Introduction
The Nokia 5230 is Nokia's attempt to enter the market segment created by the original Samsung Star,after Samsung(and LG,albeit lesser) managed to sell more than 10 million units of the Star in the first 6 months of its launch they flooded the market with variants of the Corby that catered to a wider audience. Even though Nokia doesn't have the variety that Samsung can boast, its offerings are highly attractive and are sure to lure some of Samsung's potential customers.
Tech Specs
3.2" 16M-color TFT LCD 16:9 touchscreen display (360 x 640 pixels)
Symbian S60 5th edition
ARM 11 434 MHz CPU, 128MB RAM memory
Quad-band GSM support
3G with HSDPA 3.6Mbps support
Built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS support; Ovi maps
2 megapixel fixed focus camera with and VGA@30fps video
Expandable microSD card,16GB
FM radio with RDS
Bluetooth with A2DP and USB v2.0
Standard 3.5mm audio jack
Accelerometer
Changeable color battery covers (optional extra)
*Review updated with detailed and smaller sized pics, the images are now across various pages as against all in the same page, as was previously
[BREAK=Bundle and Cost]
Bundle and Cost
Calling the phone bundle mimimalistic would be an understatement, just the charger and headphones!I didn't need to put in a bulleted list ! I guess I need to hold up my dealer because I am supposed to have a plectrum in the box,which is missing.That reminds me there is a stylus loged neatly in the back of the phone, something unnecessary according to me.The most shocking part is the exclusion of the data cable and the memory card, even the 5320 which costs a shade over 5k comes with a 1GB memory card :-(
In my case I initially decided to refrain from additional expenses and stick to the 70MB onboard for the first month, but I couldn't hold on for long so I had to borrow from my friends to fund a 2GB memory card and that is when I realized that Rs350 is a big amount !
After borrowing some more I purchased a data cable for Rs200 and a leather case (from the stalls at the railway station) for Rs150
The phone came with a scratch guard, that in my opinion probably kept my finances afloat for this month
Total cost: Rs9200
Phone: Rs8500
Leather case:Rs150
Data Cable:Rs200
2GB Kingston Memory Card:Rs350
*Nokia has EOL'd the 5230 and as a result the prices have shot up, around 9k so if GPS and 3G are high on your wishlist, lap it up while it is still available.
[BREAK=Design]
Design
This is only department that the Nokia fails compared to the sleek lines of the corby or the slimness of the Samsung Star. The phone is available in two colors - Black OR White and the back panel of the phone is replacable. Nokia has followed its traditional approach of being lazy when it comes to designing phones,they simple borrowed the body of the popular 5800, tweaked it to look dull (especially the black version) and Eureka ! behold the new creation.
This is one area Samsung deserves accolades for, designing a brand new phone (the Corby - well made and good looking) inspite of the Star doing well and bettered it too.
I have purchased the black version of the Nokia 5230 and found the the quality of plastic - good.
Phones with a glossy body look good in the showroom, but the moment you pick them up they attract finger prints all over them, so if you are a murderer the 5230 will do a better job in concealing your identity compared to the Corby or the Star up to some extent.
At the top of the Nokia 5230 you will find the power key, the microUSB port, charger plug and 3.5mm standard audio jack.There is a protective cover for the microUSB port to keep dust away.To the right is the screen lock and volume rocker button and camera button, to the left are the slots for the sim card and the microSD card.
Caution: Be careful and double check before you insert the microSD card, you might think you have figured it out but this thing will come to bite you, it wins the worse designed microSD slot award by a mile. For removing the card you might need to call in your neighbors for a heave.
Above the screen is the promimity sensor which turns off the screen when it detects that the phone is close to your ear and at the back is the standard 2MP camera. Adjacent to the promimity sensor is a small arrow for the media bar.
Under the display are the three keys, the Call-End- and menu buttons.
While writing the review I got a call on my phone from a female friend --- I got a new phone...guess which one ... Samsung Corby, that explains it all. Unless there is a female with techy inclinations, this phone will seldom find itself in those beautiful curvy hands.
[BREAK=UI and Screen]
UI and Screen
The phone has a responsive UI and is a joy to use. Comparison to the iphone is not fair since it is a capacitive screen, still miles better than any other resistive option is the market (even outdoes the capacitive Corby).
The Screen is a 3.2" 16M-color TFT LCD running at a resolution of 360 x 640 pixels, the visibility in bright sunshine is appaling, but when the white in the background light reduces (surrounding gets darker) the display is amazing. The screen has an aspect-ratio of 16:9, ideal for watching movies.
