When you first see the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic, you might not think much of it. “Oh here’s just another nice looking touch device“.
But use it for a couple minutes, and you might be surprised by how neat the device is. Atleast I was.
What got me so interested in this little Budget Touchscreen device ? Read on to find out.
First up, we’d like to thank Nokia Conversations for sending us the Nokia 5530 XM to check out. We were honestly surprised by how much we liked the device, after using it.
We’d also recommend reading our First Impressions of the 5530 XM before reading this review, so you have a good idea of what we thought of the device initially, and whether/how our opinion has changed now.
The Nokia 5530 XM is positioned as a budget device, with a sweet (and pretty crisp) 2.9″ screen, in a pretty small monoblock form factor. The device is basically a cheaper version of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, without GPS or 3G, in a smaller (and in our opinion, better looking) package. As a result of this, the Symbian S60v5 UI is very similar to the 5800 (and not the N97), with a few improvements here and there, and an improved (but sadly non-widgetised) homescreen.
Here are a couple of the features that the Nokia 5530 XM boasts :
And so on and so forth. You can take a look at the Official Nokia 5530 XpressMusic Product Page for a full list of Specs.
Okay, so its not as impressive as a Flagship Device. But you gotta admit, its not too bad considering the amount of features you get, at the budget price of this handset.
The 5530 XM measures 104 x 49 x 13 mm and weighs in at just 107 g. This makes the device pretty tiny in our eyes. We’ve compared it to the N82, compared it to the E75 and compared it to the N97 and its definitely the smallest.
The size makes it a perfect fit in your hands.
But because of the tiny size, that means the screen is also smaller, which means it might be a tiny bit hard to tap or “touch” the right onscreen “key” while typing. You get used to it eventually though, but it is mildly annoying at first. Especially if you’re moving from a device with a bigger screen, like the one on the N97 or 5800.
Even though the device is built of mainly hard plastic, the 5530 feels pretty solid. A kind of “Cheap Solid” if you will. There were no creaks or strange sounds from our device, although the sliding-locking key does seem to get a bit loose after a month of use. And if you shake the device, you’ll faintly hear the key moving around. Its not too bad though, but it is a bit annoying.
The device comes in a variety of colors, with one main color band passing along side the middle of the device’s frame.
We got the White-and-Blue-Silver combination, as you can see.
Firmware :
The 5530 XM in this review is on the latest software at the time of writing, which is Firmware v11.0.054. Which I’m very glad to say, feels pretty solid and finished.
We very rarely had any crashes or hangs on this firmware, which partly adds to the charm of the 5530 and is a refreshing change from the initial firmware that was shipped on the N97 and 5800.
That being said, there’s Kinetic scrolling everywhere, except in the Main Menu (with the icons) which we hope will be implemented in an upcoming firmware update.
On with the Pictures !
Front View :
At the front of the 5530 XM you can see the 2.9″ Resistive Touchscreen that prominently takes up most of the space.
Underneath the screen are 3 Touch-sensitive keys which are the Green Calling Key, Menu Key and Red Call End Key respectively.
These keys light up when they can be used.
The Menu key pulsates or “breathes” to let you know the device is on, and to notify you of events such as a missed call, new text messages or new email. You can change this setting of course, in the Phone settings menu.
At the either side of the 5530 XM is a metallic grill that only serves aesthetic purposes.
At the top of the Screen is a very well hidden Light Sensor. There is no Proximity Sensor or Front Facing VGA Camera. There’s also the “XpressMusic Key” which provides you with quick access to various media functions (just like on the 5800).
There’s also the earpiece hidden under the Metallic Grill. The Earpiece volume is fine and we’ve had no problems with it at all. We had no problems with Network reception.
The touchscreen on the Nokia 5530 XM is a lot more sensitive and works a lot more better than the one on the 5800. I’d say its on par with the N97′s screen if not better.
Even though the screen is 2.9″ in size, its still displaying at the same resolution as the 5800 and N97 screens. This means things look a lot crisper and less pixelated.
The screen is pretty legible in direct sunlight. Not the best, but definitely not the worst.
Back View :
The back of the 5530 XM contains only the 3.2 Megapixel Standard Nokia Lens Camera, with its single LED Flash.
The back cover is sort of flimsy. And the way you have to peel it off the back doesnt aspire much confidence in the wear-and-tear of the back panel. Still, 2 months on and no problems here.
Its worth mentioning that the back panel scratches, so you might want to take a little care with it, if you get the 5530 XM.
The single Stylus you get with the 5530, is housed in the back too, and securely fits back into the device. Be careful with the stylus, because you only get one.
Not that you’ll need to use it, really. Just that you need it to take your SIM card out of the device.
