Nokia 5233 Review-4: Internet, Camera, Ovi Store and Accessories

In this last part of the review of the 5233, let’s look at the Internet, Camera, Ovi Store and Accessories.

Internet:

As we all know that the 5233 has only connectivity up to EDGE there is no other way of connecting to the internet except for using the GPRS/EDGE connection by the operator. So you are dependent on the operator for internet. The browser on the 5233 is the same ‘Webkit’ based browser which is quite robust.

Surfing the net on the 5233 is not a problem as the moment you type in the link and hit ‘Go’ the browser starts loading the page and you get a full screen view by default. With the ability to view Flash objects in the webpage itself, the internet experience is further enhanced.

The ability of blocking pop ups is an added advantage for the device. Although this is a feature common to the browser, having it in a 7K phone makes it a big plus.

I’d rate the internet experience at 8/10. A full-fledged internet browser on a budget phone. The absence of tabbed browsing still continues to be a major drawback for the browser.

Camera:

The 5233 comes with a 2MP fixed focus camera. This means that you cannot focus on a particular object, but you can click incredibly quickly. The 2MP sensor is as good as or perhaps even better than what the N70 had. This is a pretty tall order for this device since the picture quality on the N70 was one of the best.  The 5233 also does not disappoint. In low light, however it is a letdown. One cannot use the 5233 for any picture taking in low light. The 5233 does not have any LED flash so the camera is rendered useless.

The 5233 has various modes & colour options along with brightness, contrast and ISO settings as well. These settings cannot be found in some of the other device in this segment, which gives it an edge over its competition. The absence of auto focus is a little bit of a drawback for this device and could have been included in my opinion.

Geo-tagging is also not available as there is not GPS chip in this device.

Overall, for the price, the 5233 offers an excellent camera easily getting a 8.5/10. A big view finder due to the 3.2 inch screen, lots of modes and settings and a dedicated camera button on the side allow for some fast camera action.

Ovi Store:

The Ovi Store on the phone is accessible only through the data connection on the 5233 and that makes it a bit of a pain, and it is not because of the store, but because of the connection. The other way to access the store is through a PC and then installing the apps using the Ovi Suite. Ovi Store, has over a period of time, really grown and has quite a few apps, and there are quite a few things you can get for free.

It is definitely a must to check it out pretty often just to see if there are any new additions. From downright silly apps to some very smart ones, they are all available. I’ll give the Ovi Store app and experience a 7/10. Why have i not ranked it up there. The reason for that is quite simple. The app and store has room for a lot of improvement and there are a lot of apps that can come on the S60 5th edition platform.

Accessories:

The Nokia 5233 comes with the following accessories in the box –

• Nokia High Efficiency Charger (AC-8)
• Nokia Battery (Bl-5J)
• Nokia Stereo Headset (WH-102)
• Plectrum Stylus CP-306
• User guide

The battery of course has been covered in the last part of the review so I won’t go into the details of that. The charger is a regualr 2mm charger and not the Micro USB type, the 5233 does not support Micro USB charging so even if you have your own charger, you won’t be able to charge it. The stereo headset is the same that comes with the E63. It’s good, but if you are looking for a music experience, you will need to buy an even better set of headphones/earphones. These ones are good for taking calls and some occasional listening. The plectrum stylus is a good touch and it’s a nice thing to use. But, I did not use it that much, it’s all about personal choice really. The stylus in the phone was good enough for me.

I’d give the 5233 in terms of accessories a good 7/10. A better set of earphones could have done the trick.

Nokia 5233 Review Part-2: Lighting

With the design part of the review of the 5233 over, let’s focus on the lighting aspect of the 5233. The 5233 as we all know is a screen centric phone, i.e. it is dependent heavily on the touchscreen for input and output. This obviously makes it an important factor for obvious reasons.

Back-Lighting:

The 5233 has the same screen as the 5800, N97mini and the 5230. The brightness on the 5233 is pretty good. One really does not need to crank it to max brightness. At 50% it is more than sufficient and gets the job done wonderfully. Sunlight legibility isn’t it best strength and one may find that a bit bothersome. Rest assured, this phone’s backlighting is not going to be a cause of worry for anyone using this phone. 9/10 for providing good screen lighting without hampering the battery life.

Keypad Lighting:

There really isn’t a keypad on this phone, but there are three keys which are back lit and that is a big plus point considering that Samsung has stopped equipping these devices with this standard feature. The menu, call and end keys are well lit and at no point in time will the person have any problems in finding these keys. 9/10 for this standard feature which has suddenly become a ‘luxury’!”

