As the countdown to the launch of the Nokia 5800 on the 23rd January at the Regent Street store gets a little closer, we thought it was time to look at this device as a serious contender for you wallet. That is, unless you’re already thinking of holding out for the Nokia N97.

Sure, they’re differently classes of device aimed at different market segments, but that doesn’t stop us wanting both. With that in mind, it’s time to put these handsets to the test and see which we desire more. Full specs and battle report after the jump...

Money burning a hole in your pocket and can’t wait for the 23rd January, or should you be thinking long-term and stick it out for the NokiaN97.

How they stackup…

We know the 5800 will cost £249 but all we know about the N97 at the moment is that 550 Euros has been muted as an opening price. In this current climate that’s a hell of a lot of woe on the wallet, so we think round one may well be in the music-man’s favour.

When it comes to the devices themselves, size plays a role. The 5800 has the edge as it’s only 109g in the hand, with the N97 being a portable but slightly porkier 150g. Of course, with the N97 you get a slide-out keyboard, so it’s more of a Communicator-class of device than the 5800’s media player will ever be.

When it comes to using your Nok about the house, it’s cool that both phones have Wi-Fi built-in as standard. However, when out in the real world, both stack up equally well, supporting frequencies around the world as if they’re being given away free with the daily paper.

When it comes to storage, you’ll find the 5800 tops out at just 81MB, while the 32GB of the N97 packs a considerbale punch. This is what you’d expect from a handset designed with being your sole life-partner in mind. Both support microSDHC memory cards, so you can add up to 16GB, at the moment, with ease.

You’ll need to add a memory card to the N97 if you’re intending to use the 5-megapixel camera, which supports images up to 2584 x 1938 pixels, as it will quickly fill the onboard memory. It clearly has the edge over the 5800, which weighs in with a slightly less impressive 3.2-megapixel snapper.

Overall, it’s going to be a mighty fight this year as Nokia ups the level of technology in its devices. We’re loving the Nokia 5800 for it’s all-round usability but in the long term, the Nokia N97 may well take the crown.

To Sum Up

Nokia 5800

Music and movies instead of a finger tap-dancing text and email machine, we expect this device will be the choice for the in-crowd. It feels good in the hand too, slimmer than the N95 8GB, with feedback haptics when you tap away at the screen. The 5800 XpressMusic’s screen stretches the tape measure to 3.2-inches. Plus it’s packing a proper high resolution 16:9 widescreen (640 x 360-pixel) that plays video back at 30fps, and looks great in bright sunlight and even in moderately dark rooms.

Perfect for: Those mad about music and needing a Nok right here, right now!! Get the full Nokia 5800 specs here.

Nokia N97

We’ve already has a play with the pre-release version and we found there was still a bit of work to do on it. However, it’s already very plush with a solid feel in the hand. The hinge area that slips the QWERTY keyboard out has a rough start to it but the slide action is perfect. We’re hoping the sudden jolt gets sorted out by the time it’s released. The footprint isn’t bad, it weighs 150g and measures 117.2 x 55.3 x 15.9mm. Much neater than a Communicator, though bigger than what we’re used to, but it is still very usable in the hand.

Perfect for: The suited and booted type with zen-like patience and a desire to have the most eagerly awaited Nok in aeons. Get the full Nokia N97 specs here.