Nokia 5800 XpressMusic review

It's not the company's first touchscreen device, but the 5800 XpressMusic is the first touchscreen device that Nokia has designed to appeal to the masses, and as such, there are certain expectations. By even the most forgiving of standards, Nokia is now officially late to this game -- all of the remaining top-five manufacturers have been offering mass-market touchscreen phones for some time now -- so there's plenty of ground to be made up. What's more, the 5800 marks the retail introduction of S60 5th Edition, the latest incarnation of the world's most ubiquitous smartphone platform; future iterations of this very code will lay the groundwork for the Symbian Foundation's next-gen offensive, so the stakes have never been higher. You might say the weight of the world -- or Finland, at the very least -- is on the 5800's shoulders, but is this unassuming little slate up to the task? Let's have a look.

S60 5th Edition

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic review

Hardware

Physically, the clean, all-black 5800 doesn't make much of an impression at all -- and knowing Nokia, that's by design. By all appearances, it's a simple, functional, and to-the-point device without any frills to detract from its lot in life; only the decoratively patterned battery cover belies the theme. Of course, the same could be said of virtually any slate-style handset, yet still, there's something very uniquely... well, "Nokia" about the 5800's industrial design. It's a polarizing effect; personally, we're on the "love" side of that delicate love / hate balance, but we can imagine plenty of potential buyers being underwhelmed at first glance. The 5800's price and XpressMusic designation suggest that it's meant to live in a market segment where fashion and style often play a pretty big role in the decision, and if you're cross-shopping it (perhaps unfairly) with high-end feature phones, iPhones, Storms, and the like, the 5800 probably isn't going to look as design-conscious, well-made, or aspirational as the competition to the casual observer. Again, don't get us wrong, we dig how it came out -- but by the same token, we'd like to see what the E71's design squad could've done. Fortunately, S60 5th Edition (and its Symbian Foundation-controlled successors) are Nokia's future, so there's no question we'll have plenty of opportunities to see this same platform operating on a variety of form factors, designs, and price points. Of course, whether the 5800 was the right first device to launch will likely be debated for years to come.

"Nokia-ness" isn't the only potential problem with the 5800's physical design, though. Raised bezels around displays are passé by any measure, and the big, fat lip on this particular device is about as prominent as they come. Fortunately, it doesn't touch the edge of the visible area of the display on any side, so it's less of a usability concern here and more of a cleanliness one; if you keep the phone stowed in your pocket, you'll likely end up with dust and lint lodged around that edge. That sleek, black slate isn't so sleek or so black anymore, then, is it? A minor concern, yes -- but again, the bezel serves no functional purpose here, and we would've been just fine with seeing it disappear.

Heading around back, things get a little cheap -- and a little weird. Like the software (more on that in a moment), the battery cover on the 5800 appears to have been a total afterthought. It pries off without any sort of latch -- and yes, granted, this is a widely-accepted design decision for phones, but it's on there just tightly enough so that you almost feel like you're going to break it every time. For folks who use a single battery and a single phone, this won't be much of an issue -- you'll probably only remove the cover once or twice in the entire time that you own the phone -- but for anyone who switches devices or carries a spare battery, beware, because you're going to want iron fingernails and an iron will. (Strangely, even though the SIM conveniently loads through a slot on the side of the phone, you still need to get under the battery to remove it.)

It gets worse. That now-infamous plectrum (and yes, Nokia does actually refer to it as a "plectrum" in the manual) is required fare, because the 5800's stylus is perhaps the most ill-conceived we've ever experienced on any touchscreen device (okay, the Sony Ericsson P800's was pretty bad, too, but at least you have a sense for how bad we're talking about here). It seems as though the inclusion of a stylus literally could've been a last-minute decision when Nokia engineers realized and came to terms with the fact that S60 5th Edition wouldn't be 100 percent finger-friendly, because it's sort of wedged into the battery cover. Hooks on the other side of the cover secure the stylus when it's stowed, and on a couple occasions, we missed the second hook, jamming the stylus between the hook and the battery beneath it. Furthermore, on the first of our two test units, the stylus was virtually impossible to dislodge from the cover when we first got it (we had to triple-check the manual to make sure that it was, in fact, a removable stylus and not some sort of decorative element to the cover). Not to say the stylus is really worth dislodging, since it's plastic, easily bent, and generally not worth your time. Bottom line: stick with your fingers and the plectrum if you can.

Controls are conveniently-placed and pretty much where you'd expect them to be on a modern Nokia: two-detent camera button, spring-loaded slider for locking and unlocking the phone, and a volume rocker all along the right (granted, this is reversed from where most phones place it, but we're still getting used to an S60 Nokia even having a dedicated volume rocker, so we're not complaining); a 3.5mm headphone jack, micro-USB port, standard Nokia micro charger port, and power button on the top; and covered slots for the microSD and SIM cards along the left. The bottom is port-free, save for the mic.

