items as opposed to lists, then a single click usually does the job fine. Sounds quite strange, right?
There's a possible reason for that - the scrolling logic used. Again we see two different implementations throughout the interface - scrolling of lists and scrolling of icons is different. And it has a negative impact on the touch usability again.
Thumb scrolling is an option everywhere but in listed menus it gets really bumpy. Instead of a smooth roll in response to every sweep (think Apple iPhone, LG Renoir, Samsung Pixon or Touch Diamond), there's a notable break as each line slowly revolves up or down. And when you stop dragging, the last item you touched remains highlighted. That's a reason why you need a second click to activate an item in listed sub-menus - to prevent accidental clicks.
But it's strange why Nokia had to use that logic in the first place, since when you scroll icon menus the last item you touch when you stop dragging doesn't get activated. So there's some intuitive solution that Nokia just didn't use for listed menus.
In the end dragging the side scrollbar turned out to be our preferred way of scrolling in all menus and we just had to put up with the double-click system in the listed ones.
The main menu and each of its submenus can be set to appear in landscape mode thanks to the build in accelerometer. Rotation is quick enough if you don't use the available transition effects (which are turned off by default).
The only parts of the UI that cannot be rotated are the standby screen and, quite naturally, the camera interface. Unfortunately, when you rotate the handset in text input mode, instead of getting a landscape QWERTY keyboard automatically, you are still offered the regular multi-tap input keypad. To get the QWERTY out, you need to activate it from the menu - again a solution that's far behind the competition.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic features a task manager, which is launched by a press-and-hold on the menu key. The task manager itself is identical to the one found on Symbian S60 3.2 devices. Also much like in the previous version of the UI, it appears on top of every pop-up menu.
The 5800 XpressMusic runs on a single 369 MHz ARM11 CPU and has 128 MB of RAM. Given the high-resolution screen, you can guess this isn't the fastest Nokia handset around.
Nokia also switched the CPU frequency with one of their earlier firmware updates. The ARM11 CPU now works at 434 MHz, which combined with some UI optimization delivers better user experience. The 5800 XpressMusic is still some way of the best in class but it is now much easier to swallow.
Major lags and holdups are still rare enough and they will hardly be much of a bother. And as to RAM - 128MB is a respectful count in Symbian terms. Depleting it is quite a challenge, unless done on purpose.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic comes with 86MB of internal memory plus the 8GB memory card that ships along. If that seems insufficient 16GB microSD cards are available and compatible. Accessing data on the card isn't any slower (not noticeably at least) than doing so on the phone memory. The phone didn't seem to slow as the memory card started filling either.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Customizing the UI
There are a number of options for customizing the interface of you Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. For starters you can change the menu view mode - the options here are pretty limited though.
You can also switch theme effects on and off. There are some really nice transition effects all over the interface but if you'd rather have your handset fast than pretty you'd be better off without them.
Finally, you can change the theme itself. From wallpaper through icons and transition effects, everything can be modified. Our unit came with a single theme preinstalled but there are already quite some of those available online.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Symbian vs. the rest of the world - the battle just begins
Before we move on, the big question is how the Symbian S60 touch-enabled 5th edition compares to the other touch UIs on the market.
For one, it is quite obvious that the S60 5th is a toddler, probably only comparable to the Google's Android OS. Some may argue that the same could be said about Apple's OSX iPhone implementation but we disagree. Apple may be blamed for being cheeky twisted snobs but hardly for undercooking the UI. There are many features that miss on the iPhone, but the ones they want to be there are there - an new ones are spawning with every other software update.
The main disadvantage of the Symbian 5th edition to competitors is its inconsistency. It uses one click here and double click there, you can flip through photos with finger sweeps but not SMS and emails - this whole thing is rather confusing, and annoying.
The other main issue is the design, which is no match for the looks of Samsung's TouchWiz and Apple's OSX, or even a plug-in like TouchFLO 3D. The Symbian S60 5th edition looks a bit too conservative for our taste and the customization options fail to address that. The added transition effects however are a nice step in the right direction and a clear indication that Nokia are about to change that.
The wasted standby screen is another thing we cannot quite accept. While every other manufacturer tries to grant access to as many features as possible straight on the homescreen, Nokia only give us 4 shortcut keys. The Contacts bar is also an option, but having both could've been way better.
The strongest point of the S60 5th edition as it currently stands is probably its structure. All the options are logically located exactly where you would expect them to be. And if you happen to disagree - rearrangement is as easy as it gets.
The file management of the Symbian S60 5th is also praiseworthy. The only other touch-enabled devices that are comparable are the WinMo crowd.
And finally, coming to third party software, Symbian touch is still too young to make a difference. The number of applications available is incomparably in favor of WinMo. Even the iPhone enjoys a larger base of available applications, even if the vast majority brings about functionality that you take for granted on other smartphones. On the other hand, the S60 already fares better than feature touchscreen phones by LG and Samsung, which are only limited to Java applications. Plus, the S60 touch is likely to catch up.
OK then, catching up may be easier said than done but Symbian Touch has one of the best reasons to think big. S60 5th - as it is now - sure needs refinement but it still steps on the market-leading smart platform. Immature, inconsistent - a beta version if that's what makes you happy - the S60 touch UI is a first attempt. We guess the verdict will be as good as the N97.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Phonebook Simple & Nice
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic uses a phonebook that's identical to what previous versions of the UI have offered. Except for the whole touch thingy, that is. The phonebook itself has virtually unlimited capacity and functionality is among the best we've seen.
Contacts can be freely ordered by first or last name and can naturally be searched by gradual typing of any of the names. You can also set whether the contacts from the SIM card, the phone memory and the service numbers will get displayed.
Editing a contact offers a great variety of preset fields and you can replicate each of them as many times as you like. You can also create new fields if you happen to be able to think of one. Personal ringtones and videos are also available for assigning. If you prefer, you may group your contacts and give each group a specific ringtone.
The Call log keeps track of your recent communications. The application itself comes in two flavors - accessed by pressing the Call key on the stand-by screen or from the main menu. The first one brings 20 call records in each of its tabs for outgoing, received and missed calls.
If you access the Log application from the main menu, you'll see a detailed list of all your network communications for the past 30 days. These include messages, calls and data transfers (even WLAN connections are included).
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Telephone System, Smart dial missing
We didn't experience any problems with the in-call performance of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. Reception levels are good on both ends of calls, the earpiece is loud enough and there were no interferences whatsoever.
We guess however that we have just been lucky here. A disturbingly large number of users are having trouble with the earpieces of their Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. The symptoms are muffled sound during conversations (changing to extremely loud at times), making it almost impossible to have a normal call.
A 5800 user's poll at one of online forum we stumbled upon shows that every second Nokia 5800 XpressMusic user (52 out of a total 100 participating users) is experiencing the problem. Now that seems as a huge thing.
Luckily, the issue is quite easy to fix if you take the phone to your local Nokia dealer and most of them do it for free in a matter of 5 minutes. It's just that the earpiece loudspeaker has some loose contacts.
There's also a number of online tutorials for DIY fix but unless you really know what you are doing we wouldn't suggest you to try them.
It is really quite embarrassing for Nokia to allow such a thing to happen to one of the most important handsets in their portfolio.
Luckily Nokia stepped in on that issue and all Nokia 5800 XpressMusic units in production after February 2009 have no earpiece issues whatsoever.
Now back to the Nokia 5800 telephony performance, we thing it's only fair that we point out that the built-in smart-dialing feature is a major absence in S60 5th edition.
Voice dialing is an option with the 5800 as with mostly any other phone. The voice dialing mode is activated once you press and hold the Call key. It is fully speaker-independent and doesn't require prerecording the names of your contacts. Bear in mind though, that if you have multiple numbers assigned to a contact, the first or the default one gets dialed.
Thanks to the built-in accelerometer you can silence an incoming call on the phone by simply flipping it over. Those feature was also available on the previous versions on the UI but only through 3rd party applications.
We also ran our traditional loudspeaker test on Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. The handset didn't perform too impressively but still scored a Good mark meaning we have seen (and heard) better. You might want to keep a closer look on it when you are in noisier environments.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: SMS Messaging is simple
The messaging menu is yet another part of the Symbian S60 UI that hasn't been greatly modified compared to earlier editions. There are a few changes here and there, mostly an attempt to simplify the interface even further and of course add new touch input methods. A minor facelift is noticed but looks are still pretty conservative.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic supports all common message types - SMS, MMS and email. They all share a common intuitive editor which by this point should be quite familiar to everyone. When composing an SMS, a counter is displayed of characters left to the limit of 160. An indicator in brackets is showing the number of separate parts the message will be divided into for sending.
