Nokia 5130 XpressMusic: A simple Music Phone for the Elderly

Cell phones have come a long way since they became affordable for the masses several years ago. Nowadays, even the basic phones can act as music players! Now. senior citizens do not need fancy phones with surround sound or Audio Beats. However, some affordable and simple phones come with decent music players that can entertain some senior users.

The Nokia 5130 XpressMusic is a good example of a mobile phone that can be used by seniors both as a phone and a music player. Let's look closer at his device and see how it can be a good purchase for music-loving elderly users.

The 5130 XpressMusic is a simple phone that was launched by T-Mobile about a couple of years ago for $29.99 after a $20 mail-in rebate and a mandatory 2-year contract. It is still available via a few retailers such as Amazon and eBay.

Now let's look at the phone's design. The display for this phone measures two-inches and supports 256,000 colors and 320x240 pixels of resolution. It's a solid display and the icons can be viewed easily. User's with weak eyesight can alter the font color and the font size to make the display more suited for their needs.

Seniors will not find it difficult to navigate this music phone. The phone's navigation array has a spacious, easy-to-use design and the soft keys and Talk and End/power controls have good size. The buttons for the keypad are also large so dialing is not difficult. However, the numbers and letters on the buttons may be a bit small for some users.

Let's proceed with the how the Nokia 5130 XpressMusic performed as a phone. Well, my experience shows that the phone can handle calls very well. I did not recall any static and interference on the calls I made. The audio also sounded natural and the speakerphone calls I tried were also solid.

But how about as a music player. Well, the 5130 XpressMusic is a cheap phone so one should not expect too much. The handset ships with the standard Nokia Xpress Music player, which offers a simple interface and controls. The music quality is not bad and I'm sure users will enjoy listening to their favorite songs on this device.

Seniors who want to enjoy a bit of music from a simple phone should look at this handset. It's cheap and easy-to-use with a decent music player.

That's it for this week's mobile phone for seniors. Stay tuned as we bring you more phones, plans, and services for the elderly.