Nokia C5

Available now
2nd March 2010

The Nokia C5 is Nokia's first "C-Series" branded device, a very conventional midrange Symbian smartphone designed for mass-market appeal.

We understand that "C" is the designation for Nokia's "core range", and the number indicates whereabouts in the range the handset fits on a scale of 1 to 9. So, the C5 fits pretty much exactly in the middle of the range. All very simple, but we can't help but wondering what they will call the C5's eventual replacement as they are likely to run out of numbers pretty quickly. Nokia say that the N-Series and E-Series phones will also use the new numbering convention, and of course last year's X3 and X6 also did the same.

Cynics might ask why Nokia are naming their phones after cars, and is it the Sinclair C5 or Citroën C5? The X3 and X6 are large gas-guzzling BMWs of course.

Back to the Nokia C5 itself - this is an utterly conventional device when it comes to features. There's a 2.2" 240 x 320 pixel non-touchscreen display, a a fairly basic 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash, 3.5G data connectivity, integrated GPS, microSD expandable memory (with a 2GB card in the box), a multimedia player, 3.5mm audio socket, FM radio and USB and Bluetooth connectivity.

The operating system on the Nokia C5 is Symbian S60 3rd Edition, and includes support for Facebook and instant messaging, plus Ovi Maps 3.0 with free navigation as standard.

It's an attractive looking handset, the Nokia C5 is clearly a Nokia but we can see that Nokia's designers have moved their design language on a little to come up with something fresh. The C5 uses stainless steel in the design, but overall this is a very lightweight device coming in at just 89 grams and 112 x 46 x 12mm in size. The battery life is probably good enough for most business users, with a shade under 5 hours talktime on 3G, 12 hours on GSM and up to 28 days standby time.

Some people might think that the C5 is a bit boring. After all, this is a very conventional design with a standard screen and numeric keypad. But exactly how many smartphones have we seen like this lately? Not very many.. manufacturers are announcing touchscreen phones almost exclusively, and customers who want a traditional handset have not been well served.

Impressively, Nokia are anticipating that the C5 will cost just €135 before tax and subsidy which is excellent value for money. Nokia say that the C5 should be available in white and warm grey colour schemes during Q2 2010 in most markets outside the Americas.

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