The 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia's second touchscreen effort (they launched a touch-enabled 7710 back in 2004), is shaping up to be the company's bestselling handset. For good reason, too, since it's an attractive, feature-packed device that comes at a very agreeable price.
While soft on the eyes, the 5800 is a pure plastic concoction and feels accordingly. Overall build seems solid although the back panel does handle a little flimsily. It's not that big an issue although some folks might deem it differently.
The big issue with the handset is its use of a resistive touchscreen, which means you'll have to press a little harder than you need to with a capacitive display like the iPhone has. Nokia has recently announced their intentions of equipping future 5800s with capacitive touchscreens, though, so that should nip any issues for potential buyers. Other than that, the 3.2-inch touchscreen offers amazing clarity and detail, with very rich colors.
It uses an interface that differs a bit from other Nokia S60 devices to accommodate the touch actions. The changes aren't that pronounced, for the most part (save for a few apps, like the photo galleries), so if you're used to working with Nokia phones, this one shouldn't require too much a learning curve.
As with most Nokia handsets, there's little to complain about in the way of call quality and SMS. Texting does take some getting used to with a virtual keyboard (especially a resistive one), but the experience still isn't all that different. Camera is just average for a phone module, even with 3.1 megapixels. Video recording, in fact, is even less than what I expected.
Being an XpressMusic phone, multimedia is where the 5800 shines. Music playback is gorgeous with a headphone, and surprisingly good with the onboard 5.1-channel speakers. Video is similarly lovely, with crisp renderings even on the considerably small screen. It's got a TV out but comes with only 128MB of RAM, so you'll have to use an expansion card to load up on media content.
Like most other higher-end phones, the Nokia supports full 3G internet, although the built-in browser really needs some fine-tuning. Simply put, page load is a bit slower (for both HTML and Flash) than what most of us are probably used to. The control icons are also a bit distracting. It's usable, but you won't be too happy.
If you're looking for a music-centric phone with all-in-one features, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic could prove a great choice. It's not going to be my first recommendation for a business handset, but as far as multimedia goes, there's plenty to rave about.
Photo Credit: Let's Go Digital
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