Nokia 5230 Nuron (Latest Model) - White (T-Mobile) Smartphone

Even in 2011, years after its release date this phone is still a top competitor. It offers everything, and I mean everything a smartphone could offer accept wifi. I had wifi on a few other smartphones and barely ever used it. Wifi is overated on a cell phone anyway when you have access to the network's signal!

Free GPS is only the beginning of all the wonderful features the Nuron offers. Unlike most smartphones the battery life is excellent, with almost 7 hours of continuous talk time you feel safe leaving the house on a half charged battery and confident you are good to go. I wasn't a big fan of touch screens but this phone makes you feel like your touching actual buttons. It gives the user a very small vibrating sensation when buttons are pushed,aka synaptic feedback. I like that the touch screen is resistive versus capacitive because you have to push down a tad bit unlike with the new phones where a small tid bit of a swipe presses a button.

This is the best phone I've have in a long while. You can use all the data features most devices make you pay an arm and a leg for, for little to nothing. I'm not the $500 dollars for the newest phone type of guy, I'm the guy who likes a deal. This phone even at full market value makes you feel like it's a steal. Right now you can get this phone new from some eBay sellers brand spanking new for right around $100.00.

I've heard complaints about the ease of texting. Let me tell you I like texting with this phone better than I did with my Bold 9700! I've heard complaints about it freezing. This only happens to the type of person that browses the net with a hundred windows open. Regular use, you'll never see this phone crash. What else? Oh, I read about people calling this a dumbphone too. Lol! I think the bad reviews are from competitors who realize that once someone buys this phone they know they've got a real gem stone, for the price of bronze.

Believe me people, I've had the phone for a while now, and I have no complaints accept for one, Facebook. It doesn't show Facebook alerts directly on the phone and to find the Facebook app, it's located deep in the phone. Once you find it make it a shortcut, trust me! It's under the link on the home screen called "Search: Internet and My Content" ->Other->Application.

I am not a real cell phone user, but decided to upgrade my old Nokia phone with a newer one. What got my attention with the 5230 was:

1. Price...new for $100 (free shipping) from Costco online.
2. Free maps from Nokia that reside on device...so network time needed.
3. Pay as you go (with Tmobile or AT&T (if unlocked).
4. Nokia voice quality.

I have to say, this is a nice unit. No...it is not an iPhone or an Android, but two things I really like that work great are the phone (voice) and the internal GPS. Not only is reception as good as a dedicated Garmin GPS (with High Sensitivity technology), but with a simple (free) application (GPSEd)...you can create tracks and record Waypoints. If you are into mapping, you will know why this is nice. In fact, I can turn the phone on, turn the GPS receiver on (via GPSEd), start a track and put the phone in my coat pocket (in any orientation). It never looses track and records as well as GPS can.

The phone OS is a little funky, but who cares (I don't). I get a great phone, drivable GPS maps (via OVI maps), and the ability to record tracks and waypoints (via GPSEd).

The Nokia 5230 Nuron has free maps and voice-guide navigation via Ovi Maps, 3G, and excellent call quality, all at an affordable price. It's also the first Nokia smartphone with a U.S. carrier to offer access to the Ovi Store.

This was the fanciest phone that would support my $10 web2go data plan.

Ive used it for about a week now. Coming from Windows Mobile 6, Im extremely pleased.

The Symbian OS isnt quite as fancy as Android or the iOS but it was comparable enough for me to say that its a decent smartphone.

I quickly found a way to install un-signed apps but I will say that its a huge pain.

My biggest complaints are the lagginess of the phone, inability to customize the homescreen and the number of steps it takes to send a SMS or change a setting.

I installed an app called FreeiSms to make messaging threaded (this was not a factory feature!!)


the phone feels extremely durable and easy to hold in my hands. Call quality is very clear!! I dont know what people are saying about it being too quiet.. maybe if youre hearing impaired. Crystal clear to me.

symbian web browser is crap, install Opera Mini.

touchscreen is resistive (not capacitive like an iPhone). This makes speed-typing more difficult. - *update - installed a free app called Swype to make speed typing a bit easier. also makes it easy to type with 1 hand. still slightly annoying but a big improvement.

I've used nothing but Nokia phones for the past 10+ years and will continue to do so. They have superior products in terms of both functionality and reliability. There have been complaints about this phone not having wifi. At this price point, the features of this model(resistive/kinetic touch screen, gps, web browsing...) and an included micro sd card(always ask the seller for it), gives you more than enough value for your money.