The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is a reasonably priced phone that features a 2.9-inch resistive screen that plays music and takes decent pictures.
The phone is slim it has a reliable strong feel about it, feeling weighty in the hand highlighting Nokia’s reputation as a maker of reliable and long-lasting handsets. Even the thin stylus gives off a robust impression.
The 5530 XpressMusic is first and foremost a music phone and you can upload your favourite songs using the Nokia PC Suite software. It comes complete with a 4 GB microSD card so there’s space to store about 1000 tracks. As with all the phones in the XpressMusic range, you can fiddle about with equaliser settings and you can create playlists. There’s also a 3.5 mm audio jack, so you can plug in any set of headphones.
The camera has 3.2 megapixels and takes above average photographs, with good sharpness and colour. Although there is no macro mode it comes with LED flash and digital zoom meaning that you can get in close and still take fairly detailed shots.
There are some downsides to this phone. It is almost impossible to type a text using your fingers; you need to use the stylus. There is no lanyard to attach the stylus to the phone meaning that it can easily be misplaced.
The dedicated camera shutter key is pointless as it is too stiff and you’re much better off using the key on the touchscreen. Similarly, the USB port cover is a nightmare to remove.
