The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is Nokia's first touchscreen phone and it was an exciting moment indeed when we first heard about it. As a quad-band GSM device with 3G connectivity on AT&T's network in the U.S., as well as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, a 3.2-megapixel camera with an auto-focus lens, and aGPS on board, along with the powerful S60 operating system, we expected great things from the 5800. Alas, the 5th Edition version of the S60 operating system isn't as finger-friendly as it could be and the music player functionality, while good, won't blow you away. At $399, the 5800 does come unlocked without a 2-year contract to tie you down, but it's still pricey relative to other devices that match or exceed the 5800's features and capabilities.
The 5800 is quite light but its all-plastic surface doesn't lend to a quality feel. Despite this, it doesn’t creak when squeezed and feels sturdy enough to withstand the rigors of daily use. With few control buttons, input is accomplished through the resistive touch screen, and dialing goes quickly on the virtual dial pad. Overall, the interface looks nice but is not yet entirely optimized for finger-only interaction, often requiring the use of the tiny plastic stylus that’s included.
Despite its orientation as a music-phone, the 5800 is a full-on smartphone capable of syncing with your Mac or PC, and it’s even Microsoft Exchange Server-compatible for push email and over-the-air PIM synchronization. Messaging functionality is very good, with the ability to handle multiple email accounts, although the Messaging application isn’t intuitive to use at first. SMS and MMS messaging round out its capabilities here, and these are both easy to create and view. The 5800 does not come with an instant messaging application out of the box, so you’ll have to find a 3rd-party one to fulfill this need.
With its relatively large screen, web browsing on the 5800 is good and its browser has a lot of features that replicate the desktop browsing experience. You can save and organize bookmarks, subscribe to feeds, and much more. One thing it cannot do that many competing devices can is allow you to keep multiple pages open at once. Music functions are good, making the 5800 a device that can replace your dedicated digital music player easily, but there’s nothing here that will wow you. Video viewing is nice on the 5800’s large screen.
The 5800 is a quad-band GSM device and the version sold in the U.S. has 3G connectivity, but it is compatible with AT&T’s 3G network only, so T-Mobile users will need to look for another device if high-speed data connectivity is key. The 5800 also has Wi-Fi so you don’t have to rely on the cellular network for data all the time, and its Bluetooth radio operates under the 2.0 + EDR standard with profiles allowing you to tether it to your computer and use stereo Bluetooth headphones. With aGPS on board, you’ll also have a hard time getting lost with the 5800, but you’ll have to pay to keep using the good Nokia Maps software, which can give you turn-by-turn voice-guided navigation, beyond the 1-month free trial included with the 5800.
Performance (read the full lab performance results at www.wirelessinfo.com)
In terms of audio quality, the sound received by the 5800 is good, with only a short portion of the frequency range where sounds will be heard at a lower volume than they should. Sound sent by the 5800 is better in comparison, with no areas along the frequency range where sounds will be artificially amplified, dampened, or cut off. Unfortunately, the 5800’s side tone – the amount of your own voice piped back to you through the earpiece to help you gauge how loudly you’re speaking – is well below the ideal level and will cause you to speak more loudly to compensate for what this inaccurate audio cue is telling you.
The 5800’s 3.2-megapixel camera with an auto-focus lens and LED flash engendered high hopes for its performance given how well other Nokia smartphones have done in this area, but the 5800 disappoints sorely here, posting poor still and video resolution results. On the positive side, its color accuracy is better than average and there are many on-device photo editing options.
The 5800’s claimed call time battery life is 5 hours on a 3G network and it lasted 4 hours and 1 minute in our tests, which is respectable for a 3G device but not spectacular. What is spectacular is its music playback battery life, which came in at an impressive 18 hours and 7 minutes. Web browsing battery life was also very good, coming in at 6 hours and 13 minutes in our tests.
Comparisons (read more in-depth comparisons at www.wirelessinfo.com)
Relative to other comparable smartphones, the 5800 is expensive at $399, though it does come without a 2-year contract and includes a box full of accessories. If you’re looking for a touchscreen device, the iPhone 3G still offers a more intuitive interface, a better multimedia experience, and tens of thousands of 3rd-party applications to extend its functionality. The 8GB iPhone model costs $100 less than the 5800, a not-insignificant price difference, and it has global 3G connectivity for fast data speeds outside of the U.S. The Blackberry Storm is another compelling alternative. At $199 from Verizon, it is also compatible with global 3G networks and has all of the messaging and PIM capabilities for which Blackberrys are well-known.
Overall, the 5800 is a capable smartphone that can handle just about everything you throw at it, but it presents nothing compelling to put it heads and shoulders over competing devices that can do everything it can just as well or even better.
For a more in-depth review, visit the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Review at our partner WirelessInfo.com
