Nokia 5230

This is the Nokia 5230 an affordable smartphone from Nokia with a twist; it’s mine, so I’m stuck with it for the time being.

It’s available at no extra cost on contracts starting from £10, so if cost has been putting you off a touchscreen smartphone, it may be time to make the change.

It’s somewhere between a full smartphone and traditional phone in terms of size and relies on the touch screen for typing as well as display. It’s a resistive screen so there’s no multi touch on offer. I found it to be reasonably responsive and it looks crisp with photos and videos. There’s a two-megapixel camera built in that can also record video.

The various ports are all on the top of the phone. There a 3.5mm headphone socket, microUSB for connecting to a computer and a Nokia power socket. It’s a shame that Nokia didn’t take the opportunity to charge over the microUSB plug but Nokia chargers are at least common at the moment. The location of the socket does mean that the phone will be upside down if you use a charging station. A microSD socket on the side of the phone can be used to increase the amount of memory and doesn’t require taking the back off the phone.

GPS is particularly worthy of note. That’s because, rather than relying on Google Maps and a data connection, you can download maps and speech packs for the whole world using the Ovi software on the computer. This is divided by region so the memory requirements aren’t excessive if you only want the UK. The 5230 did well at picking up a signal from the satellites and the instructions are clear and well timed. The screen is perhaps a little on the small size for a dedicated GPS but an excellent extra for a phone.

The GPS does highlight one significant limitation with the phone. There is just 70MB of built-in memory. Maps are stored on the microSD card but there wasn’t enough memory on the phone to install the app without removing some of the game demos first.

Annoying as it is, this is a set up problem, and once it’s done I had no further problems with the phone. The default home screen uses the edges of the screen to launch the VIP contact list, internet links and the Vodafone links. The bar along the top is used for calls, text, emails and calendar entries. The VIP list is a good idea but it’s still a little convoluted for a shortcut bar. Double-tapping the entry takes you to the contacts book rather than calling the contact. Tap and hold to show a menu, select call and then voice call. It works but could be much easier.

Email is well supported if it is used with a data enabled plan and there are apps from Facebook and Youtube.

If you want to get the benefits of a smartphone without having to make a big payment upfront or commit to a long and or expensive contract the Nokia 5230 is a very attractive phone.