Archive for 2009

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic review

As if the pressure of being one of the first touch screen devices from Nokia was not enough the 5800 XpressMusic comes with the added pressure of being touted as the first genuine iPhone contender, so will the 5800 rise to the occasion or will it simply crumble with the pressure like many other devices before it.

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic package

What’s in the box?

• Nokia 5800
• Battery (BL-5J)
• Mains Charger (AC-8)
• Music Headset (HS-45)
• Audio Adapter (AD-54)
• TV Out Cable (CA-75U)
• Data Cable (CA-101)
• Carrying Case (CAP-306)
• 8GB microSDHC Memory Card (MU-43)
• Desktop Holder (DT-29)
• Plectrum Stylus & Wrist Strap (CP-309)
• Extra stylus
• User Manual & Quick Start Guide
• Software CD

You might also want to have a look at Matt’s Nokia 5800 XpressMusic unboxing video for more an what’s in the box.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic specification:

• Operating System – S60 5th edition, Symbian OS version 9.4
• Memory – 81 MB internal memory, 8GB MicroSDHC included
• Display -3.2" 640 x 360 pixels, aspect ratio 16:9, with automatic orientation sensor (Accelerometer) for display rotation
• Sound -Integrated stereo speakers with surround sound, and dedicated audio chip for crystal clear hi-fi sound quality.
• Micro-USB connector, USB 2.0 High Speed
• 3.5 mm Nokia AV connector
• TV out interface (CA-75U)
• Bluetooth version 2.0
• WLAN IEEE 802.11 b/g
• MicroSD card slot hot swappable, max. 16 GB
• Operating Frequency – WCDMA 900/2100, GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
• GPS – Integrated GPS for pedestrian and car navigation, Nokia Maps 2.0 Touch application
• 3.2 megapixel camera (2048 x 1536 pixels), 3x digital zoom
• Front facing video camera for video calling
• TV out with Nokia Video Connectivity Cable (CA-75U, in-box)
• BL-5J 1320 mAh Li-Ion battery
• Dimensions – 111 x 51.7 x 15.5 mm
• Weight – 109 g

General

The Nokia 5800 certainly looks unlike any other device from Nokia so far, the main difference being the generously sized 3.2” touch screen which when compared to the iPhone is slightly smaller and quite a bit narrower as well.

The front of the Device as mentioned is dominated by the 3.2" screen with 640 x 360 pixels and an aspect ratio 16:9. Starting from the top, just above the screen is a touch activated quick key launching a drop down multimedia menu, very useful for quick access to video, music & photos. Above this is a forward facing camera for video calls. The front of the device features just three solid keys, two being call control buttons and the central button being used to launch the phones main navigation menu.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic front view

Moving round to the left hand side of the 5800, we can see two slots one being for your SIM card the other being home to a microSD card. Also interestingly located just below the red stripe at either end of the device are two speakers which provide great sound quality.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic left side

The right side of the device has slightly more to offer in the way of buttons starting with a two way volume control also used for features such as zoom when using the phones camera. Below this is a very conveniently placed almost spring loaded lock key used to lock and unlock the device. Finally on the right side of the phone is an independent shutter button for capturing photos when using the phones camera.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic right side

The top of the device is one that is personally very pleasing that is because it features not only the standard Nokia connection but also a 3.5mm headphone socket allowing the use of your own headphones without the need for an adapter, also being located on the top it means the phone sits easily in the pocket without an unsightly bulge on the side. Also located on the top of the 5800 is the standby button as well as the micro USB connection.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic top view

The back of the device is home to a 3.2 megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens and the inclusion of Dual LEDs used for flash when capturing photos. The back of the phone also houses the 5800’s stylus which is simply lid out from the bottom of the phone when needed.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic back view

Highlights and Lowlights

+ Great Connectivity
+ Ease of Use
– Only 3.2 megapixel Camera

Review

So as I mentioned earlier the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has been touted as the first genuine iPhone contender, so is this a fair and honest observation well that very depends on what you think of the iPhone. One thing I will say is with the 5800 being considerably lower in price than the iPhone it certainly does look good for the Finish giants.

