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The 5220 XpressMusic runs Symbian S40. It is not a 3G device, which makes web browsing a little painful at times and the small screen isn't much of a help here. The wait for websites to load complete with images was interminable. In the real world, I certainly wouldn't be browsing on this handset even though there is a copy of Opera Mini on board.

The camera is not a highlight. It lacks a dedicated key so you have to activate it via the main menu and shoot using the central D-pad button. Furthermore, with no flash and minimal effects and filters, the camera's use is rather limited.

That said, it shoots stills at 2-megapixels and considering the resolution, it did OK, though I am amazed at the whiteness of the background in the coloured dish test shot. Photographed, as ever, under normal household lights, its colours are bright but a little too over-saturated, and that background is far whiter than any I can recall seeing - and indeed whiter than in real life.

The chair, photographed outside on a bright sunny day, is uniform in colour and definition is quite good, while the giant poppy's colour reproduction is again a little over-saturated, but at least the background detailing is not that bad.

Applications in addition to those already mentioned include mobile email, voice recorder, calendar, alarm clock, Nokia Maps, to do list manger, notes app, calculator, countdown time, stopwatch, and Flickr uploader. The phone ships with Nokia's PC Suite software and a connectivity cable.

Verdict

If you are a cameraphone fan, the Nokia 5220 XpressMusic is a no-go area. But for music-lovers there are several plus points, not least being good quality music output and a well placed 3.5mm jack. There are niggles, but for £109 plus the price of a 16GB microSD card you've got yourself a competent music phone here, albeit one that is average at everything else.

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