Nokia 5800 – Five things we still love

Home > Nokia 5800 – Five things we still love

By Mike Browne on April 2,

2009 at 00:00,

The Nokia 5800 has been our sole device for three months now, so we're pretty familiar with its quirks and ways of working. With that in mind, we thought it was time to do a little catching up and look at the Top Five things we love about the Nokia 5800.

The Nokia 5800 can be considered the first mass consumer smartphone and Nokia's first real attempt at a touchscreen. So, in some quarters there was always going to be an element of compromise.

However, we've found it to be a rock solid device that more than delivers.

Here are our Top Five reasons to love the Nokia 5800 (even after three months):

Touchscreen: Sure it's Nokia's first attempt but they seem to have got it right first time. The Nokia 5800 uses a solid glass digitiser instead of the softer version you'll find elsewhere. This means it's more durable, less prone to accidents and while you have to give it a solid push to activate, it responds remarkably quickly.

Design: Some make think it's based on some scrapped Cold War tank design as this isn't a delicate and gentile phone – it's a device for those who like to feel they've got something solid in the hand. The thick lip around the screen helps to save the display from scratches and the thick plastic used helps make the speaker sound fuller and bassier. As we've previously mentioned, the build quality on the 5800 is sure fire winner!

Battery Life: Using a phone all day, every day is one sure way to get to know it and when it comes to battery life, the Nokia 5800 isn't the best out there but we've never yet had to worry too much about it running out of juice – even when away for a long weekend without a charger.

Inputs: The fact you can enter data in a number of ways makes the Nokia 5800 a device you can you the way you want to use it. We've tried them all out and you do find yourself using different ones at different times, it all depends what's the most convenient at the time.

Downloads!: This is something of a hidden gem on the Nokia 5800 but every time you check it out there is always something new to discover. Recently it got a new interface overhaul, which can be a little garish at times, but using Downloads! makes getting hold of new apps a whole lot easier.

So, why no Five Star rating?

If there is one thing that still seems to be a pain is that email can be something of a chore. Hopefully, with the news that Nokia Messaging will get native support from May, this problem will disappear and the Nokia 5800 experience will be complete!

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http://www.nicolasborrell.com Borrell

1. The touchscreen might be durable and remarkably quickly, but it is FAR from accurate and less prone to accidents. Compared to the iPhone, you have to use a hammer on the screen to get a reaction. Scrolling on the thing is a nightmare.

2. “the build quality on the 5800 is sure fire winner!” – Are you kidding me!?!? The first batch of this phone contained build errors. The cover would loosen to the extend where the speaker would fall out. I have one of the first models, and it aint pretty.

3. Battery life is fair at best. I use Seven Push Email, and having that running online all day drains the battery faster than you can say N95.

4. The fact that I can enter data in a number of ways makes this phone an absolute nightmare. It seems that the text input is a completely different application, and when inputting text in any kind of form or program, it opens another window. This is very annoying when using messenger applications, because when the text input app opens you cannot see what the other person is writing while you are writing. Also – why isn’t there predictive text for qwerty input??? Like say the E71. There are only two ways of inputting data if you don’t want to pull out the stylus. qwerty and numeric T9. The T9 keyboard is so slow to respond and imprecise, that I find myself having to start sentences over and over again. The QWERTY keyboard is a nightware. The imprecise touchscreen makes typing very hard. It’s 10 times harder than the iPhone. And the lack of any T9 or autocompletions makes me scream.

5. The Download App. What a joke. All the apps are free. Untill you download them and it says Trail or Demo. The rest are 10 bucks each. I bought the IM+ messenger client for the iPhone for 3 bucks. On the Nokia 5800 it costs 10 bucks. That aint no good download program.
Mikey Bee

Cheers for the feedback and your experiences with the Nokia 5800. We can only go with what we found to be true. After living with it for three months – perhaps I was lucky, as there are clearly no bits failing on mine – it’s rock solid and built like a tank. I tend to treat phones badly – this one has been bounced more times than the value of the national debt of late and still keeps ticking.
Holahola

Agree that apps are not that great on 5800 right now but looking forward to seeing the Ovi Store launch in May. Nokia are talking about 20,000+ apps and pieces of content for launch. We’ll have to wait and see but sounds good to me.
Geoff

