Nokia 5800 XpressMusic now shipping
Espoo, Finland - Nokia announced today that the highly anticipated Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is now, or soon will be, available in select markets globally, including Russia, Spain, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Finland, among others.
Context & Ripple Effects
September coverage of the 5800's leaked press image and specifications and October reporting that framed the device against the iPhone had already made Nokia's touchscreen music phone a closely watched product. Its availability in selected markets turns that pre-launch attention into a retail test.
The 5800 also extends an XpressMusic line Nokia had established with devices such as the 5700 XpressMusic, but with touchscreen interaction as the distinguishing feature.
First-order effects
- Nokia's distributors and buyers in the named launch markets can begin selling or preparing to sell the 5800, moving the handset from product disclosure to channel execution.
- Nokia gains its first market feedback on a touchscreen-led XpressMusic device rather than on specifications and press coverage alone.
Second-order effects
- The 5800 makes Nokia's music-phone proposition compete more directly in the touchscreen segment that October coverage had explicitly compared with the iPhone.
- Nokia's XpressMusic positioning must carry both music branding and the touchscreen experience, raising the importance of retail demonstration and software usability for the line.
Third-order effects
- If Nokia repeats the 5800's approach across its portfolio, touchscreen interaction could become a defining product-layer choice for music-focused handsets rather than a standalone novelty.
The trend: Music-oriented handsets are beginning to use touchscreen interfaces as a central competitive feature, bringing Nokia's XpressMusic line into a segment shaped by iPhone comparisons.