In a nutshell: The 5230 is an entry-level touchscreen smartphone.
Its key features are its large touchscreen, A-GPS with Ovi Maps,
3G, downloadable apps from the Ovi store and outstanding battery
life. In other ways it's a disappointment, with a poor camera, a
mono speaker, no WiFi and no video calling. Best buy:
*Free* with free line rental from Dialaphone
(Black) or Dialaphone
(White) or free from Three
(Black or White); or £77.95 on PAYG from the Carphone
Warehouse (Black or Pink) or
£78.95 from Dialaphone
(White or V-Festival Red).
Review:
January 2010.
The 5230 sits alongside the Nokia
5530 in Nokia's growing range of entry-level touchscreen smartphones.
You might think that the 5230 lies below the 5530, but that's not
exactly true. They cost the same on contract (i.e. free at around
the £15 per month level), and offer similar but complementary
features. The 5230 and the 5530 enjoy a peculiar relationship: if
one phone lacks a particular feature, you can bet that the other
has it, and vice versa. So the 5230 has 3G, but is missing WiFi.
It has an A-GPS receiver, but its camera is rubbish. Its display
is larger than the 5530's, but the phone is bigger and heavier too.
Are you getting the picture?
Let's rewind this review and get back to basics.
The 5230 is a Symbian S60 smartphone targeted at pay as you go and
contract users looking to pay no more than £15 a month. That's
a big market, and we expect the 5230 to be a relatively high volume
handset. The good news is that it's the latest in a series of similar
phones, so you can be confident that the bugs have been ironed out
of the firmware and that the phone will work.
Physically, the phone looks almost exactly like
the Nokia 5800, which is
the Daddy of this type of handset. That's a good thing too, because
it means that you get a very large 3.2 inch display, with a high
resolution of 640 x 360 pixels. That's not quite as many inches
as an iPhone, but its more pixels, so that you can tell that to
your iPhone-owning mates! It's a resistive touchscreen, which isn't
as smooth as the capacitative type, but it works well enough and
has the advantage of coming with a stylus. The display is fantastic
for web browsing, multimedia and simply working with menus. It's
a larger phone than the 5530, but that's because of the larger screen
and bigger battery inside.
The 5230 is a 3G phone, unlike the 5530, and has
high-speed HSDPA, offering download speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps. It
is missing WiFi however, so if WiFi matters more to you than 3G,
choose the 5530 instead.
If you really need both, choose the 5800.
It does however have Bluetooth and USB connectivity.
The 5230 is not branded as an XpressMusic phone,
and it lacks stereo speakers. But it does have a music player, FM
radio and a 3.5mm audio jack. It also has the bonus feature of an
A-GPS receiver, with Ovi Maps supplied.
The most disappointing feature of the phone is
probably its sub-standard camera. With just 2 megapixels and no
flash or autofocus, this is suitable only for quick snaps. The video
camera is better, but with no video calling option. The poor camera
is the phone's weakest feature and is probably the biggest reason
for choosing the 5530 instead.
The phone comes with a respectable 70 MB of memory
and this can be expanded to 16GB by adding a microSD memory card.
Sadly, you won't find one of these in the box, so be prepared to
fork out a few quid for one of these. You might also need to buy
a USB cable too, as this isn't included either.
We mentioned that the 5230 weighs more than the
5530. The main reason for this is probably the increased battery
size. The 5230 enjoys excellent battery life as a result.
It's a funny one, the 5230. It has some great features:
the large touchscreen display, Ovi Store for apps, 3G, GPS, superb
battery life. But it also has some disappointments: no WiFi, no
video calling, an awful camera, and an unexceptional music player.
Still, if you're looking for a touchscreen smartphone, there aren't
many in the price range, and the 5230 expands the choice available.
Features of the Nokia 5230 include:
Symbian S60 5th edition smartphone
2 megapixel camera with 3x digital zoom
Video recording at up to VGA resolution and
up to 30 fps, 4x digital video zoom
Display: Touchscreen, 16.7 million colours,
640 x 360 pixels (3.2 inches) with automatic display rotation
and proximity sensor
Nokia Ovi player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA
formats)
FM radio
Ringtones: MP3 & video ringtones, 64-voice
polyphonic ringtones, vibration alert
A-GPS with Ovi Maps 3.0
Voice commands: speaker independent dialling
and voice commands
Voice recorder
Integrated handsfree speaker
Messaging: SMS, MMS, email (support for IMAP,
POP, SMTP) plus attachments, Audio messaging
Internet: HSCSD, GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA (3.6 Mbps),
XHTML web browser
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0, micro USB 2.0,
3.5 mm audio jack, 2.5 mm Nokia AV connector
Memory: 70 Mbytes plus microSD memory card slot
(up to 16 GB supported)
Offline mode
3G plus quadband GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
Size: 111 x 52 x 16 mm
Weight: 113g
Talktime: up to 7 hours
Battery standby: 450 hours
Music playback: up to 33 hours
Nokia 5230
Consumer Reviews
Love
your mobile? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other
people choose the phone that's best for them. Please do not review
this phone if you have not used it. This is a review site, not a
forum, so please don't just ask questions. Please do not use swear
words or offensive language, and please, no advertising!
Reviewed by Essex Dave Norton from Essex
England Uk on 12th Aug 2010
I have just got my 5230 on a T mobile 15 spondoolies a month, I
had the Nokia 5800 before hand so I have started with Daddy and
gone down to the 5230 or is it up, whatever way the 5230 is a great
phone and even sounds better than my 5800 and the music player is
so much better well for me, does what it says on the tin the camera
on the 5800 was rubbish so no change there with the 5230, no WI
FI no problem I have 1gb of free internet use a month and comes
with this widget thingy which is so much better than that stick
thingy on the 5800, so far so good Rating:
Reviewed by Zahir from Kenya on
12th Aug 2010
The 5230 is very frustrating. When typing massages it goes into
auto delete and erases the whole message The battery drains out
all of sudden and shut down The tilting when typing or using works
some times but noy always It becomes slow all of sudden even when
no applictions running The touch screen becames hard to use at times.
Otherwise looks ok Rating:
Reviewed by megs from uk on 11th
Aug 2010
this phone is ok, bit slow to work at first but got the hang of
it... it was working perfectly normally yesterday but today when
i went to use it it was really slow and keeps crashing.. only had
this phone since fri... does anyone know hw the solve the problem?
if nt i will be sending it back.. thanks Rating:
Reviewed by Lucky from UK on
9th Aug 2010
Answer to debbies question of flashing light...go to settings>>phone>>notification
lights>>Standby br. light>>turn off breathing light Rating:
Reviewed by Engerland girll from United
Kingdom on 5th Aug 2010
I would advise not to buy this phone. I have had this phone two
months and this morning the phone was on, i turned it off, i tried
to turn it back on, i get the vibration to say its turned on but
the screen does not come back on. Also i get vibrations saying ive
got messages when i dont. Overall i would give this phone -10 but
unfortunately the site wont let me . Please dont buy this phone.
Rating:
Reviewed by NITISH from INDIA on
3rd Aug 2010
IT IS THE BEST CEELPHONE IN NOKIA Rating:
Reviewed by Bagpuss from England on
2nd Aug 2010
Don't do it, its got to be the worse nokia i've ever had. Received
it as an insurance replacement after losing my Nokia 5800, which
was also pretty bad. It's going back after deciding to start making
all the noises and vibration associated with receiving a text message
but no message arrives!! It also been draining the battery quickly
and switching it self off. Updating the software etc hasn't made
any difference. Vodafone are now offering me a N97mini as a replacement. Rating:
Reviewed by gavin from england on
31st Jul 2010
i have just one complaint about this mobile,it didnt arrive sooner!!!
