Its been a week now that I've been using the last touchscreen device in Nokia's XpressMusic branding as my main device and I have to say that I'm more than overwhelm by the new experience it brought to my mobilephone life. My definition of a perfect mobilephone device have really change as it now includes touch among my long list of wanted features and specifications.
Hardware:
The device's hardware is a bit close to my ideal. It has some of the elements that I wanted on a phone like an attractive design, the stainless rim that surrounds the front panel brought a solid impression to the device, its glossy back brought a classy feel when held and its small and thin dimension very much fits my hand structure, I just don't like the phones weightlessness as it feels vulnerable (I like my phones to be heavy and sturdy), the creaking backcover gives an unstable impression, the smallish 2.9 inches screen affects the icon sizes, the camera key of the phone as I find it hard to press sometimes and finally the usb cover at the button which detaches when you held it open (I will definitely lost this in the future).
Software:
The device's software heralds it main feature, touch User Interface (UI) which had conquered my fancy, I definitely want a touchscreen device from now on as I find it more suitable to my mobile phone use. I'm a big internet/web user and the UI just offers a more interactive experience since I can manipulate directions to any parts of the web page, zoom pages in and out with just a screen tap among others. Touch UI also offers a fast navigation on the menu and features wherever they are located on the screen with just a single press. Though the software stability of the device was a mess during the first few days but it greatly improve as days passed by specially after the firmware v11.0.56 upgrade. I don't experience restarts anymore nor file errors, just a sci-war between the phone and the Nokia Messaging client which often leads to reboot but other than this, all bugs were fixed as I believe it was.
Tools and Features:
I really like the contacts bar feature of the phone, aside from the fact that I get to see my fav people on the phones homescreen, connecting to them is really easy as it offers a drop down options which I can either call, send sms or know there status online, I will never be caught off guard to whats happening around ever again, I think. I also like the tools Nokia added to the UI like the direct SW Updates which allows an easy inquiry and upload of software updates directly to the phone, the Firmware Over The Air (FOTA) updates which spare users from undergoing the tediously dangerous manual firmware update via Nokia Software Updater, the kinetic scrolling of contacts, web pages, etc, among others. Biggest boomer of course is the missing GPS which eliminates one of my most fav habit while traveling, route tracking via GPS. I would have love to see this feature on the phone. I can go without the 3G because I had found out that I can still connect to my operators internet service via EDGE and I find it even more faster.
SMS and Messaging:
The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is a very capable messaging device just like the rest of the Symbian S60 breeds, sending SMS or email is easy and it supports push emails via Nokia Messaging but I don't think I can really go with its messaging input mechanism of the phone specially via virtual QWERTY on landscape mode, I find the buttons to small for a finger tap that resulted to unmissable mistakes. On the other hand, the T9 on portrait mode has fine button sizes but I'm not also comfortable pressing them, its like the screen is vulnerable to hard presses like what I have been used to with my previous phones and this is why I prefer to have real mechanical keyboards like that of the N97 or N900 and just leave the touch for browsing and navigation.
Media:
I like the way Nokia implement video playback on this device specially viewing youTube files. It supports full screen viewing and the uploading videos where rather fast than the norm. The real player is also very capable playing compatible files flawlessly but the lack of .avi files support takes me aback since I've been use to watching movies in this file format. I wish they could add DIVX support for the phone since this isn't really an issue to other Symbian 60 5th edition phones from other manufacturers like Samsung and that Nokia Symbian 60 3rd edition phones where fully supported. Tried converting avi files to mp4 but the file size shoot up 400% so its rather not feasible. I like the Radio feature on this phone which scans and save FM stations automatically to the device, this spares me from finding and saving stations manually like what I did to my Nokia N82 but then it has also no Internet Radio app, which is another big disadvantage since I'm a huge fan of this application. Sound box is not loud enough, my old Nokia 6233 was even louder than this but it plays clear and crisp sound with a good bass feedback. The call and sms alert tones where rather passable but not Nokia's best. The music playtime of the phone is remarkable, tried playing it continuously while I was traveling and not a single bar was spared within 3 hours of full volume excursion.
Camera and Imaging:
The phone only has a 3.2MP Camera but the image quality is decent enough specially in well lit areas. Night shoots where not as great as N82's xenon prowess and definitely doesn't match to its level. I'm not very much a photo expert but I can definitely say that this phone feared just enough. The video was surprisingly good, it also have a 30 fps like that of N82. On the other hand, photo viewing on the phone is more fun and lively than N82. The flick scroll and wide screen really helps in the matter. Images below were Day Shots and Night Shots of the 5530 XpressMusic in Automatic Mode.
Games:
The phone definitely lacks in this aspect, so far it only have few compatible games to play with and they were rather not well crafted like that of the N-Gage games on my N82. I just wish they could port those games to this phone.
