We’ve been putting the Nokia 5230 through its paces for the last few days and found this younger sibling of the powerhouse that is the Nokia 5800 something of a bargain smartphone. Find out how we’ve been getting on with our Nokia 5230 review.
The Nokia 5230 is a 3.2-inch touchscreen smartphone running the Symbian S60 5th Edition OS. As such, you’ll find the screen sports a fairly standard resolution of 360 x 640 pixels. We found the screen to be clear and bright and icons look sharp enough in normal daylight, making it easy to use in most conditions.
The shape and design of the Nokia 5230 stays pretty faithful to the Nokia 5800 but we did find the plastic isn’t as robust, especially the backplate, which is rather thin. It’s worth bearing in mind the price of the 5230 is £100 cheaper than the 5800 so it’s a sacrifice bargain hunters may well be willing to make.
The Nokia 5230 has a resistive screen, as opposed to a capacitive one found on the more high-end Nokia X6 smartphone. What’s more, unlike the Nokia 5800 you won’t find a stylus neatly hidden away in the body but there is a plectrum style stabber in the box. However, we’ve found ourselves tapping out messages and using the Homescreen with the end of a fingertip, which works well.
Check out how we got on with the Nokia 5230 interface
You won’t find Wi-Fi built into the Nokia 5230 but it does have Bluetooth for sharing files with your PC. You can also connect you the micro-USB port. Being a HSDPA phone, you’ll be able to get a far turn of speed when sending email and messages and we’ve had no real issues using the device.
Sure, the 2-Megapixel camera on the back of the Nokia 5230 is a little limited and won’t appeal to anyone looking for super-sharp shots but for quick snaps for uploading and sharing, it’s a worthy addition. With 70MB of internal memory you’ll need to budget for a microSD card as one isn’t supplied. That said, it readily supports up to 16GB so space shouldn’t be an issue.
You do get A-GPS and access to all the latest Nokia apps and features, such as Ovi Mail, Ovi Contacts and Ovi Share, making this a great little handset for anyone who needs to stay in touch without the need of a PC.
Check out the best accessories for your Nokia 5230
It would be a little perish to say the Nokia 5230 is nothing more than a stripped out Nokia 5800, after all this is a great entry-level phone with a clear market, and price point in mind. With that in mind, we really like it, the build quality is decent, the battery life more than acceptable.