The actual selling point of this mobile i.e 1Ghz processor is the most useless feature on this device. Why ? Read ahead.
1) Buggy OS :
Its got Symbian Anna but a different flavor of it(different than the one running on a C7 or a N8). But this is so bad, the phone frequently restarts and sometimes the screen goes blank.
Before some shouts "your particular phone might be bad", i can point to a list of Nokia discussion forums with countless people facing the same problem.And this cannot be solved by going to the Nokia care center. Even after the latest update (11.333) this happens but the frequency has reduced.
2) Low Memory :
You open just the camera, or the default browser (with no apps running in the background), you are greeted with the most annoying message "Please close apps, memory full".
Again this is a common issue faced by lots of users.
3)No 3D GPU
What does this mean, and how will this affect you ?
In a sense No Angry Birds. Yes, or no Ninja Fruit, or any other good games. We all know that there are very few good games and apps on the Nokia store. And this phone cannot run the only decent apps present there. And because it does not have a 3D gpu, the UI is slow and choppy.
So people planning to spend your bored afternoons by playing Angry birds please stay away. No software fix or update can fix this, as this is a hardware deficiency.
The only games that run on this phone are so bad, it makes the games that run on my old NGage look as if they are from the future.
Compare the UI of 500 to a C7 next to you and see how smooth the UI is in the C7. BTW the C7 has 600-odd Mhz processor,512MB ram while Nokia 500 has 1Ghz processor, 256 MB ram.
4)Bad battery backup and build quality.
Battery lasts for 1.5 days with medium usage, and just a day with heavy usage. The battery door/interchangable panels are very hard to open. The volume rocker and lock button wiggle and squeak.
I have not included the fact that the camera is very average and doesn't have a flash, or it doesn't have a front facing camera as these were known facts, even before you buy this phone.
So to summarize, the UI/UX is very bad, phone restarts frequently, has memory issues and it does not support 3d games, and the battery is less than perfect. So here is the main question. What is the point of having a 1Ghz processor on a phone that can't utilize it ?
So the good points
1)The phone looks lovely(not sexy, as it is a bit flabby)
The design is classic Nokia and is a bit European.It just looks good.
2) Very good resolution:
The screen is brilliant(bad in sunlight though). Mind you this is plain LCD display. The colours just popout and are vibrant. reading text is very easy and good.
3) The best news : This phone WILL get the Belle update.
Yes that's right, the 500 will get the Belle update(confirmed by Nokia website and their twitter account). When ? Probably in Feb 12, but should be out sooner.
So will the above problems be solved by this update ?
Probably not, but will definitely increase the user-experience. The memory issue might be solved and finally phone will be usable. Though you still can't play some games and install some apps(no 3D GPU).
So should you buy the phone ?
I assume that you are not interested in Android/more inclined towards Symbian if are reading this review.
If you want to taste Belle, please buy the other expensive handsets(701,603 etc), as they are bug free and are loaded with more features as they are worth the extra money.
If you want to still buy this phone, as it is the cheapest phone to get the Belle update and you like this phone, go ahead. But bear in mind the above flaws it has. Also the Belle update might not solve all these problems.
So there it is, my review of this little device with whom i currently have a love-hate relationship. Even though it is flawed, and as mentioned earlier in this review, I LOVE MY NOKIA 500.