The phone has a built in accelerometer that automatically rotates the screen from portrait to landscape and vice-versa when you change the orientation of the phone.
The phone comes with the famed kinetic scrolling UI and I find its implementation impressive, though missing in a couple of menus, still excusable !
The phone has a plethora of customization options available for which you have to dig deep inside the menus, which can be called a con of this phone.
Almost all the screens and menus take advantage of the accelerometer and switch from landscape to portrait.
Below, the Nokia 5230 and the Samsung Star
[BREAK=Functionality and shortcuts]
Functionality and shortcuts
The phone has a plethora of shortcuts which helps every bit in day to day life, this is one reason I absolutely adore this phone.
Starting with top left corner, when you tap the current time you are immediately greeted to view the beautiful digital clock (the analog looks passe so I set it to digital) as well as the option to set multiple alarms or check multiple time zones.
Next just below the operator logo-the date/profile/location (if enabled) name is alternately displayed every 5 odd seconds, touch this and you have the option to open the calendar or change your profile (or even put it in offline mode).
Moving in the right direction (pun intended ! ) when you tap the battery icon, a tiny menu pops up which gives you access to your connectivity options (bluetooth,EDGE settings etc.). The same menu houses the notification/shorcut when you receive a missed call or message.
You can list your 20 most frequently called contacts on the contact bar (I disabled it, don't find it much useful).
To the bottom of the phone is an array of 4 shortcuts which can be customized to point to the applications you desire (inclusind shortcuts to application you have installed).
Calendaring functionality is basic and provides all the utilities you need.
This phone multi-tasks like a pro, never drop a bead of sweat, I think I am going to proclaim "Symbian the best multitasking OS around".
[BREAK=Messaging/Multimedia]
Messaging
Messaging on the phone is a joy, my super fast response times to sms just got an additional "super" tag attached to it (super super fast) thanks to the landscape full QUERTY keyboard.
EMOTICONS (the images) ARE MISSING ! ! ! !
It would be nice to have the option of sorting messages according to conversations, at the moment the only option is to have your inbox sorted by date.
Camera
The Camera even though is a basic 2MP shooter does a good job in capturing still images and produces excellent video capture results, the quality of the images though suffer in low light areas due to the absense of flash.
The Image Gallery gets cluttered because it not only displays those million wallpapers that you have but also the videos you have saved - all in just one big window, poor implementation Nokia. How hard was it to have both of them in seperate windows ? The images scroll smoothly, although zooming in/out can get you impatient. A CLASS6 memory card will be helpful, I think so because the image gallery slows down a bit if you have a song playing in the background
Music - The 5230's trump card. The sound quality is very good and the phone is the perfect candidate t0 replace your mp3 player, the music player application is well designed and reminiscent of the iphone. The album art is displayed nice and big and the scrolling of the song is as smooth as on the iphone.Songs are classified in the library according to the album, artist and the other usual options. Nothing ground breaking here, but has all its bases covered.
When you get the phone - get rid of the stock headphones (I am doing it shortly) because they don't do justice to what this phone is capable of.
Videos look nice and crisp (not AMOLED quality obviously), but still I am going to take the liberty of calling it spectacular, all you need is a good converter.
The videos are only played in landscape mode and the scrolling through the video is smooth too.
Sample Pic clicked using the phone's camera
[BREAK=The GPS Debate]
The GPS Debate . . . .
I have owned the Nokia 5233 (for two days) which I replaced with the 5230.
In the 5230 under the positioning methods you have the following options:
>Assisted GPS
>Integrated GPS
>Bluetooth GPS
>Network Based
In the 5233 you have only two options, Network based and Bluetooth based. Still good enough for google maps, you just miss the turn by turn navigation part ( which I absolutely love ), but this means it doesn't even have A-GPS
The difference between the 5230 and 5233 is that the former supports 3G+GPS while the 5233 doesn't.
A word on airtel: I had been a Vodafone loyalist for years, until they started swindling me for EDGE. 10p/10KB. Doesn't sound much eh ! This comes to Rs10/MB. This is plain audacious, gets worse,this NO RENTAL EDGE plan doesn't allow OVI maps, doesn't even allow to use the web on your PC with the phone serving as the modem.
That is when I decided to move on a recommendation from a trusted friend (who is promoted to a good friend) - AIRTEL. It is faster, allows OVI maps and costs ....wait for it.....Rs98/month for 2GB which can be used anytime, not some night plan. I find the speeds better than vodafone and very reliable unlike Aircel's Rs98 unlimited Pocket Internet which is PATHETIC IMO
[BREAK=The Nuances]
The Nuances
While setting the wallpaper you can't chose which part of the image you want to be displayed, it just picks up a part of your image and sets it as the wallpaper the result though is not half as bad as it sounds.
