The Nokia 5320 XpressMusic mobile phone is the latest addition to Nokia's range of music oriented mobile phones. Running on the Symbian S60 OS platform, the 5320 is the bigger 3G capable brother of the S40 series 5220 XpressMusic phone. It features a 2-megapixel camera with LED flash, expandable memory card slot, and a 3.5mm jack for your favourite headphones. If that's not enough, it is also optimized for playing N-Gage games.
Physical Aspects
Our review unit came in a blue and black color scheme. Personally, I am not a fan of this color scheme. Those who prefer something less contrasting might do well with the red and black 5320, which in my opinion, looks great. The 5320 is generally a well built phone with glossy black plastics used for its front and back. Unfortunately, this means all dirt and grime from sweaty hands will be transferred instantaneously to the phone's surface. The battery cover fits snugly, but I do not fancy the flimsy [SIM card] tray cover. It was difficult to open and felt like it was about to break every time I changed SIM cards.
The front of the 5320 houses the [TFT] screen capable of displaying up to 16 million colors at [QVGA] resolution (320 x 240 pixels). Under harsh sunlight the screen is very usable, albeit with some color washout. Otherwise, fonts and images look sharp, with good contrast. Above the screen, the earpiece is flanked by the forward facing camera and "my own" button. This button can be used to bring up the music search function when held down and also functions as the "A" button when playing N-Gage games. You can easily customize this button to launch a favourite application if finding music via voice commands isn't your thing. Beneath the screen, the navigational pad, a metallic blue square, is flanked by the left and right softkeys, and Call and End keys. The Menu button is located between the left softkey and Call key, whereas the cancel button is located between the right soft key and End key. These awkward positions make it really difficult to press these keys if you have large thumbs. The navigational pad is an 8-way d-pad to facilitate moving diagonally when gaming.
The white backlit keypad is set flushed against the surface. The keys are also flat, making typing on them quite a chore. The gap between the keys is awkward and this makes the keys unevenly sized and spaced. This causes a major slowdown when it comes to typing out an [SMS]. I also found the keypad lacking in tactile feedback, which slowed me down even further. It's not a deal breaker as I got used to the keys after a while, but I would have preferred more pronounced keys and better tactile feedback.
The dedicated music playback keys run down the left side of the 5320 and a slot for your [microSD] card is also located here. The music rewind key also works as the "B" button when gaming. Held in landscape mode, this button will be the equivalent of a shoulder button on proper gaming console controllers. The microSD slot is capable of supporting up to 8GB cards. This will ensure you have ample space for all your multimedia cravings. The right side consists of the volume keys and the dedicated camera button. The bottom of the phone is where you will find the 3.5mm audio jack flanked by the [micro-USB] port and charging jack. The power button is located at the top of the phone. The back of the 5320 is glossy and has tiny dimples sticking out at both the top and bottom portions of the back to help with grip when gaming. The 2-[megapixel] lens is located next to a twin-LED flash. This enables you to snap photos in darker than usual lighting conditions.
Overall, the 5320 is a solidly built mobile phone in a conservative candybar style that won't win it any awards. Measuring 108mm x 46mm x 15mm and weighing only 90 grams, the 5320 will definitely not make your pocket or bag feel much heavier, although its thickness might put off those who prefer ultra thin devices.
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