Nokia 5000

Expected Q2 2008
2nd April 2008

The name Nokia 5000 certainly sounds special - perhaps five thousand indicates something really hi-tech or whizzy? Perhaps Nokia have reserved it for something fashionable and gorgeous?

It's a little bit of a surprise to see that the Nokia 5000 is a very ordinary looking handset. This is actually an entry-level phone aimed at emerging markets, and as a result the 5000 is very inexpensive - just €90 (£65 / $130) or so before tax and subsidy. And what makes the Nokia 5000 stand out in the sub-€100 market is just how much you get for your money.

The 5000 is a Bluetooth capable handset with a 2" 240x320 pixel display. There's an FM radio, web browser and email client plus a range of PIM functions, all running on the familiar S40 operating system. On the back is a 1.3 megapixel camera. Surprisingly, the 5000 has a multimedia player which can play back MP3 files, but with only 12MB of internal memory and no card slot, this may be of limited use.

The lack of a card slot is certainly a compromise, compared with all the other features that the 5000 has to offer. One other area where Nokia have held back is the fact that this is a dual-band GSM device only (either 900 / 1800 or 850 / 1900 MHz). These two factors make the Nokia 5000 something of an oddity - surely Nokia could have added a memory slot at least and kept the price below 100 euro?

Overall though, this looks like a pretty good phone for the money. There aren't many handsets in this class with a display like this. Better still, the whole package weighs only 74 grams. Talktime is up to 4 hours 45 minutes with a maximum of 14 days standby time.

Nokia say that the 5000 should be available during Q2 2008 in a variety of colour combinations.