After Apple unveiled the iPhone, many people wondered how long it would take Nokia to release a touchscreen phone. The answer was: "Much later than expected", with punters having to wait over a year to get their hands on one. But is Nokia's first touchscreen phone, the 5800 XpressMusic, a match for the iPhone? We tested it out to find out.
You can get the 5800 for free on a monthly contract or for around £350 SIM-free.
Note: This review has been updated. See the update section on page 2.
Design
The 5800 looks and feels like most Nokia candybar handsets, with the exception of the touchscreen on the front. While its plastic casing is solid, there isn't much to catch the eye. Everything is laid out in a relatively mundane fashion and lacks pizzazz. A glass screen or ultra-slim casing wouldn't have gone amiss.
Unlike the iPhone's capacitive screen, the 5800's resistive display -- meaning you have to apply pressure in order for it to register what you're doing -- isn't as responsive as we'd hoped for and, at times, requires a stylus for added accuracy, which we really don't like. In addition to the less-than-perfect screen, a clunky-looking raised border detracts from what could have been a more elegant handset.
Another thing we disliked about the 5800's screen is the fact you need to unlock it using an unlock key on the side, which gets frustrating if you want to make a quick call. But it's not all bad -- the 5800 does have some redeeming design features, such as a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top and an easy-to-access microSD slot.
Comparing this to other phones from the Finnish manufacturer, we can't say this is Nokia at its best and are sure that its future touchscreen phones will be better. If we could change anything on the 5800, we would replace its resistive screen with a capacitive one, to offer a smoother, more finger-friendly experience.
Features
It's obvious that we weren't enamoured with the 5800's design, but its features did get our hearts racing. It lives up to its XpressMusic title by offering a usable music player that displays album art and lets you search through tracks using a search bar, or by flicking your finger up and down the screen through a list of tracks.
You can download music straight to the 5800 via the Nokia Music Store, which we found easy enough to do and, best of all, you can listen to all your music using normal headphones, plugged straight in. The 5800 also comes with a useful, in-wire remote that you can use to control your music when the phone is in your pocket.
Wi-Fi and HSDPA make Web access satisfactory, and the 5800's browser performs well enough, displaying full-sized Web pages and giving you the option to zoom in and out of them and swipe the screen to move around. It's not as impressive as the iPhone's browser, but it works well enough for accessing Facebook, for example.
Other Web-based features include an iPlayer app that gives you access to the BBC's service. We found this app easy to use and a great addition to Nokia's arsenal. You can also watch YouTube via YouTube's mobile site, though we couldn't always get it to work, but that might have been due to external connectivity issues.
Built-in GPS means you can use the 5800 as a sat-nav in conjunction with Nokia Maps or Google Maps, which both worked well. Combined with the 5800's large screen, this offers one of the best navigating experiences to date on a Nokia phone. As expected, the GPS works best outdoors, with a clear line of sight to the sky.
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User reviews20
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Connor Courtney 6 October 2012
Good: Brilliant speakers and easy to use
Bad: Symbian, lack of apps. Messaging takes a while to get used to. Stylis is horribly designed and its a basic design
Comment: An average phone. Not the best considering its competitors. Symbian is not my favourite OS
19 April 2011
Comment: I should add, it's a very sturdy little phone! Mine has survived the "drop" test on several occasions, it has many scars from where I've dropped it! lol
Teribus 19 April 2011
Good: QWERTY keyboard, wi-fi, web browsing, music player (& downloads), decent camera
Bad: Easily damaged screen, battery life could be better
Comment: This was my first smart phone, and I'm coming to the end of my 18 months with it.
I was a Samsung man before, but was disappointed with the range on offer at the time of my last renewal, so I went eventually for this Nokia.
It came with 24 months free music downloads, which have been a huge bonus and I have taken advantage of it. As a music player, the 5800 is excellent - whether through the speakers, or headphones, this has been better than any of my previous MP3-compatible phones.
OK, so it can be a little buggy sometimes - occasionally it's slow to flip from portrait to landscape, or occasionally it can screw itself up when you're typing a text, but it's nothing I can't live with.
However I have found it great to use over the time I've had it. The camera has been excellent for taking those sudden photos you decide you need to take. The music player has been a great companion - it has been the most used feature on my phone. The built-in FM radio has been another feature I have used. OK, it's a bit of a downside that it uses the headphones as an aerial, but if you're plugging it in to a speaker then it still works.
Truthfully, I've lived with the little bugs - they haven't ever stopped the functionality of this phone, so I don't think they are noteworthy. However I do feel the battery life could be better (2 days is a max with average usage, but I'm charging mine every day), and the screen is easily damaged - particularly by the stylus, and by the typical dirt I tend to pick up in my job.
But these minor niggles aside, it's been great. It's done everything I've ever needed it to, and more in between. I'll be keeping hold of it as an emergency spare should it's forthcoming replacement decide to pack up!
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