Nokia 5700 XpressMusic
$658
Available at most telco shops

Designed primarily for the young and the young at heart, the highlight of the rubber-encased Nokia 5700 is its twist-me keypad which reminds me of Rubik's cube.

You access music, video and camera functions with twists of the gizmos. If you want to use the phone, just twist the keypad towards the front, or twist the player buttons for the music player.

For taking shots with the 2-megapixel camera, located at the side of the keypad, twist the camera forward. Disappointingly, the camera's image quality is worse than some of the current Nokia models.

The phone's main selling point, however, is its music-playing prowess: its audio capability can take on that of many dedicated MP3 players. With support for major music file formats such as MP3, WMA and AAC, the 5700 pumps up the music through the two built-in loudspeakers located at the side of the phone, making for very loud listening pleasure.

But you need a 2.5mm stereo adaptor to plug your favourite head phones or earphones into the 5700. Having to handle an extra accessory is a bother.

The Nokia 5700 has one feature that I would like to see in other phones: the ability to quickly access the main connectors and my 2GB microSD card without my having to use a flat head screwdriver to pry open the cover. And its rubber cover fits snugly over the connectors to prevent water and dust from entering, yet is easy to remove.

This phone maintains Nokia's reliability in basic communication needs with clear calls and MMS- and SMS messaging. But there are two grouses.

The keypad and buttons are easy to press but the soft keys located at the edge of the phone caused me to press the wrong keys more than once.

The joystick is also not sensitive, as I find myself struggling to navigate the menu with it.

FINAL SAY

The Nokia 5700 XpressMusic phone is a very capable music player. But the soft key placement is still an issue.