As the high-end gray market mobile phone market is constantly being divided by flagship systems like the iPhone 4 and i9000, the traditional giant Nokia seemed to remain unmoved. For most of July, there were no new products launched. It wasn't until the end of July that Nokia finally began to counterattack. Although mainly targeting the mid-to-low-end sector, its powerful sea of devices strategy further consolidated its leading position. Below, we will take stock of Nokia's currently popular gray market phones priced under 2000 yuan for those who are interested.
Product Model: Nokia 5230
Reference Price: 1080 yuan (revised version)
Suitable for: Students who love listening to music
The Nokia 5230 is a gray market music phone that has been deeply loved by many consumers due to its affordable price since its launch. Recently, the price of this gray market phone rose from under a thousand yuan to over a thousand yuan, which was regrettable. Currently, this gray market phone is priced at 1080 yuan and remains the top choice for many student users. The Nokia 5230 continues the body design of the 5800XM with a simple shape and smooth body lines. However, the 5230 offers six vibrant color options and a replaceable shell design. It features a 3.2-inch touchscreen with 16 million colors, a resolution of 360x640 pixels, and an ideal display effect. Unfortunately, although it supports 3G networks, it does not come equipped with a front-facing camera.
The Nokia 5230 runs on the fifth version of the S60 operating system, supporting A-GPS navigation functions. It also comes with a convenient and easy-to-use music player that supports up to 33 hours of music playback and includes a 3.5mm headphone jack. With 70MB of internal memory, it can support up to 16GB of storage card expansion, providing excellent support for entertainment functions.
In terms of hardware configuration, the Nokia 5230 uses an ARM11 processor with a clock speed of 434MHz and a storage combination of 128MB RAM + 256MB ROM. While not considered high-end, it runs the Symbian system smoothly, which requires lower hardware specifications. The built-in 2-megapixel camera falls into the low-end category without a flash, resulting in less than satisfactory photo-taking capabilities.
Editor's Comment: In terms of configuration, the Nokia 5230 does not have a significant advantage compared to the Nokia 5800XM, but it is much cheaper. Its interchangeable colorful shells enhance its fashion sense and playability. For friends with limited budgets, the Nokia 5230 is undoubtedly more worth considering.
Product Model: Nokia 5800XM
Reference Price: 1450 yuan (revised version)
Suitable for: Students and office workers
The Nokia 5800XM runs on the Symbian S60 operating system with powerful music playback functions, and its full-touchscreen large screen conforms to current trends. Since this gray market phone was revealed to be priced at 1450 yuan, its sales have skyrocketed, even leading to a situation where demand exceeds supply.
In terms of appearance, the Nokia 5800 adopts a classic curved all-touch design, available in multiple shell colors for consumers to choose from. The entire device measures only 111 x 51.7 x 15.5 mm and weighs 104 grams, making it convenient for users to carry. The Nokia 5800 features a 3.2-inch touchscreen with 16 million colors and a resolution of 640 x 360 pixels, offering satisfactory display effects. The built-in 3.2-megapixel camera supports auto-focus and comes with a single LED flash, capable of taking clear photos with a maximum resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels. It also supports audio-video recording, meeting the needs of most users.
Performance-wise, the Nokia 5800 runs on Symbian 9.4, Series 60 fifth edition operating system, fully supporting TXT, Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Adobe PDF, and other office software. Additionally, the built-in music player supports various audio formats such as WMA, MP3, eAAC+, offering numerous playback modes and a 3.5mm headphone jack, maximizing the needs of music lovers. In data transmission, the Nokia 5800 supports Bluetooth functionality, built-in GPS receiver, facilitating daily data transfer and map indexing for users.
Editor's Comment: The Nokia 5800 boasts a gorgeous appearance design, full-touch operation highlighting fashion elements, and operates on the mature S60 fifth edition platform. Equipped with comprehensive and excellent performance experiences, it is deeply loved by players. Now, the price of this model has significantly decreased, so friends who like it can contact the merchants below.
Product Model: Nokia E71
Reference Price: 1590 yuan (revised version)
Suitable for: Business people and consumers who frequently go online to chat
The Nokia E71 has always had good sales, but recently, with the continuous price reduction of the upgraded version E72, the days for E71 have become increasingly difficult. Currently, this gray market phone is priced at just 1590 yuan, cheaper than the E66 by a hundred yuan, so consumers who like it can now make a move.
