Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition Unlocked Phone with Free Voice Navigation and Nokia Navigation Accessory Kit–U.S. Version with Full Warranty
July 29, 2010 by admin
Filed under Unlocked Cell Phones
The Nokia 5800 US 3G XpressMusic is a S60 5th Edition device with a resistive touch screen and tactile feedback. The device has a large 3,2 inch, bright nHD (640 x 360 pixels and 16:9 aspect ratio) color display. The device has variety of input methods: stylus, plectrum and finger touch support for text input and UI control (alphanumeric keypad, full and mini qwerty keyboard, handwriting recognition). Use the Nokia 5800 US 3G XpressMusic to connect to mobile broadband using WLAN or HSDPA (3.5G). Find directions and locations with the integrated A-GPS and included maps. Additional features include a 3.2 megapixel camera with dual LED flash, Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR, and USB 2.0 High-Speed.Nokia’s 5800 Navigation Edition builds on the success of the 5800 XpressMusic phone, utilizing the brilliant 3.2-inch touchscreen as a navigation platform. Preloaded with complete maps of the U.S. and Nokia’s Ovi Maps software, the 5800 offers premium mapping features such as 3D landmarks, terrain maps, weather service, traffic warnings and more. Included is a lifetime subscription for both walking and driving directions, along with all the necessary accessories–charger, holder, suction mount–for vehicle use. On top of navigation, you’ll get all the connectivity and multimedia features that have made the 5800 a best-seller.
Widescreen navigation and entertainment. Click to enlarge. |
Full-featured GPS navigation on a 3.2-inch touch display. Click to enlarge. |
Voice-guided directions in 2D and 3D mode. |
Find places and addresses around you and check the weather forcast. |
3D landmarks for over 200 cities. |
Includes car kit with suction mount and charger. Click to enlarge. |
Nokia Ovi Maps GPS Navigation
The 5800 Navigation Edition includes lifetime GPS navigation license for driving and walking, full USA and Canada maps so you can navigate and search in offline mode, and an intuitive interface that leverages the 5800′s touch UI and brilliant 3.2-inch widescreen. You’ll get 3D landmarks for over 200 cities, high-resolution aerial images and terrain maps, traffic and safety warnings, and more.
When online, you can check out weather forecasts and nearby events, explore premium travel content by Lonely Planet and Michelin for over 1000 destinations globally, and find thousands of POI listings for sights, restaurants, hotels, shops, nightlife, and more.
Navigation licenses come pre-installed and ready to use, and included in the box are a charger and suction mount for out-of-the-box navigation.
GPS navigation can be used without a SIM card, but works optimally with a data connection through your network Carrier. Data charges may apply.
Select Navigation Features
- My position–Find your current location easier and faster with integrated AGPS.
- Find places–Find places and addresses around you.
- Favorites–Save your favorite places and routes. Sign in to your Ovi account, and synchronize all you personal favorites with maps.ovi.com.
- Drive–Use GPS car navigation with voice and visual instructions, lane assistance, and speed limit warnings.
- Walk–Use GPS pedestrian navigation with routing through pedestrian zones and shortcuts, stairways, plazas, and pathways through parks and buildings.
- Car kit–Complete navigation solution for your car with car kit, suction mount, and charger included with your device.
- Free maps–US and Canada maps data come pre-bundled on your device. Donwload more than 180 countries using Nokia Maps loader and you’ll never need a paper map again. Visit http://www.nokiausa.com/maps for more info.
About The Nokia 5800
The Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition is a WCDMA/3G/GPRS smartphone featuring a large 3.2-inch color display with 640 x 360 pixel resolution and a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. The touchscreen provides tactile feedback, and is ready for input from the included plectrum, styluses, or your fingertips.
The internal battery provides up to 9 hours GSM (5 hours WCDMA) of talk time on a single charge, with up to 17 days of standby time.
Nokia’s handy contacts bar makes it easy to share media and communicate with your friends, and the media bar means ultra-quick access to your favorite media. Enjoy MMS and SMS messaging, along with a wealth of features outlined below.