Once you insert some multimedia content, or an email address is inserted as recipient, the counter is replaced by a data counter showing the size of your email.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic also features the dedicated editor for instant recording of audio messages. Much like with Symbian S60 v3.2 you can either record the message on the spot or use a sound clip from the phone memory. The interface of all the messengers is quite similar too.
Delivery reports can be turned on - they pop up once the message reaches the addressee, and are then saved in a separate folder in the messaging sub-menu. When you are exiting the message editor without having sent the message, you get prompted to save it in Drafts or discard it.
Here might just be the right time to mention the input options on Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. The handset offers a standard alphanumeric on-screen keypad in both portrait and landscape mode, as well as a virtual QWERTY landscape keyboard. The latter takes up about two thirds of the screen and is really nice to type on.
It sure cannot be a match for any hardware keyboard but the 5800 XpressMusic full QWERTY fares pretty well. Typing is enhanced by nice and accurate haptic feedback and the keys are large enough so typos are reduced to a healthy minimum. Unfortunately there is no predictive typing like on the Apple iPhone or the Nokia E71 but we do not consider this much of a disadvantage.
Unfortunately rotating the handset doesn't bring up the landscape QWERTY keyboard as a default input method, instead you have to pick it up manually from the menu.
Another update brought by the latest firmware is the automatic switching between multitap and full QWERTY keyboard when you tilt the phone sideways. You no longer need to make two clicks to change the keyboard layout each time. That would be a real blessing for heavy texters.
Finally, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic offers handwriting recognition, which did a rather decent job, recognizing almost all the letters we scribbled in the box. You can improve its performance by taking the handwriting training - where you actually show the handset how you write each different letter.
There is also a mini QWERTY keyboard, which is only good for stylus or plectrum use but we doubt anyone will use it too often. Its main advantage is that it takes little space on the screen.
The email client is really nice, able to meet almost any emailing needs. The easy setup we found in the latest Nokia handsets is also available with the 5800 XpressMusic. It has even been touched here and there, so it needs even less input.
If you are using any public email service (it has to be among the over 1000 supported providers), all you have to do is enter your username and password to start enjoying email on the go. The phone downloads all the needed settings to get you going in no time.
Besides, it now prompts choosing whether you prefer POP or IMAP access to mail providers that support both. With the previous version selection was automatic.
Multiple email accounts and various security protocols are supported, so you can bet almost any mail service will run trouble-free on your Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.
The client can download headers only or entire messages, and can be set to automatically check mail at a given interval. A nice feature allows you to schedule sending email next time an internet connection is available. This can save you some data traffic charges since you can use the next available WLAN connection instead.
There is also support for attachments, signatures and generally, you can hardly think of something important that the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic lacks. Furthermore with a screen resolution like this reading your emails is a real pleasure.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Its All About Music And Quality
Having in mind the XpressMusic branding, we thought that the music player of the Nokia 5800 will be one of the parts of the UI to see the most changes. As it turned out this couldn't have been further away from the truth - the application is quite identical to the S60 3rd edition versions. A few cosmetic changes here and there and touch-optimization is all that sets it apart.
Not that the music player isn't capable enough or something - it surely has more than enough functionality. However some more eye-candy would be quite welcome. After all the touch interfaces are usually mostly about being fun to use and nice to look at.
Your music library is automatically sorted by artist, album, genre and composer and searching tracks by gradual typing is available. You can also create your own playlists in no time. The process of adding tracks to the library is as simple as choosing the refresh option. You won't need to do that if you upload the music via the proprietary PC Suite application.
With the huge number of supported formats you will hardly ever come across an audio file that the phone won't handle. Album art is also supported and if you don't like the default sound of the device you can enhance it by applying one of the five equalizer presets and if they seem insufficient you can create new ones in a matter of seconds.
Quite naturally, the player can also be minimized to play in background. In this case a tab appears on the stand-by screen indicating the currently running track.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Remarkable audio quality
Speaking of music playback, the 5800 XpressMusic turned out to be the best Nokia example for audio quality to date. That's that and no fancy foreword would've made sense. We've been seeing improvement over recent devices by the Finns and now the 5800 comes to crown the whole thing. In fact, we've never seen so good numbers on any other mobile phone.
The phone flaunts an amazing frequency response keeping within the +-1db range effortlessly. Furthermore, for most of its range it is right on the perfect track. Noise level and dynamic range readings are also praiseworthy and so is THD. IMD and crosstalk are not as impressive but still quite good. All in all, you will be enjoying some of the industry best quality audio with Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Video player is limited
Watching a video on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is a mixed bag. The built-in video player has decent functionality but only supports a very limited number of codecs, no DivX and XviD. While this was hardly an issue with previous Symbian versions, developers haven't yet come up with a 3rd party solution for the 5th edition of the S60 UI.
Some claim that their products are compatible but we couldn't get any of them to work properly on our unit. Anyway, this will most probably be addressed in the nearest future but until then you will have to resort to MP4 videos only.
Luckily, the Nokia PC suite has a built-in application that automatically converts all kinds of video files to the format and resolution your phone supports - you'll need of course to upload through it. We would have preferred to use mass storage mode instead, but we'll have to do it the Apple way for now. In addition, the automatic converter seems to compress the videos too much even at the highest quality setting and they look over pixilated.
The video player itself only works in fullscreen landscape mode but, since anything else would have made the widescreen display useless, this is understandable. When in fullscreen, a press on the screen shows the controls which are normally hidden.
The amply sized high-res screen is also more than welcome for truly enjoying your videos. And if you have the video stand you might as well think twice before bringing your portable video player the next time you are going out.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: FM radio is also nice
The FM radio on Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has a neat and simple interface and can automatically scan and save the available stations in your area. It also has RDS support and a first for Nokia phone - automatic scanning for an alternative frequency. This means that if you travel the 5800 XpressMusic will take care of auto-switching to the frequencies of your selected radio station.
The RDS is the best part of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic FM radio. The radio station name gets displayed with cool effects across the whole screen, while the rest of the RDS readings are printed in nicely legible text on a line at the bottom. Now, we would have preferred this font a bit larger.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Image gallery touch really nice here
The gallery of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is yet another part of its interface that hasn't been drastically changed compared to its predecessors. It has neither the swanky 3D view mode, nor the customizable slideshow we are used to seeing in the Nseries. The only difference here is the added touch-friendliness. In fact, the gallery is one of the very few places around the interface where sweep gestures are allowed.
This means that you can change pictures by sweeping your finger across the screen when looking at a single photo. Opting between portrait and landscape mode is automatic, thanks to the built-in accelerometer. Unless you have that feature disabled, all you need to do to switch modes is to flip the phone sideways.
The photos can also be zoomed in to see more detail but the screen resolution makes sure you won't need it as much as usual. Zoom is controlled via either the volume rocker or an on-screen touch slider. In all other cases, images are displayed full screen.
Overall, picture browsing is decently fast and smooth, but the zooming is rather slow. It takes about a second on each zoom step even when dealing with 3 megapixel photos, let alone higher-res ones. At least the panning is OK.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: File manager is still really capable
The file manager is yet another aspect where the pedigree counts big time. With the soft keys at the bottom you can almost forget that you are looking at a new device.
The Symbian file management system has been top notch for quite a while now, and you can hardly think of anything to change. The application can basically do anything you can think of with your files - moving, copying renaming, sorting or sending - you name it. You can also password-protect your memory card if you see fit.
The searching for a specific file or directory is also available with the phone. All you need to remember is a part of the desired name and where it was located (phone memory or memory card) the 5800 XpressMusic will find it in no time.
On the negative side, there is no drag and select multiple items on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic like on Windows Mobile devices. This is the one feature that does need touchscreen to be implemented and yet Nokia engineers left it out.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Disappointing camera for such a nice phone
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has a 3.15 MP camera with a maximum image resolution of 2048x1536 pixels. Carl Zeiss optics and the dual-LED flash might have you hoping for at least above average image quality. If that's the case, you're in for quite a disappointment. The XpressMusic handset is clearly not much of a shooter.The camera key is OK to work with, and that probably is the best thing to say about imaging.
