A hat tip to Andrew Seftel for spotting the Nokia 5230 on Vodafone pay-as-you-go in the UK for £99. This, as far as we know, is the first instance of a non-contract S60 5th Edition smartphone coming in at under £100, a staggering price point. And incredible value given that the 5230 is one of the Ovi Maps Free Navigation handsets. So 3.2" display-equipped touchscreen smartphone and worldwide free navigation all for under a ton, with no contract, no obligations. What do you think?
Read on in the full article.
What do I think??
I think it's feckin' amazing!! �99.99 for a feature rich device with free navigation for life is a turning point for the technology. I see Nokia (and Vodafone) making a killing on this.
i bought this phone for my father and it works very well.after installation of ovi free maps this nokia is working better then my n97....
For that amount of money you cannot get anything better
i just feel bad for GPS brands
The Nokia 5530 is a 5th edition smartphone which since last Autumn has been available for �99 from CPW. OK it doesn't have GPS and 3G, but when bought from CPW it comes unlocked to nay network.
This 5230 is a shockingly good deal though, properly marketed it will fly out of the shelves because it unrivalled at that price. No idea how Nokia can do it!
5530 does have WiFi, 5230 doesn't so a PAYG plan will need to cover data.
Apparently also on T-Mobile this week at the same price
Nokia's wide range of amazing smartphones strategy is excellent. No company can beat him on this. And for the majority of potential smartphone users, this factor has the highest priority. Good on you Nokia, the future is yours!
Quick note guys.
I got my hands on the 5230 and 5233 here and I made the same statement on ZCJ lol.
But apparently the 5230 (and 5233) only have Network-based Assisted-GPS but no actual GPS module/chip built in.
Even the GPS settings only allow you to choose between "Network based" and "External GPS".
I'm still confused as to why Nokia would say it the device has "A-GPS" and not distinct it by saying "Network based A-GPS".
So in the end, you'll still have that free navigation. It just might not be very accurate lol.
clintonjeff wrote:Quick note guys.
I got my hands on the 5230 and 5233 here and I made the same statement on ZCJ lol.
But apparently the 5230 (and 5233) only have Network-based Assisted-GPS but no actual GPS module/chip built in.
Even the GPS settings only allow you to choose between "Network based" and "External GPS".
I'm still confused as to why Nokia would say it the device has "A-GPS" and not distinct it by saying "Network based A-GPS".
So in the end, you'll still have that free navigation. It just might not be very accurate lol.
Actually if you found out how AGPS works, you'll realize that you can't actually have AGPS without an actual GPS module/chip built in....at least for the 5230. Have not seen any official specs page for the 5233 yet.
Maybe they somehow limited the software options of using integrated GPS only, but rest assure there is a GPS chipset in there for 5230.
clintonjeff wrote:Quick note guys.
I got my hands on the 5230 and 5233 here and I made the same statement on ZCJ lol.
But apparently the 5230 (and 5233) only have Network-based Assisted-GPS but no actual GPS module/chip built in.
Even the GPS settings only allow you to choose between "Network based" and "External GPS".
I'm still confused as to why Nokia would say it the device has "A-GPS" and not distinct it by saying "Network based A-GPS".
So in the end, you'll still have that free navigation. It just might not be very accurate lol.
Cell location tracking isn't that accurate - it'll just tell you what town your in.
On the Nokia website, the specs are detailed as "A-GPS". Looking in the product manual, it does indeed state that it has a full GPS, ie. satellite tracking.
Unless Nokia come to their senses and bring out a device with the imaging capabilities of the N82, then I can see the 5230 may well be my next phone. I'd probably get a fair discount on my contract going for something so cheap, and it'll fulfill around 95% of my requirements.
clonmult wrote:Cell location tracking isn't that accurate - it'll just tell you what town your in.On the Nokia website, the specs are detailed as "A-GPS". Looking in the product manual, it does indeed state that it has a full GPS, ie. satellite tracking.
Unless Nokia come to their senses and bring out a device with the imaging capabilities of the N82, then I can see the 5230 may well be my next phone. I'd probably get a fair discount on my contract going for something so cheap, and it'll fulfill around 95% of my requirements.
The reason I was confused was because Nokia here sent us a 5233 to review (telling us it was exactly like the 5230 in every way except it didnt have 3G) and when I checked around the positioning methods, it didnt have integrated GPS as an option. Just network based :
http://flic.kr/p/7zSFpx
@clintonjeff
Sometimes Nokia customises the hardware to suit certain cell operators.
They do customise for some customers, but they don't normally totally remove a unique selling point like GPS.
Very, very strange.
I also agree with Cj, 5233 definitely doesn't show integrated GPS as positioning method. Spec sheet shows A-GPS but I also wonder how can we have only A-GPS without any GPS chip in?
Either there is some software glitch or Nokia just trying to throw jargon to avoid answering direct question. anyone with 5230 can tell exactly whats in that.
I wonder if 'network based' means you can use A-GPS but not GPS alone, thus forcing a billable data connection - this might explain the very low price point, i.e. the networks are confident of clawing back some data revenue from the free mapping service. It would be nice if they were open about it though, if this is the case.
I finally managed to get in touch with someone from Nokia, and they've confirmed that the Nokia 5230 DOES have A-GPS (Chip and all) while the Nokia 5233 does NOT have any sort of hardware GPS.
Sorry for the confusion I might have caused ! When the 5233 was released here, it was listed as one of it's features on the Nokia website (which turns out was a mistake).
CPW Website has pink, white or black available for �99.99 payg on vodafone and 3
http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mobiles/mobile-phones/NOKIA-5230/PPAY
Nokia's stylish 5230 smartphone is all about music and entertainment. This sleek touch screen handset comes with unlimited Nokia Music Store downloads, so it'll soon get your feet tapping!
it has comes with music?
Im thinking of picking one of these up to put my contract sim in from three, hey it would replace an e71 but as my contract is due for renewal in august that would be another new phone then, plus with the cash back deal on my old phone, makes it �40 not a bad deal i think! 😃