Last month saw me upgrading my phone as my contract was now at an end; I had searched many sites and decided on the Nokia 5800 Xpress Music.
Why Nokia 5800 over all the others
I choose this model for a few reasons, I like the fact it had a huge
memory, it is
touch screen and to be honest I think it looks the part too. Given the fact it was a Nokia too I thought I really can’t go wrong. In my opinion they are a huge contender in the
mobile phone market. I also think it’s very similar to the
IPhone but for a much better deal.
Cost and Availability
I got mines on contract, now my contract is with Orange but when it was due for renewal they were trying to charge me £120 for this phone. I had no intention of paying that so I called the Car Phone Warehouse who upgraded my contract and gave me the phone for free.
Prices vary so much for this phone
CPW – Is £219.99 for it on O2
Nokia shop online - £249.99
Phone Corporation - £307.00 for it on Orange
Thinking of the cost, if I had to pay for this phone then I would without hesitation. Can I just say I am now saying this after I have used all the features and realized how good a phone it really is.
Networks- As far as I am aware the phone is available on all UK networks, if you purchase the phone from CPW then it’s unlocked and can therefore be used on any network.
It’s here, now what’s inside
At last it was here and I got right in to it, it comes well packed in the small black box.
- Nokia 5800 Xpress and battery – Wrapped up nicely and looking very shiny.
- Usb cable to allow you to connect the phone to your PC
- Uk wall charger
- 8GB Memory Card
- Carry case, very sturdy and fits well
- Additional stylus
- Stand for you to use when playing music
- Headphones and also an antenna to allow you to use the radio feature
- Stereo connections – to allow you to connect your phone to a stereo
- Nokia software (Never ever used)
- The instructions are very clear and concise, made for idiots to be honest. I did do my usual and have a quick glance through them whilst I figured out how to switch the phone on. The quick set up guide is very useful and I would advise all to read first. It has simply diagrams and straight forward instructions on how to set up your phone for the first time.
The above list is what is included in a brand new phone; items are subject to change if you buy second hand.
Look of phone and overall design
This phone looks the part and definitely fits well in with the current market, it’s over all dark sleek look does it justice, its shiny appearance suits the entire design and I can honestly say Nokia have done well to design this phone.
Around the side of the phone is the band (colour) which will make it stand out, you can choose red, blue and black.
I also love the fact that this phone is not too wide; in comparison to other touch screen phones they can be very wide.
The stylus is well hidden in the phone but also easily taken out for use. You can also attach the plectrum to the phone, if attached by the
cord it hangs free from the phone.
Size – Height 111mm – Width 51.7mm – Depth 15.5mm
The weight of this phone is also fantastic at only 109g you soon forget you have it in your hand.
Features of the phone
As I have already mentioned this phone is a touch screen and with a massive 3.2” screen it makes it so
easy to use. The touch screen is not too sensitive but enough to work first time. You do need to double click on icons to confirm that you want to select that feature. Oh one thing that I found really smart is when you turn the phone around the screen automatically turns too. I still have fun doing that.
This phone has so many features; I will go over a few in detail and list a few.
Music Phone- The main reason I bought it, so I have to tell you all about it. Its massive
8gb memory will allow you to add as much music as you like. Well if you need more than 8gb worth of music on your phone then I would worry. Well it does not matter how much music you can store it’s all about the quality of the playback; I can say the quality is very good and the volume can be set very loud too should you wish. It’s so easy to access the music at just the touch of a button you’re in your library and then you can select what songs you want to play. Whether that be a play list, random songs or just song after song. If when you add music to your
phone you add the album cover, the phone will also display the picture. You also have a snazzy little stand to place the phone on too.
3.2Mega Pixel Camera- Ok it’s not the best camera available on a mobile phone, but I bought this for the music, the quality is ok for what I need it for. You can also edit pictures too and send them via MMS and Bluetooth. The phone also has the ability to take videos too and I have to say the quality when you view them back on a laptop is fantastic. Technical side 640 x 480 pixels and up to 30 frames per second. Up to 4 x Digital zoom and depending on what memory you have on the phone you can save up to 90 minutes of video. I have tried using the camera in the night as it has a built in flash I can report that it failed miserably.