Its easy to use,theres plenty of free stuff at the ovi store. The
touch screen is the easiest ive ever used to type,simply have not
got a bad word to say about this phone,infact went and got a second
one in white for my girl friend. Brilliant value for money,bravo
nokia. Rating:
Reviewed by Satej from India on
30th Jul 2010
I like my mobile 5230 very much. Rating:
Reviewed by Ian from UK on 26th
Jul 2010
pros; it's a decent cheap smartphone which gives 3G web access,
decent satnav (get an in-car charger as this eats the battery) and
a selection of apps all for the price of a cheap satnav. cons; screen
is very difficult to see in sunlight (on very sunny days it's even
difficult in the shade, Ovi store is frustrating to use (it takes
repeated attempts to download apps) and the Ovi software suite which
connects the phone to a PC is a nightmare (I finally have it working
relaibly after 2 weeks of reinstalling and changing settings). It's
actually easier to install non-approved apps as you can often download
them on your PC and transfer them to the phone (the Ovi store just
sends a text with a link to the phone and you download using the
phone's web access.) At present there's a pretty limited selection
of apps compared to iphone or Android phones (but as it's a fraction
of the price of either I guess that's expected). Rating:
Reviewed by debbie from scotland on
25th Jul 2010
i love this phone but can anyone help me with a small problem the
menu light keeps flashing although their are no messages in my in
box and i have reduced my memory Rating:
Reviewed by anup from india on
24th Jul 2010
hi everyone , despite what the author says dont go for the 5530.
i had 5530 and it started giving me a headache . i had to exchange
it for a 5230. this phone iis awesome , and the music quality is
awesome along with the touchscreen and overall experience .......
go for 5230 Rating:
Reviewed by Keithinciren from UK on
23rd Jul 2010
It seems to me that most of the complaints people have are because
they haven't given themselves enough time to study the many many
options and features provided by Nokia that make this a great phone
for a budget price. There are three points that everyone should
note before they start. 1. Buy an SD micro memory card before you
do anything else, they are cheap enough on the Internet and vital
for the camera, maps, and much more. 2. Download onto a PC the full
173 page 5230 manual, all the answers you need are here. 3. Upgrade
the phone software as it is almost certainly out of date when you
buy it. Some people find the easiest way to do this is via their
PC but they must buy a USB cable first. I personally found the easiest
way was to log the phone onto the Internet and put it somewhere
it could get on with it on its own as it takes about half an hour.
It will be necessary to have a cheap web supplier like the Tesco
PAYG free roaming for one week for £2. Lastly, with a USB cable,
transferring images from the camera can be done in a number of ways.
On a PC you can use the MS image import wizard. Personally I prefer
to use 'My Computer', where with the phone plugged into a USB you
should find it showing as 'Digital Still Camera' above the list
of spare disc drives. Click on it and then on 'Camera' and if you
have set up the phone with the correct date, you will find your
images in monthly folders with their date and image number. Simply
drag them or 'copy' them to your place of choice in the PC. I haven't
the time to answer all the wrong information given below but I would
answer one very important point, the SatNav Does speak to you! Take
your time, don't expect to conquer everything in one day, and you
will find this is a phone that does just about everything you could
expect for about £70 (on PAYG). Rating:
Reviewed by simon` from uk on
21st Jul 2010
brilliant phone at this price don't no y people r moaning nothing
better to do Rating:
Reviewed by Lee from UK on 13th
Jul 2010
I have just left "3" and changed to Tesco mobile, and needed a new
hand set, so far excellent! Taking a bit of getting use to, i.e.
scrolling down phone book etc, camera pictures are great!? dont
know what others are moaning about! ITS A PHONE NOT A CAMERA! if
i want perfect pictures i use my CAMERA not my PHONE ! No WIFI ????
again...its not a lap top! its a phone .... can anyone see where
im going here!? Anyway! Great phone, it dials, it answers.. what
more can i ask! Rating:
Reviewed by Natty from England on
10th Jul 2010
I brought is fone on contract and where it is a big n better step
up from my old fone, it does have its annoyences, Like if i want
to remove my sim card or memory card i have to use tweesers. If
i want to plug my sd in a card reader to copy stuff, it doesnt reconise
my sd card on any pc. It doesnt come with a pen. It goff once and
a while with out warning and when you use the internet for play
a game, the battery goes down so fast! Even my other phone wasnt
that bad when playing games. Also there isnt really any options
of what i can find, to help store all your pics and music etc straight
to your SD memory. So you have to copy them over one by one. Nother
annoying thing is every pic you copy over and what not has to be
sent as a txt message if sent by blue tooth, thats annoying!!! Oh
and you cant select a group of stuff to send to one folder,. The
fone in its self is alright, just it can be a VERY annoying Phone.
I'm 23 by the way, so im not an oldie. Rating:
Reviewed by Kemp from England on
9th Jul 2010
I can see why there are negative reviews for this phone, as it does
take a bit of getting used to - and in many cases you really do
have to read the manual ! I initially had a few of the problems
reported below, but on reading the manual realised what I was doing
wrong - e.g. how to switch the alarm off, how to quickly zoom the
screen, how to sync via bluetooth. There are some limitations that
are provider dependant - e.g. if you are on pay as you go don't
expect the same data services you'd get whilst on contract. The
phone is streets ahead of what you'd have got on a £300 PDA a few
years back - and then you'd have had to pay serious money to get
GPS / Sat Nav functions, and have hassle connecting to a separate
mobile phone with data services. The battery doesn't last long if
you forget to turn off GPS, or leave it connected to the internet
as if it's a blackberry - but that's true of other devices. THe
bottom line it that it's a tremendous bargain at £70 on pay as you
go. It's not an iphone - but it won't cost you £400 a year to own! Rating:
Reviewed by John from - on 8th
Jul 2010
Simply in terms of bangs per buck it's astonishing. There isn't
another phone out there at this price that delivers so much. Why
en people complain about the camera when they probably aren't going
to print the photos anyway! They look brilliant on the phone which
has a high resolution screen. Incidentally, this is very responsive
too, better than on the Renoir. It's a good idea to download Opera
mobile web browser but not on the phone memory as saved pages (even
deleted ones) clog up the memory. A micro-SD card is essential.
If using web based mail eg yahoo, them it's easier to compose a
message using "notes" in the office apps and the copy/paste the
message. As to the lady who can't hold it next to her ear, just
one tap brings up the loudspeaker! I am writing this on the 5230
with predictive text so you can gather that it's easy to write messages.
providing you can smell your worms proper :) Well worth the money. Rating:
Reviewed by Maria from Latvia on
7th Jul 2010
It's a disaster - literally speaking. I cannot use it at all- feel
discomfort like pressure in my ear - as if I am on the plane! Does
somebody feels the same? Nobody speaks about RF (radio frequency)
level in this device. I am sure it's close to maximum. Now have
sent my phone to the experts for examination and wait for the answer.
