Nokia launched the latest “iPhone killer” in India, its first touchscreen mobile phone, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, which is expected to give Apple Inc.’s iconic iPhone a run for its money.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
The feature-packed phone, said D. Shivakumar, managing director, Nokia India, is a better converged device than Apple’s iPhone 3G. “What iPhone did was to bring the touch element to a multimedia converged device. Since we are already the leader in converged devices in India, Nokia 5800 will be a revolutionary launch from our stable,” he said.
Unlike the iPhone which comes with a 2-megapixel camera, Nokia 5800 is equipped with a 3.2-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, LED flash and video capability.
While the phone’s virtual QWERTY keyboard is ideal for text messaging, email and instant messaging, the WiFi, 3G, GPRS, dual-band WCDMA, HSDPA, WLAN (802.11 b/g) and HSCSD support ensures wireless access to the internet.
The Symbian 60-based phone is capable of playing audio and video files in multiple formats and for the music or movie buffs, this is a boon as it comes with a whopping 8GB microSD card (note: 5800 has built-in 128MB memory) and for those who want more, an optional 16GB card.
In addition, the phone has a crystal clear 3.2-inch display and a tilt sensor (similar to Apple’s accelerometer) and an in-built A-GPS receiver with voice navigation.
Other features include virtual keypad with stylus input support, Bluetooth 2.0, handwriting recognition software, FM radio, built-in surround sound stereo speakers with eight-band graphic equalizer, Nokia Maps, haptic touch technology, Mobile Transfer Protocol support, and TV out - video cable included - that allows streaming of multimedia.
According to tech analysts, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic wins hands down in several departments, including:
[1] A battery which is removable and has a better and longer life
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
[2] A better camera. Nokia has 3.2-megapixel camera with video recording capability as compared to iPhone’s basic 2-megapixel camera
[3] A better screen resolution. Nokia’s display screen is smaller than the iPhone (3.2-inch as against 3.5-inch) but the the resolution is better on the Nokia 5800 with 640×360 pixels against 480×320 pixels for the iPhone
[4] MMS support
[5] Adobe Flash support (Apple claims that Flash may slow down browsing on iPhone and hence the device does not support Flash)
The new Nokia 5800 XpressMusic handset certainly looks like an iPhone. Same rounded corners, similar screen, and of course software operated with the touch of a finger. But don’t—repeat, don’t—call it an iPhone killer. With 40% of the global handset market, Nokia (NOK) is not in the business of copying puny rivals such as Apple (AAPL). Rather, Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia’s executive vice-president for markets, calls the 5800 a “youth-oriented multimedia product made very affordable to the target audience of heavy music consumers.”
Maybe a better description of the 5800 would be iPhone triangulator. No, the handset launched on Oct. 2 in London is not aimed directly at the hard-core iPhone crowd. But the 5800 does indicate how Nokia hopes to ensure that Apple remains a niche player in the global handset market. Nokia will try to smother Apple and other rivals with a range of touch products, aiming to peel away different target groups.
And Nokia will launch the products simultaneously around the world, exploiting a distribution system that neither Apple nor any other competitor can match. The 5800 can handle 60 different languages covering 90% of humanity and will be in shops all over the globe, including the U.S., before the end of the year, Nokia says.
Musical Bonus
As Vanjoki points out, the 5800 is designed for young folks whose lives revolve around music. The $407 price tag, before taxes and subsidies, is more than a third below that of an unsubsidized iPhone. And the 5800 will be available from a range of telcos, in contrast to the iPhone, which is officially available only from select providers such as O2 (TEF) in Britain or T-Mobile (DT) in Germany.
Perhaps the most important feature of the 5800, though, isn’t hardware but the built-in music collection. Beginning next year, the phone will feature Nokia’s Comes With Music service—a year’s worth of downloads from a catalog that includes all four major labels and 4 million songs (BusinessWeek.com, 9/2/08). It may be the music, more than the device, that’s really aimed at Apple. Anyone who buys a 5800, with a massive selection of music embedded in the price, is unlikely to pay for the same music on iTunes.
So how does the 5800 compare with the iPhone? It’s more sophisticated in some ways, less so in others. The more compact 5800 has a one-finger touch screen, in contrast to the iPhone, whose surface can handle input from two fingers simultaneously. The iPhone’s two-finger interface lets users do cool things, such as easily shrink or expand images on the screen. On the other hand, the 5800, unlike the iPhone, has a screen that vibrates ever so gently when you touch it, providing subtle confirmation that the device is responding to your command.
Sophisticated Insides
The 5800’s inner workings also are more advanced. (Saying such things always generates hate mail from iPhone fans.) It’s a fact that Nokia has much more experience than Apple—or anybody else, for that matter—in packing an astonishing number of radios and other electronics into a small package and making everything work reliably.
