Nokia Nuron 5230 Phone, Frost White

5 comments

1. 

   Stanley Fu on May 11, 2010 at 5:39 am

   A lot of reviews on the web have rated this phone pretty low (like Engadget) which I think is extremely unfair because they’re comparing the capabilities of this phone to other high end Smart Phones like the iPhone, Droid or Nexus One. If you take the approach that this phone isn’t meant to compete directly with the latest Android, iPhone, or Blackberry phones, you’ll find that the Nokia Nuron fits in nicely and affordably between your basic call and text only phone and the high end phones mentioned above. There’s a lot to like –

   First, the price. The main appeal of the Nuron is that it’s far cheaper on or off contract then other smart phones. From T-Mobile it’s $69.99 or $179.99, and even better if you’re buying from Amazon where the phone is only 1 penny. In addition, unlike your Blackberry, Android, or Windows Mobile data plans that run you $30, the Nuron is able to take advantage of the $10 web2go plan. Not only does this mean a lower cost of entry, but also a lower cost of total ownership. Over a 2 year contract, that’s a savings of $240 which is pretty significant, for a phone that gives you much of the same capabilities as those other options.

   All of the major capabilities of a smart phone are here, including internet access and real web browsing (including the ability to run Flash), receive email, a 3G connection, built in free GPS, and a number of applications available for free or purchase from Nokia and other sites online. Having used the phone for a few days, for a casual user that doesn’t need constant email and web access or a gigantic touch screen display, the Nokia fits great and all of these features have worked as well as I expected.

   There are some minor cons with the phone though. For one, the low price comes at a cost of a better camera and the lack of WiFi. The camera is disappointing, because Nokia has the model 5800 series that has a 3.2 MP camera with flash, while the 5230/Nuron only has a 2 MP camera and no flash. For those who are hoping for something better to take pictures with, this certainly won’t replace your point and click digital camera. The lack of WiFi isn’t a big deal for me, only because I don’t really need regular data access and I live in an area where 3G is available readily. I don’t have any complaints, but for those that want to sit in a coffee shop and connect wirelessly on their as the lounge around, it might be an issue.

   The other minor quirks are probably due to the fairly old OS that the Nuron runs off. The Symbian S60 V5 is fairly old, and has seen numerous revisions as it adapted to touch screen displays, meaning it isn’t quite as responsive as the operating systems built from the ground up like the iPhone or Android. Still, I had no issues using the touch screen, and it felt very responsive and dialing or texting was accurate. I have some small quirks with the accelerometer when tilting the phone for landscape view, but the complaints i’ve seen online about having a resistive touch screen versus capacitive haven’t really been apparent to me. I’ve been able to navigate the phone with ease, having made calls and sent texts with very few mistakes due to the touch screen.

   All in all, obviously an iPhone or Nexus One user wouldn’t revert back to something like this, but for someone looking for a cheap phone for some basic web access, GPS for maps and directions, and checking email or IM’s, this phone fits the need very well at a low cost. I really can’t complain, especially given the big savings in data plans alone.

2. 

   Jade on May 11, 2010 at 6:46 am

   This is my first touch screen nokia phone and i’ve had it for 2 days. The screen is nice and bright although viewing it outside in sunlight is washed out. The touch screen is responsive and you have to put pressure when pressing for it to accept but you get a feedback buzz of sorts to let you know that you pressed a button. The screen only measures about 3.2 inches so it’s a bit small for the gps function. The main selling point for this phone is the gps function. Unlike the telnav program which costs money, the ovi maps by nokia are free and free for the life of the phone. You can download the map updates and other countries too for free. If you didn’t buy the unlimited web package, then turn the gps-internet connection off. The gps functions work without it since it is built to be a standalone gps that also happens to be a phone. At this moment the computer map transfer to the phone is not supported which is a pain since you need to then use the data connection to download and update maps. I’m sure they are working on it. The nokia ovi app store is small but nice. It’s not as developed as apple or others since its new. There are many free apps as well as paid ones. With the nokia ovi site, you can back up your contacts, calendar and files. The user interface in the main menu might be confusing to someone who may not have used the symbian interface before. You could say it’s not easily intuitive but it makes sense. Some functions require a double tap while other require a single tap to open things. Also some pages you can scroll by touching anywhere on the screen while some have to touch the scroll bar on the side to scroll which is annoying. There is an accelerometer in the phone so you can type qwerty in landscape which makes entering text easy. I have larger woman’s hands and thicker fingers and I can 95% of the time type on the screen correctly. I’ve also never used a touch screen device until now too. The only page that won’t go into the landscape mode is the home page. The voice and sound quality is very nice although when at the max volume on speaker it gets cracky and tinny. There is a media button atop the right side of the phone which gives quick access to the radio, music player and image gallery. The 2.0 mp camera is okay. It should be higher but for the price of the phone it’s not bad. The pictures come out pretty decent and it also shoots video. The regular signal bars are almost at full and I live in 3G zones: boston. However having said that, the aquisition of the 3G is not as often as one would expect. In downloading something the other night, it ran with edge instead of 3G most of the time. That is much slower than 3G. So hopefully there would be some sort of update to the phone or network for this problem. The overall design of the phone is comfortable in the hand. Larger men’s hands may find it too small. The phone angles back towards a v shape making very comfortable to hold. It’s lightweight and fairly well constructed and fits in my jeans pocket. There is a lock screen button on the side to keep from butt-dailing. Overall this is a nice phone for someone looking for a touchscreen, music player, camera, international and gps for cheap. It is worth the few dollars to buy this phone.
   