Software

If you take a Ferrari and duct-tape a hull to the bottom of it, does it become a speedboat? No, of course it doesn't. Likewise, if you take S60 3.2 -- a perfectly capable, reasonably usable smartphone platform powering tens of millions of devices around the world -- and duct-tape touch support to it, you're not going to end up with a very usable system, and it's bewildering to us that Nokia seems to have thought otherwise. 5th Edition is, for all practical purposes, a remix of 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 that's been mildly massaged to support touchscreens, and the result us nothing short of a usability nightmare.

The problems begin the instant you power on the phone for the first time. In the process of setting your region and the date and time, you need to choose AM or PM (at least, you do here in the States where we use the vastly inferior 12-hour system). Here's the problem: the on-screen numeric keypad you're presented doesn't have letters below each number like you're used to seeing on a traditional handset, so you've just got to guess where "A" and "P" might be. [Correction: AM / PM can be toggled by pressing any number, which makes no more sense. -Ed.] Granted, it's not the end of the world -- many of us have the letter layout memorized anyhow -- but it's a dead simple usability miss that should've never made it past Nokia's testing department. The AM / PM thing also starkly demonstrates 5th Edition's core problem: wide swaths of it are simply 3.2 carry-overs that have been gently reworked to become "usable" without a physical keypad. Needless to say, it feels like Nokia's being dragged kicking and screaming into the world of touch. Maybe it is.

Speaking of keypads, 5th Edition has many to choose from -- and few (if any) of them make much sense. Pictured here is the city search keypad, which we think would bewilder even seasoned touchscreen and Nokia veterans -- it looks more like a puzzle game of some sort than an input method. Even worse, keys start disappearing once you type to restrict it to letters that correspond to entries in the city list; it sounds intuitive, but in reality, it's pretty disorienting when your keypad looks like this to start.

We never got the hang of knowing when pressing on an input field would pop up a part-screen or full-screen keypad, but there isn't any consistency that's meaningful to the user. As far as we're concerned, with the exception of perhaps the landscape QWERTY option, none of the input methods has any excuse for obscuring the whole screen. In the pictured example here, we're in the Notes app -- but for some reason, the landscape numeric keypad (which can be used in both T9 and triple-tap modes) takes up the whole screen. There's no good reason for it, and frankly, we're not sure why you'd ever want to use this style of keypad in landscape mode anyway.

The 5800 does a commendable job of flipping between portrait and landscape modes quickly and seamlessly. Unlike the iPhone, there's no stupid screen transition to get in the way here -- you turn the phone, and boom, you're on your way. We were actually a bit shocked at how thoroughly the phone supports both portrait and landscape, considering how half-baked other aspects of the phone seem; the home screen is pretty much the only prominent thing here that can't be thrown into landscape mode, and fortunately, there's no great reason why you'd want to do that anyway.

One bright spot for 5th Edition is its included browser, which is excellent as usual. The problem is that in the time since the WebKit-based app was first released, the iPhone and Android have both caught up; webOS will be playing the same game as well, and WinMo certainly has no shortage of options, either. Of these, 5th Edition has perhaps the worst UI implementation, though it does a totally fine job of rendering -- and unlike some of those other platforms, you've got Flash support out of the box. In particular, we struggled to use our thumb to scroll around on the plastic, resistive display, which had a tendency to "bounce" just enough to register clicks as we scrolled. This is a problem we've witnessed on other devices in the past, and we think that a glass screen -- something with a little less "give" and friction -- would solve it completely. Needless to say, we're not worried about the Omnia HD suffering the same fate here. Not to beat a dead horse, but the browser also represents a glaring example of an area where 3.2 software has been massaged for touch support: the mouse pointer, which serves no purpose on this phone, is still present and visible.

Voice quality on the 5800 is good; as with all Nokias, we realistically could've used one or two more notches of volume, but it wasn't overly quiet by any stretch. Music quality was also very good over the 3.5mm jack (assuming you're bringing decent headphones to the table), and the loudspeaker is both loud and clear enough to be used as a makeshift desktop boombox from time to time. Annoyingly, most operations in the music app take about a half second to execute, which gets tiresome -- this is one place where the 5800 definitely seems like it could use a bit more processor juice, a better-written app, or both. At any rate, we do like that the 5800 includes podcast downloading and FM radio capability out of the box, but we're pretty ticked that they've removed the internet radio app found in 3.2 -- mobile internet radio is one of the great pleasures of a 3G connection, and we're chalking this one up to Espoo not having enough time to port the 3.2 version to 5th Edition. We're hoping the app reappears by the time the N97 rolls around; either that, or Nokia's probably banking on developers fixing this issue with their own wares on the Ovi Store.

