Review of T-Mobile's new Nokia 5230 Nuron S60 touchscreen smartphone

The Nokia 5230 Nuron is the first touchscreen equipped Nokia S60 smartphone to be sold directly by a major carrier in the United States. While devices like the Nokia 5800, which I loved, and the Nokia N97, which I loathed, both have sold well overseas, S60 Touch smartphones have failed to garner any carrier interest here in the U.S. so far. Until now, at least.

So in this review we take a look at T-Mobile USA's version of the 5230, called the Nuron. It features a large touchscreen display, a cool white and silver body, and a user interface that the average consumer here has yet to see.

Physical Aspects

The Stylish Nokia Nuron features a smooth and well rounded body that is primarily white, but includes some silver trim around its face. The phone feels very good in the hand, and with dimensions of 111.5mm x 52mm x 15.5mm (5.4in x 2.0in x .6in) and a weight of only 115g (4.8oz), it feels equally good in a pants pocket or handbag. The 5230 Nuron's resistive touchscreen^(INFO) offers what Nokia calls nHD resolution, which is a fancy way for saying that at 640 x 360 pixels, it offers exactly one quarter of 720p HD resolution. The screen is bright and colorful, and requires very little pressure at all to activate. I like it quite a bit. No styus silo is to be found on the phone's body, but Nokia includes a guitar pick-like device that can be attached with a lanyard that might suit some people, though it seems absurd to me.

The main buttons on the front of the phone offer call send, call end, and menu/multitasking functions. When the device is active, the buttons light up in green, red, and white, respectively, making them very easy to find. The buttons offer a nice click and I have no complaints regarding them. Above the display can be found a small button that is used to bring up a quick-access media menu. On the right hand edge one can find a spring loaded lock/unlock key and the camera shutter button. I really like the lock/unlock key - it has a very obvious ridged feel to it that you just can't miss. The volume control is also on the right hand edge of the phone.

On the left edge you'll find two covered slots, one for the microSD card and one for the SIM card. While you can easily insert a SIM card into the slot from the outside of the phone, you have to remove the back cover and battery to take it out, which makes this design a bit odd. The rear cover is pried off with a fingernail to get to the battery compartment, and it goes back on with a simple snap. On the top of the phone are the power button and the 3.5mm headphone jack, as well as the covered mico-USB data port (no USB charging) and the small Nokia power jack receptacle.

From a hardware perspective, I really like the 5230 Nuron. It is good looking, solidly built - though still light in weight, and it offers up a large, bright, and sharp display that can be viewed in direct sunlight without any problems. It's a good design that I think people will appreciate.