Notification Light:

For a entry level phone, I really wasn’t expecting a notification light feature, but Nokia has gone ahead and added that feature to the 5233. Since the ‘menu’ key is really small and has a very small lit up area,  it is quite possible for one to miss out on those notification lights, I sometimes did miss out on them and for a brief period I did think the feature did not work. I guess a different colour LED would have been a better idea and also maybe putting it on the top of the screen would have been an even smarter one, a white light on a white background is not easily visible. 6/10 for the notification light, but it can be improved upon in subsequent iterations.

Stay tuned as we’ll be talking about the Software (OS), music and battery life of this device.

Nokia 5233 Review Part-1: Design

After having the 5233 for so long and giving you a first impressions of the device, it seems proper to go into the review in detail. The Nokia 5233 is basically your 5800, stripped down to be a simple touchscreen phone that is also ‘smart’. It shares most of its parts with the 5800XM and that’s the main reason why Nokia has been able to bring this into India and various other countries at price point that has never been explored by anyone. Samsung has of course gone even below, but we’ll discuss that some other time.

The 5233 is a completely plastic bodied phone. There is no metal anywhere on the device, unlike the N97 or the N97mini. The Nokia 5233 is clearly aimed at the Corby and Star users. While it is priced slightly higher than the competition, what it brings to the table, differentiates and makes it worth the price.

Now a close examination of the 5233 shows everything is exactly the same as the 5800. On the left there are two slots, one for the SIM and the other for Micro SD card, which is hot swappable. The SIM requires one to open the battery cover and remove it using the stylus. This is a rather unique style of removing a SIM. Inserting is easy, just open the slot cover and pop the SIM inside!

One will also find a small ‘slit’ in between the body and the cover, that is the speaker, carefully concealed in between the two layers.

The right side of the device has more action happening, there is the screen lock in the middle, towards the end, you will find the camera button and on the top are the volume rockers. The screen lock key is a spring loaded key and it’s placement on the right hand side is somewhat odd, at least to me as the N97 has it on the left side.

The bottom is empty save for a small hole which is the mic. The top is slightly crowded and that’s where the connectivity options are located. The Micro USB slot, the 3.5m audio jack, the power slot and the power button are on located on the top of the device. the Micro USB slot is covered, while the rest are open. Now it beats me, why the Micro USB slot was covered and the rest left exposed…

On the white fascia is where one can see the proximity sensor and the earpiece at the top, along with a touch sensitive button that brings out the entertainment and connectivity option for the phone, ala the 5800. The bottom houses three keys – call, menu and the end key respectively. These keys look very different from the ones you will find on the 5800. These keys are thinner and more protruding than on the 5800. This gives the phone a fresh look and also makes using the keys easier.

I think the 5233 deserves a 6/10 in design. A good design and good quality plastic are it’s highlights, but since there is nothing major differentiating it from the 5800, it feels like buying a cheaper stripped down 5800 and not a ‘new’ phone.

Here’s a gallery full of images of the 5233.

Nokia 5233 XpressMusic: First Impressions

Nokia after a lot of contemplation has decided to take on Samsung’s growing influence in the touchscreen category of phones. Samsung has almost flooded the entire category from devices priced as low as Rs.6500 to Rs. 25000.

It’s the lower end of this price spectrum where the fight lies. Samsung has a plethora of models in the price band of Rs.6500 to 8500. The Corby has done pretty well for Samsung and has definitely hit the sale of Nokia’s 6303 and various other models. To counter Nokia has launched the 5230 and the 5233. The 5233 is the one that we have for review and having used it for a few days let me bring you my first impressions on the device.

The 5233 is basically a stripped down 5800. Gone are the features that set the 5800 apart from the clutter. But fret not, the 5233 has the same 3.2 inch screen and pretty much the same design as the 5800. The main difference is the departure from black as the primary colour to white. The rear panel (battery panel) is available in different colours, I have a gray colour panel, which might not be an exciting colour to have, but nevertheless it does not look cheap. The device seems to be made with good quality plastics and does not resemble a cheap phone. It can be said that the 5233 is a much superior finished phone than even the Corby.

The touchscreen offers better sensitivity than the 5800 offered.  Nokia has made improvements to the touchscreen, but it’s still not as responsive as the Corby. This at times is a big boon as I have found Corby’s capacitive touchscreen to be an irritant.

The built-in accelerometer is a big boon. The inclusion of a full QWERTY keypad when the device is tilted is probably the one thing that is more than enough to to tilt the buying decision in favour of the 5233.

I’ll have more on the 5233 XM in coming few weeks. So stay tuned as we bring you more on the 5233.

Nokia 5233 is in da house!

We’d like you to know that we have the Nokia 5233 (a variant of the Nokia 5230 XM) in da house for review.

The Nokia 5233 XM is an entry level touchscreen phone from Nokia. Equipped with S60 5th edition, it has smartphone capabilities. A 2MP camera without GPS and WiFi are amongst the other notable features there (or not there) in this device.

We have an unboxing video for you, below. Stay tuned as we bring you the review of the 5233.