You don’t have to be smart to use a smartphone

NOKIA C5-00

By JULIE ANN GATBONTON

August 23, 2010, 9:02am

For years, Nokia has kept us on the edge of our seats with their extravagant line up of mobile phones. Their phones have evolved from four-digit models to the “high-end” N series; then came the X series which focused on social entertainment and the E series, which were designed for business and productivity.

Now, the Finnish mobile phone giant has unveiled their latest addition, the C series, which are designed to embody, in Nokia’s words, the "core range of products". Along with this was the introduction of a new naming convention, which can definitely give consumers an idea about a certain phone’s functionality and price. In this new scheme, phones are numbered from 1 to 9.

The lower the number, the lesser are its features, hence, the cheaper.

The first phone in the C series category is the Nokia C5. Applying the new name policy, the Nokia C5 can be classified as a mid-range phone.

With its classic design, the phone looks very simple yet pleasingly attractive. Its boxy appearance that houses a 2.2-inch TFT screen and numeric keypad offers nothing new, but its slim profile, fairly large keypad and the addition of the Symbian S60 OS make it extra special.

Without a doubt, the phone is robust with its surprisingly lightweight stainless steel body. I’ve got to say I’m a big fan of its numeric keypad because the buttons are large enough to fit even the largest thumb (I mean, how large can a thumb can get, right?). The smoothness of the keypad makes it easy to glide your fingers as you navigate around the screen. Moreover, each key gives just the right amount of feedback.

The phone’s command buttons are just as responsive as the numeric keypad. However, it would have been perfect if the “C” button or the clear key had been slightly bigger. Aside from just having 1/3 the size of the rest of the command buttons (except for the home key), it is positioned between the application and call end key. So, when you type too fast and you suddenly want to erase a word or two, you need to be careful not to press the application or call end key. If you have long nails, it’s something that may take quite a while to get used to.

Now let’s get down to the feature that most people consider nowadays in buying a new phone – web browsing. Sad to say, the Nokia C5 is not equipped with WiFi, but is 3G HSDPA compatible with maximum speed up to 10.2 Mbps. Good thing network providers are on the verge of coming up with the best deals in mobile internet browsing.

To be honest, I used to have deeper appreciation on Android phones because of their pre-installed social media applications such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. I’ve always thought that a Nokia phone that would offer the same convenience would be the best because, needless to say, nothing beats Nokia when it comes to manufacturing user-friendly phones. The release of Nokia C5 certainly marks the beginning of easy-to-use smartphones.

Once logged in to Facebook, you don’t have to open the Facebook application each time you want to look at your friend’s updates. Your friend’s profile will be automatically linked to his contact details in your phonebook if his number is posted on Facebook. Otherwise, you’ll have to do it manually. Once linked, you’ll see your friend’s updates whenever you search his name in your Contacts list.

From your friend’s contact details, you can go directly to his Facebook page, write on his wall, send him a message, poke him or view his photos. You just have to be patient while the page is loading because pressing other keys can exit you from the page and put the phone on standby mode. When this happens, you have no other choice, but to press the Home key, repeat the process, blame yourself for being impatient and blame your network provider for the slow service.

It’s easy to enjoy a life of connectivity with Nokia C5 as it can facilitate access not just to Ovi Mail, but to Yahoo and Gmail as well. It also comes with Nokia Messaging and lets you chat using Google Talk or Windows Live Messenger.

As for image quality of photos and videos, the 3.2 megapixel camera may seem a bit entry-level compared to most Nokia phones with higher resolutions, but can produce results that are good enough to post on your favorite social networking sites.

The availability of Nokia’s wide range of attractive phones allows us to choose a handset that best fits our changing lifestyles. In this period of “less is more”, I can see the Nokia C5 making it to the young market.

Nokia C5-00 Specifications

General 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 900 / 2100
Size Dimensions 112 x 46 x 12.3 mm, 56 cc
Weight 89.3 g
Display TFT, 16M colors
240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches
Memory Internal 50 MB storage, 128 MB RAM , Card slot microSD, up to 16GB, 2GB included
Data GPRS Class 32
EDGE Class 32
3G HSDPA, 10.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 2 Mbps
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, LED flash
Video VGA@15fps
Features OS Symbian OS v9.3, Series 60 rel. 3.2
CPU ARM 11 600 MHz processor
Messaging SMS, AMS, MMS, Email, Push Email, IM, RSS
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML

Published in Manila Bulletin August 23, 2010.