Nokia 5800 Tube browser screenshots appear, underwhelm
By Nilay Patel 
posted Aug 5th 2008 10:52AM
posted Aug 5th 2008 10:52AM
[Thanks, Marie]
Please note: If you're a current Engadget commenter, you do not need to re-register. Simply login and you will be prompted to select a username.
Although it may be weird for some people to understand, but pretty graphical gimmicky and usability don't go hand in hand.
I thought that the softkeys were still there...
Function before Form please.
@ avester
Have you heard of the iPhone?
It doesn't exactly have the ugliest UI, neither does it have the worst usability, eh?
You don't have to be ugly to work. This isn't medicine.
engadget uses unnecessary bias, underwhelm, loses credibility
the super-90s aesthetic, "pretty graphical gimmicky" free, is probabbly good enough for development phases.
you can't be sure this is the final product and the last time i checked the s60 touch ui was still under development.
mindless comments like steffen's should see an IP ban if done more than 5 times, i'm scrolling for info, not rubbish
Christ Nilay, I thought you were one of the few unbiased writers left, and you say this? Come on now, how can you base anything on icons? While there does lack innovation to the placement of the icons and the 2 usual context menu buttons down there, S60 has always been about simple, but effectiveness. Will those buttons prove to be functional and effective, I can't say for sure, time will tell. But, looking at the design of the icons, they don't look too bad and cannot, in any way be a basis for the complete browser.
i wish it was more like the iphones, oh well, its still a prototype, we'll see how it performs when it really comes out.
Yeah, let's try to ask Nokia to make the battery unremoveable and to remove the possibility to use your own software.
Yeah and lets ask Nokia to roll out a cliche fruityphone for the massess of dead followers. That doesent take VIDEO nor BT.
AND make it look like crap, like a big deformed soap.
FruityPhone sucks dikkkkk!
Remember second best the fruit is.
Why don't you take your dumb ass to the Apple store if you want an iPhone?
so because it doesnt have pretty icons, engadget and nilay patel seem to think it 'underwhelms' regardless of funcionality?
Great, i see how it works..
yeah...put some iphone-ish icons and they'll praise it to heaven
well said, I mean honestly, would you take Nilay's word for granted ?
I know I wont.
its 90% Likely that we will be blown away by the new S60 touch, because when nokia releases it's shit it just focuses on one thing, Functionality.
And for me, I'd prefer functionality over the iphone's eye candy.
Actually, no, adding iPhone-like icons wouldn't make them praise it.
Then they'd be calling it an iPhone-ripoff or iPhone-wannabe and complaining that it's not innovative.
That's how the game works: if it's not the SAME as the iPhone it's crap - but if it IS the same, then it's a ripoff. No way to win for anyone but the iPhone - no way to lose for the Apple fanbois.
Of course, some pretty icons would make a world of difference, just as long as they are not iPhone icons, because that would cause the usual infinite brain-damaging loop in the writer's head:
"Ohhh! Awesome icons! Just like the iPhone!
But wait, they are just like them: FAKE!
But... Ohhh! Awesome icons! Just like the iPhone!
But wait, they are just like them: FAKE!
But..."
This "article" underwhelms.
If only we could skin the browser or use the new Opera touch enabled browser instead!
...
You mean we can?
Wow....that....looks.....really.....nice?
Looks great to me too. Guess people's tastes are just different.
I find it hilarious that people took my comment genuinely.
Yea, let me second the fact that not liking the design of the icons has nothing to do with the usability of the browser. It seems to be rendering that fairly complicated page well, which is a good sign.
I really don't get Engadget's point of view sometimes.
They are a bunch of Apple whores over here. The browser looks pretty darn good.
Of course the page looks pretty darn good - after all, it's using the same rendering engine as Safari, the open source WebKit...
And yeah, I really don't see what's wrong with it either.
Yeah, I looked at the screenshot and thought "It rendered that entire page on one screen, looks good" and had no idea what the stupid bloggers here are complaining about.
sh*tload of eye candy is what good cell phone makes?? well, thanks for sharing your priorities...
And also it might be that the browser isn't in the fullscreen mode...