When you set a wallpaper the top half of the screen has a tinge of the theme color - dislike it
The Gaming experience has been very dissappointing to say the least, even the games on OVI are pathetic (I am a ex-iphone user), if anybody has some good ones (please suggest games that occupy the entire screen) kindly let me know.
For me the battery life sucked ! I had to charge it more than once a day (screen brightness full, GPS + EDGE the entire day + music+calls+messaging)
Update,
I have a small tip for you all, disable the haptic feedback (the vibrations that occur when you touch the screen to perform any function), it has had a positive influence on my battery life. I would say my battery life has improved by 30 -50 %
[BREAK=Appications I am using]
Applications
OVI has a lot of promise, but still has a long way to go before it can compete with the appstore in terms of number and quality of apps.
Vlingo: A very accurate application to convert your voice into text, for example when I say send message to Mom's at home will be late tonight. It accurately selects Mom's home number and sends the converted said text, you can even use it to make yourself a note or find something on the web and a lot more.
I am using the free version so you can't use it for sending sms, the downside is that it uses your network (negligible) for the translation.
Nimbuzz: An excellent application to chat with my facebook friends...apart from gtalk.
Now I am online on FB through the entire day !
Opera Mini Beta 5 - just one word ----> BRILLIANT !
Videora 5230 video converter
Need the following (free apps off course
)
PDF reader
Quickoffice Equivalent
and suggest some more . . . .. . .
[BREAK=Conclusion]
Conclusion
No phone is perfect, HELL ! ! no human is perfect but this phone stands out from everyother phone in terms of the amount of value it brings to the table. This phone is not for your girlfriend or your sister or your mother or anybody else --- this phone is for you ! When I first saw the phone I hated the bulky design, but after using it for a couple of days I realized that probably this design was inspired from its potential users - males, who look nanderthal but have a charming beauty within ! Its brimmed with technology and gadget wizardy to keep you occupied and smiling every moment that you use it.
*SAD NEWS:
Nokia has EOL'd the 5230 and as a result the prices have shot up, around 9k so if GPS and 3G are high on your wishlist, lap it up while it is still available.
The Nokia 5230 is Nokia's attempt to enter the market segment created by the original Samsung Star,after Samsung(and LG,albeit lesser) managed to sell more than 10 million units of the Star in the first 6 months of its launch they flooded the market with variants of the Corby that catered to a wider audience. Even though Nokia doesn't have the variety that Samsung can boast, its offerings are highly attractive and are sure to lure some of Samsung's potential customers.
Tech Specs
3.2" 16M-color TFT LCD 16:9 touchscreen display (360 x 640 pixels)
Symbian S60 5th edition
ARM 11 434 MHz CPU, 128MB RAM memory
Quad-band GSM support
3G with HSDPA 3.6Mbps support
Built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS support; Ovi maps
2 megapixel fixed focus camera with and VGA@30fps video
Expandable microSD card,16GB
FM radio with RDS
Bluetooth with A2DP and USB v2.0
Standard 3.5mm audio jack
Accelerometer
Changeable color battery covers (optional extra)
*Review updated with detailed and smaller sized pics, the images are now across various pages as against all in the same page, as was previously
[BREAK=Bundle and Cost]
Bundle and Cost
Calling the phone bundle mimimalistic would be an understatement, just the charger and headphones!I didn't need to put in a bulleted list ! I guess I need to hold up my dealer because I am supposed to have a plectrum in the box,which is missing.That reminds me there is a stylus loged neatly in the back of the phone, something unnecessary according to me.The most shocking part is the exclusion of the data cable and the memory card, even the 5320 which costs a shade over 5k comes with a 1GB memory card :-(
In my case I initially decided to refrain from additional expenses and stick to the 70MB onboard for the first month, but I couldn't hold on for long so I had to borrow from my friends to fund a 2GB memory card and that is when I realized that Rs350 is a big amount !
After borrowing some more I purchased a data cable for Rs200 and a leather case (from the stalls at the railway station) for Rs150
The phone came with a scratch guard, that in my opinion probably kept my finances afloat for this month
Total cost: Rs9200
Phone: Rs8500
Leather case:Rs150
Data Cable:Rs200
2GB Kingston Memory Card:Rs350
*Nokia has EOL'd the 5230 and as a result the prices have shot up, around 9k so if GPS and 3G are high on your wishlist, lap it up while it is still available.
