| Nokia’s 5800 XpressMusic, formerly known as Tube. iPhone killer? |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Friday, 03 October 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 2 The interface of the S60 5th edition has had much customisation to make the touch interface a lot smoother and easier to use with a finger, as opposed to having the regular suite of buttons on most Nokia phones, and early reviews say the new interface works very nicely indeed, although predictably there is no “multi-touch” support. Featured Whitepaper
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The Nokia browser is also said to be much easier to use, especially now that it is finger controlled. The on-screen keyboard can be typed on using your finger, an included stylus, and even a plectrum which attaches to a strap that can be strung through the phone’s mini “loop”. As you’d expect, the phone is 3.5G capable, although there will be 3 versions catering for different 3.5G HSDPA standards. I’ve seen reports saying that talk time is 9 hours for WCDMA and 5 hours for GSM, but surely this is the wrong way around – 2G GSM will always give a longer battery life than 3G/3.5G WCDMA, although standby time is quoted as 17 days, and music playback time is rated at 35 hours. 1320 mAh battery, with a quoted talk time of 9 hours (WCDMA) and music playback time of 35 hours. The phone weighs a mere 109 grams, and has dimensions of 111 x 51.7 x 15.5. Due to arrive “by Christmas”, at least in the UK, there is no Australian pricing or release date as yet, although I’m hoping for a similar timeframe and a similarly nice price. While the iPhone still has a larger screen and a smoother, more stylish interface, Nokia’s 5800 “Tube” phone still looks to be a lot more advanced than other “iPhone killers” from Samsung, LG and Windows Mobile manufacturers, and stands a real chance of converting many potential iPhone buyers into 5800 XpressMusic buyers, instead. Although I’m now using an N96 phone, and loving it, especially compared with the N95, making it an even stronger iPhone competitor all its own, I do wish that the N96’s 2.8-in screen was a touch screen. Nokia are promising many more touch-screen phones to come, and no doubt a true “N-Series” touch-screen model is in the pipeline, hopefully for sometime in 2009. While I’m still excited by the N96, especially with it still being so new (only 1 week old in Australia!), the 5800 XpressMusic is one phone I can’t wait to get my hands on, and I really look forward to being able to do a hands-on comparison between the 5800, the N96 and the iPhone. Until then, the 5800 “Tube” phone looks like an instant winner, and a harbinger of even better things still to come from the world’s most popular maker of mobile smartphones and multimedia computers... Nokia. |
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