Nokia 5800 XpressMusic reviewed in extreme detail

Now I like a good in depth review as much as the next gal, but Mobile-Review have really outdone themselves. Their review of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic “Tube” phone is extremely detailed and leaves no doubt about whether or not you should run out to purchase this smartphone or stick with your iPhone 3G.

The low price tag and music-oriented focus of the phone are positives and will bring in younger audiences. Nokia is also obviously setting themselves up to do battle with Apple’s iTunes with their forthcoming Comes With Music service. The reviewer does emphasize, however, that since this is Nokia’s first venture into the touchscreen market, future devices may do better to break down the assumptions that smartphones with touchscreens are automatically outrageously expensive.

They also point out that the materials aren’t outstanding but they are not a letdown, either. The phone is rather thick, though, but not more so than many of its competitors. The phone comes with a soft, plastic case and a stylus that sports a wrist strap.

The display is very nice, however. You can use the stylus or your fingers to manipulate it and it can handle a beating. The reviewer notes the only screen that comes anywhere near the quality of this one is the one on the HTC Touch HD, though us in the U.S. are flat out of luck on that one.

The touch keypad is very responsive and accurate, responding to even the tapping of fingernails. There is even a mini-QWERTY and a full QWERTY keypad you can use in various text input situations.

Battery life was better than expected and the OS ran pretty quickly, though load times were apparently hard to pin down. You can read the entire review and see a ton of pictures of the device in action here.

[via Mobile review]