Just got Nokia 5800 firmware update version 50.0

Nokia’s Symbian OS v5 runs on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic mobile phone. It’s actually Nokia’s first mobile phone to support the Symbian’s first touch enabled operating system. If you got the Nokia 5800 connected phone early in the market, you’re probably running an old not so likable operating system (firmware) like me. I love Nokia mobile phones because it offers the latest in technology at affordable prices. Just to compare, the new Apple iPhone 4 would easily cost you more than 50,000 pesos locally just to get a dual camera high resolution screen. In comparison, the Nokia 5800 has a dual camera and decent high resolution screen at about 12,000 pesos. Even better, get the new Nokia C6 with a physical keyboard (great for text messaging) for only about 13,500 pesos.

Now back to the Nokia 5800. The now available firmware version 50.0.005 via the Nokia Software Updater is such a welcome update to my older Symbian OS firmware. One of the most welcome new feature for me has been the ability to browse lists like Contacts, menus using kinetic scrolling technology. Kinetic scrolling is a feature that has been introduced in touch screen enabled mobile phones that allow for fast scrolling of long lists just by swiping a finger. This is such a productive feature especially when I’m trying to scroll thru my Addressbook.

The Nokia 5800 firmware update also includes updated versions of  Maps 3.0 with Share location feature, Browser, and Ovi Music. The web browsing seems to be a bit faster now. Things I’d like to have though is an automatic fit to screen resizing of web pages and better handling of tabs or windows much like the Opera Mobile web browser that is also available on the Nokia 5800.

There are also improvements to the Ovi Sync and Ovi Store applications. To be able to update to version 50.0.005 firmware, you need to do it via the Nokia Software Updater on a PC. The Over-the-Air feature (direct updating using the Nokia 5800 phone) doesn’t seem to work. You can check the current version of your Nokia 5800 XpressMusic mobile phone by typing in *#0000# on the home screen.

Update: Just found out that version 51.0.006 for the Nokia 5800 is already available but it’s not yet available for the Philippines.