Candy Bar Phone: Review of the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic

Guide Result: Mostly Recommended
Recommended For: Music, Radio, Low Price
Not Recommended For: Advanced Users

If there’s one secret to handset manufacturing Nokia just displayed when it went retail with two new cell phones on Aug. 11, 2008, it’s this one: Why make one new device and think it’ll fit everyone when you can make two and definitely appeal to more people?

That’s exactly what Nokia did with the launch of the new Nokia 5310 XpressMusic candy bar phone and the new Nokia 5610 XpressMusic slider phone.

The Nokia 5610 XpressMusic slider phone has been reviewed in more length than this 5310 XpressMusic review.

In the 5610 review, both new phones are clearly contrasted. Before reading that review, though, here are the main differentiators between the 5310 and 5610:

1. The 5310 only comes with 1 gigabyte of storage space and can’t be upgraded. The 5610 comes with 2 gigabytes and can be upgraded to 4 gigabytes.
   
   
2. The battery with the 5310 only has 3 hours of talk time whereas the 5610 has 4 hours of talk time.
   
   
3. The 5310 is taller than the 5610 and measures 4.1 inches by 1.8 inches by 0.4 of an inch. The 5610 measures 3.88 inches by 1.91 inches by 0.67 of an inch.
   
   
4. The 5310 only has a 2-megapixel camera with no flash whereas the 5610 has a better, 3.2-megapixel camera with a flash.
   
   
5. The 5310 is only a tri-band phone whereas the 5610 is a quad-band “world phone”.
   
   
6. At 3.0 ounces, the 5310 is lighter than the 3.92-ounce 5610 slider.
   
   
7. The 5310 has three separate buttons on the left side of the phone for its music functions whereas the 5610 has a unique slider key in the bottom center of the phone devoted to its music player and FM radio.
   
   
8. For those looking to spend less money, the 5310 is cheaper than the 5610.

According to the Nokia retail store in downtown Chicago, the 5310 at a time was one of its “most popular” handsets.

Ready to read the full 5610 review and learn what 50 more bucks would buy you? Read on for the Nokia 5610 XpressMusic review...

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