Amazon.com Product Description
The Nokia 5300 XpressMusic phone, which features a stylish slider design and can hold up to 1,500 music tracks, keeps the focus on advanced
music portability. With dedicated external music keys, stereo Bluetooth, and a memory card slot supporting up to 2 GB of memory, the 5300
offers a comprehensive feature set at an accessible price. Never before has it been as easy or affordable for consumers to own a mobile phone
that also offers a first-rate music experience that compares favorably to any stand-alone music player. Other key features include a QVGA
display, speakerphone, a 1.3-megapixel camera, EDGE data support, and flashlight. It's the perfect companion to T-Mobile service. It also
supports T-Mobile's great myFaves service.
Now you can bring your music and communications with you--all in one place (black version shown). See
it in action (requires Flash). |
Music controls right where you need them. |
A 1.3-megapixel camera on the back kicks the fun up a notch. |
Design
The 5300's slider design features a large display that sports an impressive 240 x 320 resolution and support for over 200,000 colors. Even
with the slider closed, the 5300 features great music and call control. There are music control keys on the left side and volume adjustment
keys on right side of the phone, while a stylish five-way center button resides just below the display. Slide the phone open to reveal its
easy to use backlit keypad. The phone's 1.3-megapixel camera lens is discreetly housed on the left edge of the phone. A built-in mini-USB 2.0
port is provided, as well as Bluetooth stereo headset compatibility. The built-in hot-swappable microSD memory expansion slot is compatible
with cards up to 2 GB of capacity.
Calling Features
The 5300 supports polyphonic ringtones, as well as MP3-based ringers so you can load your favorite sound effects and music clips to alert you
of incoming calls. Plus, with the phone's picture and ringer ID functions, you can assign pictures and ringtones to your most common callers.
For when you need to be discreet, there's also a vibrate ringer mode. Meanwhile, voice activated dialing makes calling your friends, family,
and associates as easy as saying their names. The 5300's built-in contacts list and phone book will keep track of all your contacts with its
ample storage capacity. Lastly, there's an integrated speakerphone for talking hands-free, and the phone's Bluetooth connectivity means that
your favorite Bluetooth headset is fully compatible (for music listening, you can still use your favorite wired headphones with the Nokia
2.5mm AV connector, sold separately).
Other calling features include compatibility with T-Mobile's myFaves service, which allows you to call up to five of your most common
contacts--on any network, even landlines--without using any of your minutes. Learn more about myFaves.
Messaging, Internet and Tools
The 5300 is a mobile messaging and Internet powerhouse. With support for the MMS (multimedia messaging service), the phone can send picture
and text messages, and when coupled with the phone's powerful camera, MMS opens up great opportunities for robust messaging. The phone ships
with a built-in email client that supports POP3, IMAP, and SMTP protocols.
Getting on the Internet is easy with the 5300. It supports the GPRS data protocol, as well as the high-speed EDGE wireless data service.
When used with your carrier data plan and the phone's USB or Bluetooth data capability, the phone can be used as a wireless modem for laptops
and PDAs. The phone is bundled with a mobile Web browser, too, offering hearty Web browsing abilities right on the phone. Meanwhile, T9 text
entry, a technology that makes it easier for people to enter words and text on handsets, is built into the unit--a plus for mobile email and
text messaging users.
The 5300 supports PC synchronization via USB or Bluetooth, which means you can manage and synchronize contacts, calendar and other data
with your PC. Nokia's PC Suite application makes this process a breeze. A number of handy software tools are bundled with the 5300 including
a voice memo recorder, a calculator, a calendar, a to-do list, and an alarm clock.
Imaging and Entertainment
The Nokia 5300 can hold over 100 albums worth of music (approximately 1500 tracks) on a 2 GB microSD card. Thanks to dedicated music keys,
you can easily control the playback of music while simultaneously enjoying other functions such as texting, browsing, or taking pictures. For
an even louder groove, you can plug in your favorite headphones or external speakers with a 3.5mm headset jack by simply connecting them to
the 5300 using the inbox adapter. The 5300 can swiftly transfer albums and music collections to and from a PC using a standard micro USB
connector or Bluetooth. When traveling, you can use the Nokia Wireless Audio Gateway (sold separately) to stream music collections and
favorite playlists wirelessly to any supported stereo from the 5300.
