Nokia C5 - classic style candy bar at �135, first Cseries

i must say for the general public this is one of the nicest canybar phone offers in history. free navigation??

its probably the most value for the money in the market for �135.- A symbian phone with free navigation that cheap? daaamn!! I can see my mother and 12year old brother loving this, now all of a sudden they're gonna Skype on this, VoIP, e-mail, chat, twitter, facebook, sync with their laptops. Shoot they're gonna be doing the same thing i do with my E71!

I can see this selling like hotcakes!

Whats a "core portfolio" series? And what kind of users is this C Series targeted at? E.g. X series is music, N series is multimedia, E series is business users, etc.

If this 1st model is an indication, does not look like the C Series are going to be expensive phones.

From the Nokia Conversations blog:

Nseries remains the flagship and most advanced range of products. Xseries comes next and focuses on social entertainment. Eseries remains focussed on productivity and business whilst Cseries represents the core range of products.

From the Nokia Bulletin Board:

The new Cseries represents the core of Nokia portfolio, focusing on social interaction between friends and family.

In other words you might also terms it classic series, or communication series?

Amazing value in a handset - really starts to bring home idea of solutions as the future for the mid tier too.

According to thenokiablog, "The new Cseries represents the core of Nokia portfolio, focusing on social interaction between friends and family."

So I guess it's about "connecting people more smartly" and you can probably expect an emphasis in contacts and messaging on the default homescreen configuration. I read somewhere that this has facebook and other social networking integrated into (for example) contacts. This is also probably an indicator that you shouldn't expect to see massive screens on the Cseries, since those are more necessary for Xseries (entertainment), Eseries (productivity) and Nseries (best tech). BTW, did you see the bit about the numbers too?

Nokia Conversations: "within each series of devices, we�re seeing a new range of numbers, from 1 to 9, each signifying the range of functionality on offer, and the approximate prices of the devices � 1 being the lowest and 9 being the highest."

For me at least, this looks like a great deal at probably �120 sim-free inc VAT, I wouldn't be surprised to see these on sale for less than a hundred quid PAYG soon. I can think of a number of people for who this would be a perfect phone, and well within their budgets.

I still like to think the C stands for cheap. :P
With a price this low and a so many features with only one flaw, the screen which is just too small for me though I doubt normals/not geeks will care about it that much, I imagine this thing will sell like hotcakes.

adi_pie wrote:the screen which is just too small for me though I doubt normals/not geeks will care about it that much

To add to what has been touched on in points above, one wonders when we will see this Contacts Bar Standby Screen make it to existing phones such as the E72, N86 etc.

Though that might not happen for a while due to the E72 having predictive text searching of contacts already from the standby screen, and this feature also likely needing a Firmware Update.

But on that note, I see nearly all existing FP2 devices seeing a Firmware Update in the coming months, merely to incorporate Ovi Maps 3.4 in Firmware, if nothing else, so they could slip this new Standby screen in then.

The feature whereby Facebook Status of existing Contacts is shown in the Contacts Database however, is CERTAINLY a feature I would expect to see rolled out universally, else something I would certainly DESIRE to see rolled out universally.

(As a side note, the delayed Nokia 6700 Slide, originally due start of March, is technically the first phone to see this new Contacts Standby Theme Bar on a standard keyboard device, so one wonders if the 6700 will also have the Facebook Status Updates in the Contacts Application too).

Watch this space, but I for one certainly wholly expect Nokia to make these features available to existing suitable handsets in the coming months too. It would be a poor policy indeed were they not to.

I'm inclined to agree with one of the comments above. C = Cheap.
I think this is a clear indication of Nokia's intent on dominating the "middle" of the mass market and introducing phones to lower income countries.
We have heard it in almost every interview with Nokia. They are aiming at India, and Africa.
I think for those of us that are clinging desperately to the hope that Nokia is going to produce a high end product, I think we may go down with the ship. I see people leaving Nokia and heading to Android based platforms like the HTC Desire, Legend and Nexus One in droves.

We should not at all be surprised by a "C" series device. After all, Nokia is in the business of making money, and they know where the "fat" mass market part of the economy is right now.

It's probably a very sensible business decision made by very sensible Finnish businessmen in equally sensible grey suits.

I think for those of us that are clinging desperately to the hope that Nokia is going to produce a high end product, I think we may go down with the ship.

I'm sorry, I didn't see the bit where they said they were going to stop making N, X and E Series phones.