The camera UI has been significantly altered but hardly for the better, we're afraid. All the settings are now squeezed in a common menu, except for the flash, which has its own dedicated shortcut. We understand that a tabular layout wouldn't be possible with this device but some of the more important features could have had their own shortcuts too.
At least the range of settings that the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic offers is extensive enough: from manual white balance and ISO to exposure compensation, sharpness and contrast. Various effects are also at hand, labeled color tones.
Geotagging has been added with an official firmware update v20.0.0.12 available to end users via Nokia Software Updater application.
The viewfinder doesn't take the whole screen - a bar on the right is reserved for the touch controls. You have a settings button that launches a semi-transparent overlay of all available shooting options, a dedicated Flash button and an on-screen shutter key. Now, that last one is absolutely redundant - it doesn't have a half press/full press action to properly handle auto focus. It would've been way better to have a Quick Settings button instead.
The picture quality of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is our main concern though. It falls well below the average performance of the 3MP cameras. The images look bad even on the portable screen itself let alone on a desktop computer.
Noise levels are well above acceptable and the amount of resolved detail fails to impress. The contrast and dynamic range are decent and the colors are relatively precise though.
Truth be told, the camera is hardly the Nokia 5800 element. If taking photos with your mobile phone is your thing you should definitely look elsewhere. However if you only take an occasional shot every now and then, the camera is by no means a deal-breaker.
We've prepared an impromptu shootout between the Nokia 5800, Sony Ericsson C510 Cyber-shot and Sony Ericsson K810. Both of the Sony Ericsson devices have 3 megapixel auto focus cameras and the K810 even sports a xenon flash instead of a dual LED one.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: VGA videos sound sweet
Video recording is the better part of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic imaging skills. The phone can shoot VGA footage at 30fps. Sounds like good quality and it very well is. The good frame rate makes things all the sweeter.
Videos are captured in MPEG-4 format and can have automatic or manual white balance. The other available settings are night mode, exposure and color effects. You can also have the dual-led flash on to act as a video light.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Connectivity duly covered
Smartphones are usually well-heeled in terms of connectivity. Nokia 5800 XpressMusic makes no exception: all contemporary means of data transfer are supported.
Both USB and Bluetooth are version 2.0 and the latter naturally also sports A2DP. Wi-Fi with UPnP support is also at hand.
All kinds of network connectivity are at the user disposal - GPRS, EDGE and 3G with HSDPA. By the way if you are want to know which version of the 5800 XpressMusic you should get - the one with dual-band 900/2100 MHz UMTS or the 850/1900 MHz variety you might want to consult our Worldwide Network Bands distribution database.
Finally, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has a memory card slot, which can usually give you the fastest data transfer rates.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Web browser is a mixed bag
The web browser of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is about the same as on the latest S60 3rd edition devices. This is a real pity. A great browser already, it could've simply kicked butt on a touchscreen device. But not this time, folks. Apparently Nokia either lacked the time or the will, so we're left with not the best touch-optimized version of the browser we know and appreciate.
Panning is the only thing that is done by sweep gestures here, and zoom is controlled by tapping on the screen. However the three zoom steps that are controlled via taps aren't the most suitable we can think of. Those include fit to width, fit to height and a third one, which seem to have no reasonable explanation. The first two are however always assuming that you use the handset in portrait position, which gets quite annoying at times.
Furthermore, even if you happen to be in portrait mode and choose the fit-to-width zoom level, the text does not automatically center onscreen. Instead you will have to align it manually, which is nonsense really.
At least the page rendering algorithm is quite good, making all the pages look as if browsed from a desktop PC. The high resolution is also a welcome bonus here, as it allows more content to fit on the screen.
Finally, the web browser has full support for both Flash and Java, which means that you can enjoy flash videos straight from your browser without having to use the mobile versions of sites like YouTube.
So, generally speaking, the first S60 touch-browser is quite a disappointment. The only advantage over previous versions is sadly not touchscreen, but display resolution. And that's seriously undermined by the not so good software implementation. We certainly hope Nokia invest enough effort to make one of the most important applications more user-friendly.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Time-management capabilities are good enough
The S60 organizer didn't obviously get too much effort beyond the actual touch optimization. Well, developers were right up to a point but, given the progress of most competitors, some new functionality would have been nice - like copy/paste of events in the calendar or a new calculator. We have to admit though that the calculator is much more comfortable operating with fingers than with a D-pad, almost as if it was designed for such use from the very beginning. Now let's just hope new non-touchscreen devices get something better.
The calendar has four different view modes - monthly, weekly, daily and to-do, which allows you to check up all your To-Do entries regardless of their date. There are the same four types of events available for setting up as on S60 3rd edition - Meeting, Memo, Anniversary and To-do. Each event has unique fields of its own, and some of them allow an alarm to be activated at a preset time to act as a reminder.
Mobile office is also very well geared, with preinstalled applications able to open Word, Excel and PowerPoint files seamlessly. The PDF viewer wasn't preinstalled on our unit but you can get it free off the Nokia download center.
Unluckily, editing documents is not supported by the included Quickoffice version. If you would like editing enabled you will have to get the upgrade from the Nokia Download center for a fee.
The organizer package also includes a great unit converter, calculator and voice recorder, as well as the Notes application.
The alarm application allows you to set up as many alarms as you want, each with its own name, trigger day and repeat pattern. If this seems too complicated, there is a quick alarm setup where all you do is set the time and you're good to go. This is quite convenient for, say, setting up your wake-up alarm. In addition, the number of alarms is not limited. Thanks to the built-in accelerometer you can also snooze the alarm by simply flipping your phone, much like with the Nokia 8800 Arte.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Gaming: Accelerometer in the focus
Accelerometer-based games were expected to be the focus of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. Truth is, our unit only came with two preinstalled games and only one of them could make use of the orientation sensor. Moreover, control isn't nearly as precise as we hoped it to be and, while the big screen is certainly a welcome advantage, touch-operated devices are no match for a regular keypad when it comes to gaming.
You can also download an extra free game at the Nokia download center and several manufacturers have already come up with their own titles. You will have to spend some cash on the latter, though. Java games can also be considered an option but finding ones that run fullscreen would be a hard job (or better yet a lost cause).
The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic doesn't have N-Gage gaming support, so if you are after that, you'd be better off with an N-series device.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Third-party applications
At the time of writing of this review, there are not many third-party applications for the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. The Symbian S60 5th edition is just too new. Back in the day when S60 3rd edition was first introduced the situation was pretty much the same. We had to wait a good six months before a reasonable amount of application became available.
Now the S60 5th edition is not totally incompatible with the S60 3rd edition apps. It's just that their behavior is rather unpredictable.
We tried running the Symbian version of Google Maps for Mobile for example and it ran just fine despite the incompatibility warning. It even had nice thumbable controls and made use of the built-in GPS receiver.
In the same time the native version of the Opera Mobile 9.5 web browser started just fine but did not respond to any of the touch input on screen.
So naturally, in times like these, users turn their attention to the Java world. We tried several Java applications with variable level of success (due to the touchscreen and high resolution). The good news however is that all Java titles can run in landscape mode too.
The Opera Mini web browser ran almost flawlessly and we were pretty happy with it. It was running fullscreen, it accepted touch command easily and it also allowed for auto screen rotation. Using the Opera Mini Java application is really nice The same goes for Gmail for Mobile.
With all Java games, the handset offers a virtual D-pad and gaming A, B, C, D buttons so you can make use of non-touch-enabled games. There's an option to hide those controls, but that doesn't mean you will be able to play Java games fullscreen - they have fixed resolutions.
One of the Java game titles that we tried (Prince of Persia) had a special version for 5800 and accepted touch commands. The other Java titles (intended for QVGA resolution) required the use of the virtual controls (which in one case were not sufficient).
So summing it up, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic third-party application support is a mixed bag and you have to either test applications for yourself or turn to the online forums for a heads-up.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: GPS is very good
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic comes with a built-in GPS receiver and judging on our experience it seems a highly sensitive unit. The handset managed to acquire satellite lock from cold start in a moving car in about two minutes which is basically as good as it gets. A-GPS might have sliced a few additional seconds from that time had it been turned on.
The large high-resolution screen sounds like a serious premise for reasonable use as a dedicated navigation unit. Unfortunately, the 5800 XpressMusic has no free voice guided navigation, unlike most other Nokia GPS-enabled devices recently, but that could be expected with that kind of price tag.
