The Nokia X5 is a phone aimed at youngsters. It has a full QWERTY keypad, which should come in handy considering how much these people type, and other interesting features, such as the ability to change tracks by shaking the phone or knowing how many unread messages you have.
It also has a 5 megapixel camera with flash, QVGA display, 3G and Wi-Fi. It also runs on Symbian S60 3rd Edition, which means it is a smartphone and you can run multiple applications on it and download more from Nokia's Ovi Store. But then how good is it? Read on to find out.
Bundle
The Nokia has a rather unique design. It is a slider but uses a landscape display. This gives it a distinctive square shape when closed. Slide open the phone and you will find a full QWERTY keypad, which, again, is uncommon in portrait sliders. Our review sample came in an eye-popping shade of pink, although, there is a far more subdued charcoal grey version available as well.
Below the display you will find a 5-way navigation pad surrounded by a rather confusing layout of buttons. Confusing because it groups together three keys on either side of the navigation pad in a very indistinct manner. Luckily the keys are spaced well apart, so you don't end up pressing one key while aiming for another. Still, we don't quite like the way the soft keys don't line up properly below their functions above on the display. The center button on the navigation pad also acts as a notification light.
On top of the display, you will find the earpiece with the ambient light sensor. The X5 doesn't have a video call camera, which is uncommon for a Nokia phone with 3G. We had some trouble with the earpiece on the X5. It has to be lined up perfectly with your ear to be heard clearly, or else the volume levels drops substantially. When you first place the phone on your ear, you will need to move it around so that the speaker fires directly in your ear through its tiny outlet. Again, it's very uncommon for Nokia to mess up such a basic functionality of the phone.
On top of the phone are the 3.5mm headphone jack and the micro USB port. The phone does not have a standard charging port and charges exclusively through USB. On the right side of the phone are the volume control buttons and on the bottom is a single loudspeaker.
The phone uses stainless steel around the sides and on the back for the battery cover. Above the battery cover is the 5 megapixel camera with LED flash. The SIM card and microSD card are placed below the battery. The X5 accepts up to 16GB microSD cards and comes with a 2GB card as standard.
The overall build quality of the phone was very good, something that Nokia rarely goofs up. The slider was also well built and slid smoothly. The dimensions of the phone were slightly awkward though. The phone feels too wide and the lack of height does not give enough room for you to hold on to. It's also pretty thick, which can be cumbersome for those wearing tight jeans.
Display
The Nokia X5 has a 2.36-inch QVGA display. The image quality is pretty decent; nothing too shabby for a phone in this segment. Even under sunlight the display remains perfectly readable. It also has an ambient light sensor to automatically adjust the display brightness.
Keypad
The keypad on the Nokia X5 is one of its best bits. All the keys are large and very easy to type on. Even the top row of the QWERTY keypad is not hindered by the edge of the slider. Only problem we had with the keypad is that the grey markings on the silver keypad were difficult to see at times.
Connectivity
The Nokia X5 is a quad band 3G handset. It also supports Wi-Fi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth v2.1.
Call quality and network reception were top notch and we had no problems with them. Wi-Fi sensitivity was also good and the device picked up weak signals well. Unfortunately, there is no GPS.
The web browser on the X5 was found lacking in terms of features. You cannot open new tabs, neither is there a search bar. The performance is quite good though and the browser is pretty fast and also supports Flash lite for basic Flash content playback. We would still recommend Opera Mobile if you need more features.
Camera
The Nokia X5 has a 5 megapixel, fixed focus camera with an LED flash. The phone does not have a dedicated camera, so you have to use the center button on the navigation keypad to take pictures. The camera is a bit slow; it takes about three seconds to launch and the shot to shot time is about five seconds.
The image quality is average. Daylight images come out well but only for objects situated at a distance where the lack of autofocus isn't very obvious. Images are over-sharpened to make up for the loss of detail. The noise reduction algorithm doesn't really do a good job as low light images are filled with noise. The flash isn't very effective and images taken with the flash have a hazy, washed-out look to them.
The X5 records videos in VGA resolution but at a lowly 15FPS, which makes them far from smooth.
Music
The Nokia X5 is an Xseries phone, which have always been music phone in Nokia's product line-up. The X5 comes with a dedicated music key, which launches and hides the music player. The X5 also has a 3.5mm headphone jack and a rather powerful loudspeaker.
The audio quality through headphones is excellent. We used our HiFiMAN RE0 and the X5 sounded perfect with plenty of volume to spare. The loudspeaker was also pretty loud but sounded rather tinny.
The X5 also has an FM radio. The radio sensitivity was very good and so was the audio quality.
Battery Life
The Nokia X5 has a 950 mAh Li-Ion battery. The battery is pretty small for a 3G smartphone with Wi-Fi. The phone lasted for a little more than a day of usage on a single charge. In comparison, the Nokia E5 with its 1200 mAh battery lasts for two full days.
Verdict
The Nokia X5 is a very likable little phone. Even though I was repulsed by the pink color initially, after spending a few days with it I quite liked it and found it very user-friendly. The design is very unique but won't be to everyone's taste. The keypad is something that everyone will like and it is very comfortable to type on.
The audio quality is also great and the phone can be a good replacement for a dedicated music player. For an average college student, the Nokia X5 offers plenty of useful features without being too expensive.
The X5 is priced at Rs. 9,199. Unfortunately for the X5 the E5 is available for just thousand rupees more. For that extra cash you get a design that is more palatable to the general public. You also get GPS with Ovi Maps and more importantly a bigger battery. And for that reason we can't really recommend the X5 to anyone when you can get a better phone by paying just a little more.
