BRAND NEW NOKIA 5220 RED XPRESSMUSIC GSM UNLOCKED WHOLESALE CELL PHONES 

Nokia seems to have a habit of releasing its XpressMusic models in pairs. About this time last year, we got the 5310 and 5610 XpressMusic. Half a year later, the 5320 and 5220 XpressMusic models were introduced.

Design

A quick look at the 5220 XpressMusic will show its music origins as you can find three dedicated multimedia buttons which are easily within reach of the thumb. These are indicated by the playback icons along the circumference of the handset that light up and flash in sync to the rhythm of the tunes. The flashing lights are nice to look at, but they can be distracting. Fortunately, for those who prefer to be more discreet, they can choose to disable these lights in the settings. 

Around the front, the tiny Tic Tac-shaped keypad below the 2-inch LCD is flushed with the surface. In use however, it has enough tactile definition for a reasonably comfortable typing experience. The only problems here are the glossy front (read: Fingerprint disaster) and the awful waste of real estate which escalates the smudging. It's also worth noting that the handset is not exactly rectangular. The length of the phone on the left is a few millimeters longer than the right. This creates a little protruding chin on the longer side for a strap eyelet below the keypad. 

If you look closely at the phone from the top, the mid-section of the handset is thicker (due to the 3.5mm audio jack) than the sides which gives the device a seemingly slimmer profile. On the more practical side of things, we like the ribbed casing at the back which helps to improve grip. 

In the hands, we find the 5220 XpressMusic plasticky and the ergonomics are just not as great at the earlier 5310 XpressMusic model. On the latter, the multimedia buttons face the front (toward the user) at an angle and these are easier to reach than the flushed ones on the side of the 5220 XpressMusic.

Features

The S40 integrated player doesn't have advanced features, but it works just fine. Although Nokia labels it as a music player, it is really more of a generic multimedia application as you can access videos from the same menu. 

Supported music formats include MP3, MP4, AAC, AAC+ and WMA. These are sorted by Artists, Albums and Genres, with standard shuffle, repeat, stereo widening options, preset/customizable equalizers and support for album art. Getting music to the phone is also a relatively easy process. You can either connect the phone to the PC via the bundled USB cable or transfer tracks onto the flash memory media separately. Onboard memory is a pitiful 30MB, and the bundled memory card is only 512MB, so you'll probably need to factor in a higher capacity microSD card if you plan to use it regularly as a music player. 

Other entertainment features include an FM radio with RDS, a couple of games for some thumb-twiddling moments and Bluetooth stereo for streaming music to your wireless ear-buds. There's also a basic 2-megapixel camera around the back for snapshots. 

Maps on this XpressMusic is useful for knowing your approximate location, but it won't replace dedicated navigation handsets such as the Nseries models that are equipped with GPS chips. Applications like Opera Mini, Search, WidSets, Yahoo! Go and Wallpaper are available out-of-the-box. There's even a shortcut app to upload pictures to your personal Flickr account, but you can't browse, preview or download tracks from the online Nokia Music Store which is a pity considering it is an XpressMusic model. The only reason for this omission we can think of is the lack of onboard 3G on the handset. So instead of having to put up with slower data speeds, Nokia simply left out the option of downloading tunes over the air.

Performance

We used the device over three days which included making voice calls, sending text messages and listening to music during commute. How much you can squeeze out of the 1,050mAh battery depends on your usage pattern, but for most people, they shouldn't have any problem getting the cell to last for at least a day or two. According to the literature, the device has a rated 5.25 hours of talktime, 24 hours on music playback and 16 days on standby. 

The onboard speakers are at the back and we found them loud enough for listening to music in an outdoor environment. When we tested the 5220 with our Etymotic earbuds, we found the music quality natural with a good balance of bass, vocals and treble. Overall, the music experience was satisfying, but you probably should invest in a better pair of headset, instead of using the bundled one, for better sound.

Afterthoughts

Our biggest gripe with the 5220 XpressMusic is its knack of picking up fingerprints and smudges all over the front.