The Nokia C5 is being pitched as a cheap, entry-level smartphone courtesy of its Symbian S60 OS, with apps aplenty. The thing is, it just so happens to look more like an every day feature phone. So, the question is: where does it fit in with the wealth of other Nokia’s out there? Join us in this part of our Nokia C5 review as we look at what it has to offer and reveal its place in the grand scheme of things.
Read the rest of our Nokia C5 review
Nokia C5 review
Nokia C5 review: Build and screen
Nokia C5 review: Symbian S60 slimmed down
Nokia doesn’t take the one-fit-suits-all approach to phone design, so trying to place where the Nokia C5 fits in the market can be a little tricky. After all, it’s not exactly a cutting-edge device, merely a re-working of old ideas. As John Peel once said about The Fall, “always different, always the same” – a fitting quote that could also apply to many Nokia handsets.
There’s no denying the Nokia C5 is one of the more stylish and better looking candybar handsets out there right now. The slim design and light weight 83g casing will appeal to those who need a no-frills phone, while the free Ovi Maps and powerful Symbian S60 3rd Edition OS makes it a fully-rounded smartphone.
In terms of style, the closest Nokia phone it resembles is the Nokia 6700 classic (£199), sharing as it does the same stainless steel materials in the finish. However, the Nokia C5 has a larger and more user-friendly keypad that makes messaging a whole lot easier. The buttons are also individually mounted, rather than simply a pre-cut sheet, so have a more tactile feel to them.
The big difference between the two, though, has to be the switch to the Symbian S60 3rd Edition OS. This move makes the Nokia C5 a fully-fledged smartphone, as opposed to the 6700 classic, which runs the more dumb phone-friendly Series 40. So, you’ll be able to tap into a wealth of apps and utilities the average phone user can’t via Nokia’s Ovi Store.
Another Series 40 phone the Nokia C5 may well find itself pitched against on the shelf is the slightly cheaper Nokia 1710 Navigation (£140), which is another candybar phone. But as the name suggest has a heavy bias towards satnav. The thing is, this being a Series 40 phone you won’t find free satnav on this phone, something the Nokia C5 delivers as par for the course.
In terms of price and feature set, the Nokia C5 sits between the Nokia X3 (£129) at the low-end and the slightly more expensive Nokia 6700 Slide (£189). Both of these phones are slider devices, with the X3 being more of a music-centric phone aimed at a younger and predominately male market.
However, there are features they all share. For instance, the 3.2-Megapixel camera of the Nokia C5 is the same as that found on the X3 but you get the addition of LED Flash on the C5. Meanwhile, the Nokia 6700 Slide comes with the same Symbian S60 3rd Edition OS but also packs in a 5-Megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and even dual-Flash, so offers a better photography experience than the C5.
The Nokia C5 could well be the most powerful budget phone Nokia has ever developed but it will be interesting to see how it fairs against the Nokia 6700 Slide. The Nokia C5 is slightly cheaper but the decision will come down to whether you prefer candybar or slider style phones – and how badly you need Symbian S60 apps.
Current Nokia 6700 classic users may well find the Nokia C5 the perfect upgrade choice as it gives you the same styling but plonks a more resilient OS on the top of it. Overall, the Nokia C5 could well be the smartphone for those people who simply never thought they’d have a need for one.
Read the rest of our Nokia C5 review
Nokia C5 review
Nokia C5 review: Build and screen
Nokia C5 review: Symbian S60 slimmed down