Wrap-up

Would we recommend the 5800? Unless you like solving mysteries like "will this operation take one or two taps" and "what number corresponds to F on the keypad," no, we wouldn't. Nokia's come to the table with really good, if not stellar, midrange hardware here -- but the company's lack of willingness to shed its preconceptions and leap head-first into the touch paradigm with a clear mind and a clean slate has hampered it beyond salvage. We have every confidence that Nokia (and its buddies at the Symbian Foundation) will end up getting it right, but these guys are still the biggest in the world; maybe it'll take a bit of humble pie before they realize that this needs to be addressed from an entirely different angle. Windows Mobile is learning that lesson from countless licensees re-skinning what has become Microsoft's liability of a UI, and perhaps Nokia should look at Samsung's Omnia HD -- which has reskinned S60 with TouchWiz -- as an advance warning that they're headed down the same path.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 30th 2009 10:57PM]

Resistive will never beat capacitive, hence stylus needed to improve accuracy. Trust me. I've done side by side , feature by feature comparison. Falls extremely short of iPhone. Just saying the truth, n I love nokia.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 31st 2009 2:02AM]

OHHHH Shank don't pretend like you like nokia we all know you an apple troll. But hey capacitive will never be resistive because guess what it has been freezing here since late September and i don't see myself taking my glove off everytime i wanna use my phone. so its all about what you need.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 30th 2009 11:00PM]

This is one of the worst reviews I have ever read. It's a mystery to you where to use double clicks?! come on... You must have real trouble using a pc or mac then (neither is really "consistent" considering that issue).

The video about the dialler is hilarious as well. I agree about the letter thing (only an issue in america though), but it is sooo easy to use the dialer I have never had any problems with this. And there actually IS a cursor (at least on my phone) and you can even copy+paste numbers in here (but obviously THAT wasn't worth mentioning in your "review").

[Chris Posted Mar 30th 2009 11:02PM]

Sorry, I didn't have access to your 5800 when I was shooting the video.

Don't know what to tell you -- intermittent bug or firmware difference.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 30th 2009 11:09PM]

Chris z don't sweat it bro. With nokia n symbian os combined experience of 14 plus years I was expecting more. iPhone os been out 1.5 years , n yet nokia looked like arookie os in comparison. I was expecting the iphonekiller , no way in heck they achieved.

[epgomez Posted Mar 30th 2009 11:38PM]

This review is very biased. Typically an iphone lover. I have tried the iphone and this phone. There's no problem with the touch on the nokia 5800 it works perfectly with the new firmware. The stylus problem illustrated here is done by an idiot (you know what I mean admit it). The stylus is very easy to pull and put back. What are you talking about? Why do you exaggerate? There's no issue it's untrue. Don't fool me author. How much did apple pay you? This phone has good hardware and it multitasks.

[Malkmus Posted Mar 30th 2009 11:33PM]

Man, people who read Engadget are so freaking sensitive! Engadget can never say anything critical about any phone manufacturer without being lambasted by fanboys. What's funny is when they do criticize Apple everyone either pretends to not notice or they make snarky sarcastic remarks about how it's a first. First off, I am somewhat of a Nokia fanboy. I've owned a N93 and now have the N95 and am eagerly anticipating the N97. I had the iPhone in between those two so I know what a good touchscreen phone is like.
Second, this is how Engadget does reviews, which are more like "impressions", so maybe they should change the title. They don't do intensive hardware reviews.
Third, Engadget is not the first to point out that Nokia is sorely late to the touchscreen game and that the 5800 is still behind the times. Yes, they made tablet devices, I owned the N810 briefly. But guess what, that was no walk in the park either when it came to web browsing. I was constantly triggering links when simply trying to scroll down a page. But do a google search for "5800 first impressions" and you'll find the same lackluster opinion of this device.
And I resent certain Nokia users on this site who claim to speak for all us other longtime Nokia users. Stop making excuses for Nokia! Are you honestly saying that the touch implementation in this phone is great or even fine?! So, you're telling me that if tomorrow Nokia added kinetic scrolling, multitouch, a browser on par with the iPhone or Pre, threaded sms, and a better looking e-mail program that you guys would say "Meh, no thanks, the 5800 is fine the way it is."?
Let's be realistic here. I was looking forward to the 5800 because I no longer use my N95 for web browsing due to how archaic it is. I don't want a phone that operates exactly the same as my N95 but with touch tacked on. And to be honest, I think we all know that 5800 owners are being used as guinea pigs to make the N97 a better phone. Nokia, I'm sure, has read all the terrible user experiences and poor reviews and is (hopefully) implementing that criticism with the development of the N97.

[Malkmus Posted Mar 30th 2009 11:57PM]

I should add that I'm one of the people that preordered the 5800 a month ago and it should be here tomorrow. So, I'll see myself. I really hope all of you who state that it needs no improvement are correct.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 31st 2009 12:23AM]

The review should rather be a firmware upgrade rather than the phone itself -- to fix the problems
People here are complaining about the reviews, not the phone

[chris17792 Posted Mar 31st 2009 12:56AM]

Chris,

I encourage to keep writing saucy and "nit-picky" reviews...they save a lot of us from wasting money. I know I'm very "nit-picky" when I purchase a $400+ phone.