The phone also comes with Nokia Maps 2.0 Touch preinstalled. As you might have guessed this is merely a touch-enabled version of the standard Nokia Maps 2.0 application. It offers extensive map coverage for free but you do need to pay for most of its extra features such as traffic information or city guides.
As we just mentioned you will also have to buy the voice-guided navigation license, should you pick the application for the purpose. At least the actual purchase itself is quite simple directly via the phone interface. If you prefer an alternative navigation software, you might want to carefully look around for a compatible version.
The touch-enabled Nokia Maps application itself is doing pretty well in terms of features too. It has four different view modes including satellite and hybrid maps. Those however do need an internet connection. The more regular 2D and 3D view modes are also at hand.Nokia Maps 2.0 Touch application offers four view modes
The route planning algorithm is also rather easy to customize to best suit your preferences. Toll roads and motorways can be avoided and so can tunnels and ferries. Route selection can be set to either fastest or shortest. The app is also usable for pedestrian navigation or you can switch the GPS receiver off and use the phone as a hand-held map.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Some of the available settings
However, we do have some to say about touch implementation. The lack of a dedicated shortcut on the screen means you need to enter the options menu to center the map back to your current position after you have panned in some direction - in a regular keypad handset, the 0 key will take care of that. On the positive side, panning and zooming in the maps is really fast and the high-res screen is capable of showing quite a lot of data.
One of the biggest upgrades to Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is that since January 2010 all Nokia GPS-enabled Symbian handsets have free lifetime voice-guided navigation. To make use of that, the users of devices running S60 3.2 or later (and that includes all touch devices) need to download the latest 3.3 version of Ovi Maps (that’s how the Nokia Maps is known now).
Ovi Maps navigation is currently available in 74 countries and 46 languages, with even traffic information for more than 10 of those. In addition Nokia have also substantially upgraded the Ovi Maps application itself, so it now packs a cooler looking interface, the Lonely planet city guide and Michelin restaurant guide with lots and lots of points of interest. There's also an events guide that lists all events happening within a 3km radius of your position and provides you with details on each one.
You can download the latest update from the Ovi Store or from here.
Final words On Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
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.Information Source: GSMArena
is a full touchscreen phone and its ExpressMusic.Its also being the 1st device run Series 60 5th software. It's touchscreen o'clock for Nokia and the stage is set for the 5800 XpressMusic. Go ahead and touch it. We did and we've got a story to tell.Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is unthreateningly and unobtrusively positioned in the mid-range and the XpressMusic branding helps share some of that first-S60-touchscreen weight. Still, it's way more than an affordable music-centered handset. The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has a strong and unmistakable Nokia identity and delivers multimedia performance.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Key features:
- 3.2" 16M-color TFT LCD 16:9 touchscreen display (360 x 640 pixels)
- Symbian S60 5th edition
- ARM 11 434 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 of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic:
- 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 camera image quality
- Touch web browser not quite polished
- No office document editing out-of-the-box
- Doesn't charge off microUSB
Now we can go deeper in our review section. Lets start with Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Retail package opening part.
Retail package: Box opening
What's a better way to start a review than a retail package brimming over with goodies. We cannot quite remember a handset to offer this much in the box without getting out-of-reach kind of high-end.
For starters, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic comes with an 8GB memory card - not bad for a sub-300 euro handset. There is also a microUSB cable to use for your data connections, a TV-out cable that normally ships with high-end N-series models only and a two piece handsfree. It's 3.5mm on either end so you can easily replace the provided headset without sacrificing the remote.
And if you're still not impressed, Nokia 5800 won't stop there. That sweet touchscreen needs protection and the carrying case sure comes in handy. Made of rubbery plastic, the case is pleasantly soft to the touch and seems durable enough. Another nice surprise is the desk stand which according to Nokia will also be included in every retail package. Well, we didn't get it so we guess there is some market dependency here.
But recently For some reason Nokia have replaced the rubbery carrying case with a TV-out cable in the 5800 XpressMusic retail package. To be honest we liked it better the way it was before but it's still one of the best (if not the best) retail packages you can get in this price range.
To complete exploring the retail box, we should also mention the mandatory DC charger and the bunch of manuals and quick start guides provided. There is also a mini DVD containing a presentation of the phone features and the required PC sync software.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Size & Weight
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic stands at 111 x 51.7 x 15.5 mm in its full touchscreen shine. That totals a volume of 83cc, which isn't the most compact you get in the class. This however is mainly attributed to the considerable thickness and height.
The weight of 109g is an entirely different story and Nokia 5800 XpressMusic beats almost every other handset in the touchscreen class.
The 15.5 mm girth still isn't too bothersome while the tall and slender build do give the Finnish touchscreen a distinct and recognizable identity. We find it fitting perfectly in hand - and most pockets - but the greatest benefit is the easy single-hand operation.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Design and construction
The elongated body is the most notable design feature of the Nokia touchscreen. The 16:9 display is enough of a rarity - Samsung F490 is probably the only handset to be used as a reference.
The touchscreen form factor leaves little room for variation, and Nokia 5800 XpressMusic looks to build an identity by staying as close as it can to the house styling. So, instead of looking at just another touch phone, you're faced with a handset that's unmistakably and proudly Nokia.
Up front, the touchscreen is recessed into its frame more than usual, while the hardware keys' styling clearly repeats recent Nseries. The Nseries influence is even more distinct at the rear, but this time the cheap gloss is graciously traded for soft rubbery finish. The color accents on the sides - red or blue - are a nice touch.
The phone is a tad bulkier than we would have liked but still by no means a burden to carry or operate.
The front of the fully touch-operated Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is dominated by the 3.2" touchscreen. Above the display, it's a bit more crowded than usual. What you get there is the tiny cleft of the earpiece, the video-call camera a touch-sensitive Media key and a couple of sensors.
The Media key triggers a drop down menu of shortcuts to media and web. Other than that, an ambient light sensor and a proximity sensor to turn the touchscreen off during calls are squeezed between the earpiece and the front-facing camera.
Below the display we find three slim keys - Call and End knobs, with the menu button in the middle. The call buttons are just a little stiff, with not the best press feedback. The menu key is definitely better in terms of response. A press-and-hold on it launches the task manager - in the long-standing Symbian tradition - to let you easily terminate or switch between running applications .
It's quite crowded at the top of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic as well. In the top right corner is the Power key, that also handles ringing profiles. On the opposite end is microUSB port, the charger plug and the 3.5mm standard audio jack in between.
The microUSB connector is hidden under a protective lid to prevent it from filling up with dust and dirt, while the 3.5mm audio jack is exposed. The possible explanation is the XpressMusic branding, which suggests frequent use of the audio jack.
Unfortunately, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic doesn't charge via the microUSB port.
The right side of Nokia 5800 hosts the volume rocker, the screen-lock switch and the camera key. The screen lock switch is an essential shortcut - the implementation in the 5800 is quite ergonomic and friendly. Locking/unlocking of the screen is marked by a short vibration.
The volume rocker - serving as a zoom lever too - is quite flat and stiff. The nicely projecting shutter key fares a bit better: it offers a distinct half-press but the overall feel is well short of the soft and responsive camera button of N95.
The bottom of the handset features the microphone pinhole and a small groove to place a finger and lift the battery cover up.
The lanyard eyelet is all the way down on the left side of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. On the same side you'll find the microSD card slot and the SIM compartment - both covered protective plastic covers. Yep - you got that right - the SIM card gets in and out on the side of the handset.
But don't get this wrong - it's not hot-swappable or anything. You still need to remove your rear cover and battery. Then you put the stylus in a little hole to push the SIM card out. In fact it's so unusual that they drew a manual on the inside of the battery cover about it.
The last thing to note here are the stereo speakers, marked by small clefts on either end of the phone's left hand side.
The back side of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic features the 3 megapixel autofocus camera, which comes with a dual-LED flash. The other thing of interest here is the stylus which slides smoothly into the back panel.
Removing the battery cover reveals the Nokia 1320 mAh Li-Ion BL-5J battery. Quoted at the impressive 406 hours of standby and 8 hours 45 minutes of talk time it is sure to keep your phone going for quite a while.
The commitment to 35 hours of music playback is something we're more inclined to believe than doubt. But these are of course the maximum values achievable.
The real life performance is also quite impressive with the handset easily managing to go through three to four days of moderate usage (about 20 minutes of calls, 30 minutes of browsing through Wi-Fi and 20 minutes of fiddling with the other features a day).
