Thread: Nokia 5530 Xpressmusic

Never mind our fetish for new tech: we love bargains, especially when it's in the shape of the cutesy looking 5530, Why? First. it's compact - easy to handle in other words. And two, it packs in everything the relatively expensive 5800 XpressMusic boasts of with an exception of 3G. But does the little cot/sin really beat its seasoned elder bro in the game?

For starters, the design is similar, only smaller and more appealing. Made of plastic, the new XpressMusic doesn't feel that sturdy - the back cover creaks, and the metal frame around the fascia does little to add to the aesthetics. Unlike the 5800, the newbie is void of any physical buttons, so its touch all the way. The cherry on the cake is the touch interface that works flawlessly - much better than its siblings, but not as good as the iPhone. The on-screen touch keyboard is easy to use and shifts automatically to a full QWERTY mode when the phone is tilted, courtesy the built-in accelerometer.



A model, the music player inside isn't anything new, but pair it with the boxed earphones and it's pure musical bliss. The built-in stereo speakers do a decent job as well. FM radio reception is the best in its class too. The 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera delivers decent snaps, but is handicapped in low light. Wi-Fi internet browsing is fast. and social networking is well-supported there are direct links to Facebook, Twitter etc. At about three days of running time, it's juiced-up for a day at the stock market.

Our verdict: as a music phone it surely out-classes the 5800, but the lacking 3G stops it short of being future-proof.