Here is why Engadget is off-base with it's 'iunderwhelmed' swipe: this has a 640 × 360 screen. So it is rendering this web page in more detail then say.....a frickin iPhone. Fine if you guys want to cover the iPhone so much - I get it. But don't fawn over it and then dismiss (in 3 sentences) an impressive, key spec of the competition. BTW: Why no mention of the screen res here? And I know there are similar devices with even higher res screens, but it is none-the-less worth noting here as it gives this blurry image some context.
Yeah, and if this were the 'Apple 5800 Tube', it'd be the second coming (or are we on third or fourth?).
I think they want it more like Meizu so they can change "underwhelms" to "icopy", it makes better news that way.
These article writers really surprise me, its like reading tabloid newspaper articles written by people that should know ALOT better.
id rather have that then the bs browser that i have on my phone, so color me impressed....if it was a color.
I think they want it more like Meizu so they can change "underwhelms" to "icopy", it makes better news that way.
These article writers really surprise me, its like reading tabloid newspaper articles written by people that should know ALOT better.
I think this is the first time I've seen a double post with both posts highest ranked. To make this relevant, let me agree with you. I got an iphone 3g as soon as I could get my hands on one, but I hate the way so many other phones are so callously dismissed. If the phone's such a drag, why post about it?
Translation: This isn't an iPhone; therefore, this phone's web browser sucks.
Icons? Really? I'd rather read the comments here than your YouTube styled commentary.
Seeing as Engadget are going to be lazy on this one (suprise suprise) I'll just point out to the folks willing to read it that, being an s60 device, unlike the godlike iPhone there will be scores of themes and skins for the interface so it's easily changable...seeing as that's Engadgets main beef with this thing.
http://s60theme.com/
http://www.nokthemes.co.uk/
http://www.pizero.net/
The 90's aesthetic is indeed disappointing, especially considering Nokia's great looking browser UI for its internet tablets. They could do better, is all.
Still, yay for mobile browsers that can actually display stuff!
iPhone killer has arrived!
Who cares about the usability or how beautiful it looks when all I want to know is what on earth is he looking at?
OMG!!! An iphone 3g with 3.2 megapixel camera, higher resolution screen, removable battery, microSD slot, more software, and 2 soft keys!!!!
BRILLIANT! you did it again apple!!
.... oh wait this is a Nokia?... this underwhelms
Underwhelms, eh?
You do realise it is basically the same browser as in iphone? Both use webkit.
Biased much?
Exactly: same browser. However, this screen has 66% more pixels than the iPhone with which to render those web pages. So that makes this 'underwhelming' pic even more impressive.
To be honest, I liked all the screenshots that've come out for this device so far! Except the guy wearing the biking helmet!
Let's talk about the keyboard. A lot of people complain that the keyboard screenshot was UGLY. Honestly, I thought it is probably the most usable on-screen keyboard! Sure, the keys seem big and all, but the biggest gripe my dad had with the iPhone when he tried it was that he couldn't get the right keys pressed. When it comes to Nokia, it's about Universal Usability and a certain quirky Finnish flair. Sure, you would diss the screenshots now, but when you use it, tell me how it feels when each key you type with those hyperactive thumbs of yours! How does it feel to type really quick, rivaling the proper keypad users? I guess we'll have to wait and find out!
About the browser screen, you really need to try and use the device before you can comment on the browser! Besides, since this is a S60 device, you can always install Opera or the upcoming Mobile Firefox app! You've got flexibility... that's what Nokia brings to the table... choice, freedom and flexibility!
About the so-called Home screen shot. Geez, that's the menu screen! You can just tell if someone's really familiar with the way a Nokia works when people confuse the Menu screen with the Home screen! The Nokia home screen is almost always clean and well laid out. For reference, just go through any Nokia's review and you'll see the way the home screen looks. I personally find it very useful and quick to access.
I believe that this, being a Nokia, will have a lot of functional gems involved in it. They'll definitely bring in the choice of apps too! Things that people trust by default, unlike the app store where thing keep dropping off the radar.
Don't judge a product before you actually use it! Engadget (and Nilay in particular) needs to learn a lot about this! His objectivity is certainly in doubt with a lot of his posts. Please review before posting an article.
