Nokia 5510 with MP3
(Wednesday, 23-Jan-2002 10:41:39 EST)

MP3 players are a huge hit with the younger market these days. Nokia, SonyEricsson, and Siemens all have add on devices for some of their models that add MP3 playing ability to the phone while taking advantage of the phone's battery. Today there are a few phones available with built in MP3 players like the Siemens SL45, but so far these have been high-end phones with high-end price tags.

With the 5510, Nokia has introduced a reasonably priced phone with a built-in MP3 player and FM Radio. Additionally, they have further targeted the young demographic by adding a full keyboard to the device to make SMS easier. The result is an abnormal looking phone with reasonable abilities and a reasonable price.

Here's a quick overview of the features of the Nokia 5510:

There is not much in the way of direct competition for the 5510 since Nokia has basically created a new class of its own with the 5510. Other Teen/Youth phones don't have the audio or SMS capabilities of this phone, and the other MP3 and Radio capable phones available are generally priced much higher. If people can get past the looks, it could be a big seller. So far this hasn't been the case, even with Nokia's "Looks weird, sounds great" advertising campaign.

The phone itself is quite easy to use. It uses the same menus structure than most every Nokia on the planet uses. If you have used any other Nokia (outside of the 9000 series) for any length of time, you should be instantly comfortable with this one. The phone also has extra controls for the Radio and MP3 player on the side that server as the Radio On, MP3 Play, and Volume buttons. The jacks for the Stereo Hands-free Headset are color coded to make it simple (there are two jacks, one for the ear pieces, the other for the microphone). A strange looking plastic panel also slides away to reveal the USB port and the Audio Input jack. Overall, a nice layout.

The interesting aspects of the phone are, of course, it's audio capabilities and the keyboard. First lets touch on the audio.

The FM radio does everything you would expect. It has 10 user configurable presets (that you can name yourself) and has a a manual tuning function. Reception seems to be pretty good considering the lack of an external antenna. The Radio can be turned on with one of the audio control buttons on the side of the phone, provided the keyboard is not locked.

The 64mb internal MP3 player also works quite well and can also be activated from one of the side buttons. It is capable of showing the file name of the MP3 files it has to make selection simpler. It can play the tracks in order, or can be put in random play mode. There is a built in equalizer with a number pf selectable presets (Bass, Pop, Dance, Latin, etc) that can not be modified by the user, but do have a worthwhile effect on the sound quality. I like "Extra Bass" the best. Additionally, you can make new MP3 files directly on the phone from either the built-in FM radio or by using an external audio source through the line-in jack that is located next to the USB port.

The USB port itself is nice. Serial is an awful method for moving multi-megabyte files to a device. Ask any owner of a Nokia 9210 about that. The problem with the PC Connectivity lies not in the transfer mechanism, but in the PC Software. The supplied Nokia Audio Manager software is just plan horrible. To get music onto the 5510, first MP3 files must be added to the Audio Manager database. You can do this by adding specific MP3 files or by importing Winamp playlists. This process reads each MP3 file and creates brand new file of almost the exact same size, but with a .LSE extension. The effect this has is that of doubling the storage requirements for your music files on your PC. Winamp can't play .LSE files, and the 5510 can't play native MP3 files. You need both formats. Unacceptable. Forgetting that the interface in the software is bad, just that fact lowers the practical value of the device. You can bypass some of the awkwardness by directly copying the .LSE music files to the 5510 in Windows Explorer, since the 5510 shows up as a normal external USB Storage device. But you still have to create the .LSE files in the first place and waste the disk space.

Once the files are uploaded to the 5510, though, everything is smooth sailing. It sounds great. The included stereo hands-free headset gives good audio quality, even if it isn't the most comfortable headset on the planet. I found it to be just fine. Nokia supplies an adapter for using your own headset, but of course that precludes you from using the headset for making and receiving phone calls.

The keyboard is the dominant feature of the device, being split in two with half of the keys on either side of the display, which is located in the middle. The configuration works. Text input for SMS is fast and convenient. If you are a big SMSer, this could be your phone. The keyboard also makes contact editing simple. The 5510 is capable of storing 100 contacts in the phone, and up to 250 on the SIM. it can also be programmed with up to 10 reminders.

The technology in the phone seems to be based on the rest of the old 5000 series devices. Nothing particularly interesting here. In fact, if you remove the back plate of the phone to gain access to the battery, you will see what appears to be an old 5000 series phone embedded inside a larger 5510 housing. I am sure this is no coincidence.

The phone is a bit bulky, perhaps as a result of this being a phone inside a phone. It has the size of a typical communicator device, and weighs in at 155g. A bit hefty for a modern phone with only basic phone capabilities. But if you consider the weight and bulk of carrying a MP3 player with you, it doesn't seem so bad at all. One battery to charge, one headset to carry. Battery life, too, is decent. Claimed talk-time of 2.5 to 4.5 hours seems reasonable. Claimed standby time is 55 to 260 hours, but I guess it to be for practical purposes close to 100 hours. In many cases, the battery life will be dictated by the MP3 Player more than through telephone use. Nokia claims up to 10 hours of continuous MP3 playing on a full charge.

Lastly, the 5510 comes with 5 games (Bumper, Space Impact, Snake II, Pairs II, and Bantumi), some of which can be augmented with new levels from Club Nokia's WAP site. You can also upload high-scores to the site. The phone also supports the typical Nokia Ringtones and Pictures.

Overall, I like the phone. If SMS and Music is your thing, and I believe it is for many people in the youth market, then this phone does it. Sure it has a few weaknesses, like the PC Software, but none of these problems affect normal day to day use of the phone. I think it is a winner, now we have to see if Europe's Youth markets thinks the same thing. I say "Europe's" market because, sadly, this device is not Tri-Band and does not support american markets. Shame on you for doing this time and time again, Nokia.

In brief:

Good: MP3, FM Radio, USB, Full Keyboard

Bad: Idiotic PC Software, Old Technology, Kinda Big and Heavy