Consider the Nokia C5-00 Candy Bar phone. In this review I cover various aspects of the phone and how does it fair when compared to other models in this price bracket.
But before we begin, here are the basic features of the phone in discussion:
Now that we know what makes the phone tick - lets see what all is it lacking:
But before we begin, here are the basic features of the phone in discussion:
- Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
- Dual-band 3G (900/2100) with upto 10Mbps HSDPA and 2Mbps HSUPA
- Neat and well built, Metal on the body
- 2.2" 16M-color QVGA display, excellent sunlight readability
- Symbian OS, S60 3.2 UI
- ARM11 600 MHz CPU, 128 MB RAM
- 3.2 MP fixed-focus camera with LED flash
- Front VGA video recording at 15fps for Video Calls
- GPS receiver and free lifetime voice-guided navigation license
- Stereo FM radio with RDS, Visual radio
- Bluetooth (with A2DP support)
- Standard microUSB port (with charging support)
- microSD card slot (16 GB supported, 2GB included)
- Smart dialing
- 3.5mm audio jack
- Great audio quality
- Document viewer preinstalled
Now that we know what makes the phone tick - lets see what all is it lacking:
- No WLAN
- Small screen (2.2" just isn't enough now-a-days)
- No accelerometer (hence no auto screen rotation)
- Fiddly memory card slot
- Document viewer doesn't support editing
How is this phone different?
Well to begin with - there are a lot of people out there looking for simple yet powerful phone which is trustworthy and has everything packed into a compact package.
So Nokia heard their prayers by introducing the C5-00. No touch, or wifi or QWERTY keypad etc...Nokia took out everything which would take away the battery life and compensated with quality.
The phone is compact yet it packs a punch with what runs under the hood. Looking like a simple candy bar - it resembles an older Nokia phone but comes loaded with 3G, great keypad, GPS, 3mp Camera, Video Calling etc.
A snappy 600mhz processors ensures that the phone does not lag behind when running apps or resource hungry tasks such as web browsing.
What is the down Side?
Like all things - even this phone has its downside.
- I somehow did not find the 2.2" TFT display upto expectations. Text size becomes fairly small and due to its low resolution (240 x 320), becomes a bit tedious to read.
- Lack of a Wifi makes it imperative for you to take a data plan to enjoy web services. Wifi always speeds things up while the conventional EDGE makes the overall Web on Mobile experience pretty unsatisfactory.
- 3G plans are still quiet expensive hence they get ruled out. Which brings us to the point that - what good are Video Calls without 3G? Since we are at it - data heavy apps such as Youtube etc becomes useless without Wifi and an expensive 3G connection.
My previous review talks about Nokia C3 which is cheaper yet seems to sport more practical features such as Wifi & Full QWERTY keypad. Makes that a better choice over C5.
Is there an Upside?
Oh yes people. There are quiet a few upsides which make this phone a good seller in the market.
- S60 Platform allows you to store unlimited Contacts and Messages
- Faster Processors ensure there are no delays
- Multi Tasking is possible on this phone. Hence you can minimize chat and open emails or do both simultaneously while listening to music.
- Battery backup is an excellent 670hrs of standby & about 12hrs of continuous talktime.
- Sound Quality off the headphones is fairly decent
- Finally a Nokia phone which charges when connected through USB. Big plus point!
- Very solid built quality. Steel back and front casing - excellent keypad
Verdict:
This phone is meant for people who use a cellular data plan. And know how to get around working with it. Not meant for novice users. Unless you intend to use it for calls and sms (for which any low end phone would suffice).
So if you want a more practical phone - I suggest you consider the Nokia C3-00 which is cheaper and offers Wifi and full keyboard. What's more - its cheaper than C5.
But if you already own an C5 - I would suggest you to keep it. Simply because it's trust worthy. The fact that when cellular data rates come down in India and 3G is more affordable - thats when the C5 will shine and give you enough reason to use it.
You can also read my Review on Nokia C3:
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