Nokia 5300
Phone Scoop Review
Apr 5, 2007 by Eric Zeman
Our in-depth review of Nokia's new music phone. Is the music player good enough to leave your MP3 player behind? Find out. NEW: Video tour read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Great Music Player and phone from Nokia
I remember the first phone I ever had was from Nokia. They have come a very long way. I have the black model of the 5300. I'm very happy with it.
Pros:
Excellent music player that can play Stereo over Bluetooth. A somewhat rare bluetooth feature. I've had Samsung phones with music players that can NOT play via bluetooth, let alone stereo.
comes with a 1 gig micro sd card.
Music player sound quality is excellent over the included stereo headset, bluetooth, and internal speaker.
Super easy to sync with outlook, easy to transfer files over included usb cable. You just have to download the free pc suite from nokia.
Great Signal quality, bluetooth
Exterior buttons make the music player and camera super user friendly.
Camera is laid out very well. You use it horizontally instead of vertically, so you get a more representative view of how the picutre will actually look.
Cons:
Voice recognition software could use some work. Just speak slowly and look at the screen if you can. Certain words work very well.
To use the voice dialing/command feature you have to hold the volume down button. This is an easy maneuver, but you have to really dig through the owner's manual to figure this out. Also, you can't make this a softkey shortcut. Its like Nokia got everything done right except for the voice dialing.
Neutrals:
the looks - its plastic. but its very light. I like it. Some say the design is not as sturdy as it could be, but I think its just cause the phone is so lite.
Verdict:
Its a keeper - it has everything I need. Well, until I get a bonus and the iphone comes out for T-mobile and my girlfriend won't yell at me for getting yet another phone.
BEST PHONE!!!
I have had soooo many cell phones, as I used to work for a carrier, and I love changing things up every few months, and this is by far MY FAVORITE EVER! There is not a single complaint I have about this phone. I love the style, it's user friendly, and it has so many features that I don't think I will ever get bored with this phone. The voice clarity and the sound in general (the music player, the ringers) are excellent. I can leave this phone in my kitchen and hear it upstairs on the opposite end of the house. The battery life is awesome, especially since I am always using the music player and the camera as well as talking and texting on the phone. I could just go on for days about how much I love this phone. I recommend this phone to anyone and everyone and I don't usually do so because I can always find something bad with a phone. This phone, though, is definitely perfect in my eyes. Nokia has outdone themselves!
Nokia has done better than this
Having been a Nokia fan for a while, I expected the 5300 to live up to their high standards of quality but no such luck. I would only recommend this phone if you really want a music player and donât like having to many devices to deal with. That said:
Pros:
⢠Nice basic phone functions; keypad, reception, call clarity, speaker phone are up to Nokia standards
⢠Large, clear and beautiful screen
⢠Takes great pictures
⢠Hot swappable microSD slot
⢠Supported well out of the box with stereo headphones, 1gb microSD card, and headphone adapter to use your own headphones.
Cons:
⢠Cheap construction, feels like they really cut cost on the manufacturing of this one. I wouldnât recommend dropping it. Back cover wasnât easy to get on and off.
⢠Includes mini USB only for data transfers â no charging this phone using your PC and a USB lanyard. What sense does that make? A special Nokia lanyard will be available soon in the US for a price but I think I paid enough for this phone.
⢠Canât rotate pictures. You can edit them in other ways but no rotating.
⢠VAD â seems inconsistent when it will work. Speaker independent but it wonât dial numbers you speak, only contacts names. Nokia should take a cue from the RAZR VAD
Sweet phone.
Now, this phone is not anything like my enV that I had for a month, but it's awesome for a T Mobile phone. I love new phones and anything that can play music on it. And any phone that comes with 4 songs already preloaded, a 1 gig memory card and 3 additional free downloads is ok in my book.
Pros: Camera (I had the 6030. ugh. Not even a phone to bother with. It was free.)
Music speakers. I was playing it at the mall and could hear it loud and clear through the midst of everyone.
I love that I can text while my music is still going!!!!
Good signal everywhere. Like all Nokias I have had.
Buttons easy to get to.
Looks cool.
Gorgeous, clear vibrant screen.
Music access right on the side instead of hacing to go through every menu to access it.
Cons: Kinda feels cheap, but at least its light.
Battery cover is a pain in the butt to get off.
Don't know if I like where the memory card goes.
I miss my enV...
I hate T Mobile...
Other than that, its a great phone.
To the idiot that gives a mediocre rating without a review
Let me just start off by saying that this website should have a flagging feature to note an unsolicitated comment. The person that is " glad that tmobile is carrying this phone" is NOT a review and so please don't leave a mediocre rating when you don't even have a the phone..yet. Please leave all comments in the forum. Your unsubstanstiated review will mix in with the real average.
Its only been a day since I've had this phone but let me give a review in brief.
Pros:
-Its a Nokia, the world renowned S40 GUI has been improved, the active standby makes it feel "smarter".
-Screen, vibrant as one would need be.
-Feel: Tight build without creaks, smooth slider
-RF, c'mon...why even ask? its a Nokia. Full solid bars not uncommon.
-Battery: Played with it for 2 hours and bar is still full.
-Camera: Surprisingly sharp for a 1 mp, I'm indifferent about phone cams anyway.