Connectivity
The 5800 gives you Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) and 3G mobile broadband connectivity with a fully capable web browser and easy-to-use e-mail client. The microUSB port lets you quickly transfer photos or GPS info between the phone and PCs. Bluetooth wireless technology means you’re set for streaming stereo audio or wireless headphones or earpieces, and the 3.5mm A/V output lets you enjoy audio and video on external devices. An FM transmitter is also built in, so you can tune your vehicle’s radio to the device’s audio.
Nokia Ovi Suite
Ovi by Nokia gives you a bundle of smartphone features to help you be more productive, along with plenty of entertainment options.
Access photos, music and files stored on your computer with Ovi Files. Easily sync your calendar and contacts with your PC. Share your photos and videos anytime, anywhere.
The Ovi Store lets you purchase apps, games, videos and more for enjoyment on your device.
Music
The 5800 is a great music platform, too. With support for up to 16 GB microSD cards and playback of MP3, AAC, eAAC, eAAC+, WMA, and WAV audio formats, you can take your music library with you. Enjoy playlist editing and sharing, a graphic EQ for dialing in your sound, and integrated stereo speakers with 3D surround sound. You’ll get up to 35 hours of music on a single charge.
You can also browse, stream and download millions of songs over the air at Nokia’s music store.
For those who prefer the radio, a stereo FM radio lets you catch up on the news or your favorite shows.
Video
Video looks great on the 5800, with support for MPEG4, AVC, WMV, RV, and Flash Video. Enjoy up to 5 hours of video on a single charge.
The 3.5mm TV output gives you a composite output for enjoying video, images, and more on your television.
Camera
The 5800′s camera features Carl Zeiss optics and 3.2-megapixel quality. The dual-LED flash is great for low-light conditions, and the 3x digital zoom and autofocus are features you’ll find helpful. You can also record video at up to 640 x 480 pixel resolution, and take video calls thanks to the front camera.
Nokia 5800 Specs
- Weight: 109 g/ 83cc/ 3.84 ounces
- Size: 111 x 51.7 x 15 .5mm (4.37 x 2.04 0.61 inches)
- Display: Touch-sensitive 3.2-inch QVGA LCD with 16 million colors
- Display resolution: 640 x 360 pixels
- Display aspect ratio: 16:9
- Internal battery: BL-5J
- Talk time (WCDMA/GSM): Up to 6.4 hours/4.3 hours
- Standby time (WCDMA): Up to 400 hours
- Music playback time: Up to 35 hours
- Band: NAM VARIANT WCDMA 900/1900, Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900
- Internal memory: Up to 80 MB user data
- Expandable memory: Expandable by microSDHC memory card, up to 16 GB
- User interface: Symbian OS, S60 5th Edition 5.0
- Bearers and transports: WCDMA, EDGE, GPRS
What’s in the Box
Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition device with stylus and Li-Ion battery, 8 GB micro SD memory card, Stereo headset, Audio controller, Charger, Car kit (car holder pack, rotating swivel adaptor, easy mount, car charger), Data cable
Learn More
Worldwide Walk and Drive Navigation
With the 5800′s Ovi Maps walk and drive navigation application, drivers receive turn-by-turn voice guidance including lane assistance, traffic information (in 10 countries including the U.S.), and safety camera and speed warnings, while pedestrians will be guided on shortcuts through parks and pedestrian-only zones in over 100 cities across the globe. And unlike other mobile navigation mapping solutions, Ovi Maps works offline–no cellular service is required.
Driving directions. |
3D landmarks. |
Lonely Planet guide. |
Real-time weather. |
With the new Ovi Maps for mobile you get for free:
- Maps for over 180 countries and free map updates
- Drive and Walk navigation available in over 70 countries with real-time voice guidance
- My Position enables you to find your current location easier and faster than ever.
- New one box search for quicker access to finding places and addresses.
- Save your favorite places and routes, then synchronize them with your Ovi account over the air.
- Car navigation with voice and visual instructions, lane assistance and speed limit information. Now also with text-to-speech voice guidance.