In terms of appearance, the Nokia E71 adopts a straight-board full keyboard design. Measuring only 114 x 57 x 10 mm in size and weighing 127g, this business gray market phone appears quite lightweight. It also features a 2.4-inch QVGA resolution screen, providing excellent display effects.
Performance-wise, the E71 runs on the Symbian S60 smart platform, supporting GSM quad-band networks. Equipped with a processor running at 369 MHz, the device offers approximately 110MB of storage space, ensuring smooth operations. The 3.2-megapixel camera and GPS function support are equally impressive, making this a rather outstanding business gray market phone.
Editor's Comment: Known as a classic street phone, the Nokia E71 not only features full keyboard input operations but is also a very powerful smart business phone. Moreover, the cost-performance ratio of this phone is currently very high, so friends who like it should not miss out.
Product Model: Nokia E63
Reference Price: 1230 yuan (revised version)
Suitable for: Student consumers
The Nokia E63 features a full keyboard design and is paired with the S60 third edition platform. Although it lacks GPS functionality, the phone still offers great value for money. Currently, this gray market phone is priced at 1230 yuan. It is suitable not only for students and office workers with limited budgets but also for older generations, maintaining a dignified appearance. Its widespread applicability combined with ultra-high cost-effectiveness makes it one of the best-selling gray market phones since April.
In terms of appearance, the Nokia E63 looks similar to the E71 but differs in materials and colors. However, with a thickness of only 10mm, the slim body provides excellent portability. The phone features a 2.4-inch 16.7 million-color Q-screen, offering very good display effects. The QWERTY full keyboard below the screen highlights its business style and is very convenient to operate. Additionally, the phone is equipped with a 2-megapixel camera, offering relatively clear photo quality.
Performance-wise, the Nokia E63 runs on the Symbian 9.2 operating system and the S60 V3.1 platform, featuring strong software expansion capabilities. In terms of business functions, it pre-installs mobile VPN (personal virtual network) and "email wizard" among other business functions, making it convenient for business people to perform daily operations. On the entertainment side, the E63 includes a common 3.5mm headphone jack found on Nokia music models, adding to the product's entertainment appeal. Overall usability has improved.
Editor's Comment: Currently, the Nokia E63 remains popular in the market, with its Q-keyboard business appearance and high cost-effectiveness being its main selling points. With solid performance, this machine is extremely cost-effective for Nokia E-series gray market phones. Friends who like it can definitely consider purchasing it soon.
Product Model: Nokia E66
Reference Price: 1550 yuan (revised version)
Suitable for: Students and office workers with sufficient budget
The Nokia E66 is another commonly seen street phone, consistently favored by consumers since its launch, especially for its prominent business functions. Featuring a classic slider design and high-end business intelligence, this gray market phone is now priced at 1550 yuan.
The Nokia E66 adopts a slider design with dimensions of 107 x 49 x 13 mm and weighs 121g, offering a good feel. Functionally similar to the E71, the Nokia E66 also features a 2.4-inch, 320 x 320 pixel resolution, 16 million-color TFT screen. Additionally, the E66 includes an accelerometer found on the E71, supporting video recording at a resolution of 640x480 pixels.
The Nokia E66 supports GSM/GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA and HSDPA 3G networks, running on the latest Symbian9.3 operating system and S60 V3.2 system platform. It is equipped with a 369 MHz AMR11 processor, offering 110MB of large storage and 71MB of operational memory, expandable via microSD cards up to 8GB. The E66 also supports WLAN wireless local area networks, GPS/A-GPS, Bluetooth 2.0 (A2DP), microUSB 2.0, and other functions.
Editor's Comment: The Nokia E66 was launched almost simultaneously with the E71, differing mainly in its slider design. This device excels in business intelligence and also features a 3.2-megapixel CMOS camera with Auto Focus, satisfying most everyday photography needs. The VGA front camera allows for video calls.
Product Model: Nokia C5
Reference Price: 1190 yuan (revised version)
Suitable for: Students and economically constrained consumers
The Nokia C5 was announced earlier this year and has finally arrived in Beijing markets. The phone focuses on affordable 3G smart features and excels in community networking functionalities, catering well to the entertainment needs of mid-to-low-end consumer groups. Currently priced at 1190 yuan, it has seen record-breaking sales!
