Review of the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic touchscreen smartphone

The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is Nokia's newest budget-oriented touchscreen smartphone, and it comes in a nice small package. Ricky takes a look at how well the 5530 XpressMusic stands up against other touchscreen smartphones in this in-depth review.

Physical Aspects

The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is quite an attractive little handset. The front of the phone is taken over by its modest touchscreen display, which is positioned in exactly the center, making for an eye-pleasing aesthetic design. There are three touch-sensitive buttons below the display and a special XpressMusic button at the top right, for quick access to your media. The 5530 XpressMusic is deceptively small, measuring in at 104mm x 49mm x 13mm (4.1in x 1.9in x 0.5in) and weighing a scant 107g (3.8oz). Despite the plastics used in its design, the phone feels solid, with no unnecessary creaks in use.

The 2.9-inch nHD (360x640 pixel) resolution resistive touchscreen display is bright and extremely sensitive, providing a really nice touch-oriented experience. The three touch-sensitive buttons, left to right, comprise send, menu, and end keys. The menu key, like other Symbian-powered smartphones, can be held for a few seconds to view the task manager, for easy multitasking. There is also a proximity sensor on the front of the phone, to detect when it is being held against your face on a phone call.

The volume rocker is positioned along the right edge of the 5530 XpressMusic, with a slide-lock key just below. This slide-lock key allows you to quickly lock or unlock the display, to prevent accidental keypresses. Below this is the dedicated two-stage camera button. The bottom of the phone is rife with connectors, including the standard 2mm Nokia power port, a standard 3.5mm audio port, and the microUSB data port. The latter of these is covered by a small attached door, to prevent debris.

Along the left edge of the phone is a long attached door which hides the microSD card slot and SIM card slot. The power button is the only thing on the top edge of the phone, so that it is not easily confused with any other buttons.

The 5530's 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera is positioned on the back of the phone, flanked by a single LED flash. The entire rear cover needs to be removed to give access to the 1000mAh battery. This rear cover is the only real negative of the 5530 Xpressmusic's build quality, as it is extremely flimsy and I was afraid that I would break it every time I had to access the battery.