Top View :
The top of the 5530 XM contains only the power button. There are two tiny “slots” near the color band, that are actually the speaker.
Its worth mentioning that we had no problems with the “chrome” metallic lining on the top of the device. There was no flaking off, or chrome falling off on this unit.
Bottom View :
The bottom of the 5530 XM contains the Nokia charging port, standard 3.5mm Audio Jack, and the microUSB port (with a plastic cover). Unfortunately you cannot charge the device via its microUSB port. And here we were thinking that’d be standard by now.
You’ll notice the same tiny slots for the speaker, on the color band here too.
Left View :
The left side of the 5530 XM has one large plastic cover for the contained SIM card slot, and the microSD slot.
Its basically one large plastic cover that you have to open, to put in or take out the microSD or the SIM card.
Right View :
The right side of the 5530 XM contains the Camera button, sliding keypad lock switch, and the Zoom in/out (aka Volume increase/decrease) rocker key at the extreme right side. The keys have pretty good feedback to them.
No complaints here, but as we mentioned earlier, the sliding keypad lock switch does tend to get a bit loose over time.
The Battery :
The 5530 XM runs on a 1000 mAh Nokia BL-4U battery. While this wouldnt be enough to run Nokia’s Flagship devices, this suits the 5530 pretty well.
We were able to get a day and a half of “normal” usage from the 5530 XM. That being said, that figure can stretch out to two days of mild usage easily. You’ll probably need to charge this device every night though.
The Box :
Since our device was a promotional piece, the box will differ greatly to what you get in the market.
That being said, here’s what to expect in the Retail Package :
The 5530 XM ships with a sweet pair of Nokia in-ear type headphones which actually sound pretty good.
For more info on the retail package, check out our Nokia 5530 XpressMusic Unboxing video.
The S60 V5 Touch UI, Menu and HomeScreen :
The Nokia 5530 XM runs on S60V5 or Symbian^1 as its main Operating System. You can read through our Introducing S60 V5 series to get a more detailed look at the OS and its various features.
The UI feels more stable and “finished” compared to the 5800 and N97 (before v20 firmware). There’s Kinetic scrolling in all lists and apps, except the main Menu application. No doubt this will be added in, in a future firmware update.
The 5530 has a built in accelerometer which is used to automatically switch the screen from portrait to landscape mode and vice-versa, among other functions.
The UI is basically the same as the 5800 and N97, although the Homescreen is the one area where it differs.
The 5530 XM doesnt have the cool Widget-ised Homescreen of the N97 (which is suspect will be an Nseries Exclusive), but it does have an improved version of the Homescreen on the 5800 XM.
You can now store up to 20 Contacts in the Contacts Bar, while still having 4 Application Shortcuts, along with an Email plugin so show you, your last email.
Also, if you’re playing Music, a Music player Widget appears on the screen.
Tapping on a contact’s thumbnail image, takes you to a list of the last messages you sent/received from the contact, their web feeds (like facebook, twitter, blogs, etc) and their settings. The settings allows you to change their thumbnail, web feeds, etc.
Inputting the Web Feed address is a bit of a problem, since you have to type in the full “feed” address from that person’s facebook, twitter or blog. The Webfeeds app is not “smart” enough to autodetect it from a standard URL.
There’s also two other Homescreen modes.
One with only the application shortcuts.
And one without any shortcuts, so that you can see your wallpaper properly, if you so wish.
You can see more about the Kinetic Scrolling, and the Homescreen Contacts Bar, in the video below :
The 5530 XM also has a “Software update” app that alerts you to new updates for apps or software features on your device (if you start the app up and let it check for updates).
This is also used to alert you if there is new firmware available for the device.
The rest of the OS is pretty much identical to the Nokia 5800. S60v5 is turning out to be a very mature and stable OS, which is why we love it so much here on ZCJ. We very rarely had any restarts, or applications hanging on the 5530, which is a totally different story to the initial firmware of the flagship N97.
Memory :
The 5530 XM comes with 70MB of Internal Memory and a 4GB MicroSD included in-box. Not too much memory, but we never had a problem with it.
Ovi Store :
Suprisingly the 5530 XM does not ship with the Ovi Store. If you buy one, remember to download it from Store.Ovi.com.
Internet Browsing :
The 5530 XM uses the latest S60 Browser which has several improvements under the hood and is faster than previous iterations. However, it did not have the automatic Fullscreen mode that was on the N97.
Browsing is decent enough. Just type an address and press go, and you’ll see the website load.
The browser seems to be able to handle Mobile versions of Websites with no problem at all. Some non-mobile websites though wont always work. For example, I tried to view the PC version of Facebook and the browser just gave up and crashed.