Anyway, for me it is vasted time and money. Because of mentioned
above, I cannot tell anything about the device as such - how could
I, if it's impossible to make a short call without feeling half
- deaf? Rating:
Reviewed by Aj from India on
7th Jul 2010
Nokia 5230 is a good phone ,not too bad.this phone has excellent
in all features ,except some. A phone cant provide all things we
need at this cost.if we want better features then we should to a
higher price phone .thats it all .over all its a good phone at this
cost. Rating:
Reviewed by Anita from UK on
7th Jul 2010
I am disappointed that at this very moment as I write this review
my Nokia 5230 is not working and has not been since yesterday evening.
The touch screen is frozen and simply will not move in spite of
the different ways I've tried scrolling up or down it. I cannot
receive or take any calls. I got this phone less than a month ago
and I have already lost my e-mails and details of my contact lists-and
I painstakingly updated most of my contacts not too long ago. First
it started by disconnecting everything and has since refused to
reconnect. The camera is certainly average and I now wish I had
stuck with a sony ericsson like my old phone. Rating:
Reviewed by jani from budapest on
6th Jul 2010
what's wrong with mac support? i use it with mac and no problem
at all. Rating:
Reviewed by leah from london on
3rd Jul 2010
i have had this phone for a month now and i love it it was a bit
slow at first but that was easily sorted with a software update
which i done myself and it was very easy to do there is a lot of
different apps and even though the camera is only a 2 mp i get good
quailty videos and pictures which is all that matters ive upgraded
my memory card to an 8gb and have loads of videos music and pictures
internet speed is fast and i can have msn facebook and twitter all
running at once i love it !!!!! Rating:
Reviewed by Lucky from Uk on
1st Jul 2010
I got this fone after I was totally disappointed with samsung monte
and to be honest its way better than the monte.it offers u alot
more features and flexibility as compared 2 alot of others in the
market and being able 2 download applications from ovI store is
a big plus point.web browsing is smooth and supports other web browsers
so u dont have 2 worry about web pages not being displayed properly.battery
life is the biggest disappointment in the fone as it runs out quickly.camera
is acceptable.u cant expect a high end camera on this budget friendly
device.people who complain about camera quality and features like
this should get a phone in region of about £250 plus rather than
this £70 odd fone.overall very good fone at a very affordable price.
Rating:
Reviewed by Pat from UK on 1st
Jul 2010
I got one today as an unwanted upgrade - UNWANTED INDEED! Nasty
cheap flimsy plastic casing, inferior camera need I go on? This
phone will be on ebay later tonight with no reserve - I didn't even
bother to register it!!! On the bright side I got my monthly contract
reduced to £10 so I'm happy! Rating:
Reviewed by jess from uk on 30th
Jun 2010
i just got this phone the other week not tried much stuff out with
at the moment but when i go into music and press to go into menu
has white screen then fetches it up but overall easy phone to use Rating:
Reviewed by Heather from =D on
29th Jun 2010
i got this phone about 3 weeks ago, and i have to say its quite
good and it also comes with a very respectabl price tag!! Rating:
Reviewed by jlp from france on
29th Jun 2010
be careful !!! this phone is not compatible with mac !!!!!!! AT
ALL !!!! Rating:
Reviewed by sherrie from usa on
29th Jun 2010
I have the 5230 and it freezes and shuts down for no reason at all.
You can be in a call or texting and the phone will shut down or
freeze. The camera stinks no flash, Rating:
Reviewed by thomnas hampton pidgeon from
uk on 29th Jun 2010
i like it and the camera is great. it picks up great detail and
its only a 2mp camera i own the lg pop and it is a waste of time
Rating:
Reviewed by RedOnRed from UK on
29th Jun 2010
Got this phone about 10 days ago and it does everything I want and
more very well and is fantastic value for the money. One thing very
worth doing is updating the firmware which greatly improves the
touchscreen and browser and many other things. I got a USB cable
and ran the update over my PC which is just as well as I think it
was about 150 MB. If you find it's lagging a bit then make sure
you've exited out of any apps which can still be running in the
background and will just eat up your internet bandwidth. I just
leave e-mail open. It does take a while to setup properly and get
used to but once you're there it's worth it. Rating:
Reviewed by Joyce from United States
on 29th Jun 2010
Nothing but problems. Since I have the phone 4 weeks I have spent
10 hours with tech support. It does not keep memory. My message
alert sound works then it does not. Rating:
Reviewed by Matthew Jensen from United
Kingdom on 28th Jun 2010
I Thought that the 5230 was a poor attempt by Nokia. The phone feels
light and insubstantial and a world and a half away from the leaders
in the field, HTC and Apple. The processor is so slow that navigating
with the touch screen is a nightmare as you are never sure that
you have activated the links or buttons. Two stars, avoid! Rating:
Reviewed by Colin from UK on
25th Jun 2010
This phone is probably the best basic touchscreen that one could
want. Large screen and long battery life are the best things about
is and even though many say it has a bad camera and music player
I think it is alright 9/10 Rating:
Reviewed by Sarah from Uk on
23rd Jun 2010
I 100% hate this phone, it is too big and bulky. The battery doesnt
last more than a couple of days, the internet is really slow. And
overall i think it is a complicated phone considering all nokia
phones are easy to use, they could have simplified it. Although
you can stop this the phone is very sensitive so when you are using
it and slightly tilt it your page gets changed into landscape which
is really annoying. The camera is rubbish. I would say this phone
is more aimed for men because of its size, im going to buy the samsung
diva much more appealing. Rating:
Reviewed by Matthew from England on
21st Jun 2010
I have had the Nokia 5230 about for about 2 weeks now, I can honestly
say I am very impressed. The only down points regarding this mobile
would have to be the following - the stylis, choosing a "guitar
plectrum" for a stylis was a very very silly idea it adds a very
annoying "hanging" thing to the phone which can be irritating which
the Nokia 5800 if you are stylis dependant is the far better idea,
however I use the phone without the plectrum. Lack of USB cable
in the box, my way around this was in my previous Nokia I had a
USB cable which is compatable (so no issues there for me). The camera
to be honest I have no idea why Nokia downgraded to a 2 megapixel
camera considering the day and age we are in let's be honest a 2
megapixel camera nowadays is rubbish, however I would like to gently
remind people that this phone is in fact a mobile phone and not
primarily a digital camera. If you wish to take decent photos then
buy a digital camera or a digital SLR and not a mobile phone. Let's
be honest most of the time photos taken on a phone are either sent
to facebook or kept on the phone and not really printed onto a 19"
TFT monitor. The battery maybe seen as rather poor but that's just
daft the more you use a battery powered portable device the more
electricity (from the battery it will use). The main issues I have
found whilst using this phone is mainly on the internet with the
touchscreen not always opening a page, which is no bother rather
annoying at the time but can just be a connection issue. The response
on the touchscreen itself is very very good it vibrates each time
you activate something to confirm it has done something which is
a very good idea which deactivates when the silent profile has been
activated. If you have this phone and are experiencing issues with
this phone I suggested you use a very powerful tool that actually
comes in the box it's called the instruction manual. The Sat nav
is also very good, considering this is actually a mobile phone (you
wouldn't believe that with some previous reviews) the sat nav is
very good considering it's free, you do need a memory stick which
are rather cheap on play the maps and voices need to be downloaded
but I found the downloading the maps for my actual current position
very quick and easy. Another big feature I like on this phone is
the alarm clock you seem to be able to set more than one and have
a stupid over the top amount of settings for these alarms (I mean
that in a good way) I have set an alarm to go off every morning
Mon-Fri (for work) so I can now just simply not worry about setting
the alarm everynight like I have had to all with all previous phones.
