We’ve covered a few miscellaneous aspects of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic already, but now we’re going to dive straight into the review. First up, as usual, is the build quality. Given that the 5800 XpressMusic is a candybar cell phone with only a handful of hardware keys, Nokia (or any other company making similar-form factor phones) doesn’t have much opportunity to screw this up.
Despite being a full touchscreen phone, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has a total of 9 buttons on it (power, volume up/down, slide-lock, camera, send, end, menu, and Media bar) These are all nicely tactile, and not easily pressed accidentally. The slide-lock is easily my favorite, as it’s unbelievably handy, and something I hope to see on all future Nokia handsets.
The entire back of the phone is removed to gain access to the battery and remove the SIM card. There’s actually no release latch/button, but rather is just snaps in place. I found this design pretty disconcerting at first, as you’re basically just applying force to pull the cover off the phone, which is usually a no-no. However, this cover does indeed snap firmly in place, and is not loose or anything, so they’ve done this quite nicely.
The stylus slips into the far edge of the back battery cover, and nicely blends into the rest of the phone when stored. This is good because, as previously mentioned, the only thing I’ve needed the stylus for is to remove the SIM card. Everything else on the phone is easily done with your finger, so that the stylus is just there if you need it, for personal preference. It’s made from a very sturdy plastic, and is nearly as long as the phone. I tried using it for ~30 minutes continuously, and while unnecessary, I found it comfortable to use for that extended period.
The SIM card and microSD card slots are covered by hard plastic doors, located along the left edge of the phone. If you don’t have a bit of fingernails, you may need the stylus to open the door and eject the memory card. The doors snap nicely back into place, and also blend in nicely with the overall phone design.
The top edge of the phone is quite busy, with the microUSB port (with attached rubber door), 3.5mm audio port, 2mm Nokia power port, and the power button. As with most others, it’s completely annoying to have the power port on the top of the phone, regardless of whether you’re charging at home or in the car. I wish Nokia would add the metal contact strips on the back of their phones, so that we could have decent desktop charging cradles for these newer phones.
The three hardware buttons along the bottom of the front panel are brightly lit and easy to use. However, after using the touchscreen for a while, pressing one of these three buttons is a rude awakening, as they require quite a bit of pressure to activate. I would like to have seen these be touch-sensitive, as they are on the Nokia N97.
I have the red version, and mine is actually built quite solidly. There are no squeaks or groans when using the phone, and it has a very solid in-hand feel. I’ve used other touchscreen phones, such as the LG Dare and the Samsung Eternity, and both had somewhat of a hollow feel, as though there was empty space left inside. The 5800 XpressMusic definitely feels very dense, which I like.
Overall, I would give the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic’s build quality a 5 out of 5 stars. It looks solid, feels solid, and the various buttons are nicely lit and tactile. I wouldn’t worry about dropping this phone on the sidewalk a few times, despite its massive display.