The 5800 has a better camera, including a Carl Zeiss lens. Its Internet browser can handle Flash files, which the iPhone can’t. And it has built-in GPS navigation (as do the newest iPhones). Since Nokia hasn’t yet released test versions of the 5800, it’s impossible to say which is better. But given how much effort Nokia has put into navigation (it’s already the world’s largest maker of GPS devices), it will be a surprise if the new phone doesn’t turn out to be more precise and better at snagging a satellite signal than the iPhone. Nokia will include an introductory subscription to voice navigation in the price. “It’s increasingly about the combination of services that come with the product,” Vanjoki says.
The 5800 should be seen as Nokia’s first attack on the touch screen phone market. A real challenger to iPhone will come some time in the next few months, when the Finns unveil an Nseries device with a touch screen. The top-of-the-line Nseries handsets are the ones that most appeal to the same tech connoisseurs who have made the iPhone such a phenomenon. Vanjoki might let you get away with calling that product an iPhone killer.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
Specifications>>>>>>>>>>>>>
- Form: Classic with full touch user interface
- Dimensions: 111 x 51.7 x 15.5 mm
- Weight: 109 g
- Volume: 83 cc
- Touch user interface optimised for one-hand use with tactile feedback
Display and 3D
- Main display
- Size: 3.2″
- Resolution: 640 x 360 pixels (nHD)
- Up to 16 million colours
- aspect ratio 16:9
- automatic orientation sensor (Accelerometer) for display rotation - 3D image engine
Keys and input method
- Stylus, plectrum and finger touch support for text input and user interface control (alphanumeric keypad, full and mini qwerty keyboard, handwriting recognition, full screen handwriting for Chinese language)
- Dedicated Media Bar touch key for access to music, gallery, share on-line, Video Centre and web browser
- Voice commands
- Physical keys for application launch key (menu key), send & end, power, camera, lock, volume up & down
Colors and covers
- Available in-box colours:
- Red
- Blue
- Black
Available colours may vary per region.
Connectors
- Micro-USB connector, USB 2.0 High Speed
- 3.5 mm Nokia AV connector
- MicroSD card slot, small DC jack, Micro USB cable interface to PC (CA-101), TV out interface (CA-75U)
Power
- BL-5J 1320 mAh Li-Ion battery
- Talk time (maximum):
- GSM 8.8 h
- WCDMA 5 h - Standby time (maximum):
- GSM 406.2 h
- WCDMA 400 h - Browsing time with packet data (maximum): 3.4 h
- Video playback time (maximum): 5.2 h, Video playback time (maximum, nHD/Mpeg4) 3.4 h, VGA video playback using TV-Out with Stereo BT Headset 3.8 h
- Video recording time (maximum): 3.6 h
- Video call time (maximum): 3 h
- Music playback time (maximum): Up to 35 h
- Gaming time (maximum): 5.6 h
Memory
- MicroSD memory card slot, hot swappable, max. 16 GB
- 81 MB internal memory
- 8GB microSD memory card in-box, expandable up to 16GB
- WCDMA 900/2100
- GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
- WCDMA 850/1900 (Latin America and Brazil variant only)
- Automatic switching between GSM bands
- Flight mode
Data network
- CSD
- HSCSD
- GPRS/EDGE class B, multislot class 32, maximum speed 296/177 kbps (DL/UL)
- WCDMA 2100/900 with simultanous voice and packet data, maximum speed PS 384/384 kbps (UL/DL), CS maximum speed 64 kbps
- HSDPA cat 6, maximum speed 3.6 Mbps (DL)
- WLAN IEEE 802.11 b/g (3G version only)
- TCP/IP support
Local connectivity and synchronization
- Bluetooth version 2.0
- Bluetooth profiles: A2DP & AVRCP - MTP (Mobile Transfer Protocol) support
- TV out with Nokia Video Connectivity Cable (CA-75U, in-box)
- Support for PC synchronisation with Nokia OVI Suite
Call features
- Integrated hands-free speakerphone
- Number screening for messaging and calls
- Automatic answer with headset or car kit
- Any key answer
- Call waiting, call hold, call divert
- Call timer
- Logging of dialled, received and missed calls
- Automatic redial
- Speed dialling
- Voice dialling: speaker independent dialling and voice commands (SIND)
- Fixed dialling number support
- Vibrating alert (internal), also with tactile feedback
- Side volume keys
- Mute/unmute
- Contacts bar for 4 contacts with images and communication history (SMS, IM, email, web feeds)
- Talking ring tones
- Conference calling with up to 6 participants
- Video calling: up to 3h, QCIF 176 x 144 pixels, low up to 5 fps, normal up to 10 fps, smooth up to 15 fps
Messaging
- SMS
- Multiple SMS deletion
