Music Ally

Has partnering with an operator and finally launching a Comes With Music enabled 5800 XpressMusic handset reinvigorated Nokia’s unlimited music offer in the UK? Er… Not according to retailers canvassed by trade mag Mobile.

In fact, it claims that many Orange and Carphone Warehouse stores “failed to register a single sale” of the device in its first weekend on sale. Specifically, the report says that Phones 4U sold eight of the devices across its 450 stores on its first day on sale.

Retail staff have criticised the tariffs being offered with the device, particularly the monthly data available for over-the-air downloads, as well as the lack of an unlimited texts option.

Nokia’s new 5800 ‘Tube’ phone went on sale in the UK today, and apparently attracted 150 queuing punters eager to get theirs from Nokia’s Regent Street store (insert your own ‘78 of them were mistakenly thinking it was an Apple launch’ joke here).

But anyway, Nokia says it’s shipped one million 5800s, including the UK but also in Hong Kong and Moscow, where the devices sold out. The proper UK retail launch is next week, through operators and mobile stores, but Nokia went with it in its own stores today for the early adopters.

The handset is a big, big deal for Nokia, even if as yet it doesn’t include the promised Comes With Music service. It does have a graphic equalizer, 8GB of internal memory, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and built-in surround sound speakers. And a great big lovely touchscreen. Early reviews suggest it’s no iPhone, but its lower price (£249 SIM-free in the UK) and Nokia’s broad base of existing users means it should sell like hot cakes.

Nokia has announced that its first touchscreen handset, the 5800 XpressMusic, will go on sale in the UK on 23rd January from Nokia’s own stores and website, before rolling out through other retailers the following week.

However, it WON’T be a Comes With Music handset at launch. When the device was unveiled in October last year, Nokia said it “will be among the first devices to support Comes With Music” when it went on sale.

There’s no mention of CWM in the new announcement though, so we contacted Nokia to check. The company’s spokesperson told us that the 5800 won’t be a CWM handset from launch, but will be “in due course”.

The device will cost £249 SIM-free in the UK, which represents an aggressive pricing policy on Nokia’s part, given the impressive features of the handset. It’s got a 3.2-inch touchscreen with tactile feedback, and an innovative ‘media bar’ user interface, as well as built-in surround sound speakers and a claimed 35 hours of music playback battery life.