Vex:
-Size is decent, could be slimmer but not a pro or con
-Tmobile BS on this great phone, always trying to lure usesrs into downloading media.
Not Very Good
I thought this would be a fun phone but so far it's ended up not being worth too much to me. Luckily it was only $59 give or take after the rebate and the contract is only a year.
Pros:
Lots of menus to sort through
Changes galore!
Good camera even if it's 1.3 it's still good
Cons:
Horrid sound quality
No games (I know that sounds ignorant but only a 60 second demo of a block game and a demo of a poker game?? which lasts a couple of minutes or it may go by points...
I can hear a click between my voice and the other person's voice-click on/click off
If you turn the vol up past 3 or 4 (I forget which) to hear the caller, the background noise is WAY to loud and you then can't hear your caller
Personally I thought the slider would be neat but it slides open when I put it in my pocket.
Short battery life. I don't think it lasts near as long as they say.
The ?? D pad ?? is a bit small for my tastes and I have to use the tip of my thumbnail.
I can't see the screen/menus with my sunglasses on at all, just a slight hint so I have to look around them. That makes it really bad while I'm driving.
The voice dial feature is slow and it screams the name out loud, I don't want others to hear that...it says the first and last name...though there may be a way to turn that off? I haven't looked into that yet.
I was sure looking forward to getting back to a Nokia but am very disappointed with it and my carrier.
I experience a bit more troubles with dropped calls and not being able to get my voice mail even when as close as 4 miles from town.
T-mobile in Bartlesville Oklahoma
I think that covers it. I've only had it about 3 weeks so maybe I'll adjust but I doubt it...I'm a crotchety old fart! lol
Great if you spend more time listening to music than talking on the phone!
After reading all of the great reviews, I went out and purchased the phone. I've had it 2 days shy of a week and considering an exchange. Since I haven't join the "Pod" world, I liked the idea of having an MP3 player on the phone as well as a radio. Ever since, I haven't been getting much reading done during my commute. The deal breaker for me is that the phone doesn't meet my needs as an organizer. I'm not ready for a Blackberry or PDA yet but I was pretty content with the set up of Nokia's old organizer on the 3220. Yes it's a dinosaur but it served it's purpose. I personally find the slider to be uncomfortable to hold and prefer to talk on the phone while it's closed.
The Pros: Great speaker volume for the radio and MP3 Player. Although you can't set up track lists (still trying to figure it out) the MP3 player is intuitive. You can choose to play albums, artist, recent tracks, most listened to or favorites. You can easily scroll through them with the easy access buttons on the out side of the phone or by clicking the button on the headset.
Cons: call volume is low. I keep the phone set to "out door profile" in order to hear the ring volume and the caller on the other end, but it works better with the headset on and it could also be because the antenna is in the back where you hold the phone. Battery last up to a day so far. limited customization such as the themes & wall paper and you can't change the color of the music player, which is boring compared to the Samsung T629.
Conclusion: It's a decent MP3 player and radio. If you do a lot of talking on the phone, then it may not be for you because you will have to charge it every day and possibly carry your charger with you. I think you can buy a stronger battery on Nokia's web site Since the phone is a interesting little gadget, I'm torn between returning it for a regular phone with a user friendly organizer and a separate MP3 player.
Great phone!
I just recently purchased this phone as an upgrade from my samsung t309 [yes i know i'm a little late on doing upgrades] but i've been waiting for a good phone to come out before doing so. And I must admit, it was well worth it!
Just like all nokias, its so easy to navigate. The speaker is extremely loud and clear. Images of course isn't like taking pictures with a SLR digital, but its great for a phone.
I can use the music transfered to my phone as ring tones. So no more having to pay $2 for ring tones that only last 30 seconds!
I absolutely love this phone. And I haven't found any cons with it. YAY! =)
5300 Xpress Music
The 5300 is a great phone right out of the box. It came with everything I needed, 1GB memory card (already inserted in the phone), a data cable, and a stereo headset. The signal strength is great and to be expected from a Nokia. So far I'm very happy with my phone and you just can't beat the price.
Love Nokia
I have had this phone for about a month, since switching fom at&t horrible customer care to T-Mobile. I have been in the wireless industry for years. There a lot of great features in this phone. I had A Moto V3xx with at&t and that was constructed in typical Moto fashion...Horrid!!!
Pros:
1. The A2DP(stereo bluetooth) has the best range of any Capable phone before, even auto starts when connected.
2. Battery life has been great, thus far.
3. Price with all of the goodies.
4. ease of player controls.
5. Screen quality
6. ability to enhance music quality
7. enhance voice in noisy areas.
8. RECEPTION!!!
9. caller ID ring tone rings in bluetooth headset.
10. customizable interface(unlike Verizon products)
11. OBEX bluetooth class(file share) again, unlike Verizon...
cons:
1. slide moves up/down in pocket(need a pouch). Samsung does better on this.
2. warm swap on the micro-card(hot swap would be more ideal).
3. camera is a little grainy.
All in all The phone lives up to Nokia reputation, the reception that is second to none. Plus, an easy straight forward O/S that is very user friendly.
T-Mobile is hands down far superior when it comes to customer care, between the 24 hr available service(at&t closes @ 9pm est and closed on sunday) to the pleasant tone and call experience displayed by the operators(treated as a second class citizen by at&t, and I was an employee).
