Nokia C5-03

“How many times must the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic have thought the golden watch was finally coming? By the looks of it, retirement is still a long way off. But the founding father should at least be getting used to being called ‘gramps’.And what about the grandson here? OK, we have some good news and some bad. We’re only not sure which is which. You see, the Nokia C5-03 isn’t of the genetically mastered breed of Symbian^3. It’s a chip off the old block – 100% old-fashioned, organic Series 60. Now, that can’t be good, can it? That’s well out of date already.On the other hand, the same piece of software didn’t stop the 5800 XpressMusic from becoming a massive bestseller with its nicely balanced feature set.It is obvious that Nokia is not eyeing platinum sales with the C5-03. They’re simply updating their line of entry-level touchscreen smartphones. Making sure they have every user profile covered.With a complete connectivity set and free navigation, the Nokia C5-03 is great value for money already. In time you will come to want a better screen, better imaging and better touch experience. Well, that’s where the C6-01 or the C7 will be a logical next step. And of course, any user will be welcome to go all the way to the N8 – or whatever the future flagship is called.Anyway, to get to the point, we like the look and feel of the Nokia C5-03. The Nokia C5-03 is better designed than the 5800 XpressMusic. The multiple paintjobs make a lot of sense too. The fixed-focus camera is a letdown – and so are the poor multimedia support and sluggish app market. Symbian S60 isn’t the best approach to touchscreen but a smartphone with this level of skill is a steal of a deal.”

“We appreciate Nokia's attempt to deliver an affordable smartphone but the dated Symbian^1 stands in the way of enjoying the almost full connectivity package and the 600MHz of processing power. Because of that, we feel that low-end Android handsets, such as the HTC Wildfire and the LG Optimus One, also have connectivity covered well and could be your alternative. There are plenty of setbacks that could break the deal for the C5-03: some of the apps like the gallery and the browser are just terribly slow, Symbian is stuffed with menus, which make you feel like you are in a maze, and finally the fixed focus camera does not impress. Currently, the Nokia C5-03 is sold at a retail price of about $280, but the phone is still expected in many markets and with the wider launch we can expect its price to get somewhat lower. Nokia enters deeper into the budget and mid-range smartphone markets and with the C5-03 it has some good potential. The price is more affordable than on current low-end Androids for example and compensates for some of the issues.”

“Nokia C5-03 is just another mid-entry Symbian smartphone that might have been successful if other phones in the same price range wouldn't have been available such as: LG Optimus One, Huawei Ideos or even Samsung mini. However, for Symbian nostalgics who do not care about other mobile platforms, this might be the perfect answer in the affordable price range.”