No one-hit wonder, the Nokia 5300 also comes with the latest messaging functions complemented by a 1.3-megapixel camera. The camera
features a selftimer, an 8x digital zoom, and can be used to capture video and view video playback. You can even view video playback in
landscape mode, and the volume keys double as zoom keys when the camera mode is activated. And don't forget about the games! The phone
supports Java gameplay and other Java-based applications.
The 5300 also sports an airplane mode feature, which allows the user to safely use the non-wireless functions of a phone (such as music,
games, or organizer functions) on an airplane during flight.
Vital Statistics
The Nokia 5300 weighs 3.76 ounces and measures 3.64 x 1.90 x .81 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 3.20 hours of digital talk
time, up to 223 hours of digital standby time, and up to 12 hours of music playback time. It runs on the GSM/GPRS/EDGE 900/1800/1900
frequencies. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty.
Nokia News Reviews
Do not buy this phone
I bought this phone when I returned to the states after living abroad. I was hoping for a phone that would give me some of the features of my
old Japanese phone, but I wasn't too optimistic.
At first, the phone was great. I'm not that picky, really, so I didn't mind any of the interface issues or the T-Mobile-limited
internet/e-mail accessibility. About two months in, though the problems started.
The phone's slider mechanism is flimsy enough that with normal use the leads became damaged enough that the phone could no longer detect when
it was open or closed. That meant no backlight. So I had it replaced since it was under warranty.
The next phone lasted longer - 3 and a half months. Now, several of the buttons have died, making it very difficult to use the interface. I'm
not buying another one.
Rather than go into more detail, here are the pros and cons:
Pros:
-Loud speakers
-External buttons make it easy to access music, camera, and video
-Easy-to-access USB port
-1 GB MicroSD card included
Cons:
-No easy access to the SD card
-Breaks easily and frequently
-Short battery life
-Case is cheap and breaks/bends easily with normal use. Don't drop it - your screen will scratch easily
-"Web browser" is slow and hard to use
-Camera has no flash and isn't good with motion
-Phone takes FOREVER to turn on (30 seconds +)
-No standard headphone jack
See what I mean? Don't buy it. Even if they pay you to.
Phone died in 15 days
We bought this phone 3 weeks back and the phone died on the 15th day of its arrival. When we got this new phone with mp3 player and other
features we were really excited. Right from day 1, the phone created interesting problem while transferring mp3 files from computer and made
our computer crash a few times. I was trying hard to transfer file from my computer and it dint work and I gave it up (desperately). I put
the phone on charge and went to bed and the phone wouldnt switch on next day morning. My husband was out of country and I was literally
stranded without a phone. The basic feature that is expected on each phone is just the reliability and it is very disappointing that a well
known company like Nokia can produce a phone that is so low in quality. We used to have Motorola phone for the past 3 years and never had
this problem.
Acceptable
Have used it for over 8 months. My thoughts (trying to avoid being repetitive from other reviewers):
Pros:
1. Good price--especially now, with rebates
2. Great QVGA screen
3. Decent set of features/applications
4. Good MP3 player -- good sound quality
5. Intuitive interface/menus
Cons:
1. Cheap build-quality (wobbly slider, doesn't feel sophisticated, feels like a toy, even when compared to older phones such as RAZR) --
there're much better sliders out there
2. Reception -- tested in some low-reception areas (the new RAZR2 and some Sony Ericsson phones managed to get close to full-bars, but this
5300 only gets 1 bar!!)
3. Battery life -- you'll need to recharge every other day even with very light/mimimal use (not so much a problem for this particular phone,
but it seems most Nokia phones suffer from short battery life).
4. Supposed to be quadband phone, but somehow T-mobile turned it into triband. Also some features/application removed due to T-mobile's
firmware.
To sum up, an okay entry-level phone, but only worth it if free. If you like Nokia XpressMusic series, should consider the newer Nokia 5610
and 5310. If you must get a phone with T-mobile, should check out the RAZR2 v8 instead.
