Nokia Creates a Dilemma With the 5230

Posted on December 4th, 2009. Written by Rico.

The other day, Nokia sent us a PR announcing the official availability of the Nokia 5230. Based on the specs, both the 5230 and the recently reviewed 5530 XpressMusic are practically alike, save for the way either one connects to the internet.

The Nokia 5530 has a slightly better camera, is slightly more compact than the 5230, and has built-in WiFi. The 5230 on the other hand, has a longer-lasting battery, and the ability to surf the web over cellular networks via HSDPA. Thanks to its larger size, the latter phone’s display is bigger by about 0.3″, despite featuring the same resolution. This alone addresses an issue I’ve had with the 5530′s relatively small touchscreen.

The dilemma is that both phones has features the other one (sorely) lacks. The 5530 can connect to WiFi hotspots, but is limited by its slow 3G connectivity. The 5230 doesn’t have WiFi, but enjoys the speed of HSDPA (3.5G).

Price difference—or the relative lack of it—makes things even more interesting. The 5230′s official price is P11,500, while the 5530 retails for P12,150. Yet the latter is available from cgena.com for as low as P10,990! Keep in mind that I prefer a phone with WiFi over a phone with “just” HSDPA, since hotspots tend to be more reliable than surfing through cellular networks.

Still, when these networks are running properly on all cylinders, surfing through HSDPA can be very fast. Sometimes it’s also the only way to go online through your phone, when WiFi’s not readily (or cheaply) available. In other words, go with the 5230 and you’ve got HSDPA. Go with the 5530 and you’ve got WiFi. It’s one way or another.

Then again, the dilemma only exists if you’re limited to the near-10k budget these phones meet—and if you leave out other phones, including those from other brands. Unfortunately, I’m not familiar with any touch-screen phones that have the same feature set as these two phones. So what do you think? Feel free to leave your opinion below.