And also, I enjoy seeing the idiots rage about Engadget and their iPhones. If they ever listened to the podcast they would know that you are a S60 fanboy...

Keep up the good work.

[Robbie Hottie Posted Mar 31st 2009 1:13AM]

first i will say that i normally enjoy reading posts by chris, but this one was a little disappointing. i can understand having high expectations of a great new touch UI, etc. but it has already been known for many many manyyyy months now that it would not be the case. not only was the UI shown before release, but the phone has been out since last year in some countries. so we've already known what the UI would and wouldn't be. but dont get me wrong, i am also extremely disappointed that nokia went this route. since you are saying your intention was not to go over the camera, video, other features, etc, i would say that makes this an "impression" instead of a "review."

there are good points in this article though. although it was easy to figure out how to change am/pm, i also noticed the lack of user friendliness with the implementation. it was very minor, but i understand chris' point as i too took a mental note of it. there should have at least been a dropdown box, up & down arrows, or something...

but the one thing im most frustrated with is people complaining about the double-tap. i LOVE the double-tap. it was so annoying when i used my friend's iphone and i would accidentally click an icon. but there is a bigger reason i love the double-tap... OPTIONS! come on people... how can you do anything other than select to open something if u dont have options? if you want to delete, move, copy, go to settings, etc then you need there to be a way to highlight something without going into it. if single-clicking everything opened it, then it would be impossible to have options. as far as menu items, how could you preview a ringtone for example if single clicking selected it right away? you need to be able to single click to preview, then click again to choose it. one of the things i hate most about other phones is that if you are in a list and you dont make a scrolling gesture exaggerated enough, then the phone single clicks and selects something. the double-tap does its job and is exactly in the logical places where it should be, contrary to what most people say. maybe they just haven't come to this realization yet that its needed for the reasons ive stated? because it probably WAS so intuitive in the times that it was needed, that it didnt even cross their minds because it just flowed so correctly as a necessary process.

as for the bezel, i love it because it protects the screen. we're not dealing with glass on this one afterall. i ordered a protective skin, and i think im also going to like the way it wraps around the bezel to create a colored border around the edges.

someone mentioned that the phone never registers a touch, and they must have used the wrong phone! or were stupid and pushing on a dummy model! this phone vibrates gently each time you touch the screen and there is also an option to have it beep (which i have turned on). the phone goes a step further to only vibrate when you actually click something that is click-able. so if you press on blank space that doesnt do anything, then it doesnt vibrate because you didnt really click anything. maybe other phones do that too, im not sure. but i like it because that is a helpful way to know whether or not you clicked something.

i dont know why people say you "need" a stylus. ive only pulled it out twice and that was just because i wanted to test using it. i havent needed the stylus at all. i agree with chris that it is hard to pull out, and it can be inserted incorrectly very easily. but i suppose it will start coming out more easily with use, and ill get used to putting it away correctly as i use it more. and for the person that said the plectrum is a joke, i find it easier to use than the stylus. i have it looped through the strap holes on the side, and can use it no matter what angle i grab it at since its a triangle. its very handy to just grab and use quickly. i think it was a great idea and am surprised no one every used one for a stylus before. plus my friends think its pretty cool that my phone has a guitar pick. lol.

there are times when the phone does lag. the main thing i was concerned about was the processor before i bought it. but the overall speed is acceptable. its not going to set any benchmark records, but its not like trying to load aim 6 with less than a 1gb computer either.

the search function with the onscreen abc's was also brought up. i LOVE it! i cant imagine how annoying it would be to scroll down my 2000+ contacts every time i just wanted to place a call. there is a general discontent with the keypad taking up the whole screen when it appears, so here is a useful alternative. be happy the keypad doesnt pop up instead. and you dont have to worry about wasting your time with "no results found" since only letters with possible matches are shown. i would like to see this search feature in more areas. LIKE THE MUSIC APP. where the keypad actually does pop up instead. eww.

i would like to see ABCs added to the US firmware on the dialer, the volume rocker used as scroll-up/down in lists, more than 4 people on the contacts bar, threaded sms, contact images shown to the left of their name in the phonebook by default (not only when a name is clicked), more buttons on the bottom of the homescreen (2 is a waste of space. and make them customizeable), and an option to turn off the auto-rotate when you turn the phone (sometimes when im lying down in the bed i turn the phone but i dont want it to rotate because im trying to read the text portrait still)

ps: aside from the search function, i like that the keyboard and keypad take up the whole screen. bigger buttons + more natural way of input = a happier me. my biggest complaint on most touchscreen phones was lack of t9.

[Robbie Hottie Posted Mar 31st 2009 1:16AM]

btw, i havent downloaded the new firmware yet. so we'll see how things go after that.