Conclusion:
Its undeniably clear that the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is a power phone in its class and price bracket, the Symbian 60 version 5 catapulted it to the level of other high end devices when it comes to usability but when it comes to feature and specs, a lot where shredded off to fit to its justified price point and because of this the 5530 XpressMusic serves me best only as an alternate phone to my Nokia N82 or to my upcoming Nokia E75, but it will surely be my main device for web browsing and playing explicable music. This is just me though, a semi tech freak, I believe a lot of people will find this phone pleasurable to use like those who have not tried NSeries phones yet and the young, cool and hip, I'm 300% sure of that. c",
Oct 10, 2009
The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic Chronicle, Short Review
11 comments:
great review
nice review there dude!
can i ask something? uhmmmm.. is it true that the video quality of this phone is poor even though this 5530 has VGA 30fps video? GSMArena said "Well in this price range, they're probably among the best you can get, but subjectively they look rather poor. The relatively high compression applied results in too many artifacts."
Is it true that video quality is not that good? Is it, at least, comparable to the N82?
Yes, the video quality of this phone is not as good as that of the N82, because it has only 3.2 MP camera specs in contrast to the 5MP that N82 have but when it comes to frames per second time rate, its roughly the same, fast and watchable.
Its like an N82 video but with a bit of color distortions on the background. c", (Surprisingly good enough for its price point)
Thanks..
Alright... I have read something interesting that Nokia 5530, along with the 5800 XM, will have support for DVB-H using external bluetooth DVB-H receiver. Uhmmmm... What do you think about this?
http://europe.nokia.com/get-support-and-software/download-software/device-software-update/news
Read the "Live TV 1.1.0.7 released for Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and 5530 XpressMusic".
Does this mean that Nokia 5530 will support DVB-H much like the N96? If it will, then I guess I'll be getting this 5530 by December and experience DVB-H on my phone! Besides, Cebu is among the covered places of Smart's "MyTV" DVB-H service.
Ouch, it is said there: "Please note that this release is only available in selected countries."
Hope it's available in the Philippines..
Also, I'm hoping that the SU-33 Nokia Bluetooth DVB-H receiver is available here in our country.
Great that you bought this up Dude! I totally forgot about this accessory. Now I can inquire Nokia PR Team if this is available locally or if not request them to import this accessory since we can actually use it here because we have DVBH compatible network (Smart).
I was aware of the SU-33 DVBH receiver for quite sometime now c", and its actually compatible with any recent Nokia phones that has bluetooth including N82, in fact I have read an articles about this device being use with N85.
Hope its already available locally, I'm also interested in buying one c", Keep you posted!
Oh nice to hear that it can be used with recent Nokia phones.
I just wish it's compatible with recent NSeries phones including N79.
By the way, my decision has ultimately changed. Well, I'm about to replace my N82 with a N79. Yes I know it's a bit weird to consider the N79 as a replacement for a benchmark product like the N82 but, I was really impressed at how the Canvas White-coloured N79 look in real life. I saw a lady in the store that bought the white N79 and I was extremely envied about the looks of it.
I just hope that it is just as reliable as the N82. I know the camera is not as good as N82 but I was just stunned by the looks of it in a short time.
Actually, I can go for the white-coloured N86 too but problem is that, it is a slider phone and I have negative impression on sliders being not as solid as candybar phones.
If only there will be a candybar version of the N86, then I would have gone for it anyday. But who knows, maybe it'll come next year or at least six months from now but I guess I can't wait for that any longer.
Currently, my N82 already shows signs of aging but still reliable.
Sorry for going a bit off topic dude. I just want to let you know about it.
Dude, I already got a reply from Nokia Philippines regarding the SU-33W and they said that it's not available locally at the moment and it seemed that they had no plans rather to import the accessory advising me instead to have somebody abroad bought it for me, its unfortunate for a great accessory such as the SU-33W not to be sold here. :(
anyways, yes, c", I find your decision surprising knowing that N79 have nothing more to offer than N82 except that it looks better and have feature pack 2 but who would not want something new for a change, right?
Though I would have recommend the N86 8MP as a viable upgrade for you, bigger screen, higher MP, AMOLED etc and I think the sliding mechanism have greatly change for the past few years addressing vulnerability issues c", but then its your call, follow what your heart desires (nacks!)
Lol. Yes dude I will.. I just can't trust slider phones until this very day especially those dual-sliding type that originated with the N95. Also, what puts me off with the N86 is its tremendous weight whereas the N79 is the lightest NSeries yet.
Anyway, about that SU-33W accessory, thanks for reaching it out to Nokia Philippines. It's a sad news indeed as I am willing to try DVB-H.
Btw, N96 is also a phone that I wanted to own, but then again...uhmm you already the reason. As long as a phone is a slider even though it's the most feature packed handset in the world, then I'll immediately disregard it on my list. Lol.. That's the way I choose.
well good luck Dude c", share your N79 experience with us, maybe write a review on the phone and will post it here.. so what will you do with your N82?
my attention was on N900 at the moment and I'm willing to sell all my phone just to buy that beast, posted my N82 on eBay already, soon to follow, my 5530 XM haha
Oh yes. N900 is a nice phone too. It will be a fresh experience for you since it is based on Maemo 5 and not Symbian.
As for my N82, I'm planning to swap it with a N79 on Aerophone. Appraisal value for the N82 is 7,000 and may even lower down by December.
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