Nokia 5230 vs Samsung Corby S3650

December 24th, 2009

iPhone has forced cellphone makers to launch toucscreen phones with capacitive display. Samsung has good range of capacitive touch phones but they belong to high end category. For the first time Samsung has managed to offer the cheapest capacitive touchscreen Corby S3650. Samsung Corby is an entry level touch phone which replicates user interface of Samsung Jet . Nokia 5230 also falls in the same price range but with different set of features.

Nokia 5230

Nokia 5230

Samsung Corby S3650

Samsung Corby S3650

Lets compare the 2 to know which is more suitable for you -

AppearanceBoth 5230 and corby are quite attractive, the former has a candybar form factor whereas the latter belong to block form factor with wider body.

Size and Weight – Samsung Corby is more slimmer and lighter than Nokia 5230. Its 12 mm thick with 90 g body weight. Nokia 5230 is 15.5 mm thick and it weighs 115 g.

Display – As i already told you the USP of Samsung Corby is its capacitive touchscreen with multitouch same as iPhone. Its Screen size is 2.8 inch with resolution of 240×320 pixels. Nokia 5230 has a resistive touchscreen bigger in size (3.2 inch) as well as resolution(360×640 p).

Memory - Nokia 5230 has 70 MB internal memory with Micro SD card support up to 16 GB. Samsung Corby  has 90 MB phone memory with card support up to 8 GB.

Software – Nokia 5230 is a smartphone based on Symbian Operating System (S60v5). It has new improved UI with support for kinetic scrolling and access to popular social networking sites such as  Facebook and Myspace directly from homescreen. Ovi service from Nokia offers  image and files uploads directly from phone. As 5230 is a smartphone it has multitasking and support for 3rd party applications.
Samsung Corby is a non smartphone based on Samsung’s Touch Wiz UI. It has a widgetized user interface  for creating  shorcuts in the form of widgets on homescreen. It has Samsung’s unique  smart unlock feature through which you can launch applications, games etc by drawing a letter on the touchscreen.

Hardware – Nokia 5230 has 434 MHz processor and 128 MB RAM. As Corby is a non smartphone so these figures are unknown.

Connectivity – In terms of connectivity 5230 has GPRS, Bluetooth, EDGE, USB, 3G and GPS. Samsung Corby lacks high speed connectivity options. It neither has 3G nor Wifi. It also lacks GPS.

Multimedia – Nokia 5230 offers excellent sound quality through earphones. Thanks to the standard 3.5 mm Audio jack. It lacks stereo speakers so audio through speakers is of average quality. Bigger and higher resolution display is a plus for watching movies and videos on the go. As 523o is a smartphone it supports 3rd party apps.You can watch DVD Rip movies in avi format through 3rd party applications such as smartmovie player.
Samsung corby lacks 3.5 mm audio jack. It offers good output through stereo speakers. It has adequate size display for videos but the screen resolution is quite inferior to 5230. Movies can be played only in Mp4 and 3GP format only after conversion as it lacks 3rd party application support.

Camera – Both 5230 and Corby has 2MP fixed focus camera without flash. However, 5230 camera offers top notch video recording at 30 fps and 640×480 pixels. Samung Corby has smile detection feature.

Additional Features – Both the phones have accelerometer sensor, but in case of Corby you cannot use it for automatic screen rotation. Nokia 5230 has proximity sensor for screen auto turnoff during calls.

Battery – Nokia 5230 has a more powerful 1320 mAh battery. Corby has 960 mAh battery.

Price – Unlocked Nokia 5230 and Samsung Corby S3650 are both priced at $199.

Conclusion - Samsung Corby is a basic touchscreen phone with the USP being capapcitive touch display. Nokia 5230 offers more value for money as its a Symbian smartphone, has got higher resolution display, 3G, GPS and 30 fps video recording. Both Corby and 5230 are cool budget phones. You can decide between the two based on your  personal needs.

Nokia 5230 vs 5530 XpressMusic

December 21st, 2009

Few weeks ago Nokia released the stripped down version of 5800 with new look and compact design, 5530 XpressMusic and now its about to launch even cheaper model 5230. Nokia 5530 faced criticism due to the lack of 3G. As most of the people give preference to 3G over Wifi due to its wide coverage. Nokia 5230 has 3G but lacks Wifi. GPS is a welcome addition which is missing in Nokia 5530.

Nokia 5230

Nokia 5230

Nokia 5530 XpressMusic

Nokia 5530 XpressMusic

Lets compare these budget smartphones in more detail -

Looks and Design – As you can see, Nokia 5530 is more attractive than 5230. It is slimmer  and has got a stainless steel lining along the border. Nokia 5230  has got the same old 5800 design.

Weight and Volume – 5530 is lighter and compact than 5230. 5530 weighs 107 g and its body volume is just 68 cc. On the other hand, 5230 weighs 115 g and it body volume  is 83 cc.

Display – The screen resolution of Nokia 5230 and 5530 is same (360×640 Pixels), but 5530 has a smaller screen (2.9 inch) as compared to 5230 (3.2 inch)

Software – 5530 and 5230 are smartphones based on Symbian S60v5 Operating system and both have new improved homescreen and kinetic scrolling feature.

Hardware – Nokia 5230 and 5530 have same hardware which comprises of 434 MHz Processor (CPU) and 128 MB RAM

Memory – Nokia 5230 and 5530 has 70 MB of internal memory which can be expanded with Micro SD cards up tp 16 GB. Nokia 5530 has 4 GB memory card in sales package whereas 5230 has no memory card in sales package.

Connectivity – As i already told you, 5230 has all the connectivity options ( GPRS, EDGE, USB 2.0, Bluetooth, 3G and GPS),  except Wifi. 5530 has Wifi but lacks 3G and GPS.

Audio – Nokia 5230 doesn’t belong to XpressMusic series, but still it delivers exceptional sound quality through earphones. 5230 speakers will however disappoint you. It has got Mono speakers unlike, 5530.

Video – The bigger display would be an added advantage for watching videos and movies on Nokia 5230.

Camera – Nokia 5230 has a 2MP Fixed Focus camera without flash, whereas 5530 has 3.2 MP Autofocus camera with LED Flash.

Additional Features – Both 5230 and 5530 has Accelerometer as additional feature and both lack TV Output which is present in Nokia 5800.

Battery - 5230 has a more powerful 1320 mAh battery with a rated music playback time of upto 33 hrs. Nokia 5530 has a 1000 mAh battery which offers music playback  for up to 27 hrs.

Price – Nokia 5530 price may have gone down by now, but it launched for a price tag of $278. Unlocked Nokia 5230 is expected to cost around $200.

Sales Package – Nokia 5530 has a 4GB Micro SD card and USB data cable in the sales package. Both the things are missing from 5230 sales package.

Conclusion – Nokia 5530 offers better looks, better camera, better  sales package and Wifi. Nokia 5230 is cheaper, and comes with  3G and GPS. Both are budget smartphones which  offer good value for money. You can choose one based on your personal needs.