- Pedestrian navigation with routing through pedestrian zones and shortcuts, pathways through parks and buildings, stairways and plazas. Now with text-to-speech voice guidance.
- Get real-time weather information including a 5-day forecast, for your current or any location found via search.
- Lonely Planet and Michelin offer you dynamic access to the best and most relevant editorial travel content for over 1000 destinations. Find thousands of listings for sights, restaurants, hotels, shops, nightlife, and more. Look these places up on the map and get to them with Walk and Drive navigation.
- Discover the events happening nearby your location on the map or any place found via search.
- Share your location on Facebook–where you are, what you are up to and finish with a photo.
No Hidden Costs
The new version of Ovi Maps comes with all the maps and high-end, car grade navigation features you need for free and is yours to keep for the life of the smartphone. No additional licenses needed for extra countries, regions or services like traffic information or city guides. Data charges from network operators may apply.
Voice Guidance and Traffic Information
Turn-by-turn, voice guided navigation comes free for both drivers and pedestrians. For drivers this includes lane assistance, traffic information, safety camera, and speed warnings. For pedestrians, this includes shortcuts through parks and pedestrian-only zones for over 100 cities around the world as well as 6,000 3D landmarks in over 200 cities to help you find exactly where you are.
Unique Hybrid Technology
Ovi Maps is built on an advanced technology called hybrid vector maps. Vector maps are high quality but less data intensive and allow you to continue to navigate even if you lose your network connection. This means that maps downloaded or updated across a network connection are about half the size of bulky bitmaps used by other mobile map providers. The hybrid technology ensures that, unlike other providers, any downloaded map data is stored on the device for future use.
No Network Connection Required When Navigating
Avoid expensive, battery-draining network connections with Nokia’s unique hybrid technology. Maps can be pre-loaded on to your Nokia smartphone so you can set Ovi Maps to offline mode, saving battery power, and the navigation system will still work. This is particularly useful for those worried about data connection costs when travelling abroad or when you are travelling through areas with little or no network coverage.
Best Global Coverage
You take your mobile with you wherever you go in the world so, as standard, voice guided navigation for both pedestrians and drivers is available for 74 countries in 46 different languages and there are maps for over 180 countries. This gives you the best maps with the largest global coverage for free.
Technical Details:
- Unlocked quad-band GSM cell phone compatible with 850/900/1800/1900 frequencies and US/International 3G compatibility via 850/900/1900/2100 UMTS/HSDPA plus GPRS/EDGE capabilities
- 3.2-inch resistive touchscreen display; Nokia Ovi Maps navigation with preloaded U.S. and Canadian maps; Nokia Navigation Accessory Kit
- 3.2-megapixel camera/camcorder with Carl Zeiss optics and dual-LED flash; Wi-Fi networking; Bluetooth stereo music; MP3 player; FM radio; microSD expansion (up to 16 GB)
- Up to 6.4 hours of 3G talk time (4.3 hours on GSM networks), up to 400 hours (16+ days) of standby time
- What’s in the Box: handset, Nokia Navigation Accessory Kit (car holder pack, rotating swivel adaptor, easy mount, car charger), 8 GB microSD card, stereo headset, stylus, rechargeable battery, charger, data cable
At the time of publishing this review, the price for this item is $ 290.00
For more information or updates about the price of this product, click here
Review by Hank for Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition Unlocked Phone with Free Voice Navigation and Nokia Navigation Accessory Kit–U.S. Version with Full Warranty
Rating:
Update on 5/8/2010:
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It’s been a couple of months since I bought this phone. Finally, I’ve updated the firmware and some software, so I’d like to give a quick update / review on the new changes, because some of the things I mentioned before are no longer accurate.
- Firmware v40.2.005 is great. It’s just a slight improvement but good nonetheless. One can update the firmware either through over-the-air (ie. 3G / WIFI) or from a PC. I’d prefer to use Nokia Ovi Suite on a PC to update the firmware because you can backup all your settings / contacts / data. Although updating the firmware is relatively safe, you’d want to do a backup just to be sure.
