Nokia 5800 XpressMusic - Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

This is, as you'd expect, a 3G handset with download speeds of up to 3.6Mbps. Shame it doesn't run to 7.2Mbps, though. There is Wi-Fi here too, and it is very easy to hop on and off networks. A-GPS is also present and Nokia Maps is built in.


There is a front camera for two-way video-calling. The main camera is a little disappointing. Even though it captures stills at 3.2-megapixels through Carl Zeiss optics and has a dual LED flash and autofocus, these don't make up for the absence of a macro mode, or indeed the below par image production - especially indoors.

Indoors, the coloured dish, photographed under normal household lights with no flash, looks grainy. Outside, the chair, shot on a gloomy, rainy day, is not uniformly white. The snowdrops are OK but they show how badly the camera copes with a close in subject. Nokia should have tried harder with the camera, methinks.


There is a lot of software on board. There is a version of the BBC iPlayer, so TV addicts can catch up on EastEnders or whatever your favourite fodder happens to be, a calendar, calculator, unit converter, IM app, voice recorder, RealPlayer, FM radio, notes taker, and a couple of games including Bounce which requires use of the touchscreen and accelerometer. More touchscreen supporting games may be on the cards, but existing games will need a rewrite to handle the new input method so it is probably best not to hold your breath.

Battery life is quoted at 8.8 hours talk and 406 hours on standby. I managed a couple of days between charges with an average use pattern but if you are heavy on the GPS, Wi-Fi or 3G you'll need to recharge more frequently.

Verdict

I don't think the market leaders Apple, Samsung and LG, need to worry just yet. S60-plus-touch has a little way to go before it can rival the bottom up interface designs which handsets from those companies offer. But I can see how the touchscreen could really help Nokia up its game at the higher end of the phone market, and I look forward to seeing the idea in full flight.