Design

Nokia chose a funky red and white colour combination for the Nokia 5300. It's a bold statement of youth and playfulness. They adopted such a vibrant colour scheme because the phone is geared towards teenagers, students, yuppies and people who are young at heart.

Taking out such a phone in a public place will certainly draw some inviting looks to it as it is unique. It worked for me, at least! If such bright colours are not your style, it's good to know that Nokia is also shipping a black and white version of the 5300.

Front	Back

The front of the phone has a distinctive colour combination of red, grey and white. The red part is actually made from rubber and feels great to touch. The downside is it gets dirty very easily.

Seasoned Nokia phone users would notice the vertical position of the Nokia wording situated to the right of the screen, which is different than other Nokia phones. To the left of the screen are the dedicated playback keys, which have also been positioned vertically.

The screen measures 2 inches diagonally and covers a large proportion of the front of the phone. Beneath the screen are two soft keys that correspond with commands on the screen right above each. Then, there is a 5-way D-pad for navigation along with the Answer and Hang Up keys. The phone's microphone is located near the Hang Up key.

The back of the phone, in its white and red glory, is where the camera lens is located. There's a mirror placed next to it for moments when you need to take a self-portrait shot. The phone's loudspeaker is placed near the bottom of the phone. In accordance to the new vertical design, the Nokia label is also positioned vertically on the back cover.

It's good to note that Nokia had the foresight to add four small bumps on the cover. They slightly elevate the phone when placed flat on a surface. This protects the cover and camera lens from being scratched by a rough surface.

At the top of the Nokia 5300, lies the power button, a mini-USB port, 2.5 mm headset port and the latch for the back cover. Because all those ports are now located at the top or the left side, there's absolutely nothing on the bottom of the phone.

Top	Bottom

The left side of the phone is where you will find the power port for the charger and the dedicated music playback keys. The music playback keys on this phone are the 'Previous Track', 'Play/Pause', 'Next Track' keys. On the right side of the phone, there is an infra-red port, a dedicated camera key and volume control buttons.

Left	Right

The placement of the dedicated music player keys at the left side makes the Nokia 5300 look like a dedicated music player. When changing tracks and adjusting volume, I habitually turn the phone to a horizontal position and it just feels as though I am using my iRiver MP3 player.

The horizontal Nokia logo wording also adds to the exclusive design of this MP3 player-like phone. It gives the impression that the phone is more of an MP3 player than just another phone. Of course, it's not just mere impression. Nokia has successfully made that a reality in this phone.