- Ovi Maps v3.03 is a nice improvement. The interface is about the same. The biggest change is you can download voice guidance that speak street names during navigation. With this update, it really depends on one’s usage to think if this phone can replace a dedicated GPS unit. It’s getting harder to say now.
- Nokia Email Messaging is Nokia’s way of doing Push email. It works pretty well with GMail / Hotmail / Yahoo and I’d assume it works with other email service providers too. It basically syncs all the contents in each email accounts (up to 10). The updated client displays HTML contents which is a significant improvement.
Many new phones (especially Android phones) have come out in the last couple of months. I still think this phone still proposes excellent values with its price and features. Most of all, it’s unlocked, and it can be used anywhere in the world, even without a SIM card.
The phone’s user interface remains its Achilles’ heel, however. As long as the user finds the phone hard to use, it really doesn’t matter if the phone has the best price / features / performance in the market. Most users are using this phone to be more than just a phone. It’s a smartphone because the phone is smart, not because it expects a smart user to use the phone.
Original Review:
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I’ll try to keep it short. I’ll give the phone 5 stars without hesitiation. Others have provided very good (or bad reviews) of this phone, and mostly they are right-on. The key about this phone is you need to know why you want this phone, and how this phone suit your needs. Do not have an unreasonable expectation. The strength of this phone is its cost vs. feature proposition. In my opinion, there’s simply not a phone out there that provides such a rich feature set while costs < $250.
If you want to buy an iphone (and pay ~$1000 total – $200 for the phone + $720 for 2-year data plan @ $30/month), don’t buy this phone. Buy the iphone instead. This phone is not an iphone, not an iphone killer, and not an iphone replacement.
If you want to buy a Garmin GPS, don’t buy this phone. Buy a Garmin GPS instead. This is not a GPS replacement.
If you want to buy a good quality digital camera, don’t buy this phone. Buy a Canon or Nikon. This is not a digital camera replacement.
If you want to buy a FM radio, don’t buy this phone. But who needs a FM radio anyways.
If you want to buy a music player, actually this phone’s music feature is really nice.
With the above being said, buy this phone if you want an excellent phone AND want to do all of the above without carry all of the above gadgets at the same time. In particular you want:
- a phone that is unlocked, quad-band (international use), no contract, no $30 data-plan, no $10 GPS navigation plan and costs ~$250
- a phone that has strong signal, excellent call quality, and long battery life
- a phone that can play music/video/games, browse the internet, check email, take pictures/videos, provide GPS turn-by-turn drive and walk navigation (North America only) and maps service (global map is free download), provide VOIP video calls (using the 2nd camera in the front) over WIFI (fring and nimbuzz apps are free download) EVEN WITHOUT a sim card (excellent for travel)
Some tips while using this phone:
- the touch screen is a resisitive touch screen (unlike iphone’s capacitive touch screen). Do not use your “finger tip” to control the touch screen. Use your “finger nail” or the included stylus instead. Personally I like “finger nail” much better. Once you get used to this, everything is a breeze. If your “finger nail” is as sharp (or unsharp) as the included stylus, it will not scratch the screen.
- the user interface takes a while to get used to. The iphone user inteface is more superb (and it’s not even close, so I’ll give credit where credit is due.) However, the Nokia 5800 features are excellent and there are plenty of supported (and unofficially supported) apps to download. No need to download itunes. No need to wait for Apple certified apps. Basically, you can download whatever you want and do whatever you want with this phone (e.g. use it as a USB storage device), and that’s why it’s not an iphone.
- speaking of iphone interface – there’s a PAID (for money) app out there that you can buy and install iphone-like user interface onto your Nokia 5800. Get that app if you really need the iphone user interface. Just google “Nokia 5800 myphone app” and you will find the link and reviews.
- use the GPS without data plan (and do not get charged for data usage) by going to
settings -> phone -> app. settings -> positioning -> positioning methods and check only “Internal GPS”.
The GPS without data plan may take up 5 mins (or more) to acquire a lock. The GPS signal is weaker than a dedicated GPS unit, and the voice navigation does not speak street names. That’s why it’s not a GPS replacement, but a GPS capable phone that you can use while a dedicated GPS unit is not available.
