Nokia 5610 XpressMusic review: Gotta love music

XpressMusic

Nokia 5610 is a music phone and, hey, it acts accordingly. Not to mention that it looks the part: NaviSlide and the dual purpose confirming center of the D-pad speak books of the orientation of this handset towards the most demanding music fans.

Radio and music player - one click away with NaviSlide

Nokia 5610 has a stereo FM radio with RDS (still far from being a standard feature in mobile phones). Naturally, the radio only functions when the headset is plugged in to serve as an antenna. In fact all you need to do is plug in the 3.5 mm adapter.

The radio application will store 20 of your preferred stations, upon an automatic scan. Four different themes are available for the radio and the music player.

The included adapter lets you use headphones of your choice via a 3.5 mm jack

If the radio becomes too boring, go for the music player. It works with MP3, MP4, AAC, AMR, and WMA formats and comes with 7 equalizer presets and a stereo extension option. Songs are filed by ID3 tags or organized by artist, album and music genre.

Different playlists can be created to meet specific user requirements and, of course, the player can run in the background. The supported A2DP profile allows listening on Bluetooth wireless headphones.

A link to the video application is inside the music player - a curious and unusual decision for Nokia. Videos can be watched in fullscreen.

Only paid data

In terms of connectivity options, Nokia 5610 offers Bluetooth 2.0 and wired data transfers via the microUSB cable enclosed in the retail package. Once you've paired your Nokia 5610 with a PC, three modes to choose from appear on the display: synchronization, picture print over PictBridge and USB Mass Storage (the memory card appears as a removable drive on your PC). While with Nokia 6500 classic charging off USB was available, Nokia 5610 XpressMusic doesn't offer it.

20 MB of built-in memory topped with a 1 GB microSD card in the retail package

Network support includes the outdated CSD and the more modern HSCSD. GPRS Class 10 and EDGE are available too. Faster data transfers are available with UMTS, which allows downloads at 384 Kbps. Unfortunately, HSDPA is missing in Nokia 5610.

Two browsers: Nokia Web and Opera Mini

Nokia 5610 comes with an integrated web browser. Font size modifications and direct address entering are available, of course.

The phone is delivered with a CD with the necessary software to make the best of your device. Here you will find the Nokia PC Suite, the Starter version of the Adobe Photoshop Album for work with pictures and the Basic package of Ulead Video ToolBox for work with videos.

Camera: Symbian-like performer

Nokia 5610 camera could've been the best shooter among non-Symbian Nokia handsets, if it wasn't for the 6500 slide. It offers 3.2 megapixel resolution, or maximum picture size of 2048 x 1536 pixels. It's armed with auto focus for getting the most out of your shots.

There is a LED flash though for better shoots in low light. The camera lens is only slightly sunk in the rear surface, so be careful not to scratch it.

Camera lens, dual LED • shutter key on the side

The camera options are not the most sophisticated, but good enough if you're not too demanding. And you know what we think of the S40 gallery. Pictures can be viewed in full-screen mode and easily sent to another device via Bluetooth or printed over PictBridge.

Inside the Gallery the file structure of the internal memory is fully separated from the memory card. This however in no way complicates file transferring and filing in folders.

Sample pictures:

Outdoors

Close-ups

Night mode

Nature

A bit of PC history

Image quality is good. The colors are quite natural and the exposure is usually correct. In bright light the noise is under control and the amount of resolved detail is above average for the class. The shadow areas are sometimes too noisy though. Even though the camera does not offer a dedicated macro mode, it handles close-ups quite well thanks to the auto focus.

VGA videos shot with Nokia 5610 are nothing to praise really. Nokia 5610 records video at 15 fps in the common 3GP format. Sound recording can be disabled while capturing videos.

Effects

Conclusion

Nokia 5610 XpressMusic is a superb and compact music slider, covering all the essentials of a contemporary handset. It has original design, great music capabilities and above-average camera. Last but not least, the solid sporty casing and brilliant display sure add to the appeal.

Nokia 5610 outspokenly targets the young and music is understandably of the utmost importance. Along with it though, this handset seems to have enough to enjoy a more diversified following.

Nokia 5610 is already selling and the price tag of about 320 Euro makes it a reasonable choice given the variety of functions on offer.