Nokia C5-03 review

Nokia C5-03 review: Apps

The applications provided by the Nokia C5-03 are standard, if a little outdated. Facebook – check. Twitter – check. YouTube – check. Shazam is also a fun addition.

Then, inexplicably, appear MySpace, Hi5 and Friendster. Like the Symbian OS that resides on here, most of these apps are stuck in the past. We're not quite sure what Hi5 is even doing on there, apart from taking up valuable memory.

However, despite the invalid social networking, it's easy enough to download a little Foursquare action from the Ovi Store, though the range of apps is disappointing in the face of the Android and Apple stores.

Ovi Maps is excellent, with the GPS finding our position no problem. This version of the Nokia C5 also has a digital compass in the walking section – brilliant for when you're not quite sure which way down Regent Street you're actually heading.

The inclusion of the Qype app in the maps section also went down well with us, the rabid social networking fans that we are. The distances are 'as the crow flies', however, as we noticed the appearance of favourite coffee shops in the list of nearby places that were, actually, nowhere near our current location.

Our favourite find, though, is a little touch of genius called Here and Now, slightly buried away in the Applications folder on the Menu screen, which offers you ideas and tips on what's happening around you based on your GPS location.

Among the cinema times of films starting within the hour and tips on local guided tours are restaurant suggestions from Lonely Planet. A nice little gem, handy if you're in an area you don't know very well and stuck for inspiration.

The organiser apps are as vanilla as you might have expected at this point, but sometimes vanilla is good when it means a simple and clean interface.

The Calendar interface is easy to pick up and there's a dictionary (for which you can download extra languages – handy, we suppose, if you're staring at a menu and can't remember your GCSE French).

A currency converter, calculator and notepad seem to be all Nokia feel a budget smartphone user needs when it comes to the 'office'.

Ovi Store to the rescue, however – part with eight hard-earned pounds and you can download QuickOffice for all your word, Excel and PowerPoint needs. But when the original candybar version of the C5 came pre-loaded with a QuickOffice trial, shouldn't at least the same minor courtesy be afforded to the smarter version? We're a little perplexed by this, it's true.