First things first lets start with the phones design. The phone feels rather light in comparison to other similar touch screen devices which does mean the phone lacks that certain real high quality finish however, having said that it does by no means affect the phones build quality and the 5800 certainly does not feel like a badly built cheap piece of plastic. As with all touch screen devices emphasis will always be paced on the phones appearance and styling and in the flesh the 5800 certainly lives up to expectation. The screen is a decent size which makes watching video and viewing photos pleasurable experience. The glossy black finish also adds to the phones great styling with the single stripe running round the device with the back being solid with a matt finish.

As you may be aware some touch screen devices can be rather temperamental and as a result difficult to use. The Nokia 5800 is I have to say the best touch screen I have used, I experienced very few problems with the phones touch screen the only one being the occasional issue of the qwerty keyboard being to small when set to half screen something which is easily overcome either by switching to full screen keyboard or by the use of the stylus. Another great feature is the Handwriting function allowing you to write emails, texts, notes etc. without having to use the touch screen keyboard at all, as with all handwriting readers there are always a few recognition problems but for the most part it works fairly well.

Unlike many other touchscreen devices Nokia have made the bold marketing move of aiming the 5800 at a different market altogether with most devices being given a high end price tag and marketed for a high business customer however Nokia have made the decision to steer clear from this and aim their device at music lovers. The most important thing for many music lovers when it comes to a phone offering such promises is memory and the Nokia 5800 weighs in at a maximum 16GB supported via MicroSD and a welcome addition is the inclusion of a 8GB MicroSD card straight out of the box. As for music and multimedia playback on the 5800 the inclusion of the quick launch touch button located just above the touch screen makes accessing your files very easy and allows for instant playback without having to navigate various menus etc. Watching videos on the 5800 is again as easy as listening to music and the 3.2” screen means you won’t be having to hold the device right to your eyes in order to be able to see the screen, the device has a built in accelerometer and Nokia have also included a useful little stand for resting the device to watch videos when the device is horizontal. As you may have seen in Matt’s un-box of the 5800 the phone does include a set of composite cables out of the box which makes hooking the device up to a large screen TV for playback of videos and photos etc. so much easier without having to run out and but additional cables.

The phone also boasts an 3.2” megapixel camera which although is not terrible when compared to some other devices out on the market it does not come up to scratch, but when compared to the iPhones 2 megapixel camera it suddenly doesn’t seem so bad. Picture quality is good compared to other similar spec phone cameras available and the dual led flash makes capturing in different light allot easier, a number of features and modes are also available which make using the 5800’s camera fun and simple.

Moving on to the phones connectivity, and I think this is where it really does set itself aside from its competitors. When you look at the features list you would be excused for assuming the device would come with a high end price tag however when you look at the features list and bare in mind the Nokia 5800 costs around £250 that is when you may start to take note. GPS – Integrated GPS for pedestrian and car navigation, Bluetooth v2.0 & WLAN IEEE 802.11 b/g are just a few of the things this phone is capable of supporting, Browsing the internet on the device is surprisingly easy and sites load relatively quickly, and the with quick links to sites such as Facebook & Myspace it is easy to keep connected with friends and family on the move.

The phones battery life is estimated at 8 ½ hours however if used for heavy applications such as web browsing and email this is likely to decrease. In the time I had the 5800 I experienced no problems with the battery life however there will always be room for improvement.