The large screen and the power-hungry features like Wi-Fi and GPS can get tough enough on even the most powerful of batteries. In real life scenarios you can be looking at two days of regular use but should be prepared to charge daily if the screen is constantly on and you're hardly giving the handset a break.
The general build-quality of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is good but the XpressMusic branding does make it hard to expect anything more than decent plastic. The fact of the matter is the first S60 touch handset doesn't get noticed for elaborate exterior. We guess when it's midrange, it's midrange all over. Though we wish the same held true on the high-end too (N96, anyone?).
Anyway, the exterior gives a nice sturdy impression, which however is ruined by the almost constant unwelcome creaks by the rear cover - the Nokia 5800 looks and feels more like a wobbly slider than a monolith block.
The 5800 dimensions are altogether friendly, and the consistent and identifiable styling will be appreciated by brand loyal users.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: An impressive high-resolution screen
The Communicator series and the exotic 77xx tablets aside, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic 3.2" display is the largest in the Finnish family. The resolution of 360 x 640 pixels is also second to the E90 business monster only. In fact, outside the Windows Mobile realm there isn't any other device to match the display resolution (no - not even the omnipresent iPhone 3G).
So the large and pixel-dense screen, building on the Nokia expertise in displays, grants the 5800 XpressMusic a top spot in the company portfolio. The contrast and brightness are great, although - we have to admit - they are no match for the OLED technology in Nokia N85. But talking about displays, size does count above all.
Unfortunatelly the legibility of the display under direct sunlight is rather poor. It is at about the same level as the HTC Touch Diamond which means that it is rather hard (but not completely impossible) to find a proper angle for working with the phone on a bright sunny day. We guess the interface isn't the only place where Apple have blown the competition away.
When using the stylus, the 5800 display is absolutely on par with any competing touchscreen. On the other hand, sensitivity to fingers is quite adequate but slightly short of the, say, HTC Touch Diamond, which uses the same touchscreen technology.Haptic feedback is of course enabled. Vibration intensity is adjustable, with three different levels available.
You might have some trouble getting used to the screen sensitivity at first, but problems will be sorted in a short while of using the phone. Besides if you prefer the stylus (which we certainly don't), it gets even easier.
The plectrum is somewhat of a bogus alternative to the stylus - we mean an alternative would be anything that makes the whole thing more thumbable. The plectrum is just another thing to poke your screen with. Now, we are obviously not the kind to go Jimi Hendrix on our phone. Others might find it cool though.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Symbian S60 (r)Evolution
We now come to probably the most important part of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic performance. We do need to rethink our perspective and, instead of looking at the 5800 as a standalone touchscreen device, get to the real point of exploring the level of touch optimization of the S60 interface. How good - or bad - Nokia 5800 is very much depends on how well S60 translates to touch.
The fact is that Nokia have not done a great job at creating a user-friendly touch interface. At this stage we're not looking at an elaborate touch interface but the first stages of touch-optimizing an existing UI. S60 is more of a curse than a blessing at this point. Honestly, at times we felt as if Nokia is using all 5800 users as a giant focus group to test out various elements of their new interface - try this scrolling and that scrolling - which one do you prefer?
Comparing the S60 5th edition to LG and Samsung touchscreen interfaces or Windows Mobile is not in favor of Nokia. And even the mere mentioning of iPhone would be devastating on the 5800 morale.
Nokia have slowly but steadily been making improvements of the interface usability. S60 touch edition is still playing catch up with the competition, and it's still behind.We appreciate the effort and the recently added kinetic scrolling works pretty well, even though only in list menus. Now if they come scrolling in icon menus, it would be just great.
This was more or less expected - there aren't absolute deal-breaker issues but the interface is obviously immature and the touch implementation inconsistent. The great asset - which could prove vital in the long run - is the familiarity, predictability and comfort of the original S60.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: User interface basics
The homescreen layout of the S60 5th edition is similar to previous S60 versions - all the status indicators are at the top, plus the clock and the calendar. A single press on the clock starts the clock application (with an option for setting up an alarm) while tapping on the date opens a drop-down menu where you can either enter the calendar application or change the currently active profile.
You have three layouts for the homescreen to choose from - an active-standby kind of shortcuts bar, contacts bar or blank screen (called Basic). Activating the latter will let you enjoy your currently selected theme but the large homescreen will be quite lacking in functionality - save for the status bar and the two touch buttons at the bottom. One launches the virtual num pad, while the other opens the Contact list.
In fact, we can't help but notice Nokia 5800 fails to make the best use of the screen estate that's available. Not only are the available shortcuts notably less than on regular D-pad-controlled S60 handsets but some of the additional controls (like the bar for the quick WLAN search) are also removed.
Touch navigation on the homescreen boils down to a few buttons/icons. What we miss is at least a basic degree of gesture control - a finger sweep for example could toggle the main menu or an extra set of shortcuts.
The Shortcuts bar in its current implementation accommodates four large touch-optimized icons at the top of the homescreen. Below them are the reserved lines for the search application, calendar and the currently running music track or radio station. The number of shortcuts has obviously been reduced to make each icon big enough to touch.
It still seems though there is plenty of unused space on the display most of the time so we find the decision of removing the quick WLAN search from the homescreen totally wrong. You can assign the WLAN wizard to one of the shortcuts, of course but that leaves you with only three remaining for you other favorites.
You can also access the connectivity menu by tapping around the battery status indicator, which is the quickest way to initiate a WLAN search. It is not quite as quick as the 3rd edition plug-in where you only needed a single click for the purpose but it is better than nothing.
The other option is the Contacts bar where you can place shortcuts to four favorite contacts. Given the limited number of slots here and the available space on the screen, this could've been way more convenient if displayed along with the shortcuts bar. On the positive side selecting one of the contacts brings out a list of all your recent communications.
With the latest firmware Nokia updates the contacts bar functionality as well. Now it features the contacts icons at the top and four customizable shortcuts at the bottom. The number of contacts that you can add is no longer limited to four and their thumbnails have been increased in size to make them more thumbable.
Most menus can be set to show as either a grid of 4x3 icons or a list of nine items per screen. The exception is the settings menus, which can only appear as lists.
S60 users will of course feel at home but the interface is intuitive enough as well, even if not the best in terms of touch control. Each screen and submenu comes with its contextual touch buttons, so navigation won't differ much from a D-pad and soft-key controlled device.
Strangely enough, opening an item in any of the listed submenus calls for two presses - one to select, and another one to confirm the action. Now that's something that you don't normally see in other touch phones and seems to hurt usability. You get used to it with time, but the main issue here is that the interface logic is different when you deal with icons instead of lists.
When the opened menu uses icons to represent items as opposed to lists, then a single click usually does the job fine. Sounds quite strange, right?
There's a possible reason for that - the scrolling logic used. Again we see two different implementations throughout the interface - scrolling of lists and scrolling of icons is different. And it has a negative impact on the touch usability again.
Thumb scrolling is an option everywhere but in listed menus it gets really bumpy. Instead of a smooth roll in response to every sweep (think Apple iPhone, LG Renoir, Samsung Pixon or Touch Diamond), there's a notable break as each line slowly revolves up or down. And when you stop dragging, the last item you touched remains highlighted. That's a reason why you need a second click to activate an item in listed sub-menus - to prevent accidental clicks.
But it's strange why Nokia had to use that logic in the first place, since when you scroll icon menus the last item you touch when you stop dragging doesn't get activated. So there's some intuitive solution that Nokia just didn't use for listed menus.
In the end dragging the side scrollbar turned out to be our preferred way of scrolling in all menus and we just had to put up with the double-click system in the listed ones.
The main menu and each of its submenus can be set to appear in landscape mode thanks to the build in accelerometer. Rotation is quick enough if you don't use the available transition effects (which are turned off by default).
The only parts of the UI that cannot be rotated are the standby screen and, quite naturally, the camera interface. Unfortunately, when you rotate the handset in text input mode, instead of getting a landscape QWERTY keyboard automatically, you are still offered the regular multi-tap input keypad. To get the QWERTY out, you need to activate it from the menu - again a solution that's far behind the competition.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic features a task manager, which is launched by a press-and-hold on the menu key. The task manager itself is identical to the one found on Symbian S60 3.2 devices. Also much like in the previous version of the UI, it appears on top of every pop-up menu.
Nokia also switched the CPU frequency with one of their earlier firmware updates. The ARM11 CPU now works at 434 MHz, which combined with some UI optimization delivers better user experience. The 5800 XpressMusic is still some way of the best in class but it is now much easier to swallow.
