One of the things that Nokia does well is to load their portfolio with a wide range of devices that are similar in spec to previous releases, with slight specification tweaks here and there. The Nokia 5228 fits into this category, mirroring in many ways the features of the previously released Nokia 5230.
This strategy of releasing many similarly designed handsets is confusing to some, but what it does is allow Nokia to catch a wider market segment, delivering handsets which arrive at a variety of pricing levels to suit the budget needs of the potential users. The original Nokia 5230 has spawned a range of variants, among them the Nokia 5235, a Comes With Music device, Nokia 5233 which is primarily aimed at the Asian market, and Nokia 5230 Nuron, which is designed for the T-Mobile network in the USA.
The Nokia 5228 is aimed at the emerging European markets, as well as more mature markets where the device will sell on low end contract deals as well as on the Pay As You Go market, with the device expected to retail around the £100 price mark.
The 5228 is another Nokia touchscreen device, and again Nokia are opting to use resistive touch technology, as found on the majority of their devices. Resistive touch technology has the main advantage of working with a stylus, which allows support of handwriting recognition. Text created with handwriting can take a while to get used to, but it doesn't take long to accomplish a fairly respectable word per minute rate. The display itself on the 5228 measures in at a respectable 3.2 inches, and supports up to 16 million colours, with a pixel resolution of 360 x 640. The handset has a built in accelerometer, for display auto rotation, as well as a proximity sensor which disables the screen when it rests against your face when on call, to prevent calls being accidentally ended.
The Nokia 5228 will be marketed in some European countries as a Comes With Music handset, Nokia's online music service which offers a years access to as much music as you can download. On board memory for downloaded music is limited to a maximum of 70 MB, but memory can be expanded up to 16 GB with the option of a Micro SD memory card. The handset supports a wide range of digital music formats; as well as the ever present MP3, there is also support for AAC, eAAC+, WMA and WAV. The inclusion of a 3.5mm audio jack allows you to listen to music with your own personal headset, and support for Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP also gives the option of using a stereo wireless Bluetooth headset. To compliment the music player, the 5228 includes an FM stereo radio with RDS support.
The 5228 is a Symbian S60 powered device, which allows the option of installing third party apps to increase the functionality of the phone. Symbian has been around for quite a few years, and this means there are literally thousands of apps available to download onto the phone, ranging from office tools to games to communication applications, for services such as Facebook and Twitter. Data communication is one of the areas where the 5228 is not as powerful as other Nokia devices, there is no HSDPA, nor even 3G. All data on the device is supported by either Class 32 EDGE or GPRS; in real terms this will be ok for general web browsing and social networking, but it will be painfully slow for uploading pics or downloading music. That is best done on your home PC.
There is a digital camera included on the Nokia 5228, a standard 2.0 Megapixel camera, with little features to mention, although the video camera is pretty decent, with high resolution video clips captured at 30 fps. The 5228 will be a fairly lightweight device, weighing in at just 113g, and the dimensions are similar to other devices in the series; the 5228 measures 111 x 52 x 15mm. The size allows for the large screen, and also gives space for the large capacity 1320 mAh battery, which delivers a talk time of up to 7 hours, standby of 432 hours and a music playback time of up to 33 hours.
There are few surprises with the Nokia 5228, but for Nokia fans and first time users, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The low price point and familiar menu UI will reassure many and should ensure the device sells in good numbers. The handset has a variety of colour options to choose from, with a selection of coloured back covers available to personalise the device further.
The Nokia 5228 is expected to be available to purchase from July 2010.
Related Nokia 5228 Links
- Compare the latest Nokia 5228 deals
- Compare Nokia 5228 pay as you go prices
- Read user Nokia 5228 reviews
- Full list of Nokia 5228 specs
- View gallery of Nokia 5228 pictures
- Watch latest Nokia 5228 video
12:54 pm
I like it! It is good!! It has a good camera, nice music player and I enjoyed using it!
9:42 am
The phone works well as a conventional phone, but why Nokia bothered to even mention the web and email for the 5228 is a mystery. Even the customer services couldn't help and my local Vodafone shop described the setting up as a nightmare. If you just want to text or call OK but don't go near it if you want to use email or surf the web - it doesn't work.
7:48 pm
my sister had the nokia 5800 and i loved it and am thinking about buying the nokia 5228 as it is in my price range i am just wondering what are the differences between the two i know it has no gps or 3g and isnt as loud but is the nokia 5228 better than the lg ks365, thanks.
7:49 pm
sorry i meant is the nokia 5228 better than the lg ks365
2:27 pm
No wifi?
12:34 pm
This is a brilliant phone. Once the internet is set up, it is superb. It is strong and hardy, and the band around the edge, and the different backs are a hit. Off another reveiw site, I found some great revews, and one even said it was better than a BB Torch.