The 5800s design is typical of the candy bar style smart-phone that so many manufacturers have been using, which is not a bad thing. Instead of sharp angles, the 5800 offers smooth, round corners, which make it very comfortable to hold. Compared to devices like the iPhone, the 5800 is reliably thin at just 2.04 inches wide, which is fine for most people, but people with large hands may find the phone too difficult to handle.
Also similar to the iPhone is the 5800's screen, which clocks in at 3.2 inches and supports a 640×360 resolution. While this is quite a bit lower than some of the newer devices by other manufacturers, it does produce some sharp visuals.
Users can choose to interact with the display by using their fingers or by using an included stylus. Scrolling through menus takes some getting used to as users have to navigate a scroll bar, which can be difficult due to the bar's narrow width. Again, people with large fingers may have trouble.
What sets this device apart from the competition is the Xpress Music. Pressing this icon will launch an onscreen menu that's specifically used to manage your media such as pictures, music, videos, etc. While other devices allow you to manage your media, you usually have to enter into a separate application for music, photos and videos. The Xpress Music is a handy one-stop solution.
Today's smart-phones come standard with Wi-Fi and GPS support, and the Nokia 5800 Xpress Music is no exception. Nokia Maps can help you with navigation and the phone also sports a full HTML browser, which sadly, does not support Flash.
On the back of the device you'll find a 3.2-megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens as well as an LED flash. Picture quality is above average, but video quality was not quite as good even with five different settings options.
It's easy to forget that these devices are still phones, and the Nokia 5800 Xpress Music offers strong call quality with clear voices on both ends.
The 5800 is an overall solid device with all of the features you'd expect in a smart-phone and is definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of Nokia's phones.