Nokia
5510

The Nokia 5510 was released in 2001 and was the company's first dedicated digital music device. It was advertised with the slogan, "looks weird, sounds great" (see the video commercial below). The main feature of the Nokia 5510 was its audio capability. It was able to store and play music in both MP3 and AAC formats with a built-in graphic equalizer. Music could be transferred from a PC via a USB connection using Nokia's Audio Manager PC software package. The Nokia 5510 boasted a 64MB internal storage capacity that could hold up to two hours of near-CD quality audio.  It was also possible to record music from external audio devices or the built-in FM radio. The FM radio used the audio headset cord as its aerial. The 5510 had an 84 x 48 pixel monochrome screen with a physical QWERTY keypad arranged on either side of the screen. There were quick access buttons for the music player and radio on the side of the device which was designed to be used in a landscape orientation. The device was heavily based on the Nokia 3310 reusing the same core "engine". The outline of the 3310 'chassis' can be seen when you remove the battery cover on the 5510. Its phone book could store telephone numbers and associated names in either the phone's memory (100 entries) or SIM card (250 entries). Speed dialling was provided for up to eight entries, each being assigned to keys 2 to 9. Voice dialling was also supported for up to eight entries. A call register recorded the 10 most recent missed and received calls and the last 20 dialled calls together with the duration of calls and their cumulative total. The Nokia 5510 supported a full range of SMS text messaging functions including basic picture messaging, templates for common message types and smileys.  Internet access was provided via a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) browser operating over either a circuit-switched data (CSD) connection or by using the unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) service. With CSD a dedicated connection had to be established to a WAP gateway service provider whereas USSD used a form of text messaging to communicate. This provided access to WAP-compatible web sites and services such as those provided via Club Nokia. Other features included a calculator, stopwatch, countdown timer, a clock with alarm, and reminder messages. Five games were also included: Snake II, Space Impact, Bumper, Bantumi, and Pairs II. Despite the Nokia 5510 being marketed as an entertainment model and targeted at a younger demographic, its price and large size compared to competitor's models meant that it did not prove popular with consumers. The Nokia 5510 was superseded by the Nokia 3300, which was a further attempt by Nokia to offer a music-centric entertainment device. Some information courtesy of Nigel Linge & Andy Sutton, the authors of 30 Years of Mobile Phones in the UK (Paid Link)