Nokia’s line of full touchscreen-based smartphones are expanding by the week; they’ve just announced the GPS-centric 5800 Navigation Edition, the 5530 XpressMusic is about to be released (it’s currently up for preorders), and now they’ve announced an “entry-level” model (at the very least, it should be cheaper than the 5530 XM), the 5230.
Now here’s a little recap: the 5800 XpressMusic, released around the end of last year, is still the current flagship along the line. The 5800 Navigation Edition is basically the same thing, but focuses more on GPS navigation rather than multimedia (although it should still do as well). The 5530 XpressMusic is sort of a lesser, cheaper 5800 that drops 3G connectivity and has a smaller 2.9-inch screen to cut the price down but keeps the Wi-fi.
Now, the 5230’s name doesn’t have “XpressMusic”, but it’s still a Symbian S60-based smartphone with the same 3.2-inch, 360 x 640 screen as the 5800. Compared to the more expensive 5530 XM, the 5230 drops the Wi-fi connection, but adds 3G. It will also come with A-GPS for navigation, but built-in cam is kept at 2MP to lower the price.
It’ll still appeal to the young set with social networking, IM apps pre-installed games and a multimedia player, but the lack of Wi-fi might prove to be a damper to people who need to connect from within a home or office network. However, the lower price range makes it attractive, and anyone who needs Wi-fi in favor of 3G should pick up the 5530 XM anyway.
The 5230’s price is set at 149 Euros (around US$213) for an unlocked unit, while a 5230 Comes With Music Edition is priced at 259 Euros (US$370) with a year of access to the music download service. The Nokia 5230 is expected to be released by 4Q of this year.
Tags: Mobile Phones, Nokia
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