Ideas & Opinions, Products & Services
Is the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic the best handset Nokia has ever launched?
By Mike on 20 March 2009
GLOBAL – The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is arguably an unlikely candidate for such a bold question, especially when mentioned in the same breath as milestone mobiles of the past few years including the N95 and E71. But could Nokia’s first touchscreen caller actually be the best handset Nokia has ever released?
Read on to examine the evidence (and gut feelings), and to lay down your opinions.
This question has manifested itself as a result of a number of curious colliding factors. For starters, no matter who I’ve been speaking to of late (both within and outside of Nokia) the 5800 XpressMusic is consistently and unreservedly being championed along the lines of an ‘instant icon’ or ‘the best handset Nokia has released in years’. Likewise, one friend went into Carphone Warehouse here in the UK, and was told by the guy behind the counter that all they were selling was 5800s. Of course that doesn’t earn the 5800 this particular gold star of all-time greatness. Nonetheless, there’s my personal exhibit A.
Moving onto exhibit B, 1 million of these devices were shipped within the first two months of it going on sale, proof of its instant popularity.
Other evidence rears its head in the sheer amount of content that has been created by folks online surrounding the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic – in a little over 3 months almost 10 million search entries have appeared on Google relating to Nokia’s touchscreen music device. Compare that to the N95, which has attracted almost 34 million search results pages in over two years, and it becomes clear that the 5800 is a talking point on a serious scale.
Plus, we recently ran a poll to find out which new Nokia music phone was your favourite, which saw the 5800 XpressMusic go up against the newer 5730 XpressMusic, the Nokia 5630 XpressMusic, the Nokia 5330 XpressMusic and the Nokia 5030. Now it didn’t just win this poll, it annihilated its rivals to stomp into the top slot, capturing 56 per cent of the vote, more than double that of the 5730 XpressMusic. To win so convincingly was interesting. Of course, this was a poll of only a few recent handsets, yet it says something doesn’t it?
So is the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic the best handset Nokia has ever launched?
Related posts:
- Poll: What’s your favourite new Nokia music handset?
- Giant Nokia 5800 XpressMusic versus pedestrians
- Nokia 5800 XpressMusic selling like hotcakes
Tags | e71, n95, nokia 5800 xpressmusic
March 20th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
IMHO, my E71 is definitely much better than my girlfriend’s 5800XM for all the functionality each is expected to deliver. Add the form factor and the E71 wins hands down.
Amongst the music phones, maybe 5800XM is the best Nokia has produced. However this also points to the difference in consumer behaviour that Nokia has been very late as well as reluctant to catch up on – music and media driven buyers do prefer the ease of use of a touchscreen & widescreen to the old candybars with (relatively) small screens and big keyboards. And the fact that one decent touchscreen music phone from the house of Nokia has been such a success, consider what a consistent whole hearted effort might produce!
Cheers!
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March 20th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
EVER? No. But it’s arguably the best all-round phone currently available, see http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/sshow/ss78.html – not strictly a tech flagship, the 5800 wins big points for robustness and value for money.
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March 20th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
probably this is the best one that NOKIA had launched till now, i just fond of this music and sounds really good.
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March 20th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
I agree with Steve’s comment.
Definitely not ever, that title goes to the 3310 in my opinion, as far as mass production and popularity.
I own a 5800 XpressMusic, and at first I was a little scared about how to go about using a touch screen when I have been using buttons for about 10 years now.
It took me a few days to get over my initial fears of my thumbs thumping and probing the screen, and I now actually really love this phone.
I am now so used to touching screens, that when I pick up another mobile device(not touch), I find myself pressing the screen wondering why its not working.
I think the reason this phone is so successful is that because it has stuck to Nokia’s simple to use menu structure, uses new technology and definitely due to its low cost.
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March 20th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
I think Steve made the perfect point. Is this the best device ever? No I doubt it. However for the money this is a device to be reckoned with. Considering I dropped close to $700.00 on the N96 and was extremely disappointed its refreshing to see I can get a much better all around phone for $400. While it may not be perfect its a fun device to use and thus far very reliable.
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March 20th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
To me 5800 is probably the best offer ever but, due to the age we live. Overall, N82 is still my favourite phone. 5800 with a better camera + xenon would be unbeatable..
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March 20th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
E71 for me, nothing else comes close, just a shame about the camera, but as with all Nokia’s you tend to have to compromise somewhere.
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March 20th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
Of course not. Don’t forget about the built quality, in which all the Eseries are the very best and the software of E90 device.
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March 21st, 2009 at 1:40 am
We in the US would not know…. There are only 2 places that I know of where you can actually see the Nokia 5800. One is in Chicago and the other is in New York. Whats up with Nokia are they that scared to market in the USA
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March 21st, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Nokia N82 is still the best Nokia handset ever created. Its got everything on it, 5MP plus zenon and cheap price. N82 did not have the hype like that of the 5800 before it came out but the its performance and testimony plus support of the users, brought it to height Nokia didn’t even expected.
