Along with 5310 the 5610 injects the Finnish giant’s XpressMusic crew with some much needed pep, polish and class, clearly showing that Sony Ericsson no longer has the exclusive music phone bragging rights with its Walkman group.
The compact and sturdy 5610 seriously ups the production values compared to previous XpressMusic rockers, with metallic sidebars, a glossy façade and keypad and a snappy slider action. It also tones down the colour schemes, although its red and battleship grey markings are funky enough.
Naturally, the 5610 is imbued with Nokia’s famed user-friendliness and this is highlighted by a front spring-assisted sliding bar that switches effortlessly between the music player and FM radio. It’s incredibly handy for quick access.
The music player is iPod-esque slick, letting you create playlists and spice up the sounds with a six mode equaliser (two of which are customisable). Criminally, Nokia couldn’t find space for a 3.5mm headphone connection, so you have to make do with an adapter but it still serves up a dynamic sound with plenty of drive. The front five way joypad nicely doubles as the music controls.
Tune stockpiling is handled by a microSD card up to 4GB in capacity so you can squirrel away around 1,000 good quality MP3 tracks. Strangely, Nokia hasn’t rigged this mobile muso with support for its music download store. The 5610 does however sport an accomplished 3.2-megapixel snapper with autofocus and a sterling LED flash that skillfully illuminates low-level lighting. Video is also captured in an impressively smooth VGA resolution.
Unfortunately, the 5610 doesn’t dance to the latest HSDPA waltz but does download with old school 3G, which is speedy enough for web browsing and email retrieval. It also means you’re privy to the ways of video calling.
Verdict
At last an XpressMusic handset that deserves your attention with a musical prowess to take on the Walkman dynasty.
Best features
Slick music player
Handy slider switch to access music features
Accomplished camera
100% secured payment