Internet Access – Depending on your package, this phone has the ability to use internet and as I am with orange I have
internet access within my monthly cost. It’s very easy and straight forward to use. The screen size makes it so easy to browse the internet.
Video Calling – It is possible from this phone, I am not sure of the cost involved as I have not attempted this as yet.
Phone Lock – I think this is something that all phones should have, on the Nokia 5800 it’s a simple slide switch at the side locks and unlocks the phone. Whilst the phone is locked you are not able to do anything at all.
Bluetooth- Something that all phones should have in my opinion as most drivers require it for hands free. The 5800 has this feature and it’s very easily activated on this phone and it’s even easier to transfer files between phones, on the first time you send files between phones you need to pop an access code in.
Other features include –
Fm Radio, Alarm,
Calculator, Diary, Voice Recorder, Flight Mode, and many more.
Texting
As most people who use a mobile phone do so for text, I decided to go in to a little more details on how easy it is to text from the Nokia 5800.
Input Method- You can use your finger and simply tap the letters you require, you can also use the stylus or the plectrum too. Now like many phones this phone also has handwriting recognition. I prefer just to use my finger (well nail) it’s very sensitive and accurate too.
Predictive Text- Yeah it also has it and it’s just like teaching young child to talk all over again, very few words actually in the dictionary. I especially notice that names are not in the dictionary. However it is very easy to add words of your choice to the dictionary.
Picture Messaging – Up to a maximum size of 600kb, but what I have found useful is that this phone will automatically resize the picture to all you to send it.
Deleting/Mass Text - You can choose all messages or just individual ones to delete, this is so much better in comparison to the IPhone. You can also set up a message group so if you’re like me and receive lots of jokes and like to forward them on, all you need to do is select the group and click on Ok. Then it’s off. The down fall is that the messages you send; say your group is 20 people. You will now have 20 messages in your sent box; I was hoping that Nokia would have just shown the same message sent to that group.
Making and Receiving calls
I was surprised how good this phone is when actually making and receiving calls, Easy access to your phonebook allows you to choose any number without minimum fuss, or if it’s a number that is not in the phonebook then you can simply place the number in and either hit the phone symbol on the screen or press the green button.
Sound Quality – when on a call I have always been happy with the quality, I can hear the caller no problem at all and I need to share that a lot of my friends always ask where I am as there is minimum back ground noise. This was even asked when I was on one of the busiest streets in Edinburgh. So I can’t say if this is just the fact it’s been quiet or has Nokia installed a new feature! When on a call you can easily adjust the earpiece volume.
A hand free- Now you do have hands free on the phone, what I mean is
loud speaker and like many phones this is where Nokia fail. This particular feature is not the best and it’s much better if you just plug the hands free connector in. The problem is that when you use the loud speaker it tends to cut out a lot which means you find it hard to hear and your caller does too.
Well let’s face it we all look at the battery statistics before we decide on any mobile phone.
So here is what Nokia say and what it really achieves.
35hrs playback time when listening to music, well as I have not had my phone switched on music for that time I can’t give an accurate comparison. All I can say that it does last as long as I need.
8.8hrs Talk time – I have spoken for a maximum of 5hrs without the phone battery dying.
406 hrs Stand By time – Well that’s some time for your phone to be on, 16 days and I guess it means you just laying the phone to the side and not using it. I have used my phoned and had it turned on for 3 days at the most after which time it required charged.
Overall
I am really pleased with this phone and I can say that Nokia beats all their competitors hands down. The phone has style from the outside and it is full of fantastic quality within. The size and weight of the phone is just fantastic. There is nothing that I would change about this phone. I really think that this phone could even be better than IPhone. The touch screen is just so good
it works every time, and the fact it has such a big screen makes it ideal for all.
Final – Big Features- Small phone
Many Thanks for reading
Marcellep2
I had a nightmare trying to format this review, Hope it looks ok