The hype that 5800 enjoyed is the iPhone effect and so Nokia should not be to proud of it.
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March 21st, 2009 at 1:17 pm
at first the 5800 had some problem of hanging,slow,camera quality….i think it have been cleared by the newer versions.
but everyone say that the 5800 doesnt have fluidity like iphone or htc….ny comments…….
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March 22nd, 2009 at 9:38 am
for xpressmusic? hmmm i can say its a better phone…still I cant see the best music phone of nokia in the xpressmusic line..I can see best music phones in the Nseries line up..the n81 8gb, n95 9gb are gorgeous music phones..i like them
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March 23rd, 2009 at 4:00 am
it’s not the best but its worth the money and its very easy to use.
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March 23rd, 2009 at 5:06 am
Nokia N82 is still the best Nokia handset ever created. Its got everything on it, 5MP plus zenon and cheap price. N82 did not have the hype like that of the 5800 before it came out but the its performance and testimony plus support of the users, brought it to height Nokia didn’t even expected.
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March 24th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
No……Its not at all good.I have bought it and it didnt even worked for 5 days..The shop keeper says that Its a manufacturing fault so I gave it in Nokia service center for servicing but still its not working properly and they are not even replacing it especially when it was a manufacturing fault.
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March 25th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
I love nokia they are the best company for making the phone but i want they to know coz i just sale mi phone because is not an intresting phone .. what hi does .. a smal camera 3.2 and loud sound .. nothing else ..
they must to make many app they must to make very practical .. the touch is crap is muve very slow the phone it enoing sorry
NOKIA 5800 XM is CRAP
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March 28th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Unfortunately no. The 5800 XM looks very good on paper, indeed it impresses when it first emerges from the box. But it turned out to be a fingerprint magnet with abysmal build quality and a screen which picked up surface scratches faster than any other handset I’ve seen.
The 5730 XM looks equally good on paper, but let’s face it, customers are expecting the worst three months before it has even hit the market.
Given Nokia’s track record since the N85 hit the market, I think it’s safe to predict there will be a light leak somewhere around the edge of the case. And that will be the least disturbing aspect of the shoddy build quality.
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April 2nd, 2009 at 12:10 pm
I just have to say, that personally I can’t make myself interested in a device called “Nokia 5800 XpressMusic”. I don’t feel the hype. And if we look into the future, say two years from now, I think it’ll be weird to have this whole XpressMusic stuff going on. If the big emphasis is on the Touch, S60, Symbian, Ovi and stuff like that, I just feel it’s beside the point making such a big deal out of this particular phone model, which eventually will be succeeded by some other number XpressMusic thing. And just that, is the actual difference between Nokia’s stuff and perhaps the up-coming Palm Pre or Android-phones or so. They aim for consistency and years to come. It’s not so much waiting for the next phone model 2020i SuPeRFleXX, but the next update for the OS and services. So no, it’s not the best Nokia phone ever.
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April 3rd, 2009 at 5:45 am
Nokia must increase ringtone sound of nokia5800. Maximum sound setting is also very low comparitivly to nokia n73. software update must be devloped to fix this problem..
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April 6th, 2009 at 6:53 am
No people
I have this 5800 Xpress Music
And what i feel is that Nokia Has Missused The Name Xpress Music
to sale 5800 XM because This phone has a very poor Quality as compare to N81 and N73 ..
I dont know maybe it is just A prob with my Handset..
anyone PLZ through some light on this
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rje Reply:
April 10th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
I’m torn. I hate the way the touch screen works. It’s really unresponsive compared to the iPhone. It’s like the Storm. On the other hand, it’s a neat little device with all the Nokia goodies. Again on the other hand, it’s an unattractive handset that reminds me of traditional, stubby Nokia phones. I parted with a black E71 to get this phone. I have to say I regret it, though something attracts me to this phone and I’m not sure what it is. Nokia Messaging doesn’t work with it. OVI does. So I’m torn.
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April 20th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Nokia E71 for me as its more Versatile.
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September 29th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
For me it really is the best phone Nokia ever launched. I only paid 250 dollars for it. For that kind of money, nothing comes even close. Of course it’s no iphone, but it can do a hell of a lot of stuff (GPS, awesome videos, podcasts, radio, camera, music), and you can buy it unlocked. With the iphone you only have two choices: get raped for a phone tied to AT&T and pay a fortune every month or buy a jailbroken one (no thanks). By the way, I even find the camera to take spectacular pictures in daylight or well lit rooms. Perfect if you are on a budget like me or to replace a lost broken phone. Buy it!
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October 7th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
hi m confused between 5800XM and E71.
hows the voice quality in both the phones..
please shed some light plzz
adios..
:-}
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November 12th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Hindi font not looking well in nokia 5800
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