Phone Preview: Nokia 5300 XpressMusic
So it’s the start of a new week, and I’m way behind on phone previews, accessories, etc. With luck I’ll have a shiny new N80 delivered to my house in the next couple of days, and I can do a full review on that phone.
Operating Frequencies: Tri-band 850/1800/1900
Form Factor: Slide
Display: QVGA 320×240 resolution, 262k colors supported
Camera: 1.3 megapixel
Interface: Series 40
Memory: 5MB onboard, supports up to 2GB external microSD cards
Battery: BL-5B (760 mAh), up to 3.2 hours talk time, 9 days standby time
SAR value: 0.70 W/kg on ear, 0.15 W/kg on body (more info on SAR values and cell phone radiation here)
Other Features: Dedicated music keys, Bluetooth, infrared, Java MIDP 2.0, FM radio, speakerphone
Weight: 106 grams / 3.76 ounces
Thickness: 20.7 mm
Casing: Plastic
Colors: Black, Lilac, Red
Release Date: Q1 2007
Expected Cost: 250 Euros ($317 USD)
Buy From: Amazon.com
The XpressMusic line of phones is Nokia’s newest method of reaching out to the masses who want to listen to full songs on their phones rather than annoying 50 Cent song ringtone snippets.
The 5300 XpressMusic is a fairly simply-designed rounded slider phone that is meant to play music. There’s some kinda randomly-placed dedicated music playback keys on the face of the phone, along with a 1.3 megapixel camera on the reverse side. In addition, the phone supports up to 2 gigabyte microSD memory cards. The funny thing is, the 5300 includes a whole 5 megabytes of internal memory which is barely enough storage for one song.
The main display is a 320×240 resolution screen with 262k colors. The only real noteworthy feature other than the regular Series 40 options is the inclusion of the miniUSB port, which you can use to transfer songs directly to the phone/memory card.
Battery life is lower than average, with GSM talk time rated at just over 3 hours (3.2 hours). Nokia also reports up to 12 hours of battery life only playing music.
The Nokia 5300 XpressMusic is expected to cost about 250 Euros (about $317 US dollars). Remember, that’s before phone subsidies (those nice little discounts that you get when you sign up for a plan), AND taxes. I really couldn’t see this phone costing more than 50 bucks with a 1 year agreement, and I’m sure in a year it’ll be just another one of those “free phones” that everyone loves so much. Hey, you get what you pay for!