Agree with Borrell. I have been using a 5800 for about 5 weeks now
1) Screen is terrible – not accurate and you need to tap or push it. If you have used an iphone it acts like a track pad, you just have to slide your fingers, rather than try to do some push/slide type action
4) Enter data a number of ways??? There is no consistency! Some things are single tap, others 2 taps, some apps expect a keyboard, some like a touch screen. The reason the iphone works is that it has been designed from the ground up with a touch screen – it is not some upgrade from other symbian phones, all different.
5) Almost choked on this one!! What is there on Download – half a dozen application. I have checked out Ovi as well – there seems to be NO application section – just games, music, themes etc. Just kid rubbish rather than actual usable applications. There are no mash ups using gps etc that the iphone has.
Fadi

Lol! @ the iPhone fan boys! Give it up, ur bashing a phone that has so many things that the iPhone doesn’t.. don’t get me started on the things that the iPhone can’t do. Don’t forget if you are having trouble with the OS, this is a software and can be upgraded ANYTIME, don’t forget this phone has been out not too long ago, so it will have firmware updates then it will be even better. And Geoff, were you actually talking about the Ovi Store when it’s not actually out right now??.. Yes, the Downloads! app is pretty bad, but, being a symbian/nokia user for SO MANY years, I get the apps from somewhere else. And I am talking about the thousands and thousands of applications that are out for Nokia and Symbian.
Fadi

… useful apps! Not like the Apple Store where almost 80% of the applications are just to connect you to the internet of some stupid things made by 3 year olds that think that they can do programming.
AYOUSH

HEYYY everyonee. I’m about to buy the nokia 5800 and really need to know If I should buy it or not !
so.. Please, If u have tried it answer me with an E-mail On : ” ayashiha@hotmail.com”
Pleaseeee If U have it tell meee =)! and thanks alott ^^
Kevin Rafftry

The iphone may be good, but it can’t do so many basic things that a phone has to be able to do. The 5800 is still in it’s infancy.
http://www.google.co.uk Chasmanp

All I can say is thank goodness Nokia had the sense from the outset to advise that this phone is not in competition with the iPhone at least they got one thing right.
The faults i and colleagues have identified with this phone before you look at the hi tech stuff are that
1. Reception is appalling where the phone that I upgraded from would provide 5 bars the Nokia flicks between 2 and 3.
2. Bluetooth pairing is possible but the call quality is really awful and the amount of times calls are dropped is really irritating
3. The user interface is quite dire and although there are a number of shortcuts why not let the front screen be the place for the icons goodness knows there is enough room.
4. The front screen really is rubbish unless you are indoors and the faint font colours are illegible. I have a Blackberry Bold and there is no where near the same issue with this device (and it is by no means perfect either!)
5. The charger port on the top of the phone, great design I don’t think so put it at the bottom of the phone so that in a cradle the cable is sticking in the air.
6. Firmware upgrades are inconsistent; if a manufacturer developes an upgrade that is designed to improve the functionality and stability of a device then the network providers should be made to pass on the benefits. However if a network provider is reluctant to do this as they deem the upgrade not to be in the interest of the end user then surely the provider and Nokia need to work together to resolve the issue quickly…how long has v20 been out!!
To give it some credit the camera isn’t bad for a 3mp and a 3.5mm headphone jack is a great improvement on Sony Ericksons adapter, even the bundled headphones are passable.
In essence this phone is a toy; its a camera and music player can surf the net pick up emails oh and you can use it as a phone but if you are a business user looking for a versatile device steer well clear of this one. Let nokia use someone else as a guinea pig until they can get the device right.
I think the next version will be far better
zorkor

This phone has its own fair share of problems but in the end, its one of those phone which will love more when time passes. I had bought one but it had some hardware problems, took it to the service center and they replaced the whole phone for me. Now its seems the more i use it, the more i think its one of the best from Nokia.

I used iPhone and iPod touch for watching movies and videos but this phone is really good at watching them. I cant put my finger on what makes this phone such a good video viewing device but its much better to use than iPhone and iPod touch.

The screen quality is escellent, doesnt even look like a touch screen. The external speakers and audio quality is awesome.

Whats really horrible is the camera, infact is a disgrace to call this thing a camera, Nokia really needs to work on that.

It has some bugs here and there but in the end, its one heck of a good device…
Chasmanp

Well it has finally come to this…the towel has been thrown in and I have sent the 5800 back to O2. I think the lack of firmware support was the final straw, but compounded the appalling reception and bluetooth connectivity in the car. I really had had enough.
The replacement handset that I have received is the E71 which i know is completely different to the 5800 but just seems to excel in the areas that a phone should (by now) be very competent at delivering.
My initial thoughts have been proven and as a business user with an eye on modern technology enough was enough. I would like to say au revoir but it really is goodbye.