the smartphone that works
Written: Nov 16 '03 (Updated Nov 16 '03)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
| Clarity: |
|
|
| Portability: |
|
|
| Battery Life: |
|
|
|
Pros: Excellent PDA and phone functions, nice design, very reliable.
Cons: Naturally larger than average phone - don't buy if you don't need a PDA too.
The Bottom Line: The first of a new breed, and probably still the best.
|
|
|
| boinng's Full Review: Sony Ericsson P800 GSM / EGSM Cellular Phone |
This phone's been out for a little while now, and Sony Ericsson have just released it's successor - the P900 - which has a more businesslike look, a camcorder function, and a more advanced screen (65k colours compared to 4k). The good news is that naturally, this means a big price drop on the P800, so you can go get that smartphone you wanted for next to nothing - or even free on some quite reasonable contracts, here in the UK.
You all know what's good and bad about smartphones. The screen defines everything really - it's big, and it's touch sensitive - which means the phone is larger than most non-smart models, and is quite sensitive to being sat on. This isn't a phone you would buy to chuck around the pub, or put in your front jeans pocket while you go and do a lot of heavy lifting. It will break easily, and quite frankly, you should not be surprised.
This is less of a big phone (and, really, it isn't that big) than a small PDA. It's a perfect combination of both, quite usable in either sense, and packs a lot into a very small space. You won't find another phone that does what this does being significantly smaller - even the brand new P900 only shaves off a millimetre or two here and there.
So what does it do? Well you have a comprehensive contacts manager (perfectly integrated with the phone functions), an equally comprehensive messages function to go with it including email with attachments and MMS Picture messaging - and a nice agenda and to-do list. You can browse the internet in full colour - both wap and web sites - play videos, and use it as an MP3 player with the supplied stereo headset. As a phone it also has voice dialling and voice control, a very useful speakerphone, and everything else you'd expect from a good business phone, including Bluetooth and IR connectivity.
The PDA element is what sets this phone apart, and with the Symbian OS you get everything you need. There is a large and growing choice of third party apps, plenty of good stuff built in, and faultless synchronisation with Outlook. This phone has completely replaced my much loved Psion Revo. The screen is bright, clear, and colourful, with excellent resolution.
I've seen a lot of criticism of the camera in this phone. Realistically, there has not yet been a phone made with a "good" camera built in - by the very nature of the beast, they are naturally disappointing. The P800 camera is, relatively, really quite decent. There's a night mode, an unusual amount of options and adjustments for things like white balance and contrast, and the pictures from this phone are a lot better than those from smaller models like the T610 for example.
The phone I have was made in France, and the build quality is very solid. The software, too, is very reliable and seems crash-proof so far. The baby-blue design isn't what attracted me to it at first - it really doesn't look too good in pictures - but after you've used it for a while it really grows on you. Now the phone feels a lot smaller than it did, and details like the jog dial and the clip-on stylus really make it fun to use.
Recommended:
Yes
Recommended for: Professionals On-the-Go - Internet and Email is a Must!
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
boinng
|
|
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.