So many "me too" devices coming out from these competitors. All of course substandard compared to the iPhone. They have had years to develop ground breaking devices, yet it took Apples true innovative iPhone to wake them up. Instead of producing their own groundbreaking device, they all did the MS MO in business. Copy Apple, copy Apple, copy Apple.
What the HELL are you talking about. This phone is miles ahead of the iphone in terms of specs. And so are many others.
And how did apple do everything right when they had to release a slightly updated version of the iphone only a year after the original came out?
really?
I wouldn't say so. Nokia had it's iphone like TS device with just big screen in 2005 already called 7710.....
Tech just wasen't ready for it at it's time so you could have had all out of it.
It's kinda silly to talk that iphone would be something ground breaking, but it showed big market that Nokia, Samsung, SE have been ignoring for too long and now are releasing their own devices. Thought it's not like Nokia didn't have it's TS devices coming like those demo videos in 2006 showed, but iphone surely made them to release them faster.
Iphone was great for us consumers because those wanting TS devices should be getting some cool devices in coming months.
Funny. What a bunch of crock. Please what they had was nothing compared to the iPhone industry leading UI and OS. Its underlying OS based on Mac OS X foundation simply makes other devices antiquated. To try and equate your Nokia to the iPhone OS platform and UI is a joke.
the underlying os in iphone is branded as osx, we have no idea what it's based on. judging from the limitation apple poses on the developers, it doesn't seem to be very advanced. judging from the problems users are having with it, it seems to be work in progress.
Dude. s60 lets you both copy/paste AND multitask. How's the super-underlying OSX iPhone OS doing again?
I see how desperate defenders are using the non issue of Copy and Paste to help trump up their cause. It's a non issue. Are none of you capable of memorizing a simple tracking number. Perhaps that is why these "me too" devices are so uninspiring and rely heavily on copying Apple and why copy and paste is so important to their misguided users.
Copy Apple? I hope they don't try using cut and paste...DOH!
@sam: OS X iPhone is based on OS X Leopard. It shares a great deal of technology across all layers, including the UNIX core, Mach kernel, core frameworks, and UI Kit. It may be modified for a smaller processor, but the iPhone is running OS X exactly as any Intel Mac is.
As others have pointed out, the iPhone is basically a pure copy of the Nokia 7700 (available to developers only) and Nokia 7710.
In fact, the iPhone copies the 7710 so closely that it even forgoes copy and paste, just like the 7710 did.
Amazing what lies these desperate "me too" users will post to prop up their obsolete devices. Now your saying Nokia is using an OS like Mac OS X, Unix core, Mach Kernel......and the gorgeous UI? Hilarious.
The real question is whether you can flip is sideways so you don't have to zoom in all the way with a long page as opposed to the wide page, that's one thing I like about the iPhone browser capabilities, being able to see webpages in both portrait and landscape. AND...I know this is about the browser, but the phone makes the browser just as much as the browser makes the phone.
You can, just as you can in current S60 phones.
Great to see that they don't have any side bar for scrolling and gone more like a'la iphone(and that's a good thing)
Picture here
http://forum2.mobile-review.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=9362&d=1217855694
Really happy with the screen! Too bad that the guy who did take the picture didn't have any pic from some page not using Asian fonts.
Heh well could it be that they wheren't ever going to copy iphones OS? ;)
Plus iphone and S60 are using same core open-source engine that Nokia started using in 2005 and of course you can actually change the browser with coming S60 5th edition to something else(like Opera or Mobile Firefox) AND it can run flash pages.
So Engadget's starting assumption seems to be Apple can do no wrong and Nokia doesn't know anything about real-world use of communication products. Well I'd much rather use a Nokia phone to make calls then an Apple iPod with comms added to it.
Nokia's inability to make usable products started way before the iPhone came out.
Nokia should change their font, it looks too much 2-bit monochrome like they had on their phones over 10 years ago. Nokia ruled back then and I at least associate that font with that era.
You Nokia guys are the biggest damn cry babies I've ever seen. Nokia has little interest in the US networks. Most of the phones we get here are unsubsidized and overpriced. You are so used to being the big kid on the block that you can't stand for someone to come along and take away the spotlight. Last I looked, no one was lined up around the block at the Nokia store to buy anything.