- browse the internet and check email using WIFI. Make sure you don’t get charged for extra data usage by going to
settings -> connectivity -> destinations -> Internet (or MMS or WAP) -> “Your service provider” and make sure “use access point” is set to “after confirmation”.
It’s annoying that you will keep getting asked if you allow internet connection, but you’ll get the peace of mind that you’ll never accidentally connect to the cellular data network.
- visit Chinese (Traditional or Simplified) / Japanese / Korean websites by downloading “Opera Mobile with Asian Language Support” (not the regular Opera Mobile, not Opera Mini). Just google it and you will find the link.
- take pictures / videos while outdoor and with good lighting. Poor picture / videos quality is expected for any camera phone when taking them indoor with poor lighting. The phone flash does not help. That’s why it’s not a digital camera replacement, but a phone with camera that can use during social outings (e.g. Facebook Mobile upload).
Some nice to have (but not required) for this phone:
- get a data-plan if your service provider has a cheap alternative compared to the standard $30 smartphone data-plan. Being able to browse the internet and check email anywhere without WIFI is very convenient. Plus, the GPS / maps include additional features like traffic, weather, additional point-of-interests update that require a data-plan. More plus, with data-plan, you can turn on A-GPS (assisted GPS), which allows the GPS to acquire a lock in less than 30 seconds and to maintain a much stronger GPS signal throughout.
And most of all enjoy your phone while you are sitting somewhere nice, like a coffee shop. People, do everyone a favor – DO NOT USE YOUR PHONE (TALK OR TEXT) while driving.
Hope my review helps.
Review by V. Phan for Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition Unlocked Phone with Free Voice Navigation and Nokia Navigation Accessory Kit–U.S. Version with Full Warranty
Rating:
I’ve been using this phone for four days and those four days have been very blissful for me.
I came from a Samsung Star touch screen phone and this Nokia 5800 Nav. edition blew it away. The Samsung star was good but it lacks wifi and GPS.
With this phone you can pretty much do anything on the go. Wifi internet? let’s go. Youtube viewing? No problem. Got lost while driving/walking? It will be your savior.
PROS:
Battery life is decent if you do heavy websurfing and GPS navigating.
Battery life is super if you don’t do the above too much.
Build quality is good: it has a silver metal lining around the phone and it is pretty heavy compared to my Samsung Star.
Free lifetime GPS: You get free map updates forever.
Integrated GPS, not A(Assisted)-GPS like the original 5800 xpressMusic.
I have a Garmin 255w GPS and the GPS on this phone almost keeps up with it in accuracy. The voice on this GPS sounds more human than the robotic voice on my Garmin. Hey, this is a phone, don’t get your GPS expectation up too high.
Quad band unlocked: take the phone anywhere, put in any simcard and you’re good to go. Yes I am talking about AT&T and T-mobile, too.
Simcard and microSD card slots are on the side of the phone – unlike many other phones where you have to open the battery to put them in(though you have to open the battery to get the simcard out).
Phone has two cameras: The main one in the back and a self portrait camera in the front for all you narcissists. =)
Comes with a lot of accessories and cables.(Car mount for Navigation is very durable)
The stylus comes in handy for handwriting on the phone.
Speaker is typical for a Nokia: good. Music plays loud and clear, even got some bass.
Charging time is quick for a high capacity battery.
Good screen resolution (I think iPhone is lower at 480×320)
Convenient phone lock/unlock button on the side for your thumb
Radio
CONS:
The Main camera picture quality is average and doesn’t look like it is 3.2MP
Doesn’t come with a screen protector (I had to buy one)
Dialer keypad doesn’t have letters when you dial numbers. Might be a problem if you want to dial in a number disguised in letters. Hopefully they will fix this.
GPS on this phone takes a minute or two to lock in signal. Sometimes a few minutes if you’re not in an opened place.
Why can’t I think of anything else?
SYMBIAN OS VERSION 5:
This is my first time using this OS and it has been good to me.
