Here is a set of pictures of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic for your viewing pleasure! The set includes cameos by its ancestor, the Nokia 7710, and other devices…
I used my Nokia N85-3 to take most of the pictures :)
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Tasty bits – Nokia 5800
I was recently hanging out with Matthew Bennett of Nokia Daily News, and we ended up filming each-other while discussing the awesome new Nokia 5800 XpressMusic – how geeky :)
His video is here. My video is there.
As I pointed out in the videos, the 5800 is not the first production touch device running Symbian. That title belongs to the Nokia 7710, which is a Symbian-based (S90) phone with a touch screen that uses Hildon, the same user interface as the Linux-based (Maemo) Internet tablets.
The 7710 was way ahead of its time. Sure it was rather slow, but in late 2004 it featured a 1.3 megapixel camera, tri-band EDGE, an MMC slot, a web browser with Flash, Bluetooth keyboard support, location-based services (A-GPS), VoIP (SIP), and many other modern N-series features we take for granted today!
Likewise, the Symbian-based (S60v5) Nokia 5800 – incorporating a 3.2 megapixel Zeiss camera (with auto-focus, macro and dual LED flash), 3G, WiFi, a micro-SDHC slot, and GPS – could (should?) be an N-series device today.
As I mentioned in the videos, I was not expecting this many hardware features on such an affordable mid-range phone. Likewise, I was not anticipating the software to be quite as polished. I’m impressed with the direction Symbian is taking with touch…
The resistive touch screen and lack of multitouch are a bit disappointing, although I understand Nokia’s desire to cater to a broad range of markets. Ultimately, I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the 5800 as soon as possible.
Nokia N810 on its way
I’ll be getting my Nokia N810 Internet tablet this week, and I’m definitely looking forward to it… Ironically, I’ve been playing with a Nokia N800 that was sent to me by Nseries WOM World a few days ago!
Before I started this blog I owned a Nokia 770 for several months and I really liked it. When I sold it I promised myself to get my hands on the first Nokia Internet tablet with a keyboard – so there you have it :)
I also recently acquired a Nokia 7710, which is the ancestor to the Internet tablets. It’s a Symbian-based (S90) smartphone with a large touch screen that uses Hildon, the same user interface as the Linux-based (Maemo) Internet tablets.
Sony Ericsson K850i camera
Now that I’ve taken hundreds of pictures with my Sony Ericsson K850i here’s how it compares to the other 5 megapixel devices I’m familiar with, the Nokia N95 and the i-mobile 902.
First, all of these phones have great cameras – there’s no doubt about it! As I’ve mentioned before, camera phones are finally decent enough to replace dedicated point-and-shoot digital cameras in most situations…
The K850i generally produces excellent pictures, with a quick startup time. Low-light performance outdoors is excellent (long exposure with the flash disabled), the auto-focus is quick and assisted by an LED flash. The xenon flash and macro both work as advertised.
However, I’m a bit disappointed with the K850i when it comes to low-light performance indoors (artificial light with the flash disabled). There’s a lot of noise in the resulting pictures. Perhaps it’s a firmware issue?
I recently acquired a rare Nokia 7710 and snapped some pictures under the light fixture in my kitchen at night with the flash disabled but the results were pretty poor. Then, while unboxing the Asus 701 (Eee), I snapped some pictures under 3 flood lights in my basement, but the results were still pretty poor.
I’ve noticed that, while the N95 often suffers from a red tint problem, the K850i often suffers from over-exposure. Of course this is easily remedied by adjusting the exposure manually. Colors are noticeably richer with the N95 than with the K850i, perhaps because of the Carl Zeiss optics.
The i-mobile 902’s CCD sensor is less noisy than the CMOS sensor used on the other devices, especially in low-light. The macro on the i-mobile 902 is able to focus on objects closer than the other devices.
Unfortunately, video recording with the K850i is limited to QVGA (320×240 pixels at 30 fps), vs. VGA (640×480 pixels at 30 fps) with the other devices.
Bottom line:
– The i-mobile 902 is the best camera overall, but a pretty limited phone. It’s only missing the LED flash to assist the auto-focus, but this is easily remedied by carrying an LED light on a key chain.
– The Nokia N95 is the best camera for my purposes, and the most advanced phone. It’s only missing a better sensor and the xenon flash (which I don’t really use).
– The Sony Ericsson K850i is the best camera for most people, and a fully featured phone (tri-band HSDPA). It’s only missing a better sensor and VGA video recording.
Update: I’ve revised my analysis a little after reviewing the Nokia N82.