It's a nice phone for normal humans, moves S60 and smartphone features over S40 territory. I don't see any mention of WiFi, which is what those of us that have to deal with very poor 3G coverage need.

Nice at the price. Like a modern N70.

@limestone: "I think for those of us that are clinging desperately to the hope that Nokia is going to produce a high end product, I think we may go down with the ship. I see people leaving Nokia and heading to Android based platforms like the HTC Desire, Legend and Nexus One in droves."

Ha ha that's funny, I like a good joke 😊
Android based platforms eh? Oh yes, that's why Gartner's latest numbers the other day showed only 7m Android sales in the last year vs 80m Symbian. Yeah, that's people leaving in droves alright, of course 😊 And that's why Nokia smartphone share saw a huge 5% growth of the smartphone market in the pre-Christmas quarter while iPhone saw flat growth (shocking given that's their main growth quarter traditionally).

Oh and Android is STILL totally inferior, and indeed pointless, compared to Symbian which beats it on every point now (well, UI is still a patch behind until Symbian ^3 release in Q2).

I wouldn't touch an Android device with a barge pole. Apart from the hardware being vastly inferior to Nokia's, and more expensive, the OS is immature, incomplete, a pathetic and broken app store that's making no money for developers, and an SDK that's driving devs nuts and changes almost daily. Steer clear I reckon.

I think we all know full well that new high end Nokia handsets will be announce shortly (this month I believe), run on Symbian ^3, and frankly blow the competition away in the high end. Meanwhile the next iPhone will excite a few Apple-lovers for a month and do nothing to improve Apple's flat market share.

Honestly if anyone believes Android represents the slightest threat to Symbian you need a reality check. As a mobile software developer I am SO glad I didn't believe the hype and get involved with that platform.

Mr Mark wrote:I'm sorry, I didn't see the bit where they said they were going to stop making N, X and E Series phones.

True ... but Nokia need to start making more of a differential between the products in their range.

A 5230 is as quick and has the same basic functionality as the N97. Huge price differential that isn't justified by the extra memory, keyboard, wifi and compass. Proves that the N97 is a hugely profitable device for Nokia though.

Few years back Nokia were claiming that they were wanting to replace S40 with S60 devices - this is definitely starting to happen. They also stated an intention for the high end to be Maemo devices - thats already happening.

I think the timelines (with regards to platform development) are such that there's been an emphasis on mid tier and low end phones recently. However there's defintely some high end stuff on the way.

@limestone ... don't waste your breath on reasoned arguments or comments ... here be nokia fanboys and apologists who can see nothing wrong with anything nokia do no matter how egregious

just pack up and move on to a high-end platform that has the support of a major *software* company behind it and don't look back ... you won't be alone

fakefur wrote:@limestone ... don't waste your breath on reasoned arguments or comments ... here be nokia fanboys and apologists who can see nothing wrong with anything nokia do no matter how egregious

just pack up and move on to a high-end platform that has the support of a major *software* company behind it and don't look back ... you won't be alone

Judging by the sales of both Android and the iPhone (ie. low in the case of Android and flat in the case of iPhone), you possibly will be alone.

There is plenty wrong with what Nokia do, as many who post here will confirm. However, just because others don't agree with you does not make them wrong or make them necessarily a fanboy...

And how can i see the Facebook status update? What detail i need to add to the Contacts to see its update? And where will i read it? In the Contacts list or in the Homescreen?

By the way...Stop being so Apple-ish, Nokia dont make +800$ devices only because it dont sell it phones in US only. Did you forget the N9x,N8x,N7x? its the same thing. Now instead of N7x we have Cx.

@buster ... really? android and apple are flat? implying they are peaking or what? what is it you are trying to say with that comment?

and my comment was more aimed towards the blatantly obnoxious fanboy (sorry developer) who lambasted limestone for even implying the obvious truth about nokia high end devices ... that is the sort of fanboyism that makes it pointless to share reasoned arguments

@rafe
"However there's defintely some high end stuff on the way."

when do you think this will come? i'm holding out for high cameraphone stuff from nokia and my trusty n82 is gettting ready for retirement!

aidan

Unregistered wrote:@rafe
"However there's defintely some high end stuff on the way."

when do you think this will come? i'm holding out for high cameraphone stuff from nokia and my trusty n82 is gettting ready for retirement!

aidan

The only way you'll get any real world improvement over the N82 is if Nokia put in larger optics/sensor, optical zoom (with folding optics) and both Xenon flash and LED for video work.

