Nokia 5530 XpressMusic review

Rating: 3.5

The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is the third touchscreen device from Nokia with the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Nokia N97device being the first two. This handset is pitched very much, as the entry-level model but don’t let that put you off as it’s a cracking little device. Find out how we got on with this smartphone in our Nokia 5530 XpressMusic review.

The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is very much styled on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic but with a 2.9-inch screen - rather than 3.2-inch found on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic – it’s a slimmer and slightly more compact device. The casing is a little more square too and while the design isn’t quite as robust as the Nokia 5800 we found this a pleasing phone to hold and use.

What we like is that Nokia has kept the design to a minimum, with even ports and buttons around the sides of the phone kept to the basic. You’ll still find a 3.5mm audio jack, for instance, along with a mini-USB connector and charge port.

Check out the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic tech spec

The screen has a decent 640 x 360-pixel resolution and is bright enough to use just about anywhere. Nokia has updated the Homescreen for this release, so you’ll find a neat rolling Contacts bar that allows you to add up to 20 contacts with ease. Then there is the new media bar that puts your favourite apps right on the homescreen. Setting this up is easy but Nokia has made it easy by pre-populating it with Facebook, Search, Messages and Internet Radio.

Extras include the addition of 3.2-Megapixel camera that comes with a single LED Flash, so isn’t so good in low-light conditions but we found it worked fine in the average living room.

When it comes to memory, you’ll find 70MB of storage to hand but you can always add up to 8GB using the microSD slot. There is no 3G built into this phone but the GPRS connection works fine for messaging and making the most of Facebook.

Verdict
The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is a decent phone and while it’s considerably cheaper than the Nokia 5800, we can’t help feeling that if you want a good touchscreen phone then you’re better opting for that, rather than this entry-level version.

Best features
Nice and compact
Decent screen
Good camera

Not so good
No 3G
Battery life
Lack of storage

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Closest rivals

Nokia N96
Mobile music fans will dig this Symbian smartphone’s mammoth 16GB onboard memory to stockpile a wealth of tunes and its integrated 3.5mm jack to plug headphones straight in.

HTC Touch Diamond
This Windows Mobile powered touch phone has the multimedia chops to match its stylish design, including a 3.2megapixel camera, built-in GPS and 4GB of internal memory.

Sony Ericsson W980
Sony Ericsson’s flagship music phone is incredibly compact but still manages to feature the latest Walkman music player with dedicated touch controls and 8GB of storage.