Major lags and holdups are still rare enough and they will hardly be much of a bother. And as to RAM - 128MB is a respectful count in Symbian terms. Depleting it is quite a challenge, unless done on purpose.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic comes with 86MB of internal memory plus the 8GB memory card that ships along. If that seems insufficient 16GB microSD cards are available and compatible. Accessing data on the card isn't any slower (not noticeably at least) than doing so on the phone memory. The phone didn't seem to slow as the memory card started filling either.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Customizing the UI
There are a number of options for customizing the interface of you Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. For starters you can change the menu view mode - the options here are pretty limited though.
You can also switch theme effects on and off. There are some really nice transition effects all over the interface but if you'd rather have your handset fast than pretty you'd be better off without them.
Finally, you can change the theme itself. From wallpaper through icons and transition effects, everything can be modified. Our unit came with a single theme preinstalled but there are already quite some of those available online.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Symbian vs. the rest of the world - the battle just begins
Before we move on, the big question is how the Symbian S60 touch-enabled 5th edition compares to the other touch UIs on the market.
For one, it is quite obvious that the S60 5th is a toddler, probably only comparable to the Google's Android OS. Some may argue that the same could be said about Apple's OSX iPhone implementation but we disagree. Apple may be blamed for being cheeky twisted snobs but hardly for undercooking the UI. There are many features that miss on the iPhone, but the ones they want to be there are there - an new ones are spawning with every other software update.
The main disadvantage of the Symbian 5th edition to competitors is its inconsistency. It uses one click here and double click there, you can flip through photos with finger sweeps but not SMS and emails - this whole thing is rather confusing, and annoying.
The other main issue is the design, which is no match for the looks of Samsung's TouchWiz and Apple's OSX, or even a plug-in like TouchFLO 3D. The Symbian S60 5th edition looks a bit too conservative for our taste and the customization options fail to address that. The added transition effects however are a nice step in the right direction and a clear indication that Nokia are about to change that.
The wasted standby screen is another thing we cannot quite accept. While every other manufacturer tries to grant access to as many features as possible straight on the homescreen, Nokia only give us 4 shortcut keys. The Contacts bar is also an option, but having both could've been way better.
The strongest point of the S60 5th edition as it currently stands is probably its structure. All the options are logically located exactly where you would expect them to be. And if you happen to disagree - rearrangement is as easy as it gets.
The file management of the Symbian S60 5th is also praiseworthy. The only other touch-enabled devices that are comparable are the WinMo crowd.
And finally, coming to third party software, Symbian touch is still too young to make a difference. The number of applications available is incomparably in favor of WinMo. Even the iPhone enjoys a larger base of available applications, even if the vast majority brings about functionality that you take for granted on other smartphones. On the other hand, the S60 already fares better than feature touchscreen phones by LG and Samsung, which are only limited to Java applications. Plus, the S60 touch is likely to catch up.
OK then, catching up may be easier said than done but Symbian Touch has one of the best reasons to think big. S60 5th - as it is now - sure needs refinement but it still steps on the market-leading smart platform. Immature, inconsistent - a beta version if that's what makes you happy - the S60 touch UI is a first attempt. We guess the verdict will be as good as the N97.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Phonebook Simple & Nice
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic uses a phonebook that's identical to what previous versions of the UI have offered. Except for the whole touch thingy, that is. The phonebook itself has virtually unlimited capacity and functionality is among the best we've seen.
Contacts can be freely ordered by first or last name and can naturally be searched by gradual typing of any of the names. You can also set whether the contacts from the SIM card, the phone memory and the service numbers will get displayed.
Editing a contact offers a great variety of preset fields and you can replicate each of them as many times as you like. You can also create new fields if you happen to be able to think of one. Personal ringtones and videos are also available for assigning. If you prefer, you may group your contacts and give each group a specific ringtone.
The Call log keeps track of your recent communications. The application itself comes in two flavors - accessed by pressing the Call key on the stand-by screen or from the main menu. The first one brings 20 call records in each of its tabs for outgoing, received and missed calls.
If you access the Log application from the main menu, you'll see a detailed list of all your network communications for the past 30 days. These include messages, calls and data transfers (even WLAN connections are included).
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Telephone System, Smart dial missing
We didn't experience any problems with the in-call performance of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. Reception levels are good on both ends of calls, the earpiece is loud enough and there were no interferences whatsoever.
We guess however that we have just been lucky here. A disturbingly large number of users are having trouble with the earpieces of their Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. The symptoms are muffled sound during conversations (changing to extremely loud at times), making it almost impossible to have a normal call.
A 5800 user's poll at one of online forum we stumbled upon shows that every second Nokia 5800 XpressMusic user (52 out of a total 100 participating users) is experiencing the problem. Now that seems as a huge thing.
Luckily, the issue is quite easy to fix if you take the phone to your local Nokia dealer and most of them do it for free in a matter of 5 minutes. It's just that the earpiece loudspeaker has some loose contacts.
There's also a number of online tutorials for DIY fix but unless you really know what you are doing we wouldn't suggest you to try them.
It is really quite embarrassing for Nokia to allow such a thing to happen to one of the most important handsets in their portfolio.
Luckily Nokia stepped in on that issue and all Nokia 5800 XpressMusic units in production after February 2009 have no earpiece issues whatsoever.
Now back to the Nokia 5800 telephony performance, we thing it's only fair that we point out that the built-in smart-dialing feature is a major absence in S60 5th edition.
Voice dialing is an option with the 5800 as with mostly any other phone. The voice dialing mode is activated once you press and hold the Call key. It is fully speaker-independent and doesn't require prerecording the names of your contacts. Bear in mind though, that if you have multiple numbers assigned to a contact, the first or the default one gets dialed.
Thanks to the built-in accelerometer you can silence an incoming call on the phone by simply flipping it over. Those feature was also available on the previous versions on the UI but only through 3rd party applications.
We also ran our traditional loudspeaker test on Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. The handset didn't perform too impressively but still scored a Good mark meaning we have seen (and heard) better. You might want to keep a closer look on it when you are in noisier environments.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: SMS Messaging is simple
The messaging menu is yet another part of the Symbian S60 UI that hasn't been greatly modified compared to earlier editions. There are a few changes here and there, mostly an attempt to simplify the interface even further and of course add new touch input methods. A minor facelift is noticed but looks are still pretty conservative.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic supports all common message types - SMS, MMS and email. They all share a common intuitive editor which by this point should be quite familiar to everyone. When composing an SMS, a counter is displayed of characters left to the limit of 160. An indicator in brackets is showing the number of separate parts the message will be divided into for sending.
Once you insert some multimedia content, or an email address is inserted as recipient, the counter is replaced by a data counter showing the size of your email.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic also features the dedicated editor for instant recording of audio messages. Much like with Symbian S60 v3.2 you can either record the message on the spot or use a sound clip from the phone memory. The interface of all the messengers is quite similar too.
Delivery reports can be turned on - they pop up once the message reaches the addressee, and are then saved in a separate folder in the messaging sub-menu. When you are exiting the message editor without having sent the message, you get prompted to save it in Drafts or discard it.
Here might just be the right time to mention the input options on Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. The handset offers a standard alphanumeric on-screen keypad in both portrait and landscape mode, as well as a virtual QWERTY landscape keyboard. The latter takes up about two thirds of the screen and is really nice to type on.
It sure cannot be a match for any hardware keyboard but the 5800 XpressMusic full QWERTY fares pretty well. Typing is enhanced by nice and accurate haptic feedback and the keys are large enough so typos are reduced to a healthy minimum. Unfortunately there is no predictive typing like on the Apple iPhone or the Nokia E71 but we do not consider this much of a disadvantage.
Unfortunately rotating the handset doesn't bring up the landscape QWERTY keyboard as a default input method, instead you have to pick it up manually from the menu.
Another update brought by the latest firmware is the automatic switching between multitap and full QWERTY keyboard when you tilt the phone sideways. You no longer need to make two clicks to change the keyboard layout each time. That would be a real blessing for heavy texters.
Finally, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic offers handwriting recognition, which did a rather decent job, recognizing almost all the letters we scribbled in the box. You can improve its performance by taking the handwriting training - where you actually show the handset how you write each different letter.
There is also a mini QWERTY keyboard, which is only good for stylus or plectrum use but we doubt anyone will use it too often. Its main advantage is that it takes little space on the screen.
