Nokia 5230 Review
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Review: January 2010 |
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Last updated May 2012.
Phone rating: 
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. On the other
hand it has a poor camera, a mono speaker, no WiFi and no video
calling.
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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
the 5230 has been a relatively high volume handset.
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 large 3.2 inch display, with a high resolution
of 640 x 360 pixels. That's not quite as many inches as an iPhone 3G S, 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 capacitive 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.
The 5230 is a 3G phone, 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.
The phone comes with a limited 70 MB of memory but 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.
The 5230 enjoys excellent battery life as a result of its large battery.
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.
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 User 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!
Average rating from 145 reviews: 
Reviewed by Ema from England on 9th Aug 2012
I guess I'ts alright but when you get to REALLY know what your phone
can do it gets better. I've had this phone for 2 years and didnt realise
what it does but my phone is full of apps, games,vidoes, music and even
cool themes...
Rating:
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Reply by Arunraj from India on 12th
Apr 2013
I am also have nokia5230. I've had this phone for 2 years it is a very
use full phone to me
Reviewed by Wilma from UK on 15th Jul 2012
This phone is rubbish. Do not buy. Please do not buy if you value your
sanity!
Rating:  Reply
Reviewed by Dennis from England on 9th May 2012
On my Nokia 5230 I cannot make or recieve telephone calls it just says
calls cannot be made OFFLINE. But with the same SIM card in a Samsung
mobile that works fine
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Louise from UK on 17th Apr 2012
Awful awful phone. Poor quality, slow, easily confused, crashes, buttons
get stuck on, rubbish camera. Generally cheap and nasty and overcomplicated
to use. Hate it.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by patrick from kenya on 7th Apr 2012
i don't know whats wrong with mine.everytime i put in the audio jack
it hangs.also i can't sign in to ovi store.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Reihan from England on 20th Mar 2012
This phone is the most best phone. I would get it if I was you iy has
i
Rating: 
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Reviewed by vincent owenhewitt from england on
7th Mar 2012
had the 5230 a while now and i cant stand it it is the biggest load
of junk ever made it loses data such as telephone numbers and pictures
, its slow and complicated to use . DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by nick sam from Tanzania on 5th Mar
2012
I have buy the nokia 5230,i like the phone because this is the smart
phone and simple to use than other phone,also nokia 5230 is the phone
which have a lot of things like nokia store here u can get a lot in
the world using ur nokia 5230.I SAY NOKIA 5230 NOT CONNECTING PEOPLE
ONLY BUT ALSO YOUR WORLD IS ON THE HAND.
Thanks all the customer and nokia users.
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Reviewed by Rhys from UK on 1st Mar 2012
Poor phone. Had this as a replacement phone for my Samsung Galaxy that
broke (Water Damage). I feel it's a downgrade rather than a replacement
Seems to knock off whenever it feels like, freezes up on many occasions.
Sound is pretty poor and from what I've found the apps are poor. Having
features like Wi-Fi not included makes this phone feel 5 years older
than it actually is.
It would be OK as a business phone but for a gadget/app/feature hungry
person like myself it should be well avoided.
Rating: 
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Reviewed by vishal prasad from india on 21st Feb
2012
very-very-very nice mobile to smarters,
Rating:
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Reviewed by d from d on 19th Feb 2012
well,my mum had this and so does my grandmother. i had an oppourtunity
to have it but i said NO the reasons are (I tested it for a while))
not sensitive touch, a little slow, when your on it, it turns off and
takes a while to keepiton, my mum's broke and had a blanck screen for
NO reason then she got a sony ericcson x8 but then her old nokia worked
but good riddace its gone.
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Reviewed by Ravi singh from India on 19th Feb
2012
It genarally hanging problam .and its 3g but not video calling option.
Rating:
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Reviewed by adam from nigeria on 19th Feb 2012
it displays are like china phone or tecno phone
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by j geary from essex on 14th Feb 2012
my first smart phone its a good little phone at 62 yrs and a late starter
on the net its opened a world for me will keep this but now want a tab
go girl :)
Rating:
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Reviewed by bob cauwe from england on 9th Feb
2012
i owned this phone for over a year in which time it received quite a
bit of punishment. droped from hight and even run over by a car and
belive it or not still works and screen in working order but scratched.
i owned over touch screen phones. lg and iphone and have broken with
less punishment then this phone received. but it is basic but if you
want a reliable phone this is the one
Rating:
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Reviewed by bob from spain on 29th Jan 2012
it went wrong on me three weeks after i bought it returned it to shop
they sent it away came back after one month still the same its been
with nokia now since earley december 2011 and i dont hold out much hope
of it returning its the biggist load of RUBBISH ive ever had from nokia
so im not surrprised to that their proffits are falling
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Dr Vijay from Nigeria on 27th Jan
2012
Good: video recording quality, large screen, good processing speed,
build quality, accelerometer is good, features like A GPS, internet
speed. Bad: poor Sound quality, slow after updated, poor image capture
quality, average touch sensor, sometimes hangs Overall it is average
but its still a good phone to have :)
Rating:
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Reviewed by Achilleas Drosos from Ελλάδα
on 24th Jan 2012
Poor phone nokia at its worse...
