Play : T-Mobile Launches Nokia 5310 XpressMusic with Music Promotion

Poor MegaDoug was all set to hit up the big T-Mobile/Nokia launch party in NYC last night but he got ravaged by a nasty bug of some sort and was stuck at home sipping ginger ale and hoping to get some sleep at long last.  Feel better, Doug.  Me, I'm back home in California and so couldn't make it to the shindig.  No matter, though, it's the phone you're interested in, not the party.

T-Mobile's going to release the Nokia 5310 on May 28th, for the low low price of $49.99 after contract and rebate.  This is the first of two XpressMusic handsets set to drop on TMo this Spring (a higher-end slider, the 5610, should be out by late June), and the first T-Mobile device I can think of to feature a 3.5mm headphone jack (hurrah!).  Nokia music phones tend to offer solid sound and ease-of-use at the slight expense of style, but this one looks pretty good : 0.39 inches thick, weighs only 3 ounces, comes in three color combinations, 1GB microSD card included, and features external music player controls, that standard headphone jack along with stereo Bluetooth, FM radio, and a 2" QVGA display.

The only real negative here is that the 5310 is relegated to EDGE and not T-Mo's new 3G data network.  But, hey, it's a cheapy music phone, and how many of those actually have 3.5mm headphone jacks?  It sounds silly, but when it comes to replacing your iPod with your cell phone, the point is to carry as little junk as possible.  No 3.5mm jack means carrying an adapter, which defeats the whole purpose if you ask me.

And, oh yeah, TMo and Nokia are sponsoring a contest to go with the "Play" music promotion.  Buy a 5310 and you can win a Ticketmaster gift card or some free downloads.  Check out the details at www.nokiausa.com/xpressmusic just as soon as they get the promo site up (it was down last I checked).