[BREAK=Design]
Design
This is only department that the Nokia fails compared to the sleek lines of the corby or the slimness of the Samsung Star. The phone is available in two colors - Black OR White and the back panel of the phone is replacable. Nokia has followed its traditional approach of being lazy when it comes to designing phones,they simple borrowed the body of the popular 5800, tweaked it to look dull (especially the black version) and Eureka ! behold the new creation.
This is one area Samsung deserves accolades for, designing a brand new phone (the Corby - well made and good looking) inspite of the Star doing well and bettered it too.
I have purchased the black version of the Nokia 5230 and found the the quality of plastic - good.
Phones with a glossy body look good in the showroom, but the moment you pick them up they attract finger prints all over them, so if you are a murderer the 5230 will do a better job in concealing your identity compared to the Corby or the Star up to some extent.
At the top of the Nokia 5230 you will find the power key, the microUSB port, charger plug and 3.5mm standard audio jack.There is a protective cover for the microUSB port to keep dust away.To the right is the screen lock and volume rocker button and camera button, to the left are the slots for the sim card and the microSD card.
Caution: Be careful and double check before you insert the microSD card, you might think you have figured it out but this thing will come to bite you, it wins the worse designed microSD slot award by a mile. For removing the card you might need to call in your neighbors for a heave.
Above the screen is the promimity sensor which turns off the screen when it detects that the phone is close to your ear and at the back is the standard 2MP camera. Adjacent to the promimity sensor is a small arrow for the media bar.
Under the display are the three keys, the Call-End- and menu buttons.
While writing the review I got a call on my phone from a female friend --- I got a new phone...guess which one ... Samsung Corby, that explains it all. Unless there is a female with techy inclinations, this phone will seldom find itself in those beautiful curvy hands.
[BREAK=UI and Screen]
UI and Screen
The phone has a responsive UI and is a joy to use. Comparison to the iphone is not fair since it is a capacitive screen, still miles better than any other resistive option is the market (even outdoes the capacitive Corby).
The Screen is a 3.2" 16M-color TFT LCD running at a resolution of 360 x 640 pixels, the visibility in bright sunshine is appaling, but when the white in the background light reduces (surrounding gets darker) the display is amazing. The screen has an aspect-ratio of 16:9, ideal for watching movies.
The phone has a built in accelerometer that automatically rotates the screen from portrait to landscape and vice-versa when you change the orientation of the phone.
The phone comes with the famed kinetic scrolling UI and I find its implementation impressive, though missing in a couple of menus, still excusable !
The phone has a plethora of customization options available for which you have to dig deep inside the menus, which can be called a con of this phone.
Almost all the screens and menus take advantage of the accelerometer and switch from landscape to portrait.
Below, the Nokia 5230 and the Samsung Star
[BREAK=Functionality and shortcuts]
Functionality and shortcuts
The phone has a plethora of shortcuts which helps every bit in day to day life, this is one reason I absolutely adore this phone.
Starting with top left corner, when you tap the current time you are immediately greeted to view the beautiful digital clock (the analog looks passe so I set it to digital) as well as the option to set multiple alarms or check multiple time zones.
Next just below the operator logo-the date/profile/location (if enabled) name is alternately displayed every 5 odd seconds, touch this and you have the option to open the calendar or change your profile (or even put it in offline mode).
Moving in the right direction (pun intended ! ) when you tap the battery icon, a tiny menu pops up which gives you access to your connectivity options (bluetooth,EDGE settings etc.). The same menu houses the notification/shorcut when you receive a missed call or message.
You can list your 20 most frequently called contacts on the contact bar (I disabled it, don't find it much useful).
To the bottom of the phone is an array of 4 shortcuts which can be customized to point to the applications you desire (inclusind shortcuts to application you have installed).
Calendaring functionality is basic and provides all the utilities you need.
This phone multi-tasks like a pro, never drop a bead of sweat, I think I am going to proclaim "Symbian the best multitasking OS around".
[BREAK=Messaging/Multimedia]
Messaging
Messaging on the phone is a joy, my super fast response times to sms just got an additional "super" tag attached to it (super super fast) thanks to the landscape full QUERTY keyboard.
EMOTICONS (the images) ARE MISSING ! ! ! !
It would be nice to have the option of sorting messages according to conversations, at the moment the only option is to have your inbox sorted by date.
Camera
The Camera even though is a basic 2MP shooter does a good job in capturing still images and produces excellent video capture results, the quality of the images though suffer in low light areas due to the absense of flash.
