Once, the King of SmartPhones
Written: Apr 10 '04 (Updated May 27 '04)
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Pros: Tons of functionality/features for it's average size.
Cons: Mediocre PC connectivity/software, battery drainer, unappealing carrying case, underpowered CPU.
The Bottom Line: I am withdrawing my recommendation after getting frustrated with technical complications/flaws and poor support. These days there are better engineered SmartPhones and "convergent devices".
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| slovo's Full Review: Sony Ericsson P800 GSM / EGSM Cellular Phone |
The P800 is so loaded with features and functionality, that my aim is to write a general review from a usage perspective, rather than a technical one.
This device can do just about anything a palm-sized gadget is bred for: phone, camera, PDA, palm-top computing, portable music player, audio/memo recorder, etc. However, I would say that it may be a jack of all trades, but master of none.
The camera takes pictures in 640x480, which is considerable lower quality than a 2 megapixel camera, which is on the low end of digital cameras. The camera on the P800 is a toy, not for serious photography. It is very slow and unresponsive at night. Even with "night mode" on, the picture quality is improved in the dark, but still very poorly detailed.
The phone is alright. I get dropped a few times a week, but I'm sure that is partially attributed to my service provider, Rogers. It's a little quieter than most phones; I haven't found it to be too quiet, but I could imagine this complaint being made (check other reviews!).
The phone runs Symbian OS. It's not as configurable and solid as PalmOS, but more robust (multimedia, interface) than what a RIM (Blackberry) device uses. I have Microsoft Outlook synchronized to my P800, though like most PDAs/smartphones that don't run PalmOS, the categories do not synchronize (really bothers me, considering how capable Symbian is). It can open Word and Excel files, but I have not tried doing so.
The styles is pretty cheap, as most people comment. However, the P800 comes with 3 or 4 of them, and that is nice. I broke one, flexing it in my hand while I was talking to someone.
Memory-wise, the P800 is really crippled hear. The memory stick duo format is a nuisance. It's not very common, so you may get jacked when looking for memory to upgrade from the 16 MegaBytes that came with the P800. I got a 128 MB card from eBay, so that I could put plenty of MP3s on my P800 and make good use of it as an MP3 player as well.
Related to the memory, is another very weak spot to the P800. The cradle, with which it connects to the computer, although it is a USB plug, operates via some sort of serial protocol. Therefore, when transferring data to and from the P800, you are limited to some sort of ridiculously slow speed like 115,000 bits per second (a few times faster than a dial-up modem). Such speed makes uploading MP3s close to real-time speed (i.e. uploading 60 minutes of music, takes close to 60 minutes). This aspect is one of the P800s worst, although it can be accommodated for, by planning your large transfers (and hoping no one calls you, so that you don't take your phone off the cradle in the middle of your transfer!).
I'll finish this Review Body with the hands-free earbuds/microphone that come with the P800. I really like using it, though I think the interface could be more functional. I love being able to listen to music on my P800, and when a call comes in, I get a beep. Unfortunately, I can't check the call-display without checking the device, but there is a button on the dangling microphone piece, which allows you to answer the call when you press it. It works pretty good, to my experience. I wish I could turn the music back on, without having to touch the actual device, but after a phone call ends, all it gives is silence. The button by the mic only answers calls, as far as I know.
All in all, this thing is great, because it does so much, in a decent size. It's not the smallest, but it's about as big as the average nokia phone a couple years ago. Also, the CPU gets too loaded down sometimes, and the interface gets slow/lagged/latent. In my opinion, This device is the most phone-like of any other convergent devices, which is one of the reasons I prefer it (RIM/Blackberry, Palm W, Treo, feel like I'm putting a calculator to my head).
Before I submit this review, I guess people always want to know about the battery (oops). I have to charge this thing every couple days. It's standby time (in actuality) is pretty good. I could leave it laying around for days. However, once you start USING it, the power gets sucked dry. If I am listening to music for a few hours, the charge lasts me about a day or two, with all my other usage (1000+ minutes talking a month, a bit of camera usage, running the PIM apps).
I also thought that the carrying case that it came with was uncomfortable and tacky looking. It was a waste to package it, but I am happy for the hands-free set, and extra styluses (Styli?), so my guess is that Sony aimed to please everyone with the P800.
Update 2004-05-27:
I am early seeing a replacement for my P800 (looking at a Treo 600). What irritated me the most was the unreliable PIM synchronization. If you search message boards you will see that it is flawed and SonyEricsson is slow to even acknowledge the problem. The desktop software's quality is mediocre as well. When navigating the P800's memory/contents, double-clicking a directory in the right pane results in a new window, where-as I have Windows Explorer configured to show things in the same window. This flaw demonstrates the software's lack of following Microsoft Windows XP's behaviour, exhibiting poor software design. It also crashes on me when I try to Move files from my memory stick to a folder. I have to drag the pictures to the Desktop, and then I can move them elsewhere. What a strange bug, and I am running the latest software as of the date of this update. The last straw was when I went to SonyEricsson.com and their "solution finder" came up with a "Server busy" error, which did not go away after patiently retrying it for a while.
I almost forgot the last complaint. I feel that the CPU, whatever it is, is too slow. When playing MP3s the P800's responsiveness becomes rather slow. I think SonyEricsson bit off more than they were willing to chew here!
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 600
Recommended for: Stylish Trendsetters - Hip and Trendy
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Epinions.com ID:
slovo
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Location: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
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