The music player is pretty good, I like the silly idea of having
the album art on the screen or you can select you own image for
each song (a daft feature that's not required but I enjoy). The
only other complaint I can think of with this phone is the headset,
I have been using my phones (tal king previous models) as mp3 players
whilst walking to various places on the last two phones the headsets
have come with a neat little remote control in which I can (obviously)
control the music without having to take my phone out of my pocket
and unlock it, this headset is annoyingly basic it just has the
one button to answer phone calls, however with the sexy look of
this phone it's nice to have to use it to stop the music (but I
always keep a strong grip on the phone just in case someone decides
they want it). The screen rotating can be annoying whilst in bed
if you hold it at the wrong angle, sitting down or walking round
I have never had an issue with how the screen rotates as it is very
useful. The only major issue I have with this phone is I like to
keep it clean I always see finger prints and swipes across the screen
which really really bugs me! (sorry I couldn't help that being touch
screen you will always have that lol) Anyone with issues with this
handset you probably have a "one of a kind dodgy handset" or you
need to spend the time getting to know the phone and learning how
to use this phone properly, I am no expert with mobile phones however
I do have a general interest within mobile phones I tend to look
at all types of phones and for some reason (I have no idea why)
but I have always liked Nokia mobiles, whenever I choose a mobile
there are certain things I look for, I am not fussed on the best
camera on the phone as I do own this thing called a "digital camera"
you can't phone or text or use the internet on this but it does
take some really good photos that look good on a 19" TFT widescreen
monitor and yes I also have a computer to access the internet, I
tend to use my mobile as an actual phone (to talk to people) to
text people and strangley enough to listen to music which it feels
all my needs. This phone does so much more as well, it's not extremely
good at all these other features however it shouldn't be expected
to be the best camera ever as it's still a mobile phone. Anyone
who is interested in owning a decent touchscreen phone that is basically
a cheap version of the iPhone this phone is great, ok the features
away from the phone it's self (ie camera and internet) isn't the
best in the world but is generally good. If you are with mates having
a good time and wish to take a photo to keep on your phone to either
keep there or send to another phone you should be happy. The iPhone
for me is getting far too common, also I think to get the best out
of the iPhone you need to have other items from the Apple range,
I have never been overly keen on the Apple range and I certainly
haven't been sucked into the whole "iPhone" thing I am not too impressed
with the iPhone it has been too overly hyped which far too many
people I know seem to own one because it's the "iPhone" the only
reason they have the phone is because of how much it has been "hyped-up".
I have tried out my friends iPhone and to be honest the Nokia 5230
is a refreshing change from the iPhone which is far too over hyped
and far too common nowadays. Not knocking the iPhone however I haven't
been sucked into the whole "Apple" thing which I find rather annoying
with the release of the iPad which is just an oversized iPhone turned
into a laptop with the keyboard removed (I really don't like it)
Sorry I am kind of coming off the point now. If anyone wanted to
get a Nokia 5230 I certainly wouldn't advise not to, clearly there
are better phones out there however all the pro's and con's with
this phone I find the pro's far out weight the con's I am very impressed
with this phone I am very happy with it and would suggest it to
anyone. Rating:
Reviewed by edward marman from United
Kingdom on 20th Jun 2010
Have just got my nokia 5230 and I am over the moon with it. now
in my 80's its a joy to use and so much to learn <i love it>
so easy to use,many thanks nokia. Rating:
Reviewed by colin k from england on
19th Jun 2010
Dont buy the 5230,Loads of problem it light for no reason, the battery
last 24 hours, its confussed by apps,loose the internet swettings,bluetooth
on pc suite does not work, you cant switch of the alarm totally
you have to wait 40 mins for it to time out,when using it on charge
it tells you to unplug the charge to save power,sat nav does not
speak to you. This after carphone warehouse has done a software
upgrade.They wont replace it they just try and fix it.They wont
upgrade it either,Im stuck with it for another 22 months.Im going
to the trading standards site now. Rating:
Reviewed by denis john march from GB
on 16th Jun 2010
This phone is verry good for the price, no matter what other people
say. Okay the camera is only 2 megapixel so what it has a lot more
going for it, the touch screen is good and its got some nice features.
Ihad the satio before untill it got stole, so decided to try a cheaper
one and i was not dissapointed with the 5230. The phone feels right
and looks good. Rating:
Reviewed by Rebecca from England on
15th Jun 2010
Its rubbish. Had it for 2 months and it has broken twice for no
apparent reason. The camera is terrible, video is terrible, you
can hardly put any apps on it, it doesn't connect to the Pc suit
and well basically its just full on rubbish .Vodafone can not see
how unhappy I am with this phone and will not cancel my contract
so these 22months better go by quickly! If you have rated this phone
as "outstanding" I'm sorry but you must be pretty messed up. NEVER
BUYING A NOKIA EVER AGAIN - waste of money!! Rating:
Reviewed by David from UK on
13th Jun 2010
Would not choose this phone again Rather go for the HTC desire with
T mobile on line at a similar price (with internte and wifi and
400 mins and unlimited text messages. Software tricky to upgrade
from Ovi suite- spent hours doing this. Rating:
Reviewed by E Robertson from uk on
10th Jun 2010
Was not sure if I was enjoying my new phone or not when it went
dead. Am really annoyed after only having it for 24 hours - it will
be replaced as it's new - whoopee! Can't wait - wish I had stayed
with my old Nokia! Rating:
Reviewed by max from uk on 9th
Jun 2010
i'm amazed at the features and quality of such a cheap phone. the
touch screen is absolutely superb, accurate and responsive; and
best of all the phone gives a very subtle but un-missable little
game-handset style 'shudder' each time you activate an object to
let you know it is selected properly (as well as visual feedback).
criticism of the cam is unfounded. I too thought it was gonna be
not so good with no flash, however, you can adjust the light sensitivity
in very gloomy conditions (such as a dark room at night with a little
lamp) and you get a great picture with no flash redeye and the usual
flash stuff of bleached out faces. i bought it as a gift for a freind
and am now jealous of their phone. great value downside: nokia are
too stingy to include a USB cable and so you cant connect the phone
until you find & purchase a micro-usb cable (which few people have
at home) This means most people will have to wait until a mail order
cable arrives before they can use the phone fully - stupid stupid
stupid nokia! 5/5 for phone - 0/5 for no cable Rating:
Reviewed by Larry from UK on
8th Jun 2010
Recently purchased this for my Daughter she loves it. So i deceide
as as mobile phone store have decided to offer a deal where you
can trade in any sat nav and trade it in (Like my wifes Old broken
TOMTOM GO) and get the phone for £38 + £10 top up. I bought one
for myself and think its great it even came with a windscreen mount
for the car, the maps where already installed, even better, although
the maps are easy to install Via PC suite.So all in all great Phone. Rating:
Reviewed by Steve B from England on
4th Jun 2010
This phone takes a lot of getting used to and I am not sure I am
in love with it. If you hold it the wrong way the screen turns landscape
and the touch screen is not conducive to typing texts with any speed.
If you inadvertently touch the wrong button (and I haven't figured
out which one it is) you can suddenly watch a lengthy text you just
composed disappear letter by letter and there is nothing you can
do to stop it. Whilst it has some good features for those that use
a mobile for things other than making/receiving calls and texting,
it is far too complicated for the standard mobile user. I have had
Nokias solidly for the past 14 years and until this phone have never
had any problems making ghe transition with my upgrades. This time
it took me hours just to work out how to do the basics. One very
big plus for me at least though, is an impressive battery life.
