Nokia 5310 XpressMusic

Since the phone has a 3.5mm earphone socket, you could use your own headphones – or better still, invest in a good stereo Bluetooth headset. I didn’t like the speakerphone, whose volume is just too low. If the phone is not on vibrate and it rings, there’s a good chance you won’t hear it.

The 5310 has a video caller tune feature, so you can use any video you have as a personal caller tune for incoming calls. All you need to do is associate a video to a caller, just as you would a ringtone.

The 2 megapixel camera doesn’t have a dedicated key, but that’s okay. The picture quality is not too great but that’s excusable too. Colors are fine but the images appear a bit like a painting more than a digital photo. Settings are limited but pictures are decent.

On the negative side, the camera is too slow. It frames pretty badly and takes to too long to process images. The images look pretty nice on the phone’s display though.

Another really problematic feature is the battery. It’s just plain disappointing. It seems like the company is concentrating more on the quality of their MP3 players and totally neglecting the most important feature, which is the battery. All I got was barely a day’s usage out of a single charge. That’s a big letdown.

The Bottomline
Other than its music capabilities and fantastic design, the 5310 XpressMusic doesn't have much to recommend it. There are too many niggles with the battery, camera and phone book. At Rs 10,600, it’s something you should think twice about. But if you have the cash, go for it – if only for the fantastic music experience.

Specs