Nokia 5800 Cell Phone Review - Organizer
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Marianne Schultz Published on May 08, 2009 Comment on this |
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| The 5800 comes with software in the box to enable synchronization with both Macs and PCs, which is thoroughness that we rarely see. It is compatible with Nokia's new Ovi service that is still in beta, but you can just sync with your desktop if you'd rather stick to the tried and true. All of the standard S60 PIM capabilities are present and accounted for in the 5800 and it will keep up with the busiest users who have a lot to keep on track. | |
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Synchronization (6.33)
Unlike other Nokia devices we've seen recently, the 5800 does not come with the Nokia PC Suite software that can sync your PIM data with Outlook, Outlook Express, or Lotus applications on your PC. Instead, it comes with a software CD that will install software that works with Nokia's new online Ovi service, which can store your contacts, calendar, notes, and tasks. The Ovi desktop application is compatible with PCs only, but the CD also includes, thankfully, an iSync plug-in for Mac users so that they can sync the 5800 via USB or Bluetooth with the desktop iCal and Address Book applications. You could still use the Nokia PC Suite software to sync the 5800, but we do not consider this here since it is not on the CD included with the 5800.
The Ovi sync application is not installed on the 5800 out of the box, which made setting up synchronization a bit more cumbersome. Ovi will keep your contacts, calendar, and notes in sync and you can also select to sync with a desktop PIM application on your PC, including Outlook, Outlook Express, or a Lotus application. If you take advantage of all of these synchronization options at once, Ovi will keep your contacts, calendars, and notes in sync over-the-air automatically once you get it set up, and you can do desktop syncs with your PC via USB or Bluetooth as well, which is how you'll transfer media back and forth as well.
Overall, we like the synchronization options available for the 5800, though it would be nice to have the Ovi software available for the Mac also, and the manual and online information could be much clearer about setting up synchronization and how it works.
Alerts (5.5)
Alerts for new calendar items are not on by default when you create a new event. When you do enable an alert for a new event, the default is for the alert to sound 15 minutes before the start of an event. You can change this and choose any time for the alert to sound though are no fixed intervals provided to make this a little quicker. While you can set the global alert sound in the calendar application's Settings menu, you can't choose it for each individual alert. Vibrate mode will sound according to the global Profile selected.
Once an alert sounds, it does so for a fairly long time under the default Normal profile, playing a sound, vibrating, and showing the event information on the screen. The on-screen display allows you to stop the alert or silence it. If you ignore the alert, it will continue to sound every few minutes and will definitely draw your attention if it's not in silent mode. You can also choose to snooze an alert for 5 minutes at a time.
We did find an unpleasant quirk when setting alerts on the 5800. When you change the alert time (this also applies to the event time), you are automatically presented with the number version of the on-screen keyboard that offers no intuitive switch to toggle between A.M. and P.M. We found we could change A.M. to P.M. by tapping on the field and pressing any number, but this is the
Over-the-Air PIM Sync (2.5)
The 5800 offers 2 over-the-air sync options – Ovi or Microsoft Exchange Server. Ovi is still currently a beta service and its reliability and future longevity are not yet known, so this earns the 5800 only partial points.
Adding Contacts (7.11)
It took an average of 14.06 to add a test contact, consisting of first name, last name, and a phone number, to the 5800. Getting to a new contact dialogue is dead simple with a shortcut to the contacts application on the home screen by default, and the 5800 is one of our top scorers in this area among our comparison phones. For more information on how we conduct this test see this article.
Looking/Sorting/Search (3.5)
Contacts are shown alphabetically by first name by default. In the Contacts application's Settings menu, you can change this to alphabetically by last name, with 2 variations available for how names are shown when listed like this. Contacts can be assigned to groups, and a second tab in the main contacts view shows you these groups and the Options menu here allows you to send messages to an entire group at once.
The main Contacts view
There's a search bar at the bottom of the screen in the main contacts view, and double-tapping here brings up an incomplete alphabet to allow you to jump to narrow down your contact list. This is essentially a search by first and last name, though you can't bring up a keyboard to do an actual QWERTY search.
Fields (15.00)
When you add a new contact, you have 9 fields you can fill in to start. The Add Detail command in the Options menu offers 39 more fields to cover just about everything else, and you can add each field multiple times, which increases the number of potential fields available for a contact by quite a bit. When such a large number of fields is technically available to record details about a contact, we award a flat score of 15 to a device. One of these additional fields is a Notes field where you can enter any text you like. No fields can be custom renamed.
The new contact dialogue
Speed Dial/Voice tags/Voice command (5.67)
The 5800 has a speaker-independent voice command system, meaning that you do not need to save a voice tag for each contact in order to use voice commands with them. By default, pressing and holding the physical Send button activates the voice command system and the 5800 had no trouble recognizing all of our text contacts.
The voice command menu
You can also set speed dial numbers on the 5800's virtual keypad. The number 1 is reserved for calling your voicemail box, so only 8 spots are remaining for you to assign as you choose.
The speed dial menu
Adding Calendar Items (8.04)
Adding a new calendar item on the 5800 takes an average of 12.43 seconds, putting in the middle of the pack among our comparison phones. For more information on how we conduct this test see this article.