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by mark from uk on 21st Jan 2012
Got phone on cheap contract .i have been back to carphone warehouse
more times than the toilet.First problem no signal (switch off/on)full
signal.back twice to be repaired.second problem no contacts in phone
(switch off/on)full contacts list.in for repair twice to no avail.fifth
visit replace handset.new one still loses signal (switch off/on)fixed.only
3 month left on contract thank god .Avoid 5230 at all costs
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Gafyn Jones from Wales on 12th Jan
2012
Without a doubt the worst phone I have ever owned. No wonder Nokia are
in trouble!
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Aadhtaya Daiya from India on 10th
Jan 2012
I love my Nokia phone.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Tristan from England on 9th Jan 2012
Well I'm just saying I don't like Nokia my sister has it and she hated
it so get an iPhone 4s of iPhone 5 when it comes out My dad has an iPhone
4s
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Igor Nation from Britain on 9th Jan
2012
Same like the rest of the reviews. This phone can be slow, annoying
in that way & the C memory is always full. You wipe something off &
it only gives you a 1mg free. A week later you loose 2mg of memory.\
I like the keybord & the function of many things, but for the ones above.\
A lot of apps are good, but still too very slow. I could do very many
things with it, but im always ahead of what its going to do. Im faster
than the phone is, & its anoying when you type a lot then find out that
the phone hasnt even typed out half of the things youve typed.\ Though
the GPS is very good & never looses me.\ Ive had this phone for nearley
2 years, & it was good at first, but everything on it started to fall
appart a year later.
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Reviewed by Daniel from Poland on 3rd Jan 2012
I has a lot of features for a pretty basic looking smartphone. However
after a while starts running veryyyyyyy slowly. I am getting fed up
with it. Thinking about upgrading for something a bit quicker. Browsing
speed is average. Camera very average. GPS is very good. Better than
my TomTom. Better get something quicker guys as this is the biggest
issue + freezing for few seconds before performing any action. With
the rest I could leave.
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Reviewed by shamsheed ahmed khan from india on
30th Dec 2011
this is a excelent mobile iam using since 1 1/2 year
Rating:
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Reviewed by anonymous from uk on 29th Dec 2011
I personally do not think the phone is all that as touch is not as sensitive
as I thought it would be, therefore texting takes the mick especially
as I like to text fast. Battery dies well quick. The camera is totally
useless, the pics don't come out as clear as I want them to be. I would
sooo not recommend this phone to anyone!!
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Charlie from UK on 29th Dec 2011
I would really advise against buying this phone - i've had for just
over a year and wish i'd never bought it! First of all the phone is
quite literally as thick as a brick and well about as useful as one.
It has a tendancy to turn its self off too frequently and sometimes
deletes the whole of my inbox and sent items in the messaging app. I
have found that the 5230 awfully slow when loading apps and takes awhile
to react when put into landscape. On the other the graphical inferface
is pretty nice and the battery lasts a decent amount of time. Other
then that DON'T BUY THIS HANDSET
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Reviewed by Anne Talucod from Philippines on 29th
Dec 2011
I bought this phone way back 2010 of September. What sucks is that the
battery life does not last for 24 hours, the video recording has also
a problem. When you played it, there are lapses in the video as if it
hanged, and until now I wasn't able to find a solution for that.But
still, its a touch screen phone, and its nokia.
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Reviewed by Karan from India on 28th Dec 2011
Hi..!! I m using 5230 for 8 months, there is no problem with it.the
net speed is outstanding.this is also a symbiam smartphone .so, it is
a good choice to buy this.
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Reviewed by ella from england on 20th Dec 2011
i really like it!! the camera isnt thay bad it takes quick snaps which
is good. i love the menu lay out and the hand writing keypad i got it
2nd hand and it hasnt frozen 4 me. The memory was full and i was pretty
annoyed but when i put a memory card in then it was fine!! i font see
wat is so bad about it
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Reviewed by S.KUMAR PRADHAN from INDIA(ODISHA,KALUPARAGHAT)
on 19th Dec 2011
Nokia5230 support video call if nokia add video call software in it
present market 5235 software.but if you instal fring software through
OVI store two or more phone and created account.then the videocalling
is possible through the back camera.you will easyly instal WIFI SOFTWARE
BUT IT DOES NOT ANY FUNCTION BECAUSE ABSENT OF WLAN HARDWARE.IN ANOTHER
OPTION IT IS VERY +VE SMART PHONE COMPIRE TO OTHER SMART PHONE.THANKS
NOKIA TECHNICIAN TECNIC.
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Reviewed by Ravikiran from India on 19th Dec 2011
Hi, I am using nokia 5230 since one year. While using net phone becomes
too hot.
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Reviewed by craig newton from england on 17th
Dec 2011
hey i have had the noika 5230 about a year and a half now and i am not
happy with it its had forzen on me for the thrid time and i am disscused
wiht it i have sent i away to get repard and updated it worked all year
unil now!!!!!!
