XpressMusic -- Engadget Mobile

XpressMusic posts

Nokia Music veep addresses slow Comes with Music sales in the UK

by Laura June posted Apr 29th 2009 @ 11:33AM

After some rather disheartening (albeit unconfirmed) estimates last week that Nokia's Comes with Music service had snagged only 23,000 subscribers in the United Kingdom, Rob Taylor, vice president of Nokia Music says that the company is pretty "happy" with what its learned there so far. He admitted that the UK launch (the service's first) devices -- the 5310 Xpress Music and the 8GB N95 -- were "slightly out of date" at the time pointing out that the service was doing much better in subsequent markets, which all boast the 5800 as their hero device. Taylor said he also recognized that Nokia needed more retail partners to help move units, and that the company is not "giving up" on the UK as a market for CwM, adding that they'll be bringing the 5800 there in the future. No word on when that might happen yet -- but we're going to keep out eyes peeled for you.

Star Trek edition Nokia 5800 announced: officially awesome

by Laura June posted Apr 29th 2009 @ 8:49AM

We knew that endless product tie-ins would come along with the new Star Trek film, so this isn't too big of a surprise (though it is rather a welcome one). A new Star Trek special edition of the 5800 has been announced to coincide with the release of the new J.J. Abrams epic, and while it doesn't appear to be an official Nokia release, it does appear to be pretty rad. The handset is going to boast four animated screensavers, three wallpapers, and eight exclusive ringtones, including ones named "Phazer Shot," "Red Alert" and "Kelvin Communicator." We've also heard tell of a special "Phazer application," and though we don't yet know what that entails, we have really high hopes. The stellar 5800 will be available starting May 1st exclusively at Phones 4 U in the UK in blue, red, and black/silver on Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and O2. Make it so.

Report: Nokia's Comes With Music not selling very well in the UK

by Laura June posted Apr 22nd 2009 @ 5:31PM

After hearing initial reports that Nokia's Comes With Music subscription service was doing "okay," word on the streets is now... even less good. According to estimates released by Music Ally at an Association of Independent Music conference in London, Nokia's gotten about 23,000 subscribers to the service since it launched last October. That's not a great number, if it's anywhere near accurate... though Nokia has "refused to confirm" whether or not it is. Tim Grimsditch, head of Nokia's product marketing division added that it's "a very new business model, we're live in five markets and the numbers only mention one. We're going to continue to develop the model and fine tune how we market it." That said, the report can't be terribly heartening either way you slice it, and is rather reminiscent of N-Gage's niche market status if you ask us.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic firmware v21 starting to circulate?

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 21st 2009 @ 3:28AM

Through the magic of modern technology, a phone that begins life as a fancy paperweight stands at least a fighting chance of improving to the point of being very usable, if not downright good -- it all depends on the manufacturer's desire and willingness to see things through, and generally speaking, Nokia has been better than most about getting firmware right over time. It looks like the hotly-anticipated v21 update for the 5800 is starting to light up on various product codes around the world, with Hong Kong (and possibly Pakistan) the first to ring it in with a warm welcome. Major improvements are said to be found in the camera and in the device's overall performance -- so, early updaters, how's it treating you?

Nokia prepping updated 5800 XpressMusic with capacitive screen?

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 17th 2009 @ 3:16PM

It's certainly not unheard of for Nokia to take existing models in its lineup, tweak 'em with slightly improved hardware and software, and re-release them -- see the N85 / N86, N93 / N93i, N95 / N96, and so on -- so we can totally buy that the company's hard at work at updating its 5800 for a future revision. DigiTimes (which admittedly doesn't have a pristine record for nailing these sorts of rumors) cites "sources" with Taiwanese component suppliers as saying that Nokia wants to replace the 5800's resistive touchscreen with a capacitive one -- the S60-based Samsung i8910 does that, by the by -- in an effort to better compete with its rivals. That would certainly make the device more usable and responsive, but in all likelihood, this isn't a simple matter of swapping out a component (how would you use that totally awesome plectrum, after all?) so we'd expect this to be more of an indication that Espoo's looking to move to capacitive going forward, particularly as it transitions over to the Symbian Foundation's builds.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic starts hitting shelves in gray

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 14th 2009 @ 8:51AM

Saying that the 5800's now available in gray might actually be a bit misleading, seeing how all variants of the phone are primarily black -- rather, the colored strip around the phone's beltline is now available in a strapping shade of gray. That marks a change from the red and blue that the phone initially launched in, though you won't find the gray version in just any country; just a handful of lucky markets in Asia and Europe (plus the US, go figure) have launched it so far, so keep your ear to the ground if you're looking to scoop it up locally. It'd look nice if they redid the entire phone in, say, red or white from top to bottom instead of repainting that strip alone, wouldn't it?