Calendar Views (4.33)
The calendar has multiple calendar views, some of which are more useful than we usually see on smartphones. The default view is the month view, though this can be changed in the Calendar's Settings menu. Unlike most other phones that show just the month with tiny shapes to mark days where you have appointments scheduled, the 5800 also lists events and tasks on the current or selected day at the bottom of the screen below the month view, similar to the iPhone 3G. Tapping on an event in the list below will take you to the details of that event.
The month view – note the list of events below the calendar
The week view provides the best overview of your general availability, showing events as shaded sections, and the first box below the day's label shaded on days when tasks are due. Here, the list of events is also shown below the week view, as in the month view, and tapping on an event in the list will take you to the details for that event. You can't change how many days are shown in a week, but you can choose on which day the week starts in the Calendar's Settings menu.
The week view – note the list of events here also
The day view is the most simplistic, showing you a list of events and tasks due for the selected day. If there are no events for the selected day, you see a blank screen. Call us crazy, but we'd rather see something on days with no events, even if it's just a blank planner-like view showing empty time slots, as you see on the iPhone 3G or the upcoming Palm Pre.
The day view
The 5800's last calendar view is the to-do view. As with the Nokia N96, the 5800's tasks application is combined with the calendar, so you can essentially consider this to be your main tasks view as it's not really a calendar view at all.
Aside from these different views, there's no other way to view calendar events by group, nor is there a way to create or view separate calendars, such as one for work and one for personal events.
Fields (7.0)
When you create a new meeting event, you have 9 fields available to complete. The Add Description command in the Options menu offers 2 more to let you create a new note or add an existing note to the event. All the basics are covered, but you cannot designate an event to be an all-day event and the recurrence options are a bit limited with no ability to specify a certain day or custom repeat pattern. As on the Nokia N96, you can create other event types in the Calendar – Memo or Anniversary. The Event type has more fields, so this is what we scored in this section.
The new meeting and new anniversary dialogues
As mentioned in the Alerts section above, an alarm for a new event is not on by default, and when switched on, the default alarm time is 15 minutes before the event. The alarm's sound or vibrate mode cannot be set for individual events.
Adding ToDo/Task (6.50)
With tasks combined with the calendar application, getting to a new task dialogue goes quickly on the 5800, taking an average of 15.38 seconds, giving the 5800 the top score among our comparison devices, though not all of them come with tasks applications out of the box. For more information on how we conduct this test see this article.
To Do/Task Sorting and Prioritizing (0.0)
Tasks are sorted by due date and there is no way to change this sorting. Tasks can be assigned a priority, and we just wish that it was possible to sort by this field as well. When it comes to viewing your tasks the way you want to, the Blackberry Storm and HTC Touch Diamond offer more flexibility out of our comparison phones.
The main tasks list view
Fields (4.0)
When you create a new task, you have only 5 fields available to complete. As with calendar items, the Options menu offers you the ability to add a new note or an existing note to it. One interesting quirk is that your task must have a due date – there's absolutely no way to de-select or otherwise delete the contents of this field. While this forces you to be a bit more organized, it makes it a bit of a pain to handle notes that just don't have or need a due date.
The new task dialogue
As with the other PIM applications, the alarm for new tasks is off by default, and turning it on allows you to choose the alarm's date and time. You cannot choose a custom alert tone or vibrate mode for an individual task.
Adding Notes (3.68)
Adding a standard test note on the 5800 takes an average of 13.58 seconds, putting it in near the top of the heap among our comparison devices, despite the fact that the Notes application is a little buried in the menu system by default. For more information on how we conduct this test see this article.
Note Interface (3.0)
The 5800's Notes interface is very simple, showing notes chronologically with the most recently created or edited ones at the top. There's no way to change this sorting, so if you like your notes to be ordered differently, you'll have to look for a 3rd-party application to satisfy this need. Unlike the Contacts application, there's no search bar here to find something specific among your notes, though there is some search functionality when you're viewing an individual note. When you've opened a single note, the Options menu's Find command offers to seek out a phone number, email address, or web address in the selected note, and this is as fancy as searching goes.
The main notes view
Note Formatting (0.0)
New notes are simply blank lined pages of virtual paper. Regardless of the text entry method you use, it will only result in typed text within the note, with no option to add drawings created by hand, voice recordings, or any other media. Additionally, you cannot change the font in any way.
The new note dialogue
Notes are very simple on the 5800, though it's rare for us to find anything but simple on most devices. The HTC Touch Diamond offered the most formatting options among our comparison devices with the ability to add hand-drawn notes and images and voice recordings to notes, as well as a few handy notes templates.
Voice Memo (4.5)
The 5800 has a voice recorder application to capture your random thoughts throughout the day. Though there's no way to get there quickly with no one-touch recording button or shortcut set by default, the voice command system can find and open it for you quickly. Recorded memos can be renamed and then sent as attachments via email or MMS or simply saved and organized in the Gallery. There's no way to assign categories, but you can search through saved voice memos in the Gallery using the Find command in the Options menu.
Capturing a new voice note
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