Nokia 5310 XpressMusic Phone Review

By Rico, 5:05 pm Sat Dec 22 2007 - Reviews - 15 Opinions

When Nokia Philippines launched the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic Phone locally, it spared no expense. Turns out they had a good reason to spend so much marketing pesos for the gadget, as the Nokia 5310 is a very capable phone worth its price.

A big reason behind this value is the mobile’s really thin profile. Less than a centimeter thick, the 5310 also attracts attention through its minimally-styled casing and bright screen. The phone felt light, while the buttons proved easy to press, even for those with large hands. Navigating through the menus and functions was a generally responsive experience, and will be familiar to those who’ve used a mid- to high-end Nokia phone lately. The bright screen was easy to read even under direct sunlight.

The phone also comes with great bundled extras. A set of earphones and a 1GB microSD memory card join the usual USB data cable, software CD, and documentation, letting the new buyer enjoy a day’s worth of music (this phone can play MP3s and other popular music file formats like Windows Media Audio) and talk on the phone hands-free right out of the box. And there’s always the built-in FM radio if no music is available. Buttons situated on both sides of the screen allow easy playback and volume control.

The 5310 also delivers in the audio quality department. The bundled earphones don’t really take advantage of this, but plug in an excellent pair like the Nokia HS-62 we recently reviewed and the clear treble and thumping bass become evident. It helps that the phone accepts 3.5mm audio jacks, the same one most earphones, headphones, and even speakers use.

On this phone, the music automatically pauses when a call or text comes in, and plays it again after the conversation is over or after the user is notified. Thanks to a dedicated music chip, the phone can continue playing music while the user sends text messages, or even transfer files via Bluetooth.

Another reason why the 5310 is worth its price tag is its other built-in features. There’s a 2.0 megapixel camera for casual snapshots. Bluetooth allows quick information transfer between the phone and other gadgets. The applications that Nokia pre-installs into the 5310 (and its other mid-range models), which include a calculator, world clock, currency converter, some basic organizer functions, and games, make the phone so much more useful. City Bloxx is pretty addicting!

In terms of battery life, the phone lasts through nearly two whole days of normal usage. When we tried to play music continuously, without doing anything else, the 5310 lost power after 19 hours—pretty close to Nokia’s advertised 20.

Without a doubt, the Nokia 5310 is a great phone-music player combo. But like any other gadget it has its flaws. The integrated camera won’t impress photo enthusiasts, and produces grainy images under low-light conditions. The relatively large screen, which takes up over a third of the phone’s face, is quite vulnerable to scratching. Those looking to store a lot of music will need to buy a higher capacity microSD, which aren’t exactly cheap. And those looking for 3G will be disappointed.

Still, for an official SRP of Php 13,000.00 (or as low as Php 11,000 on the grey market), the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone definitely represents great value, with its thin body and focus on music. It’s a perfect “significant” gift for this Christmas.

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