Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Edition (Touch screen, smartphones,3.2"inches , 8G, Symbian OS S60,3.2Mpx) Review,

Nokia has announced the first S60 5th edition smartphone, the 5800 XpressMusic. Featuring a large 3.2" touchscreen display and an all new user interface, the 5800 XpressMusic also packs a 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera as well as WiFi and HSDPA 3G data.

Today Nokia unwrapped its first touchscreen-equipped S60 smartphone, the 5800 XpressMusic, at an event in London. The 5800 XpressMusic, long known as the "Tube" on the rumor mills, is the first smartphone to feature Nokia's new S60 5th Edition user interface, which adds support for touchscreen displays to the platform. The 5800 XpressMusic breaks the ice with a large 3.2" touchscreen display that is capable of showing 16 million colors at 640x360 pixel resolution. A built-in accelerometer handles automatic screen rotation activation.The 5800 XpressMusic also features a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and Carl Zeiss optics. A newly designed suite of image and video editing tools is also on board, alongside the microSD card slot and an 8GB microSD card that is included in the sales package. The 5800 XpressMusic sports a 3.5mm audio port that supports standard wired stereo headphones as well as the 5800 XpressMusic's TV-out capabilities. The device also comes equipped with a pair of stereo speakers built-in that one Nokia rep described as "quite powerful."

There will be three different configurations of the 5800 XpressMusic available. All three support quad-band GSM/EDGE, while two of the versions also support 3G connectivity; one supporting HSDPA on the 900 and 2100MHz bands, the other on the 850 and 1900MHz bands. WiFi is also included for even higher-speed data transfers. A GPS receiver is built-in, as is Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support for stereo headsets, which should allow for a great music experience. The 5800 XpressMusic also ships with a handy desktop stand for enjoying your videos comfortably.

Text input on the 5800 XpressMusic is handled by 4 different on-screen methods. There is a full screen virtual QWERTY keyboard that can be used when the device is held horizontally. It is complemented by a half-screen QWERTY keyboard that is used in portrait mode. The 5800 XpressMusic also features a virtual T9 alphanumeric keypad as well as handwriting recognition, which is particularly popular in the Asian markets.

The new standby screen also supports a new contact bar for fast access to the user's 4 favorite contacts, as well as a dedicated media bar for one-touch media access. Lastly, for those with a passion for gaming, it is worth noting, sadly, that the 5800 XpressMusic does not support Nokia's N-gage gaming platform, though we were told by a Nokia rep that such functionality is "on the roadmap."

Specifications for the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
Operating System	Symbian OS with Nokia S60 5th Edition
Band	GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz, UMTS 900/2100MHz GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz, 850/1900MHz
Data	GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA/HSDPA/WiFi
Size	111mm x 51.7mm x 15.5mm (4.4" x 2" x .6")
Weight	109g (3.8oz)
Battery Life	Estimated 17 days standby time
	Estimated 9/5 hours talk time (GSM/UMTS)
Main Display	3.2" 16m color nHD touchscreen, 640x360 pixel resolution
Camera	3.2 megapixel autofocus with Carl Zeiss optics and dual-LED flash
Video	Record/Playback
Messaging	SMS/MMS/IM
Email	POP3/SMTP/IMAP
Bluetooth	Yes with A2DP
Memory	81MB internal, 8GB microSD card in box
Availability	Planned Q4 2008
Other	Speakerphone, 3.5mm headset jack, built-in GPS receiver, built-in accelerometer

Conclusion

If you haven't picked it up by now, Nokia isn't going after the power users here. The phone will be marketed under Nokia's "Live" banner, and really concentrates on the most basic communications -- calling and texting -- with a whole bunch of multimedia piled on top. Nokia's Comes With Music helps on that end of things, and the screen certainly helps with video, but this is no iPhone when it comes to to solid media integration or full-featured media player apps.

On the communication side, we're sad to see Nokia almost burying some of its S60 advantages. The Nokia 5800 is an S60 5th edition, Symbian OS 9.4 device. Stating this is absolutely important because it means that right now it has the most advanced operating system and platform of any smartphone ever made, far outshining the flagship Nokia smartphone (Nokia N96) and indeed that of all other manufacturers.

Everything's still there, but Nokia didn't put the gruntwork in necessary to really take advantage a next-gen interface as it relates to keeping track of emails, social networking, IM and the correspondences of more than four people. All that said, Nokia isn't claiming that the 5800 is the be all end all, is releasing it with a very aggressive price point (€279 unlocked), and promises more where this came from.