The email client is really nice, able to meet almost any emailing needs. The easy setup we found in the latest Nokia handsets is also available with the 5800 XpressMusic. It has even been touched here and there, so it needs even less input.
If you are using any public email service (it has to be among the over 1000 supported providers), all you have to do is enter your username and password to start enjoying email on the go. The phone downloads all the needed settings to get you going in no time.
Besides, it now prompts choosing whether you prefer POP or IMAP access to mail providers that support both. With the previous version selection was automatic.
Multiple email accounts and various security protocols are supported, so you can bet almost any mail service will run trouble-free on your Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.
The client can download headers only or entire messages, and can be set to automatically check mail at a given interval. A nice feature allows you to schedule sending email next time an internet connection is available. This can save you some data traffic charges since you can use the next available WLAN connection instead.
There is also support for attachments, signatures and generally, you can hardly think of something important that the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic lacks. Furthermore with a screen resolution like this reading your emails is a real pleasure.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Its All About Music And Quality
Having in mind the XpressMusic branding, we thought that the music player of the Nokia 5800 will be one of the parts of the UI to see the most changes. As it turned out this couldn't have been further away from the truth - the application is quite identical to the S60 3rd edition versions. A few cosmetic changes here and there and touch-optimization is all that sets it apart.
Not that the music player isn't capable enough or something - it surely has more than enough functionality. However some more eye-candy would be quite welcome. After all the touch interfaces are usually mostly about being fun to use and nice to look at.
Your music library is automatically sorted by artist, album, genre and composer and searching tracks by gradual typing is available. You can also create your own playlists in no time. The process of adding tracks to the library is as simple as choosing the refresh option. You won't need to do that if you upload the music via the proprietary PC Suite application.
With the huge number of supported formats you will hardly ever come across an audio file that the phone won't handle. Album art is also supported and if you don't like the default sound of the device you can enhance it by applying one of the five equalizer presets and if they seem insufficient you can create new ones in a matter of seconds.
Quite naturally, the player can also be minimized to play in background. In this case a tab appears on the stand-by screen indicating the currently running track.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Remarkable audio quality
Speaking of music playback, the 5800 XpressMusic turned out to be the best Nokia example for audio quality to date. That's that and no fancy foreword would've made sense. We've been seeing improvement over recent devices by the Finns and now the 5800 comes to crown the whole thing. In fact, we've never seen so good numbers on any other mobile phone.
The phone flaunts an amazing frequency response keeping within the +-1db range effortlessly. Furthermore, for most of its range it is right on the perfect track. Noise level and dynamic range readings are also praiseworthy and so is THD. IMD and crosstalk are not as impressive but still quite good. All in all, you will be enjoying some of the industry best quality audio with Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Video player is limited
Watching a video on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is a mixed bag. The built-in video player has decent functionality but only supports a very limited number of codecs, no DivX and XviD. While this was hardly an issue with previous Symbian versions, developers haven't yet come up with a 3rd party solution for the 5th edition of the S60 UI.
Some claim that their products are compatible but we couldn't get any of them to work properly on our unit. Anyway, this will most probably be addressed in the nearest future but until then you will have to resort to MP4 videos only.
Luckily, the Nokia PC suite has a built-in application that automatically converts all kinds of video files to the format and resolution your phone supports - you'll need of course to upload through it. We would have preferred to use mass storage mode instead, but we'll have to do it the Apple way for now. In addition, the automatic converter seems to compress the videos too much even at the highest quality setting and they look over pixilated.
The video player itself only works in fullscreen landscape mode but, since anything else would have made the widescreen display useless, this is understandable. When in fullscreen, a press on the screen shows the controls which are normally hidden.
The amply sized high-res screen is also more than welcome for truly enjoying your videos. And if you have the video stand you might as well think twice before bringing your portable video player the next time you are going out.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: FM radio is also nice
The FM radio on Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has a neat and simple interface and can automatically scan and save the available stations in your area. It also has RDS support and a first for Nokia phone - automatic scanning for an alternative frequency. This means that if you travel the 5800 XpressMusic will take care of auto-switching to the frequencies of your selected radio station.
The RDS is the best part of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic FM radio. The radio station name gets displayed with cool effects across the whole screen, while the rest of the RDS readings are printed in nicely legible text on a line at the bottom. Now, we would have preferred this font a bit larger.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Image gallery touch really nice here
The gallery of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is yet another part of its interface that hasn't been drastically changed compared to its predecessors. It has neither the swanky 3D view mode, nor the customizable slideshow we are used to seeing in the Nseries. The only difference here is the added touch-friendliness. In fact, the gallery is one of the very few places around the interface where sweep gestures are allowed.
This means that you can change pictures by sweeping your finger across the screen when looking at a single photo. Opting between portrait and landscape mode is automatic, thanks to the built-in accelerometer. Unless you have that feature disabled, all you need to do to switch modes is to flip the phone sideways.
The photos can also be zoomed in to see more detail but the screen resolution makes sure you won't need it as much as usual. Zoom is controlled via either the volume rocker or an on-screen touch slider. In all other cases, images are displayed full screen.
Overall, picture browsing is decently fast and smooth, but the zooming is rather slow. It takes about a second on each zoom step even when dealing with 3 megapixel photos, let alone higher-res ones. At least the panning is OK.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: File manager is still really capable
The file manager is yet another aspect where the pedigree counts big time. With the soft keys at the bottom you can almost forget that you are looking at a new device.
The Symbian file management system has been top notch for quite a while now, and you can hardly think of anything to change. The application can basically do anything you can think of with your files - moving, copying renaming, sorting or sending - you name it. You can also password-protect your memory card if you see fit.
The searching for a specific file or directory is also available with the phone. All you need to remember is a part of the desired name and where it was located (phone memory or memory card) the 5800 XpressMusic will find it in no time.
On the negative side, there is no drag and select multiple items on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic like on Windows Mobile devices. This is the one feature that does need touchscreen to be implemented and yet Nokia engineers left it out.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Disappointing camera for such a nice phone
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has a 3.15 MP camera with a maximum image resolution of 2048x1536 pixels. Carl Zeiss optics and the dual-LED flash might have you hoping for at least above average image quality. If that's the case, you're in for quite a disappointment. The XpressMusic handset is clearly not much of a shooter.The camera key is OK to work with, and that probably is the best thing to say about imaging.
The camera UI has been significantly altered but hardly for the better, we're afraid. All the settings are now squeezed in a common menu, except for the flash, which has its own dedicated shortcut. We understand that a tabular layout wouldn't be possible with this device but some of the more important features could have had their own shortcuts too.
At least the range of settings that the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic offers is extensive enough: from manual white balance and ISO to exposure compensation, sharpness and contrast. Various effects are also at hand, labeled color tones.
Geotagging has been added with an official firmware update v20.0.0.12 available to end users via Nokia Software Updater application.
The viewfinder doesn't take the whole screen - a bar on the right is reserved for the touch controls. You have a settings button that launches a semi-transparent overlay of all available shooting options, a dedicated Flash button and an on-screen shutter key. Now, that last one is absolutely redundant - it doesn't have a half press/full press action to properly handle auto focus. It would've been way better to have a Quick Settings button instead.
The picture quality of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is our main concern though. It falls well below the average performance of the 3MP cameras. The images look bad even on the portable screen itself let alone on a desktop computer.
Noise levels are well above acceptable and the amount of resolved detail fails to impress. The contrast and dynamic range are decent and the colors are relatively precise though.
Truth be told, the camera is hardly the Nokia 5800 element. If taking photos with your mobile phone is your thing you should definitely look elsewhere. However if you only take an occasional shot every now and then, the camera is by no means a deal-breaker.
We've prepared an impromptu shootout between the Nokia 5800, Sony Ericsson C510 Cyber-shot and Sony Ericsson K810. Both of the Sony Ericsson devices have 3 megapixel auto focus cameras and the K810 even sports a xenon flash instead of a dual LED one.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: VGA videos sound sweet
Video recording is the better part of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic imaging skills. The phone can shoot VGA footage at 30fps. Sounds like good quality and it very well is. The good frame rate makes things all the sweeter.
Videos are captured in MPEG-4 format and can have automatic or manual white balance. The other available settings are night mode, exposure and color effects. You can also have the dual-led flash on to act as a video light.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Connectivity duly covered
Smartphones are usually well-heeled in terms of connectivity. Nokia 5800 XpressMusic makes no exception: all contemporary means of data transfer are supported.