- MMS version 1.3, message size up to 600 kb
- Automatic resizing of images for MMS
- Nokia Xpress audio messaging
- Common inbox for SMS and MMS messages
- Number screening for messaging
- Distribution lists for messaging
- Instant messaging client
- Cell broadcast
- Supported protocols: IMAP, POP, SMTP
- Support for e-mail attachments
- OMA e-mail notification support
- Mail for Exchange 2008 in DL client, in 2009 embedded
Web browsing
- Supported markup languages: HTML, XHTML, WML
- Supported protocols: HTTP, WAP, JavaScript
- TCP/IP support
- OSS browser
- Nokia Mobile Search
GPS and navigation
- Integrated GPS for pedestrian and car navigation
- Nokia Maps 2.0 Touch application
- 3.2 megapixel camera (2048 x 1536 pixels)
- Image formats: JPEG
- Carl Zeiss optics
- 3x digital zoom
- Autofocus
- Dual LED flash
- Flash modes: On, off, automatic, red-eye reduction
- White balance modes: automatic, sunny, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent
- Centre weighted auto exposure; exposure compensation: +2 ~ -2EV at 0.5 step
- Normal, Sepia, Black&White, Vivid, Negative
- Dedicated camera key
- Landscape (horizontal) orientation
- Photo editor on device
- Direct printing to compatible picture printers
Video
- Main camera
Video recording at up to 640 x 480 pixels and up to 30 fps (TV high quality), up to 640 x 352 pixels and up to 30 fps (widescreen quality), up to 320 x 240 pixels and up to 30 fps/15 fps (email high/normal quality), up to 176 x 144 and up to 15 fps (sharing quality)
- Up to 4x digital video zoom - Front camera for video calling
- Video recording file formats: .mp4, .3gp
- Audio recording formats: WAV (normal), AMR (MMS), AAC/MP4 (high quality)
- Video white balance modes: automatic, sunny, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent
- Scene modes: automatic, night
- Colour tone modes: normal, sepia, black & white, vivid, negative
- Clip length (maximum): 1 h 30 min (high or normal quality). Dependable on available memory.
- RealPlayer
- Video playback file formats: MPEG4-SP playback 30fps VGA, MPEG4-AVC playback 30fps QVGA, WMV9 playback 30fps QVGA, MPEG4-SP playback 30 fps nHD
- Video streaming: 3GPP and CIF
- Landscape mode video playback
- Video editor on device
- Video Centre service supported: download and stream video content, WMV support, video feeds
Music and audio playback
- Nokia Nseries digital music player
- Playlists
- 8-band graphical equalizer
- selection by artist, composers, album and genre
album graphics display and audio visualisations
bass booster, stereo widening, loudness - Music playback file formats: .mp3, SpMidi, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA
- Dedicated volume keys & immediate access to Music Player from Media Bar, dedicated music keys in the headset control unit AD-54
- Stereo FM radio
- 3.5 mm Nokia AV connector
- Music Player
- Nokia Music Manager
- Nokia Music Store support
- Nokia Podcasting support
- Ring tones: 3D stereo ring tones, 64-tone polyphonic, mp3 & video ring tones (3 videos and 9 mp3 songs built-in)
- Integrated stereo speakers with surround sound (crystal clear hi-fi sound quality with dedicated audio chip)
Voice and audio recording
- Voice commands
- Speaker-independent name dialling (SIND)
- Voice recorder
- AMR, NB-AMR, FR, EFR
- Digital stereo microphone
Personalization: profiles, themes, ring tones
- Customizable profiles
- Ring tones: 3D stereo ring tones, 64-tone polyphonic, mp3 & video ring tones
- Themes
- S60 5th edition
- Symbian OS version 9.4
- Active standby
- Media Bar
- Contacts bar
Personal information management (PIM): contacts, clock, calendar etc.
- Support for assigning images to contacts
- Support for contact groups
- Clock: analogue and digital, world clock
- Alarm clock
- Reminders
- Calculator
- Calendar with week and month view
- Converter
- Notes
- To-do list
Applications
- Java TM MIDP 2.0
- Flash Lite 3.0
- Games: 3D Bounce and Global Race, DVD: Ulead VTB
- Nokia Music Store
- Nokia Maps
- Map loader
- PC Download
- PC Photos
- OVI Suite with Nokia Music
- Download!
- Share on OVI
- Adding more applications:
- Over-the-air (OTA) downloads
Gaming
- Games: 3D Bounce and Global Race
- 5800 XpressMusic with pen stylus
- Battery (BL-5J)
- High Efficiency Charger (AC-8)
- Music Headset (HS-45, AD-54)
- Video-out Cable (CA-75U)
- Connectivity Cable (CA-101)
- 8 GB microSDHC card (MU-43)
- Carrying Case (CP-305)
- Stand (DT-29)
- Stylus plectrum in wrist strap (CP-306)
- Extra pen stylus
- User guide and Quick guide
- Mini DVD
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