Rating:
Reviewed by Call Fjallstal from Sweden
on 1st Jun 2010
I got this phone, my first not very basic phone, mainly for the
OVI Maps and to use it as a complement in my geocaching hobby. Of
course I use it to make phone calls on it also The internet works
good enough for me (with a 500 MB/10 USD a month data package) and
the maps/navigation works very good. I´m not a very demanding
user, and for someone like me it´s a decent phone. I agree
about the simple camera, but it´s no problem for me. I always
has a dedicated camera with me anyway. A few problems: The stylus
leach came off easy then used as the manual told me. An extra knot
fixed that. The cover over the USB connection is a "beeeeeeep" (<-censored
:) ) to open. It´s very hard to get the SD card out when necessary.
Plier recommended. Rating:
Reviewed by bunmi from united kingdom
on 28th May 2010
i bought this phone to use the gps and the ovi maps to help me rather
than getting a tom-tom. the ovi is not working and so is the internet.
what a waste off money. plus it got sent away to get fixed and when
i got it back the internet still did not work. Rating:
Reviewed by NUMAN from united kingdom
on 24th May 2010
i think that this phone is good but it has NOT got WAP. so i think
they should have putted it Rating:
Reviewed by Dave Whit from UK on
22nd May 2010
Just for the benefit of those who cant get the maps to work what
i worked out. first you need a memory card and ovi suite and either
a bluetooth dongle or USB data cable, i used my wifes as she has
a nokia with data cable so that worked. all you do is open ovi suite
go to maps, click on the map you wat ie United kingdom and click
download and it does it all for you and the bigger the memory card
the more maps u can put on. Hope this helps Rating:
Reviewed by Vivek from India on
21st May 2010
I just Love Nokia 5230. Because its a mobile with many great features.
I think it's low price smart phone. Camera quality is not very good
but will do. So i m planing to buy this phone. It's one more reason
to buy this phone because this phone is fit in my pocket with it,s
good price. Rating:
Reviewed by Simon from UK on
20th May 2010
daughter loves this phone. I find the texting rubbish and with no
alarming feature for mornings, will probably return this for an
alternative Rating:
Reviewed by declan from United Kingdom
on 19th May 2010
Good phone to use after Ive got my problems sorted. Since getting
it it like to delete my contact and photos randomly... that was
pretty annoying but 3 fixed that for me. The phone itself has so
much potential... you have a great music player with the music store,
a normal headphone connection is good, or spotify for £10 a month,
maps with satnav comes in handy every now and then, the ovi store
for reasonably useless apps, Emails direct to your phone are good
to. The camera by todays phones isnt good but i never use it anyway.
Being able to text full keyboard on one side and the old format
no texting is fantastic. Internet pages are good and easy enough
to read. My niggle has to be the battery, if you're not using the
phone its pretty good but when you listen to your music, internet,
send a lot of text it doesnt last long at all. Also... NO MAC support
for pretty much anything is really annoying. All round brilliant
phone, especially for its price Rating:
Reviewed by Richard from UK on
18th May 2010
Got the nokia 5230 because it is relatively cheap and I'd read positive
comments about the free Ovi maps service. However it proved very
difficult for me to set up. Firstly there was no micro-USB cable
included with my phone, and I also needed to get a micro-SD card
due to the inadequate internal memory on the nokia 5230. Then I
struggled to understand the steps on the Nokia website for installing
Ovimaps correctly. (Website presumed a reasonable level of understanding
about "Apps" on mobile phones - sadly I lacked this insight). Took
over half a day cursing the computer / phone, to get Ovimaps working
properly on the phone ! (I think this is the problem Neil enountered
- see his comments about red dot on empty map - dated 13th May).
A week on and I'm becoming more and more impressed by what this
mobile has to offer - free sat nav, music etc. I do find the menu
system a bit infuriating. I'm also taking a while to adapt to touchscreen
- often selecting wrong menu item through clumsy finger pressing.
So overall I would give this phone the thumbs up based on "value
for money", but be prepared for occasional frustration ! Rating:
Reviewed by jacob k from england on
17th May 2010
THIS IS THE WORST PHONE EVER! freezing, tripple clicking, opens
multiple pages, rubbish battery, poor camera, tbh i would rather
have a 3310. what a bag of crud! D O N O T B U Y T H I S P H O N
E ! pros: good doorstop, makes a splash in the toilet cons: for
the reasons of charicter limitations and my building anger i will
not disclose cons. omg i cant beleve i have to give it 1* Rating:
Reviewed by neil from UK on 13th
May 2010
This is the worlds worst phone. a) If i open "maps" it gives me
a blank screen with a small red dot in the centre of it. Great.
I'm in the middle of the screen. I guess its kind of reassuring
in a Zen-like way - i'm here, I will always be centred. But its
not actually any use. b) its not compatible with nokia PC suite,
which i had backed up all my old contacts onto. So now i have to
enter 220 contacts manually. c) The screen comes covered with shortcuts
to stuff i don't want, such as Ovi (what is this?) [Editor's comment:
It's Nokia's app store for Symbian] and which are impossible to
remove [Editor's comment: Try Menu > Settings > Personal >
Home screen > Shortcuts]. i've rated it one star but i would
rate it zero if this site allowed me to. Rating:
Reviewed by Ian from UK on 12th
May 2010
i have recently bought one (the 5230), and already i have issues
with the battery, it only lasts around 24 hours and at one week
old i think this is a major problem but as a phone with shiny gadgets
quite good i have bought Sony Ericsson for a few years and decided
to go back Nokia as they are a good brand so imagine my disappointment
when this happened Rating:
Reviewed by jasmine from uk on
10th May 2010
i got the 5230 and was a little upset because i didnt get a stylus
with us so i had to purhase one seperatly it came witha pletrum
YES a pletrum for a guitar. however i also had the 5530 and much
prefer my 5230 the internet is quicker the camera is a little disapointing
but other than that i see no real issues with it at the moment.
i dont know what the problem with the music player is but to me
they are both exactly the same its defently one to buy Rating:
Reviewed by Dave Whit from UK on
10th May 2010
had it just on a week now and to be honest i am really satisfied
with it, i dont use internet or Mp3 so cannot comment on those features
but to be honest its a phone, if you want net and mp3 i would always
advise buying proper mp3 players. yes y=the camera is not the best
in the world but again i have a digital camera so that does the
trick and i have took a few pics with my phone and found the quality
not bad for 2MP comared to some i have used. the user interface
is brill and got the maps work no probs once download from Ovi suite.