Both USB and Bluetooth are version 2.0 and the latter naturally also sports A2DP. Wi-Fi with UPnP support is also at hand.
All kinds of network connectivity are at the user disposal - GPRS, EDGE and 3G with HSDPA. By the way if you are want to know which version of the 5800 XpressMusic you should get - the one with dual-band 900/2100 MHz UMTS or the 850/1900 MHz variety you might want to consult our Worldwide Network Bands distribution database.
Finally, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has a memory card slot, which can usually give you the fastest data transfer rates.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Web browser is a mixed bag
The web browser of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is about the same as on the latest S60 3rd edition devices. This is a real pity. A great browser already, it could've simply kicked butt on a touchscreen device. But not this time, folks. Apparently Nokia either lacked the time or the will, so we're left with not the best touch-optimized version of the browser we know and appreciate.
Panning is the only thing that is done by sweep gestures here, and zoom is controlled by tapping on the screen. However the three zoom steps that are controlled via taps aren't the most suitable we can think of. Those include fit to width, fit to height and a third one, which seem to have no reasonable explanation. The first two are however always assuming that you use the handset in portrait position, which gets quite annoying at times.
Furthermore, even if you happen to be in portrait mode and choose the fit-to-width zoom level, the text does not automatically center onscreen. Instead you will have to align it manually, which is nonsense really.
At least the page rendering algorithm is quite good, making all the pages look as if browsed from a desktop PC. The high resolution is also a welcome bonus here, as it allows more content to fit on the screen.
Finally, the web browser has full support for both Flash and Java, which means that you can enjoy flash videos straight from your browser without having to use the mobile versions of sites like YouTube.
So, generally speaking, the first S60 touch-browser is quite a disappointment. The only advantage over previous versions is sadly not touchscreen, but display resolution. And that's seriously undermined by the not so good software implementation. We certainly hope Nokia invest enough effort to make one of the most important applications more user-friendly.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Time-management capabilities are good enough
The S60 organizer didn't obviously get too much effort beyond the actual touch optimization. Well, developers were right up to a point but, given the progress of most competitors, some new functionality would have been nice - like copy/paste of events in the calendar or a new calculator. We have to admit though that the calculator is much more comfortable operating with fingers than with a D-pad, almost as if it was designed for such use from the very beginning. Now let's just hope new non-touchscreen devices get something better.
The calendar has four different view modes - monthly, weekly, daily and to-do, which allows you to check up all your To-Do entries regardless of their date. There are the same four types of events available for setting up as on S60 3rd edition - Meeting, Memo, Anniversary and To-do. Each event has unique fields of its own, and some of them allow an alarm to be activated at a preset time to act as a reminder.
Mobile office is also very well geared, with preinstalled applications able to open Word, Excel and PowerPoint files seamlessly. The PDF viewer wasn't preinstalled on our unit but you can get it free off the Nokia download center.
Unluckily, editing documents is not supported by the included Quickoffice version. If you would like editing enabled you will have to get the upgrade from the Nokia Download center for a fee.
The organizer package also includes a great unit converter, calculator and voice recorder, as well as the Notes application.
The alarm application allows you to set up as many alarms as you want, each with its own name, trigger day and repeat pattern. If this seems too complicated, there is a quick alarm setup where all you do is set the time and you're good to go. This is quite convenient for, say, setting up your wake-up alarm. In addition, the number of alarms is not limited. Thanks to the built-in accelerometer you can also snooze the alarm by simply flipping your phone, much like with the Nokia 8800 Arte.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Gaming: Accelerometer in the focus
Accelerometer-based games were expected to be the focus of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. Truth is, our unit only came with two preinstalled games and only one of them could make use of the orientation sensor. Moreover, control isn't nearly as precise as we hoped it to be and, while the big screen is certainly a welcome advantage, touch-operated devices are no match for a regular keypad when it comes to gaming.
You can also download an extra free game at the Nokia download center and several manufacturers have already come up with their own titles. You will have to spend some cash on the latter, though. Java games can also be considered an option but finding ones that run fullscreen would be a hard job (or better yet a lost cause).
The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic doesn't have N-Gage gaming support, so if you are after that, you'd be better off with an N-series device.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Third-party applications
At the time of writing of this review, there are not many third-party applications for the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. The Symbian S60 5th edition is just too new. Back in the day when S60 3rd edition was first introduced the situation was pretty much the same. We had to wait a good six months before a reasonable amount of application became available.
Now the S60 5th edition is not totally incompatible with the S60 3rd edition apps. It's just that their behavior is rather unpredictable.
We tried running the Symbian version of Google Maps for Mobile for example and it ran just fine despite the incompatibility warning. It even had nice thumbable controls and made use of the built-in GPS receiver.
In the same time the native version of the Opera Mobile 9.5 web browser started just fine but did not respond to any of the touch input on screen.
So naturally, in times like these, users turn their attention to the Java world. We tried several Java applications with variable level of success (due to the touchscreen and high resolution). The good news however is that all Java titles can run in landscape mode too.
The Opera Mini web browser ran almost flawlessly and we were pretty happy with it. It was running fullscreen, it accepted touch command easily and it also allowed for auto screen rotation. Using the Opera Mini Java application is really nice The same goes for Gmail for Mobile.
With all Java games, the handset offers a virtual D-pad and gaming A, B, C, D buttons so you can make use of non-touch-enabled games. There's an option to hide those controls, but that doesn't mean you will be able to play Java games fullscreen - they have fixed resolutions.
One of the Java game titles that we tried (Prince of Persia) had a special version for 5800 and accepted touch commands. The other Java titles (intended for QVGA resolution) required the use of the virtual controls (which in one case were not sufficient).
So summing it up, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic third-party application support is a mixed bag and you have to either test applications for yourself or turn to the online forums for a heads-up.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: GPS is very good
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic comes with a built-in GPS receiver and judging on our experience it seems a highly sensitive unit. The handset managed to acquire satellite lock from cold start in a moving car in about two minutes which is basically as good as it gets. A-GPS might have sliced a few additional seconds from that time had it been turned on.
The large high-resolution screen sounds like a serious premise for reasonable use as a dedicated navigation unit. Unfortunately, the 5800 XpressMusic has no free voice guided navigation, unlike most other Nokia GPS-enabled devices recently, but that could be expected with that kind of price tag.
The phone also comes with Nokia Maps 2.0 Touch preinstalled. As you might have guessed this is merely a touch-enabled version of the standard Nokia Maps 2.0 application. It offers extensive map coverage for free but you do need to pay for most of its extra features such as traffic information or city guides.
As we just mentioned you will also have to buy the voice-guided navigation license, should you pick the application for the purpose. At least the actual purchase itself is quite simple directly via the phone interface. If you prefer an alternative navigation software, you might want to carefully look around for a compatible version.
The touch-enabled Nokia Maps application itself is doing pretty well in terms of features too. It has four different view modes including satellite and hybrid maps. Those however do need an internet connection. The more regular 2D and 3D view modes are also at hand.Nokia Maps 2.0 Touch application offers four view modes
The route planning algorithm is also rather easy to customize to best suit your preferences. Toll roads and motorways can be avoided and so can tunnels and ferries. Route selection can be set to either fastest or shortest. The app is also usable for pedestrian navigation or you can switch the GPS receiver off and use the phone as a hand-held map.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: Some of the available settings
However, we do have some to say about touch implementation. The lack of a dedicated shortcut on the screen means you need to enter the options menu to center the map back to your current position after you have panned in some direction - in a regular keypad handset, the 0 key will take care of that. On the positive side, panning and zooming in the maps is really fast and the high-res screen is capable of showing quite a lot of data.
One of the biggest upgrades to Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is that since January 2010 all Nokia GPS-enabled Symbian handsets have free lifetime voice-guided navigation. To make use of that, the users of devices running S60 3.2 or later (and that includes all touch devices) need to download the latest 3.3 version of Ovi Maps (that’s how the Nokia Maps is known now).
Ovi Maps navigation is currently available in 74 countries and 46 languages, with even traffic information for more than 10 of those. In addition Nokia have also substantially upgraded the Ovi Maps application itself, so it now packs a cooler looking interface, the Lonely planet city guide and Michelin restaurant guide with lots and lots of points of interest. There's also an events guide that lists all events happening within a 3km radius of your position and provides you with details on each one.
You can download the latest update from the Ovi Store or from here.
Final words On Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
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.Information Source: GSMArena
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