[Via Cell Addict Blog]

Giant Nokia 5800 XpressMusic invades Antwerp

by Nilay Patel posted Apr 5th 2009 @ 10:26AM

We're not sure why giant phones are suddenly all the rage, but it seems to be a trend -- Nokia just put up this four-foot 5800 XpressMusic in Antwerp. Unlike the giant Samsung Messager that recently invaded Chicago, it's not actually a working phone, but the custom Flash interface designed by Create Multimedia is meant to mimic the OS as closely as possible -- so we're guessing it's just as frustrating as the real thing. Passerby can play with the Maps app, browse photos, and listen to music through some nifty through-the-glass speakers -- hit the read link for the video.

[Via Nokia Conversations]

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic review

by Chris Ziegler posted Mar 30th 2009 @ 1:00PM

It's not the company's first touchscreen device, but the 5800 XpressMusic is the first touchscreen device that Nokia has designed to appeal to the masses, and as such, there are certain expectations. By even the most forgiving of standards, Nokia is now officially late to this game -- all of the remaining top-five manufacturers have been offering mass-market touchscreen phones for some time now -- so there's plenty of ground to be made up. What's more, the 5800 marks the retail introduction of S60 5th Edition, the latest incarnation of the world's most ubiquitous smartphone platform; future iterations of this very code will lay the groundwork for the Symbian Foundation's next-gen offensive, so the stakes have never been higher. You might say the weight of the world -- or Finland, at the very least -- is on the 5800's shoulders, but is this unassuming little slate up to the task? Let's have a look.

Gallery: S60 5th Edition

Gallery: Nokia 5800 XpressMusic review

Continue reading Nokia 5800 XpressMusic review

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic NAM firmware update puts misbehaving units in line (update: or not!)

by Chris Ziegler posted Mar 17th 2009 @ 3:47PM

We'd initially been told that the first round of bunk Nokia 5800s for the North American market would have to be exchanged despite the fact that the 3G reception fix was a simple "configuration change," but now... not so much. Firmware 20.2.014 has just gone live through Nokia's Software Update application, bringing the same rich, buttery 3G quality to buyers of those first few devices. Other than that, changes are unknown and presumed to be minor, so if you're still struggling with getting your 5800 to appreciate the finer things in life -- like HSDPA, for example -- give this one a shot.

[Via Symbian Freak]

Update: We've been contacted by Nokia and told that the "configuration change" cannot, in fact, be fixed via firmware update. Sorry, early adopters, looks like you're in for a date with customer care after all.

Nokia 5330 XpressMusic destined for T-Mobile USA?

by Chris Ziegler posted Mar 16th 2009 @ 5:22PM

T-Mobile's US outpost has developed a fetish for Nokia's XpressMusic series over the past couple years, so why not keep the good times rolling? Of course, the one thing they've been missing so far is some good, old-fashioned AWS 3G, and if the rumors check out, that's where the just-announced 5330 slider comes into play. There's a render floating around bearing T-Mobile's corporate branding atop a cyan-hued 5330 right now supposedly rocking 1700MHz HSDPA -- and yes, granted, this isn't the most difficult Photoshop job in the world, but launching this product sure would seem to make a ton of sense, wouldn't it? Cell Phone Signal claims we should see this one in the June / July time frame, which -- considering the Europe-to-America time rift, isn't an entirely unreasonable release lag.