It also has a 5 megapixel camera with flash, QVGA display, 3G and Wi-Fi. It also runs on Symbian S60 3rd Edition, which means it is a smartphone and you can run multiple applications on it and download more from Nokia's Ovi Store. But then how good is it? Read on to find out.
Bundle
- Nokia X5-01
- 50 track music voucher
- Nokia BL-5F 950 mAh Li-Ion battery
- Nokia Travel Charger AC-6N
- Nokia 2 GB microSD card MU-37
- Nokia Connectivity Cable CA-101D
- Nokia Headset WH-102
- Compact User Guide
The Nokia has a rather unique design. It is a slider but uses a landscape display. This gives it a distinctive square shape when closed. Slide open the phone and you will find a full QWERTY keypad, which, again, is uncommon in portrait sliders. Our review sample came in an eye-popping shade of pink, although, there is a far more subdued charcoal grey version available as well.
Below the display you will find a 5-way navigation pad surrounded by a rather confusing layout of buttons. Confusing because it groups together three keys on either side of the navigation pad in a very indistinct manner. Luckily the keys are spaced well apart, so you don't end up pressing one key while aiming for another. Still, we don't quite like the way the soft keys don't line up properly below their functions above on the display. The center button on the navigation pad also acts as a notification light.
On top of the display, you will find the earpiece with the ambient light sensor. The X5 doesn't have a video call camera, which is uncommon for a Nokia phone with 3G. We had some trouble with the earpiece on the X5. It has to be lined up perfectly with your ear to be heard clearly, or else the volume levels drops substantially. When you first place the phone on your ear, you will need to move it around so that the speaker fires directly in your ear through its tiny outlet. Again, it's very uncommon for Nokia to mess up such a basic functionality of the phone.
On top of the phone are the 3.5mm headphone jack and the micro USB port. The phone does not have a standard charging port and charges exclusively through USB. On the right side of the phone are the volume control buttons and on the bottom is a single loudspeaker.
The phone uses stainless steel around the sides and on the back for the battery cover. Above the battery cover is the 5 megapixel camera with LED flash. The SIM card and microSD card are placed below the battery. The X5 accepts up to 16GB microSD cards and comes with a 2GB card as standard.
The overall build quality of the phone was very good, something that Nokia rarely goofs up. The slider was also well built and slid smoothly. The dimensions of the phone were slightly awkward though. The phone feels too wide and the lack of height does not give enough room for you to hold on to. It's also pretty thick, which can be cumbersome for those wearing tight jeans.
The Nokia X5 has a 2.36-inch QVGA display. The image quality is pretty decent; nothing too shabby for a phone in this segment. Even under sunlight the display remains perfectly readable. It also has an ambient light sensor to automatically adjust the display brightness.
Keypad
The keypad on the Nokia X5 is one of its best bits. All the keys are large and very easy to type on. Even the top row of the QWERTY keypad is not hindered by the edge of the slider. Only problem we had with the keypad is that the grey markings on the silver keypad were difficult to see at times.
Connectivity
The Nokia X5 is a quad band 3G handset. It also supports Wi-Fi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth v2.1.
Call quality and network reception were top notch and we had no problems with them. Wi-Fi sensitivity was also good and the device picked up weak signals well. Unfortunately, there is no GPS.
The web browser on the X5 was found lacking in terms of features. You cannot open new tabs, neither is there a search bar. The performance is quite good though and the browser is pretty fast and also supports Flash lite for basic Flash content playback. We would still recommend Opera Mobile if you need more features.
Camera
The Nokia X5 has a 5 megapixel, fixed focus camera with an LED flash. The phone does not have a dedicated camera, so you have to use the center button on the navigation keypad to take pictures. The camera is a bit slow; it takes about three seconds to launch and the shot to shot time is about five seconds.
The image quality is average. Daylight images come out well but only for objects situated at a distance where the lack of autofocus isn't very obvious. Images are over-sharpened to make up for the loss of detail. The noise reduction algorithm doesn't really do a good job as low light images are filled with noise. The flash isn't very effective and images taken with the flash have a hazy, washed-out look to them.
The X5 records videos in VGA resolution but at a lowly 15FPS, which makes them far from smooth.
Music
The Nokia X5 is an Xseries phone, which have always been music phone in Nokia's product line-up. The X5 comes with a dedicated music key, which launches and hides the music player. The X5 also has a 3.5mm headphone jack and a rather powerful loudspeaker.
The audio quality through headphones is excellent. We used our HiFiMAN RE0 and the X5 sounded perfect with plenty of volume to spare. The loudspeaker was also pretty loud but sounded rather tinny.
The X5 also has an FM radio. The radio sensitivity was very good and so was the audio quality.
Battery Life
The Nokia X5 has a 950 mAh Li-Ion battery. The battery is pretty small for a 3G smartphone with Wi-Fi. The phone lasted for a little more than a day of usage on a single charge. In comparison, the Nokia E5 with its 1200 mAh battery lasts for two full days.
Verdict
The Nokia X5 is a very likable little phone. Even though I was repulsed by the pink color initially, after spending a few days with it I quite liked it and found it very user-friendly. The design is very unique but won't be to everyone's taste. The keypad is something that everyone will like and it is very comfortable to type on.
The audio quality is also great and the phone can be a good replacement for a dedicated music player. For an average college student, the Nokia X5 offers plenty of useful features without being too expensive.
The X5 is priced at Rs. 9,199. Unfortunately for the X5 the E5 is available for just thousand rupees more. For that extra cash you get a design that is more palatable to the general public. You also get GPS with Ovi Maps and more importantly a bigger battery. And for that reason we can't really recommend the X5 to anyone when you can get a better phone by paying just a little more.
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