Everything is very responsive and installing apps is a breeze.
You can open a free OVI store account on your phone to download free apps, games and other stuff.
If you want to use an all in one instant messenger to compliment your WiFi, I suggest downloading an app called Nimbuzz in the Ovi store and ditch the default IM app on your phone.
Surfing the web is decent, but the screen may be a bit small for prolonged surfing.
OVI store has lots of free apps(some you have to pay)
Youtube videos play well, but don’t expect to watch them in HD like you would on your PC.
[...]
All in all, this phone is worth every penny and if you wanna be different and not have an iPhone, this is the one to get.
UPDATE: This phone version has the updated firmware of V30 with increased CPU power. (Open your dialer and Press in *#0000# to see your firmware version)
UPDATE #2: I have been playing around more with the GPS and came to a conclusion that the text to speech on this phone gives me more instructions than my Garmin 255w. Though it doesn’t speak street names(just “turn right” “turn left”, “stay right” “stay left”…etc), it gives more instructions than the Garmin. For example, when I enter a freeway, it tells me to follow the freeway, and when I go over the speed limit, it tells me to watch my speed.
LATEST UPDATE: It has been roughly five months of owning this baby and I can’t live without it now. There is a new firmware update that added the support of kinetic scrolling and many other additions. Please update to firmware v40 if you have not yet done so. It is much more stable. You can update from your phone. (Open your dialer and Press in *#0000# – then go to options and check for updates.)
Review by Walt for Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition Unlocked Phone with Free Voice Navigation and Nokia Navigation Accessory Kit–U.S. Version with Full Warranty
Rating:
I will start by saying that Amazon’s shipping was lightening fast. I received the phone in 2 days with free shipping.
Unboxing the phone is a treat as there are tons of accessories included. The car mount is top notch quality. Phone booted up very quickly and setup was very smooth. 3G signal is very strong and never switches to Edge like my BB Bold and Iphone 3g did. You can’t ask for more connectivity options, and data speeds have been very impressive. There is a ton of 3rd party software available both online and in the Ovi store. Not iPhone quality app store, but still nice. I found that most of the apps on my previous iPhone were largely unused anyway.
I think the touch screen is very responsive. Remember, this is a resistive screen and not capacitive. It works with a stylus or fingers….even with gloves on;)
Call quality is very good IMO. Music and video are simply fantastic on this device. The stereo speakers do a great job, or you can use the supplied ear buds or bluetooth stereo headset. GPS lock was very fast and held on well. It even gave the exact street addresses as I passed homes on a residential side street. Voice prompts are loud and clear and you get your choice of voices and language. So far I can’t say anything bad about this phone. If I come across any issues I will update them here.
For an unlocked phone without contract it’s quite a bargain right now.
****EDIT****
Well after a couple of weeks the screen will not go past the white Nokia welcome screen. It’s soon to be on it’s way back to Amazon, unfortunately. I really like the phone, but I think I’m going back to HTC.
Review by Johnson for Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition Unlocked Phone with Free Voice Navigation and Nokia Navigation Accessory Kit–U.S. Version with Full Warranty
Rating:
I was a bit hesitant about moving from a Nokia E71 to this phone because of the touchscreen. I like tactile feedback and the satisfaction of physically feeling a button being pressed. Yet at the same time I wanted something new. So far I am very satisfied with this phone. It has an excellent display and it is very snappy software Symbian s60v5 that makes my “old” e71 feel dated. The construction is solid and doesn’t feel cheap at all. The e71 felt more “elegant” when I first bought it, but the 5800 doesn’t feel as fragile as the e71 does. Its taken me about an hour to get all my usual apps on it, but it was easy to bluetooth direct connect and transfer everything from my old phone to this one. Apparently this phone is hovering around 7 million units sold worldwide, so it must be doing well. Unfortunately a lot of us in the USA need to be spoon fed iPhones. Which this phones does and then some. it has 100s of apps and themes and all that out there. Overall I’d go for 4.5 stars cause I wish it was maybe a quarter of its width thinner, but then again I think I was just used to the thin e71. Great phone.