Conclusion

Overall the 5800 XpressMusic is a solid offering from Nokia and a great start in the touchscreen phone market for them, its sleek design and lightweight feel make it ideal for travelling with and the great connectivity the phone has to offer is certainly worth the £250 alone. Add to this the phones great multimedia capabilities and this fast becomes a phone to rival not only the iPhone but your stand alone MP3 player as well. Nokia seem to have though of everything with the 5800, what I mean by that is straight out the box you have pretty much everything you need, from a case to composite cables, stand, stylus. Not only does the 5800 come at a cheaper price tag than many other touch screen devices but the price you pay is likely to be the only expense as you will not need to go out and buy several different accessories to get the best out of your device. As for an iPhone killer, well, there will always be people who live and breath iPhone and are unwilling to change no matter what comes along however I have to say given the price and the phones features the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is certainly a force to be reckoned with, write it off at your peril.

Review by: Nick

[ Post Tags: Nokia, 5800 XpressMusic, Music Phone, tracyandmatt.co.uk, clove technology ]

HTC Touch 3G review

HTC have been making high end mobile devices from many years now and the Touch 3G is one of the later models in the ‘Touch’ range. Overall the design is minimalist, stylish, beautiful even! It’s very well thought out and loaded with powerful features.

If you like the look of the HTC Touch 3G, don’t forget our exclusive Touch 3G offer where you can get a free car kit and free delivery. Check out this post for mre details.

So it has the looks, it has the specification, but how does it drive?

What’s in the box?

The phone, Mains charger with USB output socket, USB data / charging cable. Ear phones with Call Answer/End button and volume control, manuals, Utility CD and trial of Outlook 2007. Check out Matt’s HTC Touch 3G unboxing video for more information.

HTC Touch 3G Specification:

• Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
• 102 mm X 53.6 mm X 14.5 mm
• Weight: 96 grams with battery
• Processor: Qualcomm® MSM7225™, 528 MHz
• RAM: 192 MB
• ROM: 256 MB
• 2.8-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with QVGA resolution
• HSDPA/WCDMA: Europe/Asia: 900/2100 MHz. Up to 384 kbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link speeds. Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g
• Bluetooth® 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for stereo wireless headsets
• 3.2 megapixel color camera with fixed focus
• Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery with a capacity: 1100 mAh
• Battery Standby: Up to 365 hours for GSM
• Battery Talk Time: Up to 400 minutes for GSM
• User Interface: HTC TouchFLO™
• Chipset: GPS and A-GPS ready
• Expansion Slots: microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
• I/O Ports: HTC ExtUSB™

Physical Layout:

From the top; The front of the phone has the speaker grill, a flush fitting 2.8inch, QVGA touch screen. The display is bright and very sharp. A call button with green LED a four way control with centre button and the End call/ Cancel button with red LED.

HTC Touch 3G front view

On the top, simply the On/Lock/Off button.

HTC Touch 3G top view

On the left side a Volume up/down rocker switch.

HTC Touch 3G left side

On the right just the stylus.

HTC Touch 3G right side

On the bottom the HTC ExtUSB™ socket – an extended specification Mini USB socket for Charging/Syncing and Headphone use with HTC Headphones. Its also possible to buy a USB to 3.5mm adapter to use standard stereo headphones.

HTC Touch 3G bottom view

On the back there is the hands free speaker grill. A 3.2MPix camera and hole with internal hook to connect a lanyard strap.

HTC Touch 3G back view

Access to the battery, Sim card and MicroSD expansion card is via a simple pop off back cover. The reset button is also under here.

General:

User Interface:

HTC Touch Flo integrated with Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1

Satellite Navigation / GPS:

Built in A-GPS (Assisted – Global Positioning Satellite receiver). Works well with the preinstalled Google Maps. Possible to purchase full Sat Nav software like Tomtom.

Email:

Excellent support including POP3 / IMAP and Microsoft’s Direct Push for Exchange.

Internet:

Supplied with Opera as the default browser and Internet Explorer for those that need or prefer it. Opera works very well however even on this small screen as its full VGA and touch driven. Broadband 7.2Mbits where available.

Screen:

Super sharp and bright QVGA. Only available in portrait mode, would be nice to support landscape mode especially for web browsing.

