Nokia C5 review: Smart and trusty

Organizer and apps (continued)

The C5 comes with a GPS receiver and the Ovi Maps on board. You can browse the maps, look up addresses, plan routes, and enjoy turn-by-turn voice guided navigation. The Nokia C5 gives you a free lifetime walk and drive navigation license.

Ovi Maps

With the Map Loader application for PC you can download map data to a compatible computer, and transfer it to your device to save on data charges.

As for the games, the Nokia C5 features two preloaded games, the well known Bounce Tales, and the Brain Challenge. Luckily, the Ovi Store is just a few clicks away and there you can find plenty of games.

Bounce Tales • Brain Challenge

Ovi Store

Speaking of the Ovi Store, it’s easily accessible right off the phone as well as via a desktop browser. You can download the apps straight to your smartphone or transfer them later on from your desktop computer.

The structure of the Ovi Store client is simple – the general view lists apps with their names and category, plus the price and stars rating.

The Ovi Store

Selecting an app, gives you more details - a description, storage footprint plus reviews by people who have tried it.

Final words

It's pretty clear that we lost the geeks way back on page 1. Congratulations to all those of you who're still with us. We think we've got a phone for you. The Nokia C5 hasn't got all the features ever invented - it's the sensible buyer's choice. Performance within budget and a sense of style, the C5 is well on target.

A device trying to redefine classic, the Nokia C5 is very well built and packs the smartphone punch. Take away the voice-guidance charges and it goes for pennies really. Adding Wi-Fi to the mix would have made it an excellent package, but alas, we're in no luck on that. Besides, web browsing on a small screen isn't great anyway.

Let's not forget though, this is a phone for users that aren't keen on jumping on the touchscreen bandwagon. The Nokia C5 is definitely a phone for them to consider. By the way, it's exactly the kind of handset Nokia are so good at making. The C5 compares much more favorably to rivals in its class than the Finnish touchphones so far. A brief look at the (few) Nokia C5 alternatives available should convince you about that.

The Sony Ericsson Elm is a compact bar-shaped phone that packs a 5 megapixel camera to make up for the lacking smartphone capabilities. It will even throw in WLAN to match up the free navigation on the C5. And the GreenHeart badge counts too we guess. The Elm however costs more than the C5. All in all, it's less bang for your buck unless you get a good carrier deal.

Sony Ericsson Elm

If it's the camera performance of the Nokia C5 that bothers you, check out the Sony Ericsson C902. The Cyber-shot impressed us back in the day, but its screen is even smaller and there's neither GPS nor Wi-Fi. Still, the good build quality and the slim 10.5mm waistline makes it worth at least a second look.

Sony Ericsson C902

The Samsung i7110 has it all: killer screen, imaging, media and a steel body. But it sure seems like ages that Samsung last made a phone like this. The i7110 never really caught on but it was pretty close to the ultimate of technology at that time. Sadly, it does look less likely to succeed on today's market.

Samsung i7110

It doesn't look like Samsung are having big plans about Symbian at this point, even if they say they do. So, Nokia are preparing to have the non-touch Symbian market all to themselves. The Cseries are an important part of that. Phones like the C5 are taking over from the likes of Nokia E51. Eseries will continue to offer premium service while the C5 and the ones to follow will be smartphones for the masses.

Nokia E51

In any case, the first of the Cseries handsets to hit the shelves finds itself in a comfortable position in its market segment. The problem is that segment is perhaps shrinking in size, but the good feature set, quality finish and competitive pricing will help the C5 sell well. Not to mention, it looks like a phone that carriers will love.