Nokia C5-03 review: Green cadet

Final words

How many times must the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic have thought the golden watch was finally coming? By the looks of it, retirement is still a long way off. But the founding father should at least be getting used to being called ‘gramps’.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

And what about the grandson here? OK, we have some good news and some bad. We’re only not sure which is which. You see, the Nokia C5-03 isn’t of the genetically mastered breed of Symbian^3. It’s a chip off the old block – 100% old-fashioned, organic Series 60. Now, that can’t be good, can it? That’s well out of date already.

On the other hand, the same piece of software didn’t stop the 5800 XpressMusic from becoming a massive bestseller with its nicely balanced featureset.

It is obvious that Nokia is not eyeing platinum sales with the C5-03. They’re simply updating their line of entry-level touchscreen smartphones. Making sure they have every user profile covered.

With a complete connectivity set and free navigation, the Nokia C5-03 is great value for money already. In time you will come to want a better screen, better imaging and better touch experience. Well, that’s where the C6-01 or the C7 will be a logical next step. And of course, any user will be welcome to go all the way to the N8 – or whatever the future flagship is called.

Nokia C6-01 • Nokia C7

Anyway, to get to the point, we like the look and feel of the Nokia C5-03. The Nokia C5-03 is better designed than the 5800 XpressMusic. The multiple paintjobs make a lot of sense too. The fixed-focus camera is a letdown – and so are the poor multimedia support and sluggish app market. Symbian S60 isn’t the best approach to touchscreen but a smartphone with this level of skill is a steal of a deal.

The corresponding rank in the Android army is held by phones like the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 and the Samsung I5800 Galaxy 3. Neither will wow you with specs but the capacitive screens and Android might just feel more natural and fluid. The ultimate trade off though is between slightly better multimedia and free navigation.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 • Samsung I5800 Galaxy 3

If you want to consider something more exciting and advanced within budget, Symbian has yet another option. The Sony Ericsson Vivaz has been around for a while and its price has become quite competitive. And we’re talking some serious cameraphone. The 8 megapixel pictures are great (not bad panos either) and it can also shoot 720p videos.

Nokia C5-03 • Sony Ericsson Vivaz

It certainly looks like there’s nothing the Nokia C5-03 can do in its defense. It’s hard to compete against the best – even if they’re yesterday’s best. But we do think the Nokia C5-03 has one thing the likes of Vivaz desperately lack. No, it’s not the free SatNav. It’s a family tree.