Bad start but worth getting to know (Sony Ericsson C702)

Member Name: steamb0at

Product:	Sony Ericsson C702
Date:	04/08/09 (44 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gadgets galore, no annoying dust behind the screen, cuts quite a dash

Disadvantages: Unreliable

I have had this phone for just over a year now and I have very mixed feelings about it. I am a huge fan of Sony Ericsson, my last three phones have all been from them and I was excited by this model, I'm a sucker for practical gadgets and this promised so much. It is splash and dust resistant with a rubbery back and robust appearance. It even has a carabiner so that the phone can be attatched to your bag/jeans etc. It also boasts a decent 3.2 megapixel Cyber-shot camera and a GPS receiver.

Appearance wise I love it and it is dust-proof, no annoying fluff has gotten behind the screen or between the keys. But, and this is a big but, it has real problems staying switched on. For the first month every time I looked it had switched itself off without warning. It was a real headache and I seriously thought of getting a new phone but as it turned out it is a common problem and there was a fix that I found, however, it still is liable to turn off without warning.

The keys are small, which makes texting difficult at times and the ring tones that came with it are all pretty abysmal. Having had it for a year now it is quite beaten up - all four corners have lost paint and the screen is scratched - and all this from a relatively careful owner. Also it is very difficult to remove the back - there is a small screw that needs to be turned before you can take off the cover - which is really fiddly and after forcing it off once the cover no longer fits flush with the body of the phone.

As a phone it does what you would expect and I can't argue there. I haven't found the battery life to be a problem at all and the sound is fine. I find the torch function, sad but true, to be amazingly useful and the GPS has gotten me and a friend back to a hotel in London in the small hours.

All in all I still love this phone. I guess I have persevered with it and come through the over end. It isn't perfect but there isn't a phone like it out there that looks as good as it does!

Summary: A handsome, rugged phone with practical applications, shame about the reliability

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