Firmware Updates to Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

Ever sinced I bought the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, I am at cloud nine. Do you know why? It is the very first touchscreen phone manufactured by the Finnish company to incoporate a Symbian S60v5 OS. That is pretty amazing, don't you think so? I could remember when the Nokia 5800 was first launched back in November 2008 (in Asian countries). It was full of bugs and they had to stop production and went back to the drawing board. It was finally being launched in the UK around January 2009 but commerically at the start of February 2009. I was not paying attention to the Nokia 5800 XM back then as I felt that it was not worth buying it since the OS was really buggy.

However, after Nokia updated its OS to v21, I began to feel that it is necessary to try using the Nokia 5800 XM. This is because I was not really impressed with the Apple Iphone 3G 16GB at that moment. I will tell you why am I not happy with the Iphone 3G later but now, let's concentrate in the topic of the Nokia 5800 XM.

Initially, I was full of questions as to whether I should buy one but since Vodafone is selling a pre-pay Nokia 5800 XM for around £200, I bought one for myself as I feel that it is affordable since it was priced around £320 when it was first launched. Immediately, I was putting on my smiling face again! I felt that Nokia has done a good job here by introducing their first ever touchscreen phone. You can adjust the typing speed acccording to your liking (I always put it on to 'very fast').

Besides that, I can install many applications since the phone is running on the Symbian platform. I am really happy that Nokia has decided to stick with Symbian and not Windows Mobile although WinMo 6.5 is arriving very soon (Most probably next month). The unit which I was holding came from Vodafone and it was running on the v11 firmware. Well, I have decided to include Chinese language as well as Englih so I have to change the product code of the 5800 XM. After doing that, I would just need to fire up Nokia Software Updater to update the unit to the latest firmware.

I was then given the green light to update the firmware to v21. This update saw my phone's CPU speed increased from 369mhz to 434mhz. That was a good 65mhz speed increase. The menu speed is much faster now and applications run so much smoother. I am really happy with that. Another thing to take note is that with wi-fi, bluetooth and A-GPS, there is no problem in you installing Symbian applications. It is also helpful to know that the package includes an 8GB memory card for more storage.

As you would have known, the screen size at 3.2" gave me the perfect perspective when I was comparing to the Apple Iphone which has a slightly larger 3.5". Hey, the Apple Iphone 3GS 16GB is priced at £450 on pre-pay and with that money, you can buy two Nokia 5800XM!!! Do you think it is worth it? I think so. At least, I do not need to worry about putting my Nokia 5800XM inside my pocket as it fits perfectly. With the Iphone, it is rather a little too big for my pocket.

When I go travelling, I can make use of the inbuild 3.2MP Carl Zeiss autofocus digital camera with dual LED, just like the Nokia 85. I do feel that the video recording of the Nokia 5800XM is pretty decent and the quality is similar to the Nokia 85. I like to use the Nokia 5800XM as I can open many applications without the need to worry of whether the OS is going to crash. Forget about comparing the Apple Iphone 3GS's camera quality to the Nokia 5800XM. This is because if you do, you will most probably find out that the Nokia phone will win.

Recently, I was told that there is a newer firmware for the Nokia 5800XM which has been launched by Nokia. It will update the Nokia 5800XM to v30. I then tried updating my Nokia 5800XM firmware by using FOTA but it came back as 'no available updates'. I think the updates are only regional so I then change the product code again to Hong Kong. After doing that, Nokia Software Updater stated that there is a new firmware so I was really happy with it. I have just managed to update my Nokia 5800XM to v30.0.011. I was hoping that with the product code change, I will be able to update the firmware to v31 but only v30 is available. It's alright at the moment.

The firmware change from v21 to v30 saw a slight increased in menu speed. Reception level has increased and it takes a shorter time to get a firm locked when you are using Nokia maps. I do feel that it is important to have this update. Good luck though people. If you have problems in changing the product code, just let me know, alright? I have a complete list of product code for the Nokia 5800XM at my disposal. With the product code, you will be able to localised your Nokia 5800XM to your desire language.

Oh yes, if you are thinking of buying a Nokia 5800XM without breaking a big hole in your pocket, get over to play.com and choose one of the pre-pay Nokia 5800XM. They are selling one for around £159.99. Hum, isn't it good? I feel that play.com is fast and efficient. The online retailer from Jersey receives a two thumbs up from me.