Nokia 5530 Review

Posted on November 27th, 2009. Written by Rico.

For its price (lowest so far is P10,990 according to CgeNa.com), nothing beats the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic and its built-in features. But is the cheaper successor to the 5800 worth the money? Again, that depends on the buyer.

It’s All About the Touchscreen

Like the 5800, the Nokia 5530 lacks a physical keyboard. All you get is a large 2.9″ touch display (640 x 360) that takes up the entire front of the phone, so typing text is accomplished through virtual keys. By default, tapping a “button” makes the phone vibrate slightly, providing feedback for presses.

Those who are used to texting or typing on real, physical buttons will have to get used to the 5530′s touchscreen. A virtual numeric keypad appears when the phone’s upright, which turns into a QWERTY keyboard when the phone is held horizontally on its left side.

Ultimately, those who are interested in the 5530 should try out a test unit, before making a final decision.

Features and Bundled Goodies Galore

Aside from WiFi, Bluetooth, and a music and video player—nowadays standard on mid- to high-end phones—the 5530 also features an FM radio, a 3.15 megapixel camera, and a microSD slot with a 4GB memory card factory-inserted. The phone itself has 70MB of space.

What adds more value to the phone is the free music, video, and WiFi subscription that comes with the 5530. Each unit comes with 500 credits for Universal Music’s online music and video repository, and 6 month’s worth of Airborne Access. Downloading one song or MTV from Universal’s website consumes one credit, and the free Airborne Access starts when you first log into the WiFi service through the phone.

Battery life is a decent two days under normal use, a bit surprising considering the 5530′s relatively weak 1000mAh battery.

Some Limitations

Despite all those goodies that come with the phone, the Nokia 5530 suffers from some limitations. You cannot shift the free AirborneAccess to any other device; it’s only available through the phone (though it’s possible to connect a laptop to the phone to use the mobile’s internet connection). Music and video are locked to the phone, meaning you can’t transfer them to another device.

Most limiting is the lack of mobile broadband access, as the 5530 can only connect to the internet over a cell phone network via EDGE—not through the faster HSDPA or HSUPA standards.

Sometimes the phone’s compact size (length x width x thickness: 104 x 49 x 13mm) works against it, in the sense that it’s harder to tap on virtual keys accurately with the smaller screen (compared to the N97 and the 5800 XpressMusic). First-time users should have an easier time getting used to the touchscreen’s dimensions though.

Still, with a price as low as P11,000, the Nokia 5530 is definitely worth the money, at least for those who don’t mind giving up physical buttons for virtual counterparts that appear on a touchscreen. Add the free media and WiFi access to the mix, and you’ve got a candidate for a worthy buy for the holidays.

Do you own a Nokia 5530 XpressMusic? What do you think of it? Feel free to share your thoughts below.