However, most websites should load fine provided they arnt too full of flash or videos, I guess.
Calendar :
The 5530 XM’s S60 v5 OS uses a version of the Eseries Calendar app thats been optimised for touch. All the usual bells and whistles that you’re used to in the Calendar app in S60v3 are in there.
And of course you can change the default Calendar month view to by week, Make new entries for Meetings, ToDo lists and change the main Calendar options.
Music :
The Music Player application on the 5530 XM is your standard Nokia S60 affair. Nothing new in the software aspect. There’s even an FM radio, Podcasting Client and Sound Recorder if anyone was wondering.
Noticable absent is the Nokia Internet Radio client.
As usual you have your Music library organised by Artists, Albums, etc.
And you have your playlists section. You can create your own playlists too.
The annoying “feature” where you have to refresh your Music Library every time you add new songs to your device, is still there.
New songs can also automatically be detected if you add them using Nokia Music Manager but its mostly touch and go.
The 5530 XM’s music player is identical to the N97 (before v20) so you can read through our Music on the N97 post to get a more detailed idea on it. Keep in mind, the 5530 does not have an FM transmitter though.
Loud speaker volume is pretty decent. Not as loud as the 5800′s speakers, but close to the N97. Seems to be more clear though.
The Gallery :
The Gallery lists all the Images, Songs and other media on your device.
Images are sorted by date (by default) with their thumbnails in a grid pattern. This is okay if you have a few images. But anything over 30 Images can be a headache to search through. Also, videos are also shown in this Gallery.
The Songs section takes you to the Music player. Sounds and other Media, have their own small sections.
Camera :
The 5530 XM has a 3.2 Megapixel Standard Nokia Lens Camera, with a single LED Flash.
Nothing too great. You probably wont be taking any award-winning pictures with this one. But its good enough for the random picture or two.
Sample :
Sample 2 :
Sample (With Flash) :
Sample Video :
Video is recorded at a nice 30 FPS @ VGA resolution. You can also record in a widescreen QVGA res.
Connectivity :
The 5530 XM has a range of Connectivity options from Wifi or Bluetooth or USB. Infra-red is absent, but isnt really a major factor in this day and age.
Messaging and Touch Text Input :
The 5530 comes with a variety of Text Input methods. From a Fullscreen QWERTY keyboard, to T9 alphanumeric keypad, to Handwriting, it’s all in here. Not to mention, Text Copy-Paste is a standard feature on S60.
Since its so similar to the 5800 XM, you can read our Typing and Text Input on the Nokia 5800 Post to know more about this section.
One key difference is that in the 5530 XM, the messaging app automatically switches to the virtual on-screen Qwerty Keyboard in landscape mode, using the built-in accelerometer.
Apart from the above :
The 5530 has all the Symbian Goodness that we’ve come to know and love. You can install a whole bunch of programs and apps to make your experience better on the device.
And its remarkable close to the 5800 XM, in terms of features, missing out only on GPS and 3G.
Conclusion :
[rating:4.5]
So what do we think ?
Okay here’s the thing. If the ol’ 5800 XM is available in your town and the price difference between it and the 5530 XM isnt that much, by all means go for the 5800 XM. It’s firmware is due for an upgrade soon, which will bring its software up to terms with that of the 5530 XM.
But, if you’re on a budget, and 3G & GPS doesnt matter to you, the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is definitely perfect.
The 5530 XM is a pretty feature rich phone for the price its selling at. Its pretty small in size, and its software is stable and fast. It’s screen is pretty large compared to the average budget device. And it can definitely handle Music, true to its “XpressMusic” tag.
Drawbacks ? Well other than no GPS and no 3G, the camera isnt that great (or atleast not to the standard I’m used to as an N82 owner) and the all around plastic-ness of the device might annoy you (although we didnt think it was that bad).
Heck we even willingly used this phone over the N97 for a whole month. So you know we liked it.
Recommended ? Definitely !
Clinton is currently based in New Delhi, India and is executive editor for UnleashThePhones. He is responsible for all editorial decisions, and covers all forms of Mobile things.
Cj is addicted to caffeine, social media, and technology. Always up for a good conversation, you can reach him through the contact form, his website, on Google Plus 
or on Facebook or Twitter: Follow @clintonjeff
Comments (14)
Also 5230 could be killer phone with GPS and expected price around 10K.
I dont think 5530 will be good buy for anyone.
Also what other colours they have for 5530?
My bank account hates you
Camera quality was okay, but as you can see there werent any purple tints in the images. Again, our homescreen worked fine too.
If it means anything, our unit was a EURO set. Maybe the incidents are isolated to another region ?