If you want a really good touchphone of course u would have to pay
deer but for £68 pound from carphone warehoues (unlocked may i add)
this is a bargain and i would recommend it to anyone, my wife even
wants it now and she has only just got a new phone LOL. Rating:
Reviewed by Stevo from UK on
10th May 2010
Great phone but far too easy to connect to the internet, especially
as the GPS will do this unprompted as a default setting if it can't
find a satellite (or, it seems, even if it can). And not tell you
that it's on when you select Open Applications. Oh no, you have
to look a bit further. Upgrading the memory opens up much action
in the way of videos and music but the PC Suite is a bit useless
in coping with transfers and it's easier/quicker to just use Explorer
direct to the phone. Camera isn't brilliant but average is probably
good enough. Rating:
Reviewed by Gav D. from U.K on
9th May 2010
The Nokia 5230 is a great mobile device with some fantastic features
including A-GPS with ovi maps and satellite navigation and a large
high res touchscreen. The device is packed with loads of other features
and apps too. Rating:
Reviewed by patrick from uk on
7th May 2010
i had this phone for about 3 months now and it is brilliant for
£99!!! i expected the sat nav to be rubbish but it is quite good
, its easy to use and you can even write your texts with your handwritting.
the music player is decent for a phone ( better than most of my
previous phone )and if you use a good web browser it is very good
to surf the net and fast too if in a 3g zone.the camera has no flash
but in daylight it isn t too bad , i rarely use camera to be honest.
the battery life is good ,much better than my last phone a lg and
charge is quick .i download some video into the phone and quality
of the playback is really good nice sharp and bright pictures as
long as the video is of good quality . the only bad point i found
is the lack of stylus it would have been nice if it came with one.
all in all for a phone who cost less than 100 pounds it is a very
good little phone . Rating:
Reviewed by Al from UK on 7th
May 2010
My 5230 only seems to store the last 20 "Sent" SMS messages. I want
to keep all my sent messages. How can this be set? Rating:
Reviewed by JAMES from UK on
4th May 2010
I love my new 5230 , but cannot seem fo find the group delete for
sent messages. i have to delete one by one. is there a way i can
delete a whole group of unwanted sent messages please [Reply by
Bobby from Kenya on 7th May 2010: Open your inbox, go to options
and than to mark/unmark, select all and than hit delete. How is
the touch sensitivity on nokia 5230 compared to other touch phones?] Rating:
Reviewed by steve from usa on
2nd May 2010
well the reviews i looked at of this phone before i bought it were
apparently from the uk. im very disapointed with it having come
from a htc g1 android phone. (our us version has no stylus) the
interface is not user-freindly. if you want it for mobile internet,forget
it. it doesnt come with a flashplayer so you cant function web pages,
or interact with anything requiring flash software. and the ovi
market is a ghosttown compared to android market. i give it a 1
out of 10. Rating:
Reviewed by Katarina from Sweden on
2nd May 2010
I have a Nokia 5230 since about a month. I wanted a touchscreen
mobilephone with GPS, internet, radio and good quality sound for
music. A plus was a good camera (not necerssary since I have a camera
I use for pictures) At the price I must say that the phone is good,
but the tiny internal memory makes the phone function slowly when
more than one program is open. The music sound is okay, but NOT
with the headphones that came with the phone. They are horrible!
The overall sound when making phonecalls is bearly acceptable. I
was seriously disapointed with the 2 MP camera! I have a had Ericsson
phones years older with much better 2 MP cameras, so I did not think
the camera was going to be as bad as it is. Not useable at all!
The GPS is great! The internet works fast! The phone took some getting
used to. Like answeing incomning calls when the phone is locked
- took me days to figure out how! I have always had Sony Ericsson
phones before and found them very logical. This Nokia is NOT logical!
This is the first Nokia mobilephone I have ever owned and it will
probably be the last. I am a Sony Ericsson kinda girl! :-) I still
feel that this phone, at the price, is okay. Better camera, larger
internal memory and better qulity call sound would make it a lot
more fun and usable to own. Rating:
Reviewed by Anne Harris from England
on 25th Apr 2010
I have just had my Nokia 5230 for two days now. There are many good
things about it. I like the touchscreen and the signal is better
- I can use it in places where I couldn't use my old Nokia without
it cutting off. My greatest problem at the moment is the slide button
for turning it on from standby. I am left-handed and this is on
the right-hand side of the phone - it is a massive nuisance, but
I will have to get used to it. I will give it 4 stars, but then
I am easily pleased when it comes to phones! Rating:
Reviewed by William from Scotland on
23rd Apr 2010
Got a 5230 about 10 days ago, wish I hadn't bothered to be honest.
The 3G internet connection is awful. Wish I'd stuck with my 6500
Slide which I loved despite its limitations. the 5230 keeps switching
off & is unreliable. Rating:
Reviewed by parvez shaikh from india
on 22nd Apr 2010
i am using nokia 5230,i like almost all the quality but the songs
audibility is not that enjoyable.nokia 5130 is more clear and loud
than 5230 Rating:
Reviewed by Helen from UK on
21st Apr 2010
its an ok phone but mines stopped sending sms messages and kept
turning it self of but except that it was an ok phone Rating:
Reviewed by arlene from philippines
on 21st Apr 2010
i have one. true the music speaker and camera is rubbish! Rating:
Reviewed by Gabriel from England on
15th Apr 2010
Pros - Exceptional pricing on PAYG - Nice clear nHD screen - A sturdy
constructed phone with decent looking plastic (at least in black)
- GPS with downloadable world map, again value for money if you
care for the function - 3.5g on Three is working perfectly, no need
for wifi. Skyfire on the s60 platform is a decent performer. - Decent
email client, google voice search - Functionally sound with the
latest software, no crashing Cons - resistive touchscreen is a pain
to use comparing to the capacitative type found on iphone/ ipod
touch. The contact shortcut on the home screen is close to impossible
to use properly! - No predictive text when messaging on landscape
mode, what the what!!!! - Double clicking is a little annoying in
the beginning. - Ovi store is useless compare to the itune store
- Contact syncing is ok but not on the fly via google or facebook
like on other phones - No chat function on nokia facebook app :(
- No usb charging - Battery is average, 2 days if using apps. Conclusion
The shortfall only becomes apparent when the 5230 is being compared
to much pricer phone such as an iphone or a HTC (in my experience).
For this price you're getting a good value, well featured phone
from Nokia. I find their interface easy to understand when compare
to the likes of Sony Ericsson. The camera is poor as per the review
but I could let that go at this price range. Sound quality is expectable
when paired with my in-ear headphone, no background hissing which
so often betray cheap phones with mp3 players. Rating:
Reviewed by Denis from Hungary on
12th Apr 2010
It has not only A-GPS(which uses the internet connection and not
surely works at no receive places) but also a standard GPS module
built in (one of the reason of big size). I have checked the navigation
capabilities in the field and it works perfectly as far it gets
satellites found it holds on them. Rating:
Reviewed by Cory from England on
9th Apr 2010
This phone is quite simply awesome. I have had it for just over
3 hours and have already grasped how to work it. But yet i keep
finding new features that dont mean alot on there own but add to
the overall package. LOVE IT Rating:
Reviewed by Geoff from England on
6th Apr 2010
I've had this phone for a few weeks now. I've never had a smartphone
before but I'm used to Nokias and I like them. After a day or so
getting used to it I find that using it is fairly intuitive. I wanted
a jack-of-all-trades of a phone, and I'm satisfied with my 5230.
I don't need a fantastic music player, or sat-nav, or camera, I've
got an iPod, a Garmin and a Canon for doing those things. For a
phone that can do a lot of things adequately I think this is hard
to beat. My only criticisms are the lack of useful items in the
box - I've had to buy separately a memory card and a USB cable,
and I've yet to find a suitable case for the phone - and also the
difficulty of using the screen in bright sunlight - you find yourself
skulking in the shadows! Overall, though, a very good phone for
general use. Rating:
Reviewed by Rani from Faroe Islands
on 2nd Apr 2010
The Nokia 5230 is a good phone to the price. If you compare to the
other cheap touch-screen phones,(Samsung Star) A gps, an appstore(Ovi
store), and 3g, but sadly not wifi.I think the design is not bad,
or great, and 3.2 360 640 pixel sceen with 16 million colors,.But
only 2 megapixel, and no usb cable! Rating:
Reviewed by Bazdude from UK on
31st Mar 2010
Good phone!! Got mine new unbranded and unlocked from car phone
warehouse for £99 about a month ago. Really easy to use, awesome
screen, easy to set up. Had a few little hiccups but nothing that
wasn't easily sorted out such as a memory card issue (gallery not
opening photos / videos stored on the memory card) but that was
resolved by formatting the card using the phones own format feature.
