To start things off I would like to mention that this review should have been posted long ago - starting the 10th of the past month; however, after my "first impressions" piece, I had to send my 5530XM to the Care Center for a quick repair which, well, wasn’t quick at all. Now that the handset’s back, we can resume the in-depth testing process.
An interesting phone that got the media and fans’ attention last month was the N97 mini – or what most like to call the N97’s “mini-me”. Personally, I’d like to think the 5800XM also got a “mini-me”, but this time probably a better looking one. You see, I like the way the N97 looks, that’s why I wouldn’t think of the mini as a better-looking alternative. However, the 5530XM scores high on my scale when it comes to looks, size, and shape mainly because it is thinner (13mm vs. 15.5 for the 5800), and because it drops that thick ugly plastic frame around the 5800’s screen to integrate a much sexier-looking stainless-steel one. Though both devices are XpressMusic branded, the 5530XM looks much more serious next to its older brother, the 5800XM.
For the sake of breaking the habit and adding a bit of flavor, let me give you a list of why you should consider buying either of the phones over the other instead of going through the usual in-depth testing. That, of course, has been done by so many sites already, so let’s please the impatient crowd here.
Considering there’s not much difference with the current price tag on both devices (the 5800XM being around 20$ more expensive than the 5530XM in my country, here’s why you should consider the 5530XM:
- If you’re a lady (smaller fits you better, and I’m not saying it’s a girly device)
- It’s got kinetic scrolling working all over the interface (waiting for it to come to the whole S60 5th lineup)
- More responsive touchscreen
- It has a silver/white/blue variant which doesn’t look better than the black one, in my humble opinion. But hey, it’s your taste, your choice.
- Comes with some in-ear headphones that do a decent job disconnecting you from the outside world.
- The expanded “Contacts Bar” on the homescreen.
- Performance is slightly faster. (Currently my 5800XM is running FW v31 while the 5530XM runs the FW v11)
- No hard-keys on the fascia
- It looks like a music player rather than a phone.
- It looks less plasticky than its sibling.
Why you should still go for the 5800XM:
- It has a larger screen (3.2” vs. 2.9”)
- Better camera (Carl Zeiss and dual-LED flash vs. single-LED and no Carl Zeiss)
- Bigger battery (1320mAh vs. 1000mAh) but bigger screen and more features mean less juice at the end of the day.
- More music playback time: over 30 hours for the 5800 vs. 25 hours for the 5530.
- Bigger storage option (8GB microSD included vs. only 4GB for the 5530)
- A-GPS vs. no GPS at all
- 3G vs. no 3G at all
- Louder and clearer sound through the stereo speakers
- Front camera (does not exist on the 5530)
- Comes with a carrying case and a plectrum for a change.
So if you’ve made it here I’m willing to reward you with an additional list of some similarities and difference, other than the ones mentioned above.
Similarities:
- Both devices come with a stylus
- Both don’t charge off USB
- microSD cards are hot-swappable
- Both have the same crappy SIM card placement
- Lock, camera, and volume buttons are on the right; SIM and microSD cards are on the left.
- Both have proximity and accelerometer sensors.
Differences:
- Rubberized back for the 5800 vs. some sort of loose plastic sheet dubbed “cover” for the 5530.
- The XpressMusic Media Bar shortcut on the 5800 lights up when the screen is on; it never does on the 5530.
- 2 speakers on the left side for the 5800 versus 4 speakers (2 on the top and 2 on the bottom) for the 5530.
- No buttons/port on the top of the 5530; 3.5mm audio/video connector, microUSB port, charging port are all on the bottom whereas it’s the exact contrary on the 5800.
- A single plastic lid hides the SIM and microSD card slots on the 5530 while two separated small covers hide those openings on the 5800.
- The microUSB port is now covered with a plastic cap rather than a rubber one.
- The 5530’s accelerometer helps you automatically switch from the normal touch T9 keys layout to a landscape fullscreen keyboard once you tilt the phone sideways. This would be very much welcome if added to the 5800.
- With the 5530XM, and when the phone is locked, you have to slide to answer or slide to unlock just like the N97; this is not the case with the 5800 because you have hard keys. Still, sliding is flashy and should be added, just for fun!
- The 5530XM offers the same homescreen layout as the 5800XM in addition to a different one which incorporates the 20 contacts bar and 4 application shortcuts at the bottom, but sadly no calendar entries. Email and music are shown, however.
So this concludes the first part of this head 2 head review. Next up is camera and music capabilities. As usual, if you have any requests or questions, feel free to post them as comments and I will do my best to answer them all.
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