The Nokia C5 is an inexpensive candybar smartphone. While it is great value for money, it isn’t an alternative to some of the flashier touchscreen devices available. But if you’re after the features of a smartphone in a sweet little durable package, the Nokia C5 won’t fail you.
The phone itself is light but sturdy, and made from both plastic and aluminium. Using the traditional keypad will be a dream for those who have become accustomed to the micro QWERTY keypads on other Nokia and BlackBerry phones. The 16.7 million colours not surprisingly appear sharp and vibrant on the 2.2 inch display.
Like most of Nokia’s phones, using the Nokia C5 is logical and straightforward. The external volume controls can be difficult to press (especially when on a call), however this is only a minor drawback. The mobile phone runs the Symbian S60 operating system, with some added extras such as Facebook integration, which allows you to view your friends’ status updates. Ovi Maps 3.0 is one of the clear winners of the phone, which provides real time turn-by-turn navigation at no extra charge.
Other smart features of the Nokia C5 include conference calling, smart dialling, voice commands and video calling.
Nokia aficionados won’t be too surprised by the home screen which displays the same list-style menu seen on many of their other phones. Users can customise the home screen and add favourite contacts and shortcuts for fast access.
For mobile phone users who rely on a camera phone, the C5’s 3.2-megapixel camera may let you down. The single LED flash isn’t strong enough to brighten up very dim lighting, and the images the camera takes aren’t as sharp as the pictures taken on more sophisticated smartphones.
While it’s a shame the Nokia C5 can’t connect to a Wi-Fi, it does include Bluetooth, a standard mini USB port and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Nokia has done well with the C5 – it’s not as technologically advanced as many of the other smartphones, but it’s not meant to be either. The Nokia C5 takes us back to basics without being entirely basic – it still includes some of our favourite features which we’ve seen on many of the pricier models.