[Robbie Hottie Posted Mar 31st 2009 3:43PM]

and before someone feels the need to correct me... yes, i meant to type 1ghz not 1gb when talking about the processors

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 31st 2009 3:46AM]

I am an owner of a nokia 5800xm since Feb. 14. and would like to say that this review stinks. the phone is fine and all there itsy bitsy things which might get annoying - eventually you will get the hang of it and love - right iphone users? hehehe
As a lot of people already pointed out the obvious agendas from engadget for a review, i too think that Chris Zeigler is kinda choosing the news for you. As anyone with a healthy mind can understand this when reading all posts like others and i did.

Nokia might have done a "bold" approch with the 5800xm and S60 touch interface - but hey, apple had the chance to envolve, nokia needs one too. by simply putting out the fact that the iphone has been on the market for this or that long doesnt explain why nokia cant research with thier 5800xm on the market just like apple did with its 1. gen. iphone

This AM/PM problem is really really really really terrible. Oh boy, its not like i have a integrated camera and i can not make any kind of video?? Or copy and paste. cmon, as an true engadget fan, u must b able to adress this a really really fussy problem.

Oh and did we forget that the first iphones couldnt even make calls?!?? - yeah sure, they patched it but hey, selling a phone which cant be used to make calls....???well does ist at least dispens candy?

If we really need hard and software from apple to understand how things work, i guess i wouldnt be able to replace my toilet paper without calling apple customer support while i take a crap on my nokia box - oh wait! there is some paper in the nokia box i can use for toilet paper! then again i wouldnt even have this option with the iphone.... it doesnt even ship with a printed manual...

[PrivateFlank Posted Mar 31st 2009 7:20AM]

@ Chris

This is the worst review i have ever read honestly Chris, you messed up on this one. It makes me doubt if you even used the phone. There were no positive points not a single one, it shows that your intention was nothing but pure bashing.

I got my 5800, last two weeks to replace my iphone 1st gen. I went for it because of its price and functions which ultimately beats the iphone. I haven't had a single trouble with mine, the touch response and feedback are pretty swift, i didn't notice any lag at all. The double tap is awesome i don't understand the consistency issues u guys had with it, even a fish would figure that, you tap once in the menu and twice on listviews. The hardware is awesome its less prone to scratch and very solid, i've had mine for two weeks and it always looks brandnew which is not the case for the iphone.

And I gotta tell you its really growing in popularity here in the US, a couple of friends recommended it plus i saw it on Flo-ri-da's video. The best feature everyone liked on the phone was its sound quality, it was even crispier and clearer than the ipod. The picture quality is good, 100 times better than the iphone, it is now my primary facebook cam.

I have never used a Nokia phone before this and i must say my experience with it is very satisfactory, if Nokia keeps it up i would go for the N97 and give this to my sister.

We all love apple, but bashing othe poducts is not the way to go take note chris. For a real review visit this link http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_5800_xpressmusic-review-308.php

Just to let you know, i'm sending this from my 5800 and the message was typed with a mixture of the querty and the awesome handwriting recognition couple with copy and paste for the link. Cheerz

[kaylan Posted Mar 31st 2009 7:27AM]

hi everyone,
im sorry to say but this review is pretty on cue. i previously owned this nokia and decided to return it. it has great call qualities, i thought a nice design but that whole touch screen interface...well...WAS NOT GOOD...it had lots of buggie things and im sure the newest firmware resolved many small issues...but gosh no comparison when you compare "touch software" by iphone. its true. i love nokia and will buy the 5730 when it comes out...but this touch 5800. wasnt good enough for my money

[Grusic Posted Mar 31st 2009 8:14AM]

I think it's great that Nokia did an affordable touchscreen S60 device. However, every review I have read just confirms my feelings about this first offering: I felt that touch input would just be bolted onto S60 without the real paradigm shift that's required to make it work well.

Until Symbian Foundation produces a real touch screen UI, I'll stick with good old keyboard driven S60.

[serena Posted Mar 31st 2009 2:49PM]

Wow, what a harsh review. Nit-picking over a stylus, while glossing over the great browser, etc. I have had mine for less than a week. It is disappointing when you first take it out of the box. It is difficult not to compare everything to the iPhone, which is gorgeous. The more I use the 5800, the more I like it. The stylus is so well incorporated into the design. I too had a tough time finding it. That's great if you don't like a stylus, just ignore it. You only need it for the mini-keyboard and handwriting. I have mine set on large fonts. I have no trouble using my finger on the full keyboard and command/call buttons. The screen is bright and easy to read. Nokia IU is counter-intuitive to me. But once I figure out how to navigate something it suddenly seems very logical. The screen is a third narrower than an iPhone, which may be bad for apps. Sound quality for calls and music is great. I haven't tried the camera. You can tether and use as a modem. No more searching for hotspots to use your laptop. This is no iPhone killer. But unlike the iPhone, you can make phone calls! And the calls don't drop or sound like you're on a toy walkie-talkie.

