This is Nokia's first real attempt at a music phone and represents the intro to the express music line of phones. Mine is a T-mobile version and this review will reflect this. I have used the generic version briefly and it has a much different software suite. This phone is myfaves compatible. I'm going to touch on the primary features of the phone as almost all phones nowadays feature 500+ phonebooks, vibalert, calenders, alarms and such.
Construction/design: The phones all plastic construction and rounded corner design along with the multi-colored case gives it a distinct toyish feel. While some have said it's heavy it is certainly lighter than the sleek Razr phones. It's hight and width (3.5" by 1 5/8") are rather ordinary but it's nearly 3/4" thickness makes it somewhat large by current standards. I am not a big person but I find this phone very comfortable due to the thickness, too many phones have become small enough to feel unsecure in the hand. Also due to the thickness (at least for me) it's easy to use this phone completely with one hand. The plastic is matte finish and it features a rubberized coating wrapped around the middle portion of the phone that adds to the secure feeling. The slide mechanism is spring assisted and works smoothly. It does not lock into place but is secure enough. The keypad is nicely sculpted and gives positive feedback, it is also not too small for large finger.
Camera: All phones except the bottom of the line nowadays feature a built-in camera. This phone has a 1.3Mp camera that I wish they would've just left out. It does have a mirror so one can take a self portrait but little else to distinguish it. It has no flash and it's not very sensitive. This combination makes it useless except for those times that conditions are perfect. Otherwise expect grainy, fuzzy pictures. The camera is an afterthought and it's poor quality reflects that.
MP3/Radio: Here is where the strength of this phone lies. The built-in MP3 player is short on flashy effects but it does it's job well. It features a built-in 5-band equalizer and will play MP3 files, wmf files, Midi, AAC and AAC+ files. I have only used it with MP3 files and it has worked well. The included headphones are adequate at best but if you really want to get the most out of your music invest in a medium quality set of earbuds or headphones. The built-in radio is adequate both in sound and reception. It is hamstrung by the fact that the headphones are the antenna and it will not operate without them. While you can use the loudspeaker with the headphones plugged in it just makes it messy. Stereo bluetooth really enhances the MP3 player. The MicroSD slot is hot swappable and accepts cards up to 2Gb. The dedicated music keys are on the left side of the display and work well, the volume keys are the the right of the display.
Connectivity: Features the aforementioned bluetooth along with EDGE, HSCSD, Infrared, GPRS and mini-USB. Conspicuous by it's absence is WiFi (802.11b). The built-in browser is dated and minimal. Tmobile has yet to add 3g so Edge is what you have. It is adequate but nothing more. I would not recommend this as a data phone.
Games: The phone comes with a couple of sample games which I promptly erased. It uses java for games and there's plenty out there at very reasonable prices. I did find that some games have extremely hard to read text on this phone but otherwise it's better suited than the Razr and T429 due primarily to the 237Mhz ARM processor, what was choppy and barely playable on those phones played very smoothly on the 5300. The screen is very bright and with 256k colors should satisfy all but the most fussy user.
Phone: Oh yes, this is a phone too! The phone reception is slightly better than the T429 it replaced and roughly the same as the Razr that is my backup phone. Sound both in and out seem very clear although earpiece loudness could be better. Voice dialing is much like the camera... it's worthless and would be better left out. I tried it and it was 100%... it failed to work each and every time. I'm not big on this feature anyway so it was of little consequence to me. All other phone functions worked fine, the speakerphone is a standout due to the powerful built-in speaker.
Those features I have not used or do not used I have not touched on here. Based on what I have used I would surmise that the other features are likely average as music seems to be the primary concern here.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 115 Recommended for: Stylish Trendsetters - Hip and Trendy
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