Nokia 5700: RM-302 Black China Edition
Type: RM-302
💎 Rarity Index: A (Rare)
⭐ WOW Factor: The only Nokia design where a single twist instantly switched the device’s personality: messaging, music, or camera.
👁 Evaluation in my collection: Good – 8.5/10
⏱ Life timer: 2h | 📦 Boxed: NO
📅 Release Year: 2007 | 💰 Release Price: N/A
📊 Units Sold: ~1.5M
📰 Why this phone matters: The Nokia 5700 XpressMusic in full black is one of the rarest variants of Nokia’s rotating-multimedia smartphone lineup, produced in limited quantities for the Chinese market under type RM-302. Unlike the classic red-and-white global release, this black edition was never widely exported, and its appearance alone gives it a more modern, stealth-like identity compared to the traditional XpressMusic theme.
RM-302 identifies the dedicated China-market hardware and firmware platform. This variant features localized Chinese firmware languages, regional GSM frequency configurations, Chinese SAR certifications, and distinct product codes used only in mainland China. It also includes Chinese-market keypad print variants and often slightly different audio tuning profiles for the XpressMusic sound engine, making it unique compared to the RM-230 and RM-235 global versions.
This model is instantly recognizable thanks to its iconic twist design: the lower half of the phone physically rotates, switching between phone keypad, camera mode, and dedicated multimedia controls. No other Nokia device combined physical transformation with smartphone features in this playful and functional way. Even today, the rotating mechanism feels sharp, solid, and satisfying in the hand.
This unit is fully working, and everything from the bright display to the twist motion and the XpressMusic player still operates correctly. The black housing appears clean and unique, and the handset reflects the Chinese-market identity through its labeling, firmware, and certification patterns. The label confirms this is a 2007 manufacturing batch for China, complete with regional approvals and variant coding specific to RM-302.
The Nokia 5700 remains one of the most unusual and entertaining Symbian smartphones ever made, remembered for its creative design, its music-centric features, and its transformation-style body that stands out even among Nokia’s most ambitious experiments. The RM-302 black Chinese-market edition elevates that uniqueness to a higher level, making it one of the hardest versions to find in full working condition.
📝 Reviews when released: cNET 🔗