Review by MrMan for Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition Unlocked Phone with Free Voice Navigation and Nokia Navigation Accessory Kit–U.S. Version with Full Warranty
Rating:
Since my contract with T-Mobile had expired in July, I was looking around as to what to do next. I really like the plan I have and the customer service with T-Mobile. Only problem is that they really don’t have a great selection of phones for renewal at a decent price. I also didn’t want to switch to AT&T just to get a free phone since I would get half the minutes and texts for the same price I’m paying with T-Mobile! Verizon and Sprint were a no-go for me.
A friend told me about unlocked phones, so I was lucky this information came right around Black Friday weekend, when the Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition was on sale.
GPS
EDIT: To ensure you only use the integrated GPS and never carrier service:
settings -> phone -> app. settings -> positioning -> positioning methods and turn off all but ‘Integrated GPS’.
First off, you DON’T need a data plan to use the GPS, but there are some things you cannot access on the road without it. These include: expanded POI’s, traffic, weather, satellite and terrain backgrounds, etc. However, you can at least see what they are like by using wifi. You will need to edit some of the settings so you don’t use A-GPS, which is carrier assisted (it’s set to it by default). It does take longer to lock onto the satellites this way, but it’s not painfully slow. Also, since you have lifetime drive and walk navigation and map updates, you can just use wifi to update everything. You can also download numerous voices. My other GPS has more computerised sounding voices, but these are crystal clear and realistic. In addition, you get weather, traffic, etc. for two years. It’s also great to have the car mount and car charger included. You can view the maps in 2D or 3D and the 3D version has building models for downtown areas, etc. It’s nice to see the actual buildings you are passing. Also, it shows clouds during the day and stars at night along the top of the screen, which is a nice touch. The included mini-CD lets you install Nokia’s OVI Suite software so you can use the phone with your PC. They also have a map updater and loader you can download.
MUSIC AND VIDEO
The 8GB microSD card comes with some music and videos on it that can obviously be deleted, but it’s nice to get some freebies. It was already in the phone when I got mine. There are some good videos on how to use the device for different things, and a few music videos too! I like the XpressMusic Shortcut – very handy to access the pictures, photos, videos, etc. The camera is pretty decent for both photos and video, much better than my previous phone, so no complaints really there. It’s nice there is a secondary camera too for video calls or self-pictures.
The FM radio is a nice addition, although you have to have headphones in order to use it.
One thing I really like is the two built-in speakers. They are loud and don’t sound tinny at all.
The phone has a lot of ringtones to choose from. At first I couldn’t find them, but then I realised they were within the different profiles you can edit. They are all mp3-style ringtones with real music, etc.
PHONE
Call quality is great and I actually get better reception with this phone than my previous one. Dialing is easy and texting can be done via a few different keyboards or handwriting with the stylus. I also like the voice-dialing – much easier to use than my last phone. Actually, when a call comes in it will also pronounce the name of the person calling (although in a very computerised voice).
You can set up the home screen to show four applications or contacts. Also a search bar is below that which enables you to search the contents of your phone and the internet. Optionally, you can also set up your email and that shortcut is displayed below the search bar.
The phone feels solidly built and sturdy. It’s a nice size, maybe a tad more thick than I’d like, but overall it’s a nice quality. Screen resolution is fantastic. I like the slight vibration when you touch an item to confirm you touched it. The volume, unlock and camera buttons are on the right side, while the sim card and microSD slots are on the left side. It’s nice to have these external, but they still recommend you turn off the phone and remove the battery to add or remove the sim or microsd card. On the top of the phone are the power button, headphone jack and micro USB port.
Battery life is also excellent. My first charge lasted 3 days with heavy use of everything, including the GPS. I expect with light use, it will last much longer.
Some of the applications included are dictionary, converter, recorder, file manager and real player. The two games (Bounce and Global Race) are also pretty good.
There are a lot of settings that you can fiddle around with to get it just the way you like it.
Overall, this is a great alternative for those not wanting to have a contract, but wanting a great phone with all the features. The GPS features alone honestly makes it worth the cost.