If they follow the herd and just go for more pixels, whilst keeping a weak LED lighting unit, all you'll have is a marginally better camera in good lighting and something that is considerably worse indoors.

"If they follow the herd and just go for more pixels, whilst keeping a weak LED lighting unit, all you'll have is a marginally better camera in good lighting and something that is considerably worse indoors."

true, but if nokia do something like a satio, xenon and led, then there's some hope. a nokia x6 type style phone with both kinds of flashes and a lens cover and 8mp would be a good start. can't be too hard, eh?

aidan

limestone wrote:I see people leaving Nokia and heading to Android based platforms like the HTC Desire, Legend and Nexus One in droves.

fakefur wrote:just pack up and move on to a high-end platform that has the support of a major *software* company behind it and don't look back ... you won't be alone

It's not new, it's the 5630 music xpress but without the music features, and is dressed up to look like the 6700.

Nokia are hoping that the 6700 users won't notice that they have then bought into a more complicated handset.

It has almost all the features of the N97 without the price tag.

Seems to be Nokias plan of replacing Series 40 with S60...
Very good buy for about 100 quid as its got most of the core features as many N-Series and E-Series handsets.

Looked at for what it is then this is a stunner. Looks brilliant and at a very fair price. Why all the bullshit talk about Android and high end stuff in the comments?

fakefur wrote:@buster ... really? android and apple are flat? implying they are peaking or what? what is it you are trying to say with that comment?

and my comment was more aimed towards the blatantly obnoxious fanboy (sorry developer) who lambasted limestone for even implying the obvious truth about nokia high end devices ... that is the sort of fanboyism that makes it pointless to share reasoned arguments

The sales figures for Q4 2009 showed that Android still had a small market share and the iPhone sales had not increased compared to Q4 2008. That's what I was referring to.

While you have a point about fanboyism (is that a real word?), when you make sweeping generalisations like "don't waste your breath on reasoned arguments or comments ... here be nokia fanboys and apologists who can see nothing wrong with anything nokia do no matter how egregious" then people are entitled to be less than impressed.

Anyway, I just hope Nokia sort themselves out and start developing high-end phones which actually work; that said, the C5 does look like a mighty impressive phone, especially when considering the price.

adi_pie wrote:
Edit: In what way is Google a much bigger software company than Nokia? Off the top of my head the only thing Google has and Nokia does not, is a search engine.

Really?

How about Google Docs? Youtube, SketchUp, translate, ads, Chrome as a cross platform desktop browser (OK it's webkit) and a good deal of the internet infrastructure.

This is why I avoid anything Google related. Android phones are a bit dull and have been something of a disappointment to me. Nokia make some really good telephony handsets with mediocre smart features plus some real gems like Ovi Maps. Apple make an excellent web phone which is also a brilliant app platform, with really poor telephony features.

@buster ... yes ok my bad ... it was a sweeping generalization ... i don't have a high tolerance of fanboys on web forums which means i probably shouldn't get involved in discussions BUT i thought i had a valid point or two to make so i did

i also think the c5 (apart from the sinclair c5 image it pulls into my head) looks good and for the price great .. if it had wifi i would probably buy one as my spare (after i sell my N86)

Unregistered wrote:Really?

How about Google Docs? Youtube, SketchUp, translate, ads, Chrome as a cross platform desktop browser (OK it's webkit) and a good deal of the internet infrastructure.

Google Docs can be easily supplanted by Ovi Files, the only difference being you can edit documents online in Google Docs whereas through Ovi Files you have download them and then edit on the device.
Never heard of SketchUp. Chrome doesn't count since I was speaking from a mobile point-of-view.
I will admit I made a mistake not factoring Youtube in, but whenever I think of Youtube I think of a site and not software (that's illogical I know sorry).
About Google Translate, I'll admit I was wrong about that too, though I doubt that is a pinnacle of Google SW engineering.

Unregistered wrote:

This is why I avoid anything Google related. Android phones are a bit dull and have been something of a disappointment to me. Nokia make some really good telephony handsets with mediocre smart features plus some real gems like Ovi Maps. Apple make an excellent web phone which is also a brilliant app platform, with really poor telephony features.

With this I agree.
After my experience with it, I feel like there's something missing that puts me off Android, like walking over a bridge that has parts of its foundation still under construction.

I really like this device, the only weak point I can think of is that there's only 50MB of internal storage.

I find it a bit annoying that S60 devices from 2007 have more internal storage than the S60 devices Nokia release now.