Highlights:

• Powerful features integrated into a tiny and light design
• Easy to fall in love with
• Touch Flo interface
• Very sharp and clear screen

Lowlights:

• Screen needs to be lit for music playback
• No Haptic feedback
• Portrait screen only

Review:

It seems that this phone offers one of three format offerings from HTC; The Touch Pro, the Touch HD and this the Touch 3G. They all sport more or less the same processor power, memory, aGPS, and Touch Flo interface, the difference is in the packaging, the Touch 3G and Touch HD are essentially the same but the HD has the larger and higher resolution screen for multimedia use, the 3G has the smaller and lighter dimensions for people not interested in video playback or intensive web browsing. The Touch Pro is similar size to 3G but is thicker and heavier due to the physical slide out keyboard. The Touch 3G replaces the HTC Touch, which has been very popular so I expect this slicker version to be like wise.

The Touch Flo interface adds extra software (on screen) keyboards. These are very similar to the iPhones on screen keyboard. Not perfect and a little tricky to use on the small sized screen, but still great ways to input text. The only thing missing that I wouldn’t mind is Haptic Technology on the keyboard. Haptic technology is simply some form of physical feedback when the keys are pressed, like a little buzz or sound bleep. Other devices I’ve tried have it and it makes data input much easier in my opinion. Nokia’s new 5800 implements this very nicely. Of course there is an adverse effect on battery life to consider.

While I’m on about onscreen keyboards I should mention remarks I’ve heard about Windows Mobiles (WM) touch screens being compared to the iPhones touch screens. With WM screens one needs to push slightly to ‘hit’ the key or activate a button, where as the iPhone keyboard / screen only needs to be ‘touched’. This is because the WM screens are ‘touch’ sensitive and the iPhones are ‘capacitive’. The iPhones are lighter to use but because they rely on the static electricity of the human finger. But they cant be used with a stylus for the same reason, and loose precision input. Hence iPhones don’t support handwriting recognition like WM devices. This is also why iPhones have a glass screen and WM have flexible plastic. Both have benefits. And btw HTC touch screens are much better than many other phones out there (and no I don’t work for HTC J)

[Matt’s unboxing video (or a link to a previous HTC review) shows the Touch Flo interface very well.]

The Touch 3G runs Windows Mobile 6.1 which is the latest version. With a HTC customised front end, called the Touch Flo interface. A criticism of the Touch Flo has been that it doesn’t do enough, requiring users to enter the standard Microsoft Operating system to perform some functions. True enough the raw Microsoft Operating System hasn’t changed much in the last 4 years and really requires the stylus to navigate with, most people agree that by itself its too clunky to compete with today’s devices. Microsoft have recently announced an up[grade to version 6.5 is due and I would expect the Touch 3G to be upgradable. Personally I find the HTC solution a very nice combination. The Touch Flo is extremely nice to use and deals with most functions very well. When I needed to do something a bit more in-depth I have the familiar layout of the standard system. Its true that when writing an email one needs to use the standard Outlook client, but that didn’t present any problem for me, simply I typed the message and hit send and I’m back with the Touch Flo.

But the other area that HTC improved drastically over the standard MS OS is with the finer touches, like a wide range of pleasant ring tones, and alarm chimes. Adjusting the volume control is now possible with a large on screen touch control / slider, with gentle auditory feedback. It was so well implemented I would sit around sliding the volume up and down just for the fun of it! Much to the amusement (disbelief) of my colleagues! Another excellent and practical application was to get the screen to lock as soon as a call is connected, a touch screen phone held to your ear with the screen live can cause all sorts of problems!

I could go on praising this phone all day, but I don’t really needs to, other than to say that as the trial went on I was continually impressed with HTCs efforts to make this Windows phone a dream to use. Almost every issue with the raw OS has been resolved or greatly improved. Well done HTC! I loved it and highly recommend to anyone.

Conclusion:

If you want or need a fully featured phone / device but don’t need to input a lot of text this is a fantastic light and small phone that you will love owning.

If you need a larger screen or a physical keyboard look at HTC’s Touch HD or Touch Pro.

Review by: Daniel des Baux