Nokia 5800 Review Of Web Browsing

March 21st, 2009 • Mark Guim • Filed Under •

We recently reviewed the Nokia 5800’s hardware, but it’s now time to do some stuff on it. Most of my usage includes web browsing so I made a video of how it typically looks like. I made sure not to cut and edit this video too much to show better accuracy of the speed and experience. Go watch it.

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Scrolling

You may have noticed that there’s two kinds of scrolling on the Nokia 5800. On a list, you drag your finger down to scroll down. On a web page, you drag your finger up to scroll down the page. The latter is how it’s done on the iPhone throughout its interface.

Typing/Clicking

I gave the Nokia 5800 to a couple of iPhone users and they noticed right away that it required more force to use the touchscreen on the Nokia 5800. If you’re an iPhone user transferring to the 5800, prepare to press harder. Otherwise, it should be fine for others.

Typing on the screen’s keyboard takes some time to get used to. The address bar, login or comment forms disappear completely to give way for the on-screen qwerty. I find minimal issues typing on the on-screen keyboard, but would really prefer having a physical one. This is why I’m looking forward to the Nokia N97.

Mobile Web vs Full Version

Most of my browsing on the phone are viewing mobile versions of web pages like Facebook, Gmail, and Techmeme. They load fast on the Nokia 5800. I can check my emails and update my social media sites just fine. However, the browser struggles loading full versions of web pages. It’s frustrating not being able to scroll or zoom in when the sites aren’t fully downloaded. I rarely go on those type of pages though.

To view full versions of web pages, I suggest installing Opera Mini. It does a more accurate job at displaying larger sites. What I hate about Opera on the 5800 is the address bar. Your current page disappears to show a notepad-looking thing, then you have to click on the screen again to display the qwerty, then type the web address, then press the check sign to go back to the notepad-looking thing, then click options on the lower right corner, then click OK. All of this just to go to a web page?! WTF!?

Final Thoughts

Browsing the web on the Nokia 5800 can best be described as tolerable. Mobile versions of web sites load fast on the default browser, but really struggles with larger sites. You will have faster loads and more accurate results with the alternate browser, Opera Mini, but a simple task such as typing a web address is really frustrating. In the end, I think web browsing on Nokia 5800’s OS, Symbian S60 5th edition, is better suited for a phone with a physical input like a keyboard.

I’d like do more reviews with supplemental videos like this in the future. Please let me know if you like/dislike this format.

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  • The review layout is very good. I only have one query though. Does nokia 5800 browser support javascript sites like rapidshare or does opera mini for nokia 5800 supports this. I just want to keep my options clear before buying this phone.
  • Jaccob
    Use Opera Mini V5. Its faster than all those that u have shown. It works on normal GPRS. Its great.
  • SamiLogi
    i really like this phone. i picked one up from gsmallover.com. it's cheaper than an i phone, smaller, and doesn't do quite AS much, but it does everything i need it to do and more :). the site was really good too. i was a bit apprehensive about it cuz i usually don't buy my phones online, but it worked out great and i didn't have to renew my plan to get a new phone!!
  • theextremegame
    I thought u might know this for opera mini mobile users that updated version of opera mini transformed the notepad looking thing into Full screen edit practically eliminate those huzzle and replace it with qwerty bars integrated in the browser and it load fast enough for mobile web..
  • patthomas
    Check out http://oneweb.net. It speeds up 5800 browsing and has cool Facebook and Twitter widgets.
  • salmanukb
    when i open my nokia 5800's web it hangs for a while and after words it run ok why is that can any one tell me please
  • paulmt123
    The 5800 frustrates me here because it has the screen, it has the touch, but put a full website on it and takes forever to load. Wifi is pretty good, but 3G is slow, and yet if I use the phone as a modem on laptop its 4x faster than wifi. Odd! The processor on this phone seems to really struggle with the hardware. Better than most phones then but not in the same league as iphone/ipod touch.
  • clarasiean
    Mine hangs like that. and i just got my 5800 over a month ago.

    Sometimes i will switch off my mobile at night. When the morning alarm goes off, the screen will ask if i'd want to to switch on my phone. Then it hangs.

    AND.

    The Smartsuite programme thing... after i install it, the keyboard on my laptop won't work. had to uninstall.

    I strongly believe that 5800 users should not be subjected to the whole taking out batts ritual. even though it is a simple ritual. This customer wants ease. But i feel cheated.

    Boo, Nokia!
  • EJC
    After months of waiting, when I finally got my 5800 XpressMusic, I was sadly VERY disappointed with the browser. I claims to have flash support, but when I went to many flash pages, it either slowed the phone to a crawl or didn't show the animations at all. And this comes from Nokia? Sorry to say that I sent it back, yes, losing 15% of the phone value, even after I got a 10% discount.
  • akhiljpr
    photo browser for nokia launched...recently i have visited http://www.tube5800.com according to this site nokia has released photo browser for nokia 5800.
  • mehmi_0
    Hi Mark- I watch your video and your internet is way fast then mine on the 5800!! I would like to install opera mini but the 5800 does not seem to appear on the compatble list under nokia section?
  • The best rated 3rd party mobile browsers are Opera Mobile 9.5 and Skyfire.In Skyfire you can even open multiple tabs just like Firefox on PC!
    Unfortunately Opera 9.5 is currently available only on Windows Mobile but it will release soon on Symbian OS as well.
    To download Skyfire follow the link http://www.cellphonemessagesender.com/blog/skyf...
  • can't wait to get my hands on it. Then compare video against blackberry storm maybe!
  • paulmt123
    Video quality is poor. The camera sensor just can't cope in low light. Lens is too small. Not in same league as N95/6220 classic for video. The screen is another matter of course, but nokia put some great things in this phone and then set about making sure it had enough flaws to make people want the much more expensive n97!
  • Nice review, I'm really looking forwards to the N97 review - I hope the browser is like their tablets (N800 and N810) but with a big boost in processor speed. If it gets that, and the pages load faster with no "lagging for no freakin' reason other than the page is too complicated" it'll be a must buy in my book!
  • jjcimbom
    I totally agree with the author regarding the web capabilities of 5800. I suspect they used an inferior processor than N95 or N96 so that this caused the problem of processing more web based applications at the background when a website tries to open up. This is a shocker when it comes to Nokia quality and customer expectations they should have at least benchmarked the Iphone web processing quality. That way I'd have been a loyal Nokia fan. Even though short of my expectations on 5800 issue, I think N97 can not effort to have this problem and its gonna be better in that sense since the price justifies the hardware sold...
  • Mitch
    Hey mark the format of the video was fine. I wanted to know how many apps there are for the 5800, are there the same amount as the button based nokias? I might buy one but am looking at the e71 thats going to be offered through ATT. how is the e71?
  • @Mitch, Definitely not same amount as button-based Nokias because the OS is newer. So far I have installed Mobbler, Opera Mini, Handy Taskman, Handy Calendar, joikuspot, google maps, and qik.
  • EJC
    Does Opera Mini support Flash, like the default browser?
  • i see flash ads working, but embedded youtube videos do not work.
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