The thing is, most of us iPhone users have suffered though owning some sort of Nokia handset at one time or another. You Nokia fanboys haven't owned an iPhone but you are always talking smack about it. The only half way decent Nokia phones are way overpriced. Last I looked, that killer new N96 was going to run over a grand and so have many of the other higher end Nokia's. In the US, most users aren't going to pay that much for an unsubsidized handset that their carrier won't support and they have to ship overseas to get repaired. Many of Nokia's offerings don't support 850mzh or US 3G bands.
It may be news to you Nokia fanboys but the majority of us just aren't as impressed with Nokia's as you are... They are okay, but not work the price and hassle. If you think this site is so biased, why don't you fine a Nokia fanboy site? I have not seen a negative post about anything Nokia that hasn't had you foaming at the mouth and trashing the iPhone...
Not sure what you are foaming here.
There's a lot Americans here, but it's international site and you can bet that there are alot of europeans and asians talking in this blog too. So i would think world biggest gadget manufacturer gets couple of posts every other day....
Phones are really personal and while you don't like something it dosen't mean it's somehow universal. Nokia actually raised it's market share in USA since 2 years in last quarter(Q2).
Your advise is keep looking for sites that say what we want about our favourite products. This is where you are wrong. News and reviews need to be balanced so you dont end up dissapointed when you actual buy said product and i agree with everyone when they say that engadget has double standards. I hope this changes as this is one of the better tech blogs.
The icons look similar to the icons on some icons on the Nokia N810/800. They are semi transparent and light up when touched. Classy and clean IMO. Besides, if you don't like them, just install another iphonesce/girlish looking skin with flashy hearts and colorful flowers for gods sake !!! I'm sure there will be tons of those available.
But, somehow I suspect that engadget writes this simply to get more pointers to their site anyway, cause they are Nokia fanboys at hearts, but just won't admit it.
The icons look similar to the icons on some icons on the Nokia
N810/800. They are semi transparent and light up when touched. Classy
and clean IMO. Besides, if you don't like them, just install another
iphonesce/girlish looking skin with flashy hearts and colorful
flowers for gods sake !!! I'm sure there will be tons of those
available.
But, somehow I suspect that engadget writes this simply to get more
pointers to their site anyway, cause they are Nokia fanboys at
hearts, but just won't admit it.
Comparing numbers with Nokia is kinda silly as Apple cant win there and wont ever try to go mass market as much as Nokia and Samsung. While people have been screaming iphone Nokia has been doing better and better.Iphone is a damn good product, but your comment just make other iphone lovers look bad... maybe you are working for Nokia!
Let me preface this by saying I've owned 3 different phones in the past that all ran Symbian and I was a fan of Nokia devices for about 5 years.
Personally I don't understand why Nokia keeps on using Symbian OS. It's clunky, has a horrible menu system and is very unstable considering it's a cell phone OS. It should have been retired years ago. Why would they try and tack touch abilities onto such a huge pile of shit?
Why aren't Nokia using the Linux distribution they built for their webtablets for something like this? I get the feeling they just don't get it.
Ok, how about this for a reason why the icons are terrible... besides the ugly pixel art style.
WHAT THE HELL DO THEY DO?
What do the 3 squares/dots/boulders do if I click/touch it?
What about the globe with the arrow pointing right? Does that take me to the internet? I thought I'm already in the web browser? Does it open a new page?
And lastly, the magnifier with the +, it seems like crossed metaphors, the magnifier is commonly associated with "Search", but the + inside it suggests it's a zoom? If this thing has multi-touch (which, honestly I don't know the specs on it) Why can't I just reverse pinch the area I'm interested in? So if it is a zoom, it would just zoom in towards the center, even if the content i'm interested in viewing at a larger size was in the upper right corner.
for when the tube 5800 into portugal? i read it goes 1º to spain and arabic and asian countries, prior to floding us market *good choice* probably due to the iphone monopoly there... but what other european countries get the nokia by xmas - can anyone tell me plz? need to save money now and prepare xmas gifts while the economic crisis reaches our shore!