The Image Gallery gets cluttered because it not only displays those million wallpapers that you have but also the videos you have saved - all in just one big window, poor implementation Nokia. How hard was it to have both of them in seperate windows ? The images scroll smoothly, although zooming in/out can get you impatient. A CLASS6 memory card will be helpful, I think so because the image gallery slows down a bit if you have a song playing in the background
Music - The 5230's trump card. The sound quality is very good and the phone is the perfect candidate t0 replace your mp3 player, the music player application is well designed and reminiscent of the iphone. The album art is displayed nice and big and the scrolling of the song is as smooth as on the iphone.Songs are classified in the library according to the album, artist and the other usual options. Nothing ground breaking here, but has all its bases covered.
When you get the phone - get rid of the stock headphones (I am doing it shortly) because they don't do justice to what this phone is capable of.
Videos look nice and crisp (not AMOLED quality obviously), but still I am going to take the liberty of calling it spectacular, all you need is a good converter.
The videos are only played in landscape mode and the scrolling through the video is smooth too.
Sample Pic clicked using the phone's camera
[BREAK=The GPS Debate]
The GPS Debate . . . .
I have owned the Nokia 5233 (for two days) which I replaced with the 5230.
In the 5230 under the positioning methods you have the following options:
>Assisted GPS
>Integrated GPS
>Bluetooth GPS
>Network Based
In the 5233 you have only two options, Network based and Bluetooth based. Still good enough for google maps, you just miss the turn by turn navigation part ( which I absolutely love ), but this means it doesn't even have A-GPS
The difference between the 5230 and 5233 is that the former supports 3G+GPS while the 5233 doesn't.
A word on airtel: I had been a Vodafone loyalist for years, until they started swindling me for EDGE. 10p/10KB. Doesn't sound much eh ! This comes to Rs10/MB. This is plain audacious, gets worse,this NO RENTAL EDGE plan doesn't allow OVI maps, doesn't even allow to use the web on your PC with the phone serving as the modem.
That is when I decided to move on a recommendation from a trusted friend (who is promoted to a good friend) - AIRTEL. It is faster, allows OVI maps and costs ....wait for it.....Rs98/month for 2GB which can be used anytime, not some night plan. I find the speeds better than vodafone and very reliable unlike Aircel's Rs98 unlimited Pocket Internet which is PATHETIC IMO
[BREAK=The Nuances]
The Nuances
While setting the wallpaper you can't chose which part of the image you want to be displayed, it just picks up a part of your image and sets it as the wallpaper the result though is not half as bad as it sounds.
When you set a wallpaper the top half of the screen has a tinge of the theme color - dislike it
The Gaming experience has been very dissappointing to say the least, even the games on OVI are pathetic (I am a ex-iphone user), if anybody has some good ones (please suggest games that occupy the entire screen) kindly let me know.
For me the battery life sucked ! I had to charge it more than once a day (screen brightness full, GPS + EDGE the entire day + music+calls+messaging)
Update,
I have a small tip for you all, disable the haptic feedback (the vibrations that occur when you touch the screen to perform any function), it has had a positive influence on my battery life. I would say my battery life has improved by 30 -50 %
[BREAK=Appications I am using]
Applications
OVI has a lot of promise, but still has a long way to go before it can compete with the appstore in terms of number and quality of apps.
Vlingo: A very accurate application to convert your voice into text, for example when I say send message to Mom's at home will be late tonight. It accurately selects Mom's home number and sends the converted said text, you can even use it to make yourself a note or find something on the web and a lot more.
I am using the free version so you can't use it for sending sms, the downside is that it uses your network (negligible) for the translation.
Nimbuzz: An excellent application to chat with my facebook friends...apart from gtalk.
Now I am online on FB through the entire day !
Opera Mini Beta 5 - just one word ----> BRILLIANT !
Videora 5230 video converter
Need the following (free apps off course
)PDF reader
Quickoffice Equivalent
and suggest some more . . . .. . .
[BREAK=Conclusion]
Conclusion
No phone is perfect, HELL ! ! no human is perfect but this phone stands out from everyother phone in terms of the amount of value it brings to the table. This phone is not for your girlfriend or your sister or your mother or anybody else --- this phone is for you ! When I first saw the phone I hated the bulky design, but after using it for a couple of days I realized that probably this design was inspired from its potential users - males, who look nanderthal but have a charming beauty within ! Its brimmed with technology and gadget wizardy to keep you occupied and smiling every moment that you use it.
*SAD NEWS:
Nokia has EOL'd the 5230 and as a result the prices have shot up, around 9k so if GPS and 3G are high on your wishlist, lap it up while it is still available.