   Overview:
   
   Pros:
   
   1. Free gps maps for the life of the phone
   
   2. touch screen with feedback touch
   
   3. accelerometer for landscape and qwerty typing
   
   4. use of gps independent of the carrier data line
   
   5. price

   Cons:
   
   1. User interface learning curve
   
   2. Inconsistent page interactions
   
   3. Low megapixel camera
   
   4. screen on the smaller size.
   
   5. 3G signal is not consistent

3. 

   W. L. Faust on May 11, 2010 at 9:45 am

   I bought mine or I should say ours, on a buy one get one free at $70 and then received another $70 worth of accessories, so stayed with that original t-mobile in store deal equivalent of Amazon’s 1c that I believe they started March 26.

   We just got these, and I haven’t had as much time to play with them as these two previous EXCELLENT reviewers have. What I can add at this time is a little perspective as a long time Motorola to Nokia fan. These phones WILL seem a little quirky if you are not used to Nokia, and they ARE, but they are fantastic feature packed phones that are an amazing deal at this price. So I recommend actually READING through the little 20 page booklet first for once, because these will NOT be intuitive in the same way a lot of Motorola and Motorola clones phones run, but you will get it quickly and then you may become somebody like me who knows what they can do.

   If Nokia had a better high end unlocked Nokia that ran on T-mobile I would be going that way, but for a penny, I can still toss this in the drawer as a FANTASTIC smart enough phone that doesn’t require a data plan. Depending on your usage that is going to save you anywhere from $240 to $360 a year. However, I don’t believe that you would be able to fully use the maps or all downloadable features without at least a pay as you go data plan, or more likely the still very reasonable $10 a month plan. If you think that a wi-fi enabled phone is really critical for you then this is NOT your phone, but watch out for those $30 a month data plans FOREVER. The camera takes very good basic pictures, particularly based on its average specs, but if you are looking for a super camera this is NOT your phone.

   I was previously a long time Motorola (excellent phones) fan, but 7 years ago picked up a Nokia 3650, first World GSM phone, for fun on a try it for 30 days exchange plan, figuring I would hate the rotary dial and take it back, but play for 30 days with everything else new in 2003 that Motorola was late on, bluetooth, infrared, camera and video. Well I LOVED the phone, kept it, and in fact have three of them that run on this SAME symbian 60 platform. People can call it old, but I would suggest solid and reliable as a better term, and perhaps there are newer and faster systems but I don’t know that they are better if you aren’t into social networking blur etc etc.

   I am so far impressed with the build quality (China) and although I am not expecting 7 years out of these, if you put a good case on them IMMEDIATELY, trust me a good Nokia bounces and holds up. My only real dislike so far is how much the screen washes out (noted above) in bright sunlight. This is easily managed by the way you can cup it in your hand, but here again WE start adapting to the phone. I find it a little small myself, my partner loves it, but it is really growing on me. I like to be able to run a phone one-handed and shove it in my pocket and so far this phone rocks. One of the excellent reviewers above notes a “buzz” or something when you make an entry, and I totally get that but it is actually a little soundless bump or vibrate, and as you can see pretty difficult to describe here but I LIKE it.

   I wanted a Nokia X6 but I also wanted to switch from At&T, and T-mobile’s G3 won’t run on the X6. T-mobile had better get their act together FAST on this one or they will lose even me. The n900 will run on t-mobile’s G3 but looks like an early adopter techy trainwreck and I have long ago lost any interest in talking to techs in call centers that know less about a new phone than I do. If you are looking for just a solid phone for a parent for example, the Nokia 3711 just works and has a huge keypad and display numbers on the screen. I got one for my dad free on a $10 extra line, and he LOVES it (and HE is a really hard sell:) I believe they may be at end of life on this overlooked solid flip phone and suddenly hard to find, go figure.

   Try it, I am pretty sure that T-mobile STILL gives you the same easy out at 30 days. I am guessing they would certainly switch the phones out but I imagine you could always get out of the entire 30 day contract. So far T-mobile has been great.

