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GSMArena team, 01 November 2010

Round the square


Nokia X5-01 review: Round the square

  • Comments (59)
  • User reviews
  • X5-01

1. Introduction
  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. Unboxing, 360-degree spin, design and construction
  3. 3. User interface: Symbian S60
  4. 4. Phonebook, telephony, messaging
  5. 5. Image gallery, music and video players, audio quality, FM radio
  6. 6. Camera, connectivity, web browser
  7. 7. Organizer and apps
  8. 8. Conclusion
  9.  
  10. Nokia X5-01 specification
  11. User opinions and reviews
  12. Review comments (59)

Nokia Touch UI Symbian S60

Introduction

On occasion Nokia will experiment with form factor and shape. The Nokia X5-01 is the kind of phone that might just leave you wondering. Is it having a bad slider day or a great square day? No, the Nokia X5 is better than that. It’s a neat and chubby Symbian smartie with a QWERTY keyboard and a 5MP camera.

Nokia X5-01 Nokia X5-01 Nokia X5-01 Nokia X5-01
Nokia X5-01 official photos

The struggle to provide a better system of text input while keeping the size down is still ongoing. Touchscreen provides an answer of sorts, but nothing yet really beats an old-fashioned hardware QWERTY keyboard.

The full four-row keyboard on the Nokia X5 has a long list of applications – from SMS and email, to IM and social networking. The Nokia X5-01 sports a dedicated media key too – it’s no square when it comes to having fun.

The 5MP camera is a constant source of photos to share with friends and you can do it over Wi-Fi, no need for a data plan. The Nokia X5-01 is a full-blown smartphone too – 600MHz and 256MB RAM put it within a stone’s throw of the Nokia N8 performance. And the Ovi Store is steadily growing with new and useful apps.

We were a little disappointed to find the X5-01 doesn’t have a GPS receiver. Check out our list of pros and cons to see what made the cut and what didn’t.

Key features

  • Full QWERTY slider form factor
  • Quad-band GSM/EDGE, tri-band 3G with HSDPA and HSUPA
  • Symbian S60 UI, 3rd edition FP2
  • 600MHz processor, 256MB RAM; 200MB user-accessible storage
  • 2.36" 256K-color QVGA display
  • 5 megapixel fixed-focus camera, LED flash, VGA@15fps video recording
  • Standard microUSB port (charging)
  • microSD card slot (32GB supported, 2GB included)
  • Wi-Fi b/g; DLNA and UPnP support
  • Bluetooth (with A2DP)
  • Accelerometer-based controls
  • Dedicated media key
  • Stereo FM radio with RDS, Internet radio
  • 3.5mm audio jack
  • Excellent audio quality
  • Comes With Music bundle in select markets
  • Good email and social networking support
  • Office document viewer; ZIP file support
  • Quick Business and Personal homescreen toggle

Main disadvantages

  • No GPS receiver
  • No office document editing
  • Small, low-resolution screen
  • Non-hot-swappable microSD card under the battery
  • Fixed focus camera
  • Poor video recording
  • No camera lens protection
  • No DivX or XviD video support out-of-the-box
  • No smart dialing

So, some things were left out, but Nokia managed to fit a lot of features in a small package. The last square-shaped QWERTY messenger we reviewed was the Motorola Flipout, which had its own set of pros and cons. For one thing, the Nokia X5-01 is a cheaper entry into the world of smart messengers. And it’s an entry with a bang.

Nokia X5-01 Nokia X5-01 Nokia X5-01 Nokia X5-01
Nokia X5-01 live shots

It’s clearly not a phone that will appeal to everyone, but some will fall for its looks and rectangular charm. And as far as non-touch smartphones go, the Nokia X5-01 actually ranks pretty high on features.

It has a couple of nice accelerometer-based tricks too. If you press and hold the volume key, then shake the X5-01 it will “knock” several times – according to how many new messages you have. You can also skip a music track by shaking the phone.

Now, you can go ahead and skip to the next page for the hardware tour. We begin with unboxing and the 360-degree spin.

Next Page » 2. Unboxing, 360-degree spin, design and construction
1. Introduction
  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. Unboxing, 360-degree spin, design and construction
  3. 3. User interface: Symbian S60
  4. 4. Phonebook, telephony, messaging
  5. 5. Image gallery, music and video players, audio quality, FM radio
  6. 6. Camera, connectivity, web browser
  7. 7. Organizer and apps
  8. 8. Conclusion
  9.  
  10. Nokia X5-01 specification
  11. User opinions and reviews
  12. Review comments (59)

Reviews Nokia X5-01 review
  • Comments (59)
  • User reviews
  • X5-01

Nokia X5-01 review: Round the square - Reader comments

s
  • sharp
  • 3sE
  • 03 Jul 2013

I think its a nokia mistake, I don't even receive GSM network any longer as it stops seeing my SiM.

  • Reply
T
  • To be binned ASAP
  • nCe
  • 15 Apr 2012

This is one of the worst phones I have ever had, and the last Nokia I ever buy. Next week I am getting my Galaxy, and is the day when I will burn this piece of junk in the backyard. It is horrible, software is buggy, camera can't record videos (it ca...

  • Reply
v
  • vish
  • t}A
  • 03 Mar 2012

Hw much it coste......?

  • Reply
  • Read all comments
  • Post your comment
Total reader comments: 59

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