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Boyapallyachary from India on 16th
Dec 2011
It is a very good phone ,I am using this from last one year. I am using
net on this.camera is very good,touch ,battery,processor are excellent.
Rating:
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Reviewed by abhishek from india on 14th Dec 2011
5230 phn is daba phn. no video calling. no wifi. battery life: 3hr talktime
5hr music plyer net 1or 2 hr.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by S.K PRADHAN from INDIA(ODISHA) on
14th Dec 2011
NOKIA5230 IS BEST SMART PHONE OUT OF OTHER SMART PHONE.I ALSO CURRENTLY
USED N5230 .IT SUPPORT 95%S60V5SOFTWARE.MY VIEWS IF NOKIA UP TO DATE
ITS SOFTWARE SYMBINA ANNA IT ALSO CUT ALL OTHER 89% SMART PHONE ON THE
MARKET.NOW IN THE MARKET ITS SOFTWARE V51.6.003LATEST
Rating:
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Reviewed by J Chandramohan from India on 11th
Dec 2011
Nokia 5230 is not a good choice to buy.I've used this phone for exactly
one year.After completion of warranty period the phone has started developing
problems like hanging,poor touch screen response and etc,I am looking
forward to dump this phone in to dust bin and want to go for some other
brand.I don't even want to get this phone repaired.Already i have dumped
Nokia 5220 music x press last year for other reason.(switch off button
not working) In my experience Nokia phone models will last for only
one year.So i dont want to waste any more money on Nokia phones in future.
BUYING NOKIA IS NOT RECOMMENDED.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Anna from UK on 10th Dec 2011
I got this phone on contract and had to send it back due to a fault,
the battery was getting red hot and the charge was going right down...
My stepdad has the same phone and had to send his back too and we both
had to get a brand new one! I don't really like the phone to be honest
but I'm stuck with it until September 2012 as it's a 24month contract!
It's a very slow phone and the flipping from vertical to horizontal
is very temporamental! I wouldn't advise anyone to buy it.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Annabelle from Hong Kong on 10th Dec
2011
I have used this phone for a year and a half now and from day one i
have regretted buying this phone. No wifi, crappy camera that seems
to be getting worser and worser every single time and even from the
first day I used it, it always has a "memory full" sign popping up.
The phone lags a lot too and keeps on giving me half a blue screen,
even from the beginning of me and my phone's time together. Definitely
going to change phones ASAP. The flipping from vertical to horizontal
is very temperamental and typing is pretty hard if you only want to
use your hands and normally i have to leave my fingernails sharp. TERRIBLE
PHONE. NEVER BUY IT.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by S.k.pradhan from India(orissa) on
7th Dec 2011
Nokia5230 also a better smart phone.I also use such phone and instal
95% software easely .it supported verious software well.feedback2011dec.thanks
NOKIA PLEASE REVSE NOKIA5230 WITH SYMBAN ANNA SOFTWERE FEATURE++.
Rating:
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Reviewed by taurai mutoti from Zimbabwe on 3rd
Dec 2011
The 5230 is actually giving me headaches,nokia is loosing its user friendliness
that i am used to. I am 31,and have nvr used another phone that is not
a nokia,now this phone is constantly complaining,max number of connections
and out of memory. Unhappy
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Reviewed by latasikri from india on 23rd Nov 2011
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 its FM radio is not working only does
anyone know hw the solve the problem? if nt i will be sending it back..
thanks
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Reviewed by RanDaq from Europe on 18th Nov 2011
i had this phone for a year. At first it was ok, but later on it started
to annoy me. It is very slow, screen is large, but the touching is not
working well, i always have too few RAM... Onli thing that is good for
now is that i can listen to the music, use it as a modem and thats that...
Oh yeah, i have a prob with the alarm. when the phone is locked and
alarm turns on i sometimes cant turn it off cuz the screen wont work
and buttons wont work either AND ITS GETTING LOUDER.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Ankit Sinha from INDIA on 17th Nov
2011
This phone is okk but t doesn't provide the best 3G speed
Rating:
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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
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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:
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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
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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
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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: Reply
Reviewed by NITISH from INDIA on 3rd Aug 2010
IT IS THE BEST CEELPHONE IN NOKIA
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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: Reply
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.
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Reviewed by Satej from India on 30th Jul 2010
I like my mobile 5230 very much.
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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:
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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
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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
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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).
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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
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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:
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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: Reply
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.
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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.
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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: Reply
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:
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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!!
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Reviewed by jlp from france on 29th Jun 2010
be careful !!! this phone is not compatible with mac !!!!!!! AT ALL
!!!!
Rating: Reply
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:
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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:
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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.
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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: Reply
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:
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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
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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: Reply
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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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: Reply
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:
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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: Reply
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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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: Reply
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:
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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:
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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: Reply
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?) and which are impossible to remove. i've rated it one
star but i would rate it zero if this site allowed me to.
Rating: Reply
Reply by Mobile Phones UK from UK on
13th May 2010
Ovi is Nokia's app store for Symbian. To remove it try Menu > Settings
> Personal > Home screen > Shortcuts.
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:
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