Nokia launches 5800 in Cebu

Nokia formally launched in Cebu last week its latest model in the XpressMusic product line, the Nokia 5800. The XpressMusic line is Nokia’s answer to Sony Ericsson’s Walkman phones, devices that are designed for music playing.

The features of the Nokia 5800 are formidable—it comes with all the features you’d expect from a modern phone plus touchscreen control, built-in A-GPS, wi-fi connectivity, high resolution 3.2-inch display, and a 3.2 megapixel built-in camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED flash.

NOKIA 5800. Nikka Singson-Abes, corporate communications manager of Nokia Philippines, holds the Nokia 5800 during its launching in Cebu.

The 5800 also comes with a cool new feature that enhances usability of the device—the media bar. It is a drop down menu that provides access to music, videos, photos and web-based services for uploading and sharing of photographs.

This drop down shortcuts bar is a great usability feature, one that should be incorporated in all phones. Sure, most phones have Home or Menu keys, but a shortcut bar containing links to frequently used applications is very useful, especially if the bar overlays the screen, wherever you are in the menu or whatever you may be doing.

One of the things I really liked about the Nokia 5800 is that it has a standard 3.5 mm jack you can use to connect to your headset. This allows the user to use the phone with other headset brands or products.

What I hate the most about Sony Ericsson products is its connectors. Give your Sony Ericsson phone a year and the connector for your earphones starts to falter and you’d have to wiggle it a bit for connection to be established. You don’t experience this problem with standard jacks.

The phone also comes with built-in stereo speakers with surround sound. A company press release describes the speakers as the “industry’s most powerful sound.” It was, indeed, loud but I seem to find Walkman phones sound better.

But that might just be a fleeting impression, however, since I was only able to listen to the 5800 for less than a minute while I’ve been repeatedly listening to music using Sony Ericsson phones for years.

On top of the wide screen and high resolution display, the 5800 also has a plug that allows you to connect it to a TV. I don’t know what other uses you’d have for this apart from gaming and presentation but it’s really a cool feature, one that would be good to have in most phones.

The phone also comes preloaded with 25 music tracks and 25 music videos from Universal as well as the “13 Seconds To Love” album of Kjwan. Buyers also have access to 450 Universal Music downloads.

With wi-fi connectivity, downloads won’t be a problem. The phone also comes with two months free wi-fi access in Airborne Access hot spots.

The phone has a suggested retail price of P19,900.

Support this blog and independent reporting on Cebu

3 responses

  1. I got a Nokia 5800 Xpress Music at the launch in Bonifacio High Street last January 10, 2009 (Saturday). I was there as early as 8AM so I was included in the first 58 and received the free SennHeiser headset. The unit was a red one version 11 firmware.
    Upon demo of the unit, we already experienced a problem upon refreshing the music library which took more than 30 minutes to complete, while the other owners I was with took merely 3 minutes for their units to finish. After further waiting, I was referred to the product manager for marketing, Ms. Corrine Risos. Since the store was quite busy then, she gave me her number so that if I would have further problems with the library I could call on her.
    The unit was fine until Sunday evening when I noticed the sudden drops in volume when making calls and the music library kept continuously refreshing but wasn’t adding any files. I asked Nokia Care Greenbelt if they were aware of the earpiece problem and if the technical team can take a look at it. The staff answered that they are not yet aware of the earpiece problem since this was a new phone.
    I then called up Ms. Corrine Risos Monday morning and met with her and the head engineer Brian Lee at the Nokia Philippines office in Makati. Apparently they were not aware of the earpiece bug problem, which was reported in forums from countries who had earlier launches. After showing them the problem with my unit, they asked if they could borrow it for diagnosis. Knowing that it was a quick fix based on the Youtube solutions, it took them longer to resolve the problem. Anyway, I waited until 7PM the next day but to no avail. I was informed that they fixed the earpiece bug but they were having problems with the refresh music library function.
    Since I was at the Bonifacio High Street area, I went in the store and asked the store manager Ms. Bess about their policy regarding refunds, she said none “WALA KASI ELECTRONICS ETO” (None because these are electronic devices) and that Nokia care would either repair or place the item pending diagnosis but definitely NO REFUNDS.
    Come Wednesday afternoon I was informed that the unit was fixed and the messenger was to deliver the unit around 6-7 pm at our house. When it arrived, I tried turning it on but wouldn’t so naturally I thought that the battery might be discharged, but after charging for an hour the charging lights wasn’t turning on.
    I called Ms. Risos again but according to her, the unit was functioning prior to sending and that even tried turning it on and off but had no problems. She promised to elevate my case to the Nokia Care which was the usual protocol. So this morning she informed me that someone would call me regarding my case. I tried my luck and tried to call Engr. Bryan Lee since he was from Nokia Care. He was informed by Ms. Risos of my problem and that I wanted a refund. He informed me that the usual case would be replacement but since it was a special case he arranged the refund at the Nokia Store at the Bonifacio High Street. But what further frustrated me was that I had to return the Sennheiser headset and other freebies, which I believed I was entitled to since I was in line at 8AM to claim those items upon purchase for free. And what about the effort and time I spent to get this unit and all the birthday greetings I received and videos which were on the phone when it was still functioning? Yes I have my money back but could I charge you back for those which I lost due to a faulty unit?

    I waited so long for this phone and I really wanted it in lieu of getting an iPhone. What made me consider a refund instead of a replacement was that I had no assurance that the replacement units would be free of any malfunction. I know several owners who purchased the same units that day at the same store having similar problems and still waiting for a response from Nokia Care. Could it be that Nokia Care really doesn’t really care for its customers?

  2. Watsin A. Nameanyway Avatar
    Watsin A. Nameanyway

    good for y’all cebuanos coz “the tube” has been launched there.i’m from Davao City and had been waitin’ for it and all for God knows how long, I don’t even know if there will be launching here.just wanna get muh hands on this phone.i’m in love with it.

  3. nubbin Avatar

    nokia5800 cost 300$here in malaysia.im considering buying it since it would only cost me about 14t pesos..but not sure it would workwell after i read d comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *