Price and specifications of Nokia 5310 XpressMusic advantages, disadvantages, and a comprehensive explanation

Design and Build

The Nokia 5310 XpressMusic was released in October 2007 and quickly became a favorite among music lovers due to its sleek design and focus on music playback. The phone's dimensions are compact, measuring 103.8 x 44.7 x 9.9 mm and weighing just 71 grams, making it extremely portable. The build quality is sturdy with a predominantly plastic body, adorned with attractive color accents available in Red, Blue, Pink, and Black. One of the standout features of the 5310 is its dedicated music buttons on the side, which made it easy to control playback without needing to navigate through the menu.

Display

The device boasts a 2.1-inch TFT screen with a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels, allowing for vibrant display quality. With 16 million colors, the display was quite capable for its time, providing clear and sharp images. Although not the largest display, it was adequate for a feature phone primarily designed for music and basic telephony functions.

Performance and Software

The Nokia 5310 XpressMusic operated on Nokia’s proprietary feature phone operating system. The internal storage was limited to 30MB but could be expanded via a microSDHC card slot, accommodating music files which were the phone's primary allure. The device supported Java MIDP 2.1, allowing users to install basic Java applications and games, including classics like Snake II and newer titles like Music Guess and Towerbloxx.

Audio and Music Features

This phone was a part of Nokia’s XpressMusic line, which prioritized high-quality audio playback. It featured a 3.5mm headphone jack, which was a crucial feature given that it specialized in music. The built-in stereo FM radio with RDS was another highlight, enabling users to listen to their favorite radio stations on the go. Audio quality was impressive for its time, boasting distinct sound output, and loudspeaker tests showed good results with voice clarity at 64dB, noise at 62dB, and ring volume at 75dB.

Camera

Although not particularly known for its photographic capabilities, the Nokia 5310 comes equipped with a 2MP camera. It offered basic photo and video (QCIF quality) capturing capabilities which were relatively standard for the devices of its era. The lack of a front-facing camera meant selfies and video calls were not possible without additional accessories.

Connectivity

Connectivity options in the Nokia 5310 included GSM support for 2G bands, specifically GSM 900, 1800, and 1900 frequencies. Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP allowed for wireless audio streaming to compatible devices, although it did not support WLAN or GPS capabilities. USB connectivity was provided via microUSB 2.0, facilitating file transfers and charging.

Battery Life

Powered by a removable 860mAh Li-Ion battery (BL-4CT), the Nokia 5310 offered up to 5 hours and 20 minutes of talk time, and a standby time of up to 300 hours. This was quite sufficient given the device's focus on audio playback, and it delivered dependable battery performance under normal usage conditions.

User Experience and Additional Features

In the realm of phone functionalities, the Nokia 5310 supported a variety of messaging formats such as SMS, MMS, Email, and Instant Messaging, catering to the essential communication needs of users. The phonebook capacity was robust for its time, allowing up to 2000 entries with photocall capability.

Legacy and Impact

The Nokia 5310 XpressMusic left a lasting impact as a pioneer in music-centric phones. It combined Nokia's superior build quality and simple user interface with features that appealed directly to music enthusiasts. Its influence is observed in subsequent iterations of music-focused mobile devices, underscoring the importance of integrating multimedia features seamlessly into portable devices. Despite being discontinued, the 5310 remains a cherished classic among phone collectors and vintage tech enthusiasts.

Overall, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic was more than just a phone; it was a symbol of the mobile audio revolution and stood as a testament to Nokia's innovative prowess in the mobile industry during the mid-2000s.