[Malkmus Posted Mar 31st 2009 4:28PM]

"It is disappointing when you first take it out of the box. It is difficult not to compare everything to the iPhone, which is gorgeous."

"Nokia IU is counter-intuitive to me."

"The screen is a third narrower than an iPhone, which may be bad for apps."

"This is no iPhone killer."

Wait, and you're COMPLAINING about Chris's review? Sounds like you just reiterated everything he said.

[CJ Posted Mar 31st 2009 12:08PM]

I don't see why everything needs to be touchscreen these days.

I owned an S60 3.1 Nokia N95, then a Samsung Omnia. I have also used an iPhone, a Blackberry Storm, and a couple of HTC devices. And goddamn, even though the N95 was the only non-touchscreen phone of the lot, I found it to be the most intuitive to use as an overall device.

The only problem I had with the lack of touchscreen was when I was webrowsing: Typing; freakishly fast even though I only had a standard 9-key phone layout, Navigation; fast enough, okay, it's not as instant as a touchscreen, but apparently unlike some users, I posess the nessecary extra I.Q. point required to press the same button several times in a row to reach a tile in a grid.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 31st 2009 2:07PM]

same price or chiper you can gate the miezu m8 that is mach more batter in screen and usabilty and in alot of areas it is batter then iphone

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 31st 2009 7:52PM]

I must say, as a n95 8gb and iPhone 3g owner, fan of this site and it's podcasts, I am very disappointed by this review. No mention of any of it's good points. For a $400 phone, it surely beats the samsung instinct, lg dare and others in the same price bracket. Potential buyers should read other reviews before saying no to this phone.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 31st 2009 8:09PM]

This review is the worst on the net.

Total Apple fanobyism at its very creepiest.

Integrity = Zero

Engadget, you lost a loyal reader.

Rss feed = Delete

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 1st 2009 5:55PM]

Nice review but I am asking myself how one can describe the Nokia voice quality as good. I was used to Ericsson and Sony Ericsson phones (GH688, TH688, P800, P900, multiple dect phones) and these all have good voice quality. But with all the nokia phone I tried (6100, 6600, N95, 9300) I keep having problems with locating the speaker against my ear in such a way that I can even understand what the other side is saying.

If it is web-enabled, does it also do email? What about an agenda?
The old newton (130) used databases (soups) that were usable between applications (cross-soup) such that I could make an appointment with a person in the address book and when the appointment pops up I could even let the newton dial that number.

Does Apple own a patent on this? Why don't Ericsson, Nokia, Microsoft and others make their mobile devices user friendly? You should try to get hold of an old Apple Newton: usable features, nice design, no need to learn to write the 'palm-pilot way'.
OK - I admit: I am becoming old, (senile) and wished I never scrapped my PDP11-45 10 years ago: no battery (life time), no user interface but oh what a nice design :-)

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 1st 2009 8:32PM]

Bought this phone just on monday, awesome! Blue one.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 3rd 2009 9:47PM]

Only a complete buffoon could accept this as a "review"

Total farce.

If so called "technophiles!" cant get the hang of the Smart find feature on this phone, and then have the gall to say "The smartphone must be smarter than the user" ....then Im sorry...I've been avidly watching the wrong site for the past 2 years

You Guys are dumb as fuck.

The stylus is solid as a rock, and doesnt bend in the slightest ?!!
Not that i've ever needed the damn thing.


Sorry, I cant swallow this turd and be led by the nose.

Engadget = Epic fuckingfailure

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 4th 2009 8:33AM]

so true....so true..

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 5th 2009 12:04PM]

Just an awful review of a really good device.

[wintermute000 Posted Apr 6th 2009 1:47AM]

This phone does have some severe usability issues but nothing you can't get used to. Typing is fine with a stylus for when you need to enter an address or URL which is not that often, otherwise nothing wrong with T9 and predictive text.

The actual phone bit, the Nokia Maps turn by turn GPS, music functionality , and opera mini for light browsing = win.

Oh and with a stylus it does perfectly acceptable chinese handwriting even, for those who care.

Its not an iphone but the iphone doesn't have turn by turn GPS (yet) which is the main deal-maker for me when it comes to smartphones. For music and calling people its fine. What more do you want from a mid-range (and suitably priced) phone?

If you want all singing all dancing gizmo factor + apple quality UI, then go the iphone.
If you want full GPS, SD cards, full bluetooth functionality, swappable battery, and don't mind getting used to the occasionally infuriating interface, this one's for you.


For music and calling people (99% of the usage) its perfectly fine. Nice screen too for video viewing. and oh it also does flash.

[Eclectico69 Posted Apr 6th 2009 4:56AM]

I came 6 days late to reading this review and it surprised me how different it is from other sources. And I don't mean about how the review is made, for I know Engadget is not a technical in-depth analysis website, it's actually an opinionated news blog (most blogs are), and I think it's a great place.

