The smallest smartphone: Nokia 5500d (a user review)

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silversun93

New member
below is a link of a neat case study of controlling your Nokia 5500d Sport using your muscles... this is probably inspired by gov. arnie z. i supposed...

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Before I got my E61, I spent agonizing days compairing and trying to make a decision between the E60 and the E61... I badly needed a smartphone for work and the 1st criteria were it should not have a camera (you know how it is folks)... to make the story short, I decided on the E61 and this behemoth of a smartphone is tiring to lug around after 5 days of work! I was missing my 6230 (now, you know why I consider E61 humongous, coming from a 6230) I wanted something small, something in the size range of the 6230? the E50 was close, but then I saw something even smaller, enter 5500d?

1st Impressions?

Physical aspect...
this is really the smallest and lightest smartphone there is in the market at the moment? look at the specs folks

5500d = 107 x 45 x 18 mm @ 103gm

E50 = 113 x 43.5 x 15.5 mm @ 104gm

E61 = 117 x 69.7 x 14 mm @ 144gm

6230 = 103 x 44 x 20 mm @ 97gm

the phone is really very handy to hold at? those groves in the side are perfect for holding it and unlike the E61... it is not slippery (yes, I find the E61 a bit slippery maybe coz it is thin, I have dropped my E61 a couple of times and as a matter of fact the bottom left part has already a small dent)? 5500d has rubber on the sides, back and front so, there is no way that it will be slippery? very solid built, nothing creaks, its just a little bit difficult to put back the back-cover and I find that it is not closing the bottom part properly? but its not that I will try to drop it in a bucket of water to try the water-proof thing that it says? it definitely not IP66/NEMA-4 rated, if you know what I am talking about?

The Screen...
I have used 6230 as my main phone for almost 2 years, so this is not a problem? however, I have been using E61 for more than 4 months? its like, I was watching TV in a 61? plasma and suddenly I am watching it in a 17? LCD monitor? whoa! But I am not complaining, I know what I was getting? The screen is bright and it is finer, I mean the pixels?

What came with it...
- headset adapter+sport headset (over-the-back)
- 64MB microSD
- a charger
- a carring holder made of plastic
- BL-5B battery
- documentations

the music adapter looks cool, although the buttons are a bit hard to press, I know, I need to get used to it... and sad part is that it doesnt work with my E61 the sound quality is not bad and I will tell you more about the Music Player and the Tapping Control latter, all I can say is that this is cool...


Call quality
What can I say, it?s a Nokia! I just received a long call, and I swear the sound quality is better than E61 and E61 is pretty good? no need to elaborate here?

That?s all for now folks, I will update this after more time playing with it?

below are live pix and I know it aint good? more to come...







and BTW, i am in dubai ATM, and it is difficult to find an all english keypad phone here, most are english/arabic... I paid U$312 for this all english keypad after searching for more than a week... it should be down to less than 300 by the end of this month, I supposed... but it is very hard to wait when you see something you like...
 
all these new Nxx Music Edition makes me want to ask: does my 5500 qualifies as music edition too???

it got a dedicated key for Music Player and it got a very nice headset+adapter and it comes with free techno music tracks with the microSD that came wit it! and it is black too!

and the best thing-> the D-pad changes color when playing music
 
Thanks for the review!

How do you like the plastic flap that hides the pop port connector? Do you think it would be easy to snap off or otherwise lose its resiliency after extended use? Does the connector cover get in the way?

I really like the 5500 but I really don't understand why Nokia would use this flakey pop port cover when the phone is really intended for heavy wired headset connector use. Maybe you can post a photo of the phone with a headset connector installed--if you get a chance?
 
Thanks for the review so far. I am interested in purchasing the 5500, but would like to know more about the camera quality.

Are those pictures that you have shown typical of image quality? The mobo pic looks blurry, the outside shot of the buildings is fine, but the white truck in the third pic is horribly over exposed. Please say it aint so!

Is there a slight delay between the time you press the image capture button and the picture actually taking place?

Thanks in advance
 
i am sure the rubber flap will snap off someday and it kinda gets in the way, but i think i can get used to it...

the techno pop music that came with the microSD for free are awesome... there are about 11 tracks in all, its a full album... :lo:
 
the mobo pix is and at that time i have not removed the plastic cover of the lense as well...

i havent had the time to take more pix... i'll try to post more... cheers!
 
one great thing that I experience today with the 5500...

i went for a walk and of course using the Sports Mode of the 5500...

I have left my PC on standby and I have set the Store Image in the Nokia PC Suite to auto-download and went out for a brisk walk... as i returned and entered my room, immediately the phone was connected to the PC via BT and the recent pictures are immediately downloaded without me doing anything... and i am still keeping tracks on my walking, the 5500 is able to track the distance i have covered, and how many calories i have spent on the exercise... below is the picture that i just took...
 
loud enough, but probably not the loudest... it is within the same range as E61, but better than 6230... i like the bass boost they included in the music player and there is even a reverb! i can hear a better clarity and more depth... i also like the color change of the back-light on the d-pad, yellow when playing mp3, red on sports mode and white on normal use...

i like the track "Came Back Down" by Jimmy Kaleth and Bob Mitchell
 
5500 Sport Music Edition has been announced... link below

http://www.nokia.com/A4136001?newsid=1079596

I am not surprised at all, coz the 5500 is not just for sports, it is very much a competent music phone... the only big difference with the normal 5500 Sport and the 5500 Sport ME, is that the ME has 512MB of microSD and straps for the arms and the bike are included plus it is now sporting the orange or rust color...

anyway, i like the black better...
 
yo friedbrains..

how do the lower keys (like *, 0, #) feel compared to the other keys? do they feel different?? Or on yours do they feel all the same..

im in the process of possibly buying one right now but i heard the lower keys feel funny...
 
yo tyrone!

the lower keys are smaller, the whole row is smaller actually...

its a bit difficult to press compared to the rest, but i am sure i can get used to it... after a about 4 hours of use, i am getting used to it already...

the whole rubber keys are very easy to press, it is not like the 5210 or the 5140...
 
Ah, so I wasn't going crazy from tainted spinach that day.

I also found the bottom row (* 0 #) to be slightly harder to press. A real pity- I found nearly everything else to be wonderful.

The built-in flashlight was a real treat!
 
damn! the loudspeaker for calling is loud in this one! in quite small room i am using it to a third only compared to my e61 which is set to a halfway sometimes more...

and as andy said, the flashlight is neat... too bad i cant use it for taking pictures...

here is a sample shot by 5500d using night shot in my room with not so good of a light... that's my MB... i think my hand moved...
 
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