The phone market has been crying out for an update of the bomb-proof 5140i, a phone which was protected all round by rubber casing and could literally be bounced around without fear of breaking. With that in mind, Nokia have released the 5500 Sport Edition which is aimed at the same active users, however with much better features.

Using the same operating system as the Nokia N-Series, the Nokia 5500 is hailed as the first smartphone to be aimed at a wider market. The low price of the handset looks set to be a winner with both the consumer and business markets, with the phone literally capable of doing everything.

The main feature of the handset, apart from the stainless steel body designed to withstand knocks, dust and water splashes, is the tappable screen. This does exactly what it says on the box, one tap of the screen accesses different features depending which of the three modes – phone, music and sport – you are currently in. For example, the 5500 supports text-to-speech, so tapping the screen twice when you receive a text message reads it out to you. This highlights the emphasis on sport, enabling users to be on the move and be able to listen to messages without stopping to look at their phone. The handset also has an ‘instant swap’ key, allowing the phone to quickly jump between modes.

The sport mode comes complete with a pedometer which can count either steps taken or calories burnt – again highlighting the emphasis on the sport side. The phone can also display both the speed and distance of your current excursion, allowing you to chart your progress on the road to fitness. The tappable screen also comes into play here, allowing date of the current exercise session to be read out without having to watch the display. You can also set exercise records and plan sessions in advance using the exercise diary, as well as including several fitness tests to give you something to aim for.

The music mode of the handset has all the features of a walkman, although Nokia have only seen fit to include a 64MB MicroSD card to add to the 8MB of onboard memory. Nokia are also releasing the 5500 Music edition which has no changes apart from bundling a 512MB memory card with the model. The phone does support up to 1GB memory cards, so there is plenty of room for expansion. Like Sony’s TrackID, Nokia handsets support visual radio: a form of radio which allows users to see track information of songs playing over the air. This also allows you to download the song, as well as entering contests, surveys and vote for your favourite songs. Partnership with RealPlayer means that the phone supports a huge variety of multimedia, including 3gp and .mp4 video, RealMedia (Real Video and Real Audio), MP3, AAC, AAC+ and WMA. This means that your Nokia 5500 is the perfect companion for any trip.

Size wise, the 5500 is a mere 107 x 45 x 18 mm and weighs 103g, so pretty much average. However if you take into consideration all of the above, and the fact it also has a 2 megapixel camera, then this phone really does represent excellent value for money. Although lacking the Carl Zeiss lens, the phone/walkman/pedometer really does deliver absolutely everything. Average battery life of 2-4 hours talk time and up to 240 hours on standby means that the phone definitely has the capability to last a good few days between charges.

Finally Nokia have decided to market a phone towards users who want a good phone at a cheap price. Rather than release another smartphone, the decision to leave off the N at the start of the name is a good one. Previously the N series phones have put a few older users off these fully featured handsets, and whilst the 5500 isn’t complicated to use, by no means is this a basic phone. Definitely one to consider.

More Nokia Reviews

Review by - Scott Goodacre

Published - 06/11/2006

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