As I was saying what surprised me the most is that other sites have ranked it pretty high (C-net, GSM-arena, etc.) while Engadget gave it such a poor grade.

It just seems to me that It was a case of a terrible first-impression or that Chris was on a bad mood when he turned on the phone and came across the now-infamous (i like that sort of adjective) "AM/PM issue".

Having read it 6 days later allowed me to also read a ton of comments and found maybe a 60% (give or take) of readers agreeing that the review focused on minor issues, missed to comment on other relevant features (good AND bad) and that owner were, in general terms, much more pleased with the device (as I am) that the review might lead a would-be buyer to believe.

When one single review i so different to other more similar reviews and owners' opinions themselves, then I think something is wring with this particular review.

The whole ONE/TWO tap thing it's an over-simpified, pretty unfair judgement, of course, in my personal opinion. As I pointed out in a reply to one of the commenters before, it actually doesn't take two taps for anything. Let me explain myself:

When on a grid (icon view):

- ONE tap to open (you can't select an icon)

When on a list:

- ONE tap to select (you select an item from a list to scroll down if you need to)
- ONE tap to open

As opposed to the way we are all used to in a Windows enviroment, for example, where even if you have an item selected, it still takes DOUBLE clicking to open (remember when Windows tried a "Web-like" one-click icons? it was a disaster).

The review was completely subjective to one minor issue (AM/PM) and that shut the door to any other objective comment. The lenght or depth of the review is no issue here. It is a bad review because we're only adviced on the negative features, and a good review has to have a pro/con balance ALWAYS.

On a personal note to the author, it seemed lousy that you said Engadget didn't make in-depth reviews and when proved wrong with Ryan Block's Iphone review, tried to excuse yourself so lamely with the "sometimes we do it" argument. Which is it then, do you or do you not make in-depth reviews?

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 6th 2009 8:22AM]

Your review is completely out of step with every other review I've read on the 5800, and my own experiences. To say the plectrum is an after though shows how little research you have done on this piece. Shocking, a bet you've lost the respect of a fair few readers over this piece.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 7th 2009 6:21AM]

If you'd spent any good amount of time with the Nokia 5800 you'd have got over the initial quirks of the UI. It is not a great precedent to review a new product from the off without testing it for some time as opposed to writing such nonsense about adjusting am / pm - ridiculous. I too found the 5800 odd when i FIRST looked at it but after several weeks of use I find it a great handset. The OS does need a little tweaking but it's a great experience and a fantastic first attempt by Nokia to enter this game.

The N97 will build on the strengths of this handset and deliver a compelling phone.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 9th 2009 4:13AM]

What's interesting about much of the flame warring going on about the Nokia/Apple/Symbian/Touchscreen world is that no one seems to realize that the 5800 XpressMusic is not an iPhone killer, because it is not intended to be. It's clearly a simple implementation of touch onto the new Symbian OS platform, and nothing else. An iPhone killer isn't a touchscreen MP3 player - I had this one way back in 2001 or so with my HP Jornada, whose 3.5mm earphone jack had better quality than the iPhone. An iPhone killer matches its price segment or is just a little lower, and doesn't fight in the features or technical departments, but in the aesthetics, the interface, and the ease-of-use plugs. The iPhone is far from a feature-rich phone; the 5800 defeats it here at a fraction of the cost. But no one seems to have intended the 5800 to challenge the iPhone anyway; why not look to the N97 for this game, and stop comparing every touchscreen phone that comes out to the iPhone?

Maybe twenty years from now, an iPhone Holo will come out, incidentally first. It then turns out that holographic interfaces are the best ever, so everyone makes holophones. Will every holophone be an iPhone Holo killer? Most certainly not; they'll simply be making attempts at the brand new interface method.

Turning the clock in the other direction, the Sony Ericsson P800 came out a couple of years ago with a touchscreen interface and some media playback capabilities. Is the iPhone a P800 killer? Nope; it's in a different subcategory. The P800 was a smartphone that could easily have been a PDA with a phone attached.

Now I've had a 5800 XpressMusic for a few weeks and I'm perfectly happy for what it is - a touchscreen phone by Nokia, with a few quirks that don't detract from the whole experience. Would I prefer an iPhone? Not really, because I'm not looking for one.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 14th 2009 4:22PM]

Well..
Very fruitful points from everybody and I completely agree that this phone has many drawbacks and seems to be not well tested device. This is my first touch screen phone and I moved from Samsung SG to this, personally for some simple features as if making a call samsung was easier than 5800. But main point which distingush a Nokia phone from other breeds as in G1 and iPhone is independence. I bought this because I didnt like limitations from iPhone and G1 just to please their carriers. When we consider hardware this phone has best in bunch for a price of 350$ , half of iPhone and almost half of N95 (when launched) and if they would have put enough manpower to build an amazing software then it would no longer be affordable for me :). Anyway few things which I liked :

Affordable
Handwriting recog (still struggling how to write 'K')
I can browse internet in my laptop with 3G speed from this phone
GPS
Very good quality sound, camera
more useful and less flashy ( if it saves me 350$ from iPhone and samsung's I am happy)
Old style number pad along with QERTY and all
UnLocked

Overall, price matters and when we say firmware drawbacks I hope Nokia fix them with upgrades. For the author, only recommendation is please don't compare it with iPhone, its not a 700$ device so better keep it away from it and when you mention cons do mention pros too (which i am sure can outnumber negetives).