4. 

   J. Martin on May 11, 2010 at 11:13 am

   After buying and checking out the Nokia Nuron 5230, I feel it was a worthy purchase. One must judge the Nuron by it’s own merits and it’s not to be compared with an advanced, “android” cell phone like the iPhone or the HTC HD phone.

   The Nuron is more in the category of “quick messaging phone” like the Samsung Impression (AT&T) or the Samsung Highlight (TMobile). But the Nuron is much better than other basic touch screen phones: The Nuron is a great buy due to the FREE preloaded GPS maps capability that other quick messaging phones do NOT have (at least at the time that I wrote this review). One must buy the GPS app on those other quick messaging phones for an extra fee but it is free on the Nuron and again, pre-loaded! Another positive is that you can download lots of apps from Nokia’s app store called, Ovi. With many of the other quick messaging phones, you just have a few pre-loaded ones to choose from usually. Also, the Nuron’s display has very brilliant, crisp colors and the call quality is very good. Still another BIG plus: TMobile offers a wonderful CHEAP data plan at only $10 per month of unlimited web browsing for the Nuron, & a very low-cost messaging plan option: 300 min’s @ $4.99 month!

   There are only a few negatives: As others have stated there is a lag between the two visual display modes (either vertical or horizontal). A second negative is that one must single tap on some icons but double tap on others – they should all be opened the same way! A third is the lack of a “capacitative” touch screen that would make it easy to get into an app by a quick touch of ones finger. Instead, one must FIRMLY hit the icon with either one’s finger nail or with the “pick” that Nokia provides with the phone. Another slight annoyance is that the encasement is slippery to hold; but getting a rubber gel skin and placing it over the Nuron case will alleviate that problem.

   Other than that, the Nuron is everything I was looking for in a reasonably priced touch screen/app friendly/web browsing/& messaging cell phone! I love it!

5. 

   John on May 11, 2010 at 1:12 pm

   When my G1 died, I was curious about this phone, so I bought one. It was only $ 170, spread out over several months (just added to my T-Mobile bill), so I only had to pay about $ 25 to walk out of the store with it. $ 170 is considerably less than ANY other smartphone out there that I know of (the Google Nexus is $ 700 !!).

   I have had it for about a week. I might amend this review, but here are my overall impressions:

   NEGATIVE: overall intuitiveness and user friendliness is considerably less than on a Google phone. Navigation is not intuitive at times. The “resistive” screen is a bit different than the “capacitative” ones on the I-Phone and Google phones. It is more pressure-based. Some might like that. I am neutral on it. It is not a big downside. The phone takes about 20 seconds to boot (compare this with an I-phone or Google phone). I just got a call and there were two buttons lighting up: “Answer”, and “Unlock”. I hit both one after the other, but nothing happened (!). Still don’t fully know how to answer a call !!! Messaging is also under a fog of unknowning. Cannot do a wireless software update from the phone (!). Everything on the screen seems smaller than it has to be. I like the icons, but text seems too small at times. Too much redundancy built into navigation and use, along the lines of “do you really want to press this ? Confirm Yes”.

   POSITIVE: Overall fit and feel. This feels like a solid European product. It does not feel flimsy. I like the overall size and weight. Just big enough to feel solid, but not too heavy that it feels bulky in my jeans pocket. BATTERY LIFE !!! This to me is a MAJOR reason to own this phone. I like to go out to bars and just surf for hours while I drink a couple beers. I get about 4+ hours of solid surfing out of this phone. It is about 40% more battery life than in my G1 Google phone, as far as I can tell. To me, that is reason alone to own this phone. Nokia is known for long battery life. Compare to Apple + Google !! I suspect that many people will disregard that, but to me it is huge. I like the fact the Nokia makes both the hardware and software. I have had issues with HTC before (the Google phones). The pre-installed mapping function is solid and really also a Nokia strength. I have to say that whereas the OVI Market is really lacking compared with what Apple or Google have, there are some gems. I downloaded the “Sports Tracker”, and again, it works like a solid piece of European work. I can use it while I listen to Music. I was never able to do that on my Google G1 phone. My G1 GSP sports tracker would crash as soon as I mulit-tasked. Again, Nokia provides solid quality. Battery recharging is blazingly fast compared to Google (I would plug my G1 phone in at night and in the morning, it sometimes had “80% battery”. 7+ hours to get to 80 % from the wall charger ???!!! Music is user-friendly and works well. Sound is for me very good.

   Overall, I give it 4 stars. I am sure I will work out the issues I have with it. Battery life and blazing fast recharging do it for me. I pay $ 10 less for the web2go Internet connection at T-Mobile than I did with Google, and get almost the same Internet experience. At half the price of an I-phone or other smartphones, this phone does it !!