I have also run up against the O2 pay as you go problem with no
internet streaming offered by them (an O2 issue NOT the phones fault
at all) so am leaving O2 as soon as possible. Camera is ok for 2mp,
battery life pretty good, fast to charge, touch screen is very responsive
but the self rotation can lag a little, 3g and 3.5g net connections
are very fast, some great free apps available. Overall a very good
phone for under £100. Far better than my old LG viewty in every
way. Rating:
Reviewed by Cheng Wong from UK on
29th Mar 2010
SIMPLY THE BEST PHONE AVAILABLE FOR THE PRICE! Yes it's got a few
niggles - Camera / No Charging through USB among them, but come
on. This is a bargain if a camera doesn't define your phone. 3G.
For a start this is a real 3G phone. Many of the other pretty phones
slightly cheaper and at the same price or just above are not. What
does 3G mean? A faster internet connection basically. Its not equipped
with the fastest 3G version but it's miles better than not having
a 3G connection at all, take my word for it! PUSH EMAIL Jealous
of your Blackberry totting mates getting their emails instantly?
Well this comes with Nokia Mail. Nokia Mail is a service which hooks
up to your existing email accounts and gives you instant access
and notifications from them. Nokia might start charging for this
at some point, as the blub says its a trial but it's been a looooooong
trial so far! VIDEOS. The screen is amazing but it does not come
with DIVX support for those of you who love their TV shows & movies
on the go. This phone is rubbish. Hey, wait a minute, this is a
smart phone! There is a product called SmartMovie which will let
you play a good bunch of those movies without any conversion at
all. Just pop them onto your phone and get the popcorn in. Smart
movie does have a PC conversion program if you want to reduce the
size or convert stuff it might have trouble playing. It retails
for about £19 and is well worth the extra. GPS. Rollover TOM TOM
& the rest, free voice assisted navigation included! Tell you what,
it works a treat. You might have to download the latest version
from the OVI store to get the voice assisted part, but it's free!
To be honest, if you like the simple things in life then this phone
may not be for you. But if you like gadgets but don't like their
prices then you cannot beat this for price and features at the moment.
ESSENTIAL SOFTWARE. Google Voice Search - Amazingly good. Say your
search query to your phone and let it show you the results! Level
- Spirit level iPhone style. Tube Map - Scrollable with route planner.
SMS Preview - Shows a bubble with your incoming message contents.
Blacklist - Stop your ex girlfriends calling you. Best safe - secure
storage of your info. France 24 - Streaming international Video
news/sports etc in ENGLISH! AccuWeather - Top weather info based
on your GPS info. Fantastic. Photo Browser - A seriously cool photo
browser that is simply jaw dropping! Even though it is in beta stage,
that means rough around the edges, it is well worth having. Nokia
Sports Tracker - Can use your GPS to record your progress. Rating:
Reviewed by Debanand from saudi Arabia
on 23rd Mar 2010
very nice mobile Rating:
Reviewed by Kat from UK on 22nd
Mar 2010
I have had my 5230 since October 09, bought it on o2 pay and go
costing around £160 with an upgraded memory card to 8gb. Had MAJOR
probs setting up MMS and Mobile internet as o2 reckoned that they
didn't sell this phone on o2! Uh hello? How did I just buy it then?!!!
Eventually got my MMS set up in January 2010!! I like how large
the screen is, but to be honest apart from that, I don't have much
good to say about it, it crashes and freezes on a daily basis at
least twice a day, sometimes not even turning back on once the battery
has been removed and refitted (took over an hour to get it to turn
back on one morning!), the camera is really poor and don't even
bother trying to use the video! The sound quality of the music player
is ok when it decides to work. The apps on OVI store leave quite
a lot to be desired, most of them are completely pointless or a
rip off!! The updates for the phone are almost impossible to do
and on the rare occasion that the update actually works, it makes
the phone crash more for the first few weeks! Am getting fed up
with mine to point where I am going to lob it against a wall quite
shortly!! I really regret buying this phone and would advise people
to get something else! x Rating:
Reviewed by medusa from london uk on
22nd Mar 2010
i have this phone and agree for a level entry s/phone it ticks all
the right boxes as far as im concerned, to produce this technology
@ a very good price is just a + and some the browser is very good
indeed depending of course where you live, good times neatly compact
has a lot of functionalty did you also know to extend your battery
life go into the various settings on the phone, you dont for example
need vibrate on the phone on the alert incoming light can be altered
to also save battery power, congrats to nokia for the FM Radio its
crystal clear love the auto tune // also the music player has settings
to suit ya tastes now the 2 main disappoinments NO WIFI/ 2mp Camera
not the best but video playback is pretty good in all these 2 bad
points are really nothing to worry about. for a price of £119.99
its pretty good for a level/entry phone it does have 3G in short
i would certainly recommend purchising it no about it Rating:
Reviewed by Peter Wright from UK on
22nd Mar 2010
This is the best phone I have had!I am over 60 and love the large
touch screen and fantastic battery life. Being able to see the keyboard
is a bonus and not having to use my fingernail on some squiity sized
number buttons! The camera doesn't worry me, got a pic of ny dog
as wallpaper no prob,and at last I can see to text!No 3g signal
where I live (in rural Suffolk)otherwise I would probably make more
use of it. Battery 10/10 Screen 10/10 Texting 10/10 Overall 10/10
Defintely recommend it Rating:
Reviewed by Arthur Lloyd from EnglandI
on 19th Mar 2010
I have had several mobile phones over the past few years and they
all,---wiythout exception suffer from one compleyely inexplicable
shortcoming. This one isn't different. Why are they nor supplied
with a simple instruction book covering ALL rhe phone's functions?
Even the index doe not cover all the terminology describing the
phone.I search in vain for a description of OVI maps. No luck there.
That's just one example. Rating:
Reviewed by David from UK on
19th Mar 2010
I tried the Samsung Jet first and it was an absolute nightmare to
synchronise with outlook. The screen may be great but then the phone
was incredibly frustrating to set up. So I went back to the shop
and got the 5230 as a replacement. By contrast, it was a dream to
sycnhronise everything. Internet connection was faster and the call
quality is also better than the Jet. The 5230 does what it says
and does it well for the price. Rating:
Reviewed by PAT from UK on 18th
Mar 2010
UPDATE2 : Thanks Peter for the info re-02 PAYG. I rang 02 and was
told the NOKIA 5230 and other phones might not work with You Tube
and other sites that you need to stream data from as they (02) put
more of their resources into the pay Monthly network and leave little
for their 2nd class PAYG customers **Unbeleivable**. So the problems
i've had with the Nokia is down to 02 so beware if you are on 02
PAYG Rating:
Reviewed by nazeem khan from uk on
16th Mar 2010
this phone is the best in the world Rating:
Reviewed by Alan from UK on 14th
Mar 2010
The phone is excellent and works well. It's a great touch screen
phone which doesn't freeze. I previously had a Nokia N85 which had
wifi, stereo sound, etc, etc but just wanted a phone that was more
reliable. If you want a smart touch screen phone which has a good
MP3 player and 3G+ connection to the internet you cant go wrong
with this phone. If like me, and you have had a number of Nokia
phones I would say this is one of the best I've had. Rating:
Reviewed by callum from uk on
14th Mar 2010
this phone is amazing there is nothing wrong with it my friend has
brought an iphone and in some aspects this is just as good as it
very please a must get Rating:
Reviewed by Peter from UK on
13th Mar 2010
The phone is quite good for the price, though I had issues with
the mp3 player making crackling and popping noises in between tracks
which I dont get with my S.E. So my handset was returned. Re: the
youtube on o2 thing, my cousin works at o2 and (apparently) they
dont allow youtube streaming on payg unless you use a wifi connection.
