Music players in phones, since the introduction of the Motorola ROKR, have become a standard feature across the board. What used to be something that differentiated one phone and one manufacturer from another is now a feature that all phones they put on the market (except those that are “free phones if you sign a contract”) seem to have.

Trying to differentiate on your music player, for a long time, has been similar to trying to differentiate your car based on the style of your cup holders. With its 5610 sliding form factor mobile phone, Nokia is able to differentiate itself by integrating the music player with the rest of the phone.

The key to this is a set of functions called Navislide, which is used to control the musical functions of the phone with a single tap on the controls – the entire keyboard of the Nokia 5610 is quite well designed, with the keys providing a great deal of good tactile response and a fast response curve. With the overall construction of the device, the whole package is very well built – it fits in the hand, can be used with one hand easily, and is very solid.

But back to the Navislide: if you’ve ever used an iPod’s control wheel, the Navislide is like falling off a log. It is simple, adjustable and very easy to use. Move it to the left to use the music player, move it to the right to use the built-in FM radio, move it up for the next track or station, or down for the previous one. It is a very easy device to get used to.

That slider bar is also very useful when using the menus for the other functions of the phone. First a note on the screen: it is a simple truism of how much these devices have matured as the market has grown; This display would have been considered impressive and high-end two years ago; it’s sharp, bright, and easy to read; the screen has QVA resolution and is good enough for watching videos. (In fact, the mobile has a small VGA camera to make video calls).

The menu system is well designed, with four configuration options available, and it is clear that Nokia is leveraging its development efforts on the System 40 operating systems well. The D-pad is fully user-configurable and provides you with many options for use the phone smoothly and easily.

As a phone, it is a full-fledged GSM / HSDPA 3G network phone and can update its firmware wirelessly, without connecting to a desktop computer. Its internal contact system can store 2000 contacts, and there are cut and paste functions between all the phone’s applications. (Seriously, once you’ve used cut and paste on a phone, the next question is “Why did it take so long to implement …”)

Lastly, the 5610 has an excellent 3.2 megapixel camera with a built-in LED flash and decent autofocus. While it won’t make you give up your dedicated digital camera as a photography tool, it’s more than adequate (and over the top) for something to take quick snapshots. Once again, Nokia’s attention to the user interface makes using the camera a dream.

Nokia 5610 XpressMusic Mobile Review – Nokia Targets Walkman Phones

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