Nokia 5300 and 5200

27th September 2006

Nokia seem to have gone slider mad at the moment, and the Nokia 5300 and 5200 phones are yet another addition to Nokia's sliding handset range. Both phones are very similar to look at and are being promoted as multimedia devices. Both devices are expected in early Q4 2006.

Nokia 5300

Carrying the XpressMusic name, the Nokia 5300 looks great, especially with the clever dedicated multimedia keys, but ultimately it's a pretty standard handset roughly analogous to the Nokia 6131 clamshell. There's a QVGA 240x320 pixel TFT display, a 1.3 megapixel camera, microSD memory expandable to 2Gb, Bluetooth, a stereo FM radio and an MP3 player in a package weighing 104 grams.

Unlike most previous 5000 series devices, the 5300 doesn't appear to be ruggedised in any way. This marks a bit of a shift with the 5000 series towards "lifestyle" devices rather than rugged ones.

Overall, the Nokia 5300 measures 92x48x21mm and weighs 104 grams. Talktime is about 3 hours with up to 12 days standby time. Estimated price before tax and subsidy is just €250.

Nokia 5200

You'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between the 5300 and 5200 at first glance as they are identical in size and weight, however the 5200 is very much a cut down device aimed at the budget market.

Out goes the 5300's excellent display and in comes a cheap 128x160 pixel CSTN panel. The camera in the 5200 is a simple 0.3 megapixel (VGA resolution) device. There are no dedicated multimedia keys either.

However, at its heart the Nokia 5200 is pretty much the same type of music phone as the 5300 - it too has microSD expandable memory, an MP3 player and FM radio plus Bluetooth connectivity.

It's a cheaper device than the 5300 - the Nokia 5200 will cost around €200 before carrier discounts and sales tax.

The Nokia 5200 is clearly an inferior device to the 5300, and at just €50 less in price, it's not much cheaper. Most contract customers will probably end up going for the 5300.

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