Every so often you come across a phone that just feels right.

Nokia’s 5800 XpressMusic is one of them. It is the company’s first touch-screen, obviously in response to the frenzy over the iPhone.

But the 5800 isn’t an iPhone, it lacks the perceived glamour, but more importantly it also lacks the price tag.

That’s not to say that the 5800 is deficient in any way. It works, and works well. 3.2\" worth of touch-screen goodness is a lot, and working on it is made a breeze thanks to tactile feedback and the included stylus or plectrum (although we had no problem using our thumbs). The touch-screen is put to good use with nice big icons, and the horizontal QWERTY keyboard was easier to use than, for example, the BlackBerry Storm’s.

Music is of course a strong point of the XpressMusic thanks to sufficient quality stereo speakers. It is boosted by Nokia’s music download services now available in SA (from 24 April). We were ­further impressed by the 5800’s excellent web ­browsing and video display qualities. Throw in A-GPS, HSDPA and Wi-Fi and you have, without a doubt, the best mid-range phone ­currently available.