Hope that helps any potential buyers. Rating:
Reviewed by Jan from United Kingdom
on 12th Mar 2010
Can anyone tell me how I link the phone to my in car phone device?
Other than that - I love the phone and the texting is great! Rating:
Reviewed by Andrew from KSA on
9th Mar 2010
I totally disagree with SYL's comments below. He is very unfair
to have written such comments about a very good phone considering
the features it delivers for a very cheap price. This is a very
good phone and I recommend it to anyone who plans to buy it. I own
one already and I really love this mainly because of it's price.
I was really surprised to see the the useful features of the phone
when I started using it. I am not planning for a detailed review
here, but trust me; it is a very good phone. The 3G and internet
connectivity is great. Rating:
Reviewed by Pat from UK on 8th
Mar 2010
UPDATE...Took the phone back to Carphone Warehouse, they tried a
second 5230 which had the same problems. I chose a Sony Ericsson
W595 instead (My girlfriend has one and it works fine). I had to
go to a different branch of Carphone Warehouse for the Sony and
they said they had heard of the problem I had with the Nokia 5230
and O2, Pity the first branch didn't think I needed to know that
before I bought it!!! I did like the phone, the screen is clear
and bright and even with my fat fingers worked a treat,qwerty keyboard
cool and the music player is good. It's just a pity I couldn't get
the Apps to work because that was one of the reasons why I bought
the phone. I Still don't know if it's the phone or O2 so my score
still stands Rating:
Reviewed by Stuart from UK on
8th Mar 2010
Got this phone form Carphone Warehouse, with low priced contract
including free internet. It is pretty good, not an iPhone but a
fraction of the cost. Had the same problem as others downloading
maps via my PC & USB. So, left it 30 mins and tried again - all
OK. Given free maps for the whole planet this is hard to beat, though
it isn't as easy to operate as Tom Tom. Those experiencing problems
with Internet access probably have not had all of the necessary
config messages downloaded. There are several to work through, then
all will be OK. No flash on camera but perfectly good for snaps
and short videos. Put a 2GB card in and this phone does everything
pretty well. Rating:
Reviewed by SYL from UK on 7th
Mar 2010
BOUGHT THIS PHONE A COUPLE OF MONTHS BACK AND WISH I HAD.NT BOTHERED.
I LIKE NOKIA BECAUSE THEY ARE EASY TO GET AROUND BUT IF YOU LIKE
TO TEXT THIS TAKES AGES ON THIS PHONE...FOR A 3G ITS PRETTY SLOW
CONNECTING TO INTERNET AT TIMES...THE CAMERA IS THE WORST I HAVE
EVER COME ACROSS..IS HAS A NICE FEEL TO THE PHONE AND THE MP PLAYER
IS VERY GOOD..WHEN I BOUGHT THIS THERE WAS NO REVIEWS GOING TO CHANGE
THIS AS SOON AS I CAN....HOPE THIS HELPS ANYONE THATS INTERESTED
IN THIS PHONE Rating:
Reviewed by ahmed from uk on
6th Mar 2010
this phone is just absouloutly wicked Rating:
Reviewed by Gav from UK on 4th
Mar 2010
I always read this site before I ever buy a phone so thought it
was time to add a review. This phone is great and easy to use apart
from the problems mentioned before.....I can't get onto ovi maps
either, maybe it's because I use a pay and go sim card....who knows.
Apart from that what else can you get this size screen (3.2 inches)
on anything under £100. Mine didn't come with a stylus as stated
but that's not a problem as the screen is large enough to use even
with my large digits. Texting is a dream on the large screen better
than the LG Cookie I had before (which actually put me off touch
screens until I saw this). I would recommend downloading Opera Mini
to use as your browser as it's just like any PC browser and is very
reliable. There are plenty of free Apps from the ovi store, some
very useful some just pointless but fun to use. Excellent.... Rating:
Reviewed by Mark from uk on 2nd
Mar 2010
I've got exactly the same problem as Pat when it comes to trying
to download anything or access youtube, I'm going to see if I can
take it back Rating:
Reviewed by Matt from Uk on 28th
Feb 2010
This phone is amazing!!!!! i've had it for almost a week from the
carphone warehouse on orange and it is great!! ok it isnt the nokia
n900 but at 1/5 the price it doesnt need to be. the apps are really
good and the touchscreen is really easy to use, as well as being
great quality. it doesnt freeze or have any bugs. the 3g is really
helpful and because i use it for texting the qwerty keypad comes
in very handy. however the camra is just about ok and the memory
is eaten up really quick so i would recomend a memory card. other
than that, amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rating:
Reviewed by Pat from UK on 24th
Feb 2010
Bought the 5230 from Carphone yesterday and I really liked it till
i tried to use ovi maps...No luck, no matter what i do it gets stuck
in a loop saying it can't connect to the internet,even though i
can open the O2 home page no problem, so i tried UTube that gets
as far as the point where u pick a video to watch, then the phone
say i have to many connections open, then picks the only connection
that i have with O2 and shuts that down, result no internet?????
This phone is driving me nuts.... rang Nokia they say to download
a software update but when i checked on their website the phone
has the latest software, rang O2 waited for 35mins at 5p a min for
them to say take it to one of their shops so they can try to get
it working.... the only place this phone is going is right back
to carphone warehouse. Not sure if it's a problem with the phone
or O2 so im not going to mark it down to far . Rating:
Reviewed by Mark M from UK on
17th Feb 2010
Had the 5230 ten days now. It really is great value from Nokia.
Large clear screen and a good UI.Good calling/texting and music
player and nice radio. Feels good in the hand and no problems apart
from trying to download sat nav from ovi. I am no techy though.
Yes the camera is dissapointingand but ok for quick snaps. Otherwise
a very good entry level touchscreen. We buyers are spoilt for choice.
I have this on contract with Carphone W.200 mins and texts and free
web for £12 pm. A true Bargain ! Rating:
Reviewed by emanuel from london on
13th Feb 2010
its been a week since got this phone, its brilliant, i stay up all
night using the browser, the download speed is beautiful and for
the price thats amazing. Yu get bare free applications from the
ovi. Yu must get this phone if you see this page. Rating:
Reviewed by Ric from England on
24th Jan 2010
Ok!!! Great phone!!! I have it for a week now on Vodafone and i
am very pleased!!! I had a 5800 before and apart the camera and
not having wifi they are the same!!! This handset is fast,no freezes,excellent
sound and loads of applications!!! The A-GPS is great plus you will
get FREE navigation from Nokia Ovi Maps!!! Think that deserves another
star!!! Rating:
