Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

Mobile phone

By Jeska Innes / Tuesday, May 26 2009

Phone swith really juicy features usually have really juicy price tags to match. It’s that darn ‘you get what you pay for’ mentality. The Nokia 5800 is a true exception. For a smidge under nine hundy this fully featured phone is a real steal. When it comes to mid-range phones, compromises are usually made to keep price points low, be it the absence of GPS, a dodgy camera or limited memory capacity. The Nokia 5800, however, has most of the bells and whistles of a higher-end model and some extras to boot.

My passion for this phone was instantly ignited when I birthed it from its box and saw its funky urban form factor and impressive touchscreen display. Speaking of screens, Nokia has been rather tardy in releasing a touch interface for its XpressMusic family. Music phones with full touch control are huge sellers (iPhone, anyone?) so it’s surprising it has taken the company so long to jump on the horse. Better late than never, though, and this one is a goodie. Very clear and bright, not to mention highly visible in outdoor light, the 5800 has a resistive screen intended for use with a stylus (rather than a finger). You can still use your grubby mitts if your heart desires, but you’ll have to press slightly harder. Alternatively, you can use a guitar pick. I’m not taking the mickey, there’s actually a plectrum included in the box. It hangs off a dongle on the phone’s case. Said case cannot be brushed over either, as it sports a unique and cool-looking plastic mesh design that allows music to be clearly heard while the phone remains protected.

Clearly, attention to detail was pivotal in the design of this phone, and it doesn’t end with the case. Also part of the deal is a delicate little stand that unfolds to prop the phone up when it isn’t in your hand. Again, this allows music to be clearly heard since the speakers are at the rear. Now is a good time to mention how loud these tiny speakers are. Although they sound a bit tinny, you can fill a good-sized room with sound, which is nice for sharing tunes with friends. For improved sound quality I suggest using headphones, though. Fortunately there’s a 3.5mm jack upstairs, which means you can use a pair of your choice. As for the music player, it’s straightforward and files are automatically stored by artist, album and genre. An equalizer means you can adjust individual songs to your preference. I took quite a fancy to The way I see by Che DuBois, which sounded awesome with the bass booster on. The radio is equally impressive; it’s crystal clear and automatically tunes in all stations to presets upon first activation.

In terms of its brilliant ease of use and straightforward OS, the 5800 is typical of Nokia’s high standards. Wi-fi and GPS at this aggressive price is exceptional, and when you add in a high speed 3G connection, nice accessories, and a free 8GB microSD card it all looks even sunnier. Then there are the other excellent multimedia functions, such as the good quality video player and camera. When it comes to the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic there’s a lot to gush about.