Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: An impressive high-res screen

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic: An impressive high-res screen

The Communicator series and the exotic 77xx tablets aside, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic 3.2" display is the largest in the Finnish family. The resolution of 360 x 640 pixels is also second to the E90 business monster only. In fact, outside the Windows Mobile realm there isn't any other device to match the display resolution (no - not even the omnipresent iPhone 3G).

So the large and pixel-dense screen, building on the Nokia expertise in displays, grants the 5800 XpressMusic a top spot in the company portfolio. The contrast and brightness are great, although - we have to admit - they are no match for the OLED technology in Nokia N85. But talking about displays, size does count above all.

Unfortunatelly the legibility of the display under direct sunlight is rather poor. It is at about the same level as the HTC Touch Diamond which means that it is rather hard (but not completely impossible) to find a proper angle for working with the phone on a bright sunny day. We guess the interface isn't the only place where Apple have blown the competition away.

As already mentioned, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic uses a resistive touchscreen as opposed to the capacitive displays in devices like LG Prada and Apple iPhone 3G. This means there's a need for a bit of extra pressure to the screen for a click to be registered. The resistive display technology has the dubious advantage of allowing the use of stylus (and fingers with gloves).

When using the stylus, the 5800 display is absolutely on par with any competing touchscreen. On the other hand, sensitivity to fingers is quite adequate but slightly short of the, say, HTC Touch Diamond, which uses the same touchscreen technology.

Haptic feedback is of course enabled. Vibration intensity is adjustable, with three different levels available.

You might have some trouble getting used to the screen sensitivity at first, but problems will be sorted in a short while of using the phone. Besides if you prefer the stylus (which we certainly don't), it gets even easier.
The plectrum is somewhat of a bogus alternative to the stylus - we mean an alternative would be anything that makes the whole thing more thumbable. The plectrum is just another thing to poke your screen with. Now, we are obviously not the kind to go Jimi Hendrix on our phone. Others might find it cool though.

Next: Symbian S60 (r)Evolution