North American Nokia 5800 XpressMusic available once again, with feeling

by Chris Ziegler posted Mar 14th 2009 @ 11:04PM

We received a call this afternoon from our good friends at the Nokia flagship store in Chicago to let us know that the updated North American version of the 5800 XpressMusic is now in stock and ready to go. This means that existing owners should be good to exchange their units, and of course, new buyers can go ahead and dive in. Not all at once now -- we don't want riots at the entrance, now, do we?

Nokia XpressMusic 5030, 5330, and 5370 get handled on video

by Chris Ziegler posted Mar 11th 2009 @ 9:36PM

Nokia has posted feature run-through videos of all three of its newly-introduced XpressMusic devices, and they're just raw enough to stave off that over-polished marketing material feel. The musical accompaniment in all three videos is pretty amazing, but the 5730's is worth the price of admission all on its own -- so click through to all three to learn everything you need to know before pulling out the ol' coin purse.

Read - 5030
Read - 5330
Read - 5730

Nokia outs 5730 and 5330 XpressMusic and 5030 XpressRadio handsets as expected

by Thomas Ricker posted Mar 11th 2009 @ 5:19AM

Yup, All About Phones nailed it as Nokia just announced its 5730 XpressMusic QWERTY, 5330 XpressMusic slider, and lowly 5030 XpressRadio candybar bringing up the tail. The trio of handsets spread across different price-points should make access to the Nokia Music Store (now available in 15 countries) that much easier. The top-end 5730 (available Q3, €280) is Nokia's first QWERTY device optimized for both music and gaming with dedicated audio and N-Gage keys. The 5330 slider (Q3, €260) steps up the design with illumination effects while adding a 3.5-mm jack and 26-hours of audio. The 5030 XpressRadio (Q2, €40) is Nokia's first with an internal FM radio antenna thereby eliminating the need for a headset or external speakers. With that as its major selling point, you've probably already guessed that it's heading to emerging markets.

Gallery: Nokia outs 5730 and 5330 XpressMusic and 5030 XpressRadio handsets as expected

Nokia introducing 5030, 5330, and 5730 XpressMusics at tomorrow's event?

by Chris Ziegler posted Mar 10th 2009 @ 7:39PM

We know that the shindig Nokia's putting on tomorrow has something to do with music, so it's certainly within the realm of possibility that we'd see some new XpressMusic handsets there, and indeed, All About Phones seems to have scooped the goods. It looks like we'll be treated to no fewer than three models -- all Xpress-branded, naturally -- starting on the low end with the 5030 candybar. This one eschews XpressMusic for the less audiophile-sounding "XpressRadio" name, pimping its in-built FM radio support and a large, squarish speaker around back at a crazy low price of €40 ($51) unsubsidized. Moving one rung up the range is the 5330 XpressMusic slider, packing a 3.5mm jack, some sort of special light effects for the ravers in the audience, and 24 hours of listening time; it'll be available in the third quarter for €160 ($204). Finally, we have the rumored 5730 (pictured) -- the only of the three to run S60 and lay claim to a genuine smartphone title. This one follows in the E75's footsteps by packing both a numeric and a landscape QWERTY slide, WiFi, a 3.2 megapixel cam, HSDPA, and GPS, but the most interesting new feature here might be the "Xpress Home Screen" which exposes your loaded media right from the phone's -- you guessed it -- home screen. This one should hit in the second quarter for €280 ($357) and will be offered in a Comes With Music version in some countries. How's about killing off DRM while you're at it, Nokia?

Update: iDNES.cz points out that the 5030 has already been on sale in Pakistan since November, so it's conceivable that Nokia will be using the event to present the low-end phone to a broader audience -- or that it won't be shown at all.

T-Mobile USA picks up Nokia's XpressMusic 5310 in two new hues

by Darren Murph posted Mar 7th 2009 @ 10:34PM

Not digging the original red on Nokia's XpressMusic 5310? What in tarnation is the matter with you? All kidding aside, those who just love to be the oddball can rejoice in the fact that T-Mobile USA has picked up two new hues for the aforesaid handset, and it's not even charging any extra for 'em. Available now for the low, low price of $0.00 after a two-year agreement, the 5310 can be selected in White Aqua and White Silver. As expected, all the internals have remained the same, so now it's just up to your and that fellow on your shoulder to determine which variant is most suitable.

[Via CellPhone signal]