The Nokia C5 features a straight-bar design, with a 2.2-inch screen and QVGA resolution, running on the Symbian S60 third edition operating platform. It also supports GPS and FM radio functions, with 50MB of internal storage and microSD card expansion. The Nokia C5 is a smart terminal optimized for sharing functions, supporting a series of services from Nokia Ovi. Music streaming can also be quickly accessed and experienced through the Ovi Music app.
The Nokia C5 helps users stay connected with the most important people by directly accessing frequently used contacts from the standby home screen. It provides users with a perfect sharing experience, equipped with a 3.2-megapixel camera, a 2GB memory card included in the packaging, and a high-speed data connection cable, allowing users to easily upload photos and videos to various online communities.
Editor's Comment: Besides being a smart 3G phone, the Nokia C5 stands out particularly in network applications. Whether browsing web pages, emails, or social networking sites, the C5 delivers satisfactory results. As 3G networks become increasingly mature today, the C5 is sure to make a big splash in the market.
Product Model: Nokia E5
Reference Price: 1990 yuan (revised version)
Suitable for: Thumb-typing enthusiasts who frequently use the internet
Recently, Nokia has been releasing new models nonstop, and the Nokia E5 is one of the standout ones. As an E-series gray market phone, it improves on the classic designs of the E71 and E72, featuring a more rounded design and well-coordinated body colors, making it appear more stylish. It also possesses robust performance, and the arrival of the E5 will once again sweep through the full-keyboard smart gray market phone market. This week, the price of this gray market phone dropped below two thousand, offering excellent cost-effectiveness.
In terms of configuration, the Nokia E5 features a 2.36-inch landscape 16 million-color display, with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. This screen not only offers clear and detailed display effects but also has natural advantages when viewing web pages or watching videos in landscape mode. Additionally, the phone is equipped with a mainstream 5-megapixel camera that supports various photography modes, making the E5 an excellent choice for photography enthusiasts.
Overall performance-wise, the Nokia E5 runs on the powerful Symbian S60 V3 smart operating system, which offers ample third-party software resources, allowing users to download numerous apps to enhance its functionality. To ensure smooth operation, Nokia has equipped the E5 with a 600 MHz processor, enabling it to deliver strong processing capabilities whether for office work or entertainment. Additionally, the phone supports Wi-Fi and GPS functions.
Editor's Comment: The new Nokia E5 not only breaks away from the appearance characteristics of previous E-series gray market phones but is also not positioned as a business gray market phone. Initially priced around 2800 yuan, it has now dropped nearly a thousand yuan this week, breaking the two-thousand-yuan mark. Its cost-effectiveness surpasses even the traditionally popular gray market phone E72. Fans can consider making a purchase.
Product Model: Nokia C3
Reference Price: 1350 yuan (revised version)
Suitable for: Students and office workers
Full-keyboard gray market phones are becoming increasingly common. Models like Nokia's E71, E72, and E63 have received good responses. However, this newly launched C3-00 is a model based on the Symbian S40 platform. Recently, this gray market phone arrived at Guangzhou Feihong Mobile, priced at 1350 yuan.
The Nokia C3 features a straight-bar + Qwerty keyboard design, not much different from the classic E-series model E71. However, if we carefully observe, we'll find that it lacks the iconic menu key of S60 gray market phones. That's right! The Nokia C3 is a non-smart gray market phone using the S40 operating platform, and it is the first product in S40 history to introduce a full keyboard design.
C-series products are mostly targeted at the mid-to-low-end market, so the Nokia C3 does not offer any particular surprises in terms of feature configurations. It features a 2.4-inch QVGA resolution TFT screen, a 2-megapixel camera, WiFi support, and offers up to 8GB MicroSD card expansion on top of 55MB of internal memory. The phone comes in three colors: black, pink, and champagne gold. The eye-catching pink model is likely to appeal to female users.
Editor's Comment: Before Symbian3 is fully widespread, Nokia can only release some relatively mass-market gray market phones to meet consumer needs. Of course, the design of this C3 is still quite noteworthy. Currently, the 1350 yuan price of this model is still quite reasonable, so fans might want to consider making a purchase.