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 16th 2009 9:15AM]

I love how this unit is called 'mid range'. With the option of 16gb *removable* memory, handwriting recognition, higher resolution screen, longer battery life, stereo speakers, 128mb RAM, uPnP, WiFi, MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, GPS, tv-out, 2 flashes, Carl Zeiss lens, 3mp camera, video call & FM radio - if this is only 'mid range,' then the iPhone must be bargain basement, entry level.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 16th 2009 2:12PM]

To have different point of views:

http://www.testfreaks.com/cellphones/nokia-5800-xpressmusic-tube/

I have a 5800 since January and I really love it. The missing point are great applications, something that the iPhone community does well and the US market got it hard. These two combined made the iPhone apps so great. There's no market (yet) for Symbian apps. There's no money flowing and the community is not as visual aggressive as Apple's. It is going to change, though. Gravity (http://www.thelifedigital.com/gravity-twitter-application-for-nokia-5800-is-the-best-one-yet-but-not-free-symbian-s60-v3-and-v5/) is a great example. Visually beautiful, excellent UI with kinetic scroll, etc. It is paid.

Summing up: the 5800 is a great mobile phone (not an iPhone killer, it doesn't point in that way) with great multimedia and internet add-ons.

See ya.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 18th 2009 3:56PM]

Very dishonest , ineffiecient and stupid review...it is not a complete review..It is only taking about the cons of Nokia 5800. Where are the Pros ????????
Engadget, Dont try to judge a Book by its cover..Be analytical..try to think from every dimension...try to see the other side of the coin..Folks, If you want to go for 5800, go for it...if you like to have a device -
- At affordable cost with a very rich retail package.
- With Gorgeous display with better battery life..
-with the most powerful speakers( actaully better than my laptop).
- With Excellent and powerful browser with fast wifi support .
- with admirable video recording.

And Engadget remember Nothing comes 100 % perfect.

[(Unverified) Posted May 14th 2009 2:55PM]

nokia 5800 why do i have to switch my phone on then on to get my text this is my second phone and it peeing me off if you know why let me know ta many thanks

[(Unverified) Posted May 30th 2009 8:51PM]

fun board .. insightful comments mostly. My two cents:

The review is overly negative. On the positive side, compared to the iphone, battery life is twice as good, the display resolution is better, the camera is 3.2 megapixels compared to 2.1 and uses higher quality components, musically its compatible with a wider variety of formats, and -- if you so desired -- you could make and install motion sensitive software to wank-off and/or perform sexual acts which would fall under Apple's censorship of your iPhone.

It's true, for being a touchscreen device, it could be more ergonomically desiged. I've had vague uncertainties over how it could be improved and now I thank the author for pointing out to me that the home dialer pad does not have an alphabet displayed on the traditional telephone dialer interface. Buttons could have better graphics so shouldn't be easy to misdial the last called number.

It seems most of the authors problems are with the software. Is it possible Nokia might provide updates or patchs during the express music's lifecyle? Overall, the 5800 kicks butt over the 9600 which I've been using since 1995 and I'm looking forward to how it wears over a period of years.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 16th 2009 3:30PM]

Im shocked on how narrow minded people can be. Just because another phone is not like or is not an iphone clone it just sucks? This has been sad. The thing that a lot of people forget is that it is a personal preference. Some people like it, and some dont. Unless you are going to buy the phone for them and pay the bill, dont bitch at them and knock them for getting a phone that is not a iphone or g1. I have had a nokia 5800 for about 5 weeks now and i have not had any of these problems. I have played with the iphone 3g before i got the 5800 and in the end it came down to personal pref not money. Yes the camera could be a little better, but it gets the job done. I like the fact that i can have multiple apps running at one time and switch between them at any time. The battery life is out of this world, i can leave apps running, surf the web, send text, emails, and just play around all day and it just keeps going. The phone will also run 3rd party apps just fine, you are not just stuck with the nolia apps. As for the touch i had to turn it down some it was a little to sensitive. And if you have not done the firmware upgrade yet, do that then try the phone out. Im in the US and mine came with the new firmware already loaded. So when it comes down to it in the end just try the phone or whatever your buying out first, for your self. Dont just believe what other people say, or just do what they say, unless you are a mindless puppet. Its your money, your phone, your life, for the love of God people, think for your self.