Sony Ericsson C902 (Sony Ericsson C902)

Member Name: Donnabroom

Product:	Sony Ericsson C902
Date:	13/05/09 (31 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A Great Phone

Disadvantages: See review

Sony Ericsson C902:

I have had my Sony Ericsson C902 "Cybershot" since November and I really like it. It is my first ever new phone on a contract. Before I always had great big phones that were passed on to me and they were always on there last legs!

This phone has so many cool features; to be honest I don't do them all justice and there are loads I have never used. I will write about the things I use on the phone and try to use plain English wherever possible!

Size: This is a reasonably large phone, (approximately 11cm high, 5cm wide and 1cm thick). It is easy to locate in a bag and you can tell that it's still in your pocket not lying down the road somewhere! Some people dislike big phones but for me, (I loose things easily for some reason), they are the way to go. I like the weight of the phone too; it feels sturdy and substantial in your hand, like something expensive should feel. I have so many cheap tacky feeling phones that this one is a real treat.

Screen: It has a 262,144 colour TFT QVGA screen with a resolution of 240x320 pixels. That doesn't mean a huge deal to me but the screen is very clear and a good size taking up about half of the total height of the phone. I will say that photos will always look better if you transfer them to your PC, (or Mac), so before you decide they are rubbish see what they look like on your computer first.

Colours: I have the red version of this phone but according to the Sony Ericsson website this phone is now available in black, bronze and silver. The style is good with a black front, (screen and keys), a coloured body and stylish silver stripes down the side. It is a shame if the red one is no longer available because it looks good and is one of the things I really liked about the design of this phone. I was worried that the red "paint" would chip off the phone and look scruffy but it looks as good as it did brand new and I'm not exactly gentle with it!

Memory: the phone has a built in 160MB of memory which is a good amount and does me fine; I take quite a few photos and a monthly upload to the PC means I have enough space to see me through. I don't download ringtones, screen savers etc and I don't use the phone for music or film so if you do you will probably need a memory card and this phone uses M2 memory and can support a card with a maximum capacity of up to 8GB.

Battery: My battery is always going flat, (I usually get 2 warnings before it turns itself off), and I have to charge it almost every day. I don't use the internet on it often, (perhaps once a month), or play music so I am not massively impressed with the battery life. It's not just my phone either, my Mum and Brother also have C902s and they have the exact same problem. The phone also freezes and switches off randomly sometimes; I don't know if this is the battery or some other problem.

Going Online: I don't often use the internet on my phone but when I do it loads very fast, much faster than any phone I have before. It also loads pages quickly and is very simple to use. I am particularly impressed with the web on this phone so if you browse lots this might be a good choice for you.

Taking Photos: I take a lot of photos and they normally come out nice and clear and crisp; the camera has 5 megapixels. The flash is very effective as is the "photofix" tool which brightens photos that are too dark. Sometimes with photofix the colours are changed a lot but it is normally very good and makes a big improvement to the photos. I have had photos taken with this photo printed online and they have turned out great. The zoom is digital and terrible; whenever I use it the photos turn out blurry and useless. They may as well not have put a zoom on the phone at all it is that bad! To be honest this camera is as good as a lot of cheap digital cameras. I like the ease of use of the camera; there is a little slidey bit at the top of the phone and once you slide it it goes into camera mode straight away. Be careful not to accidentally change the "mode" though because there are some touch screen buttons when you are using the phone as a camera and one of these, (I have never worked out which one), changes the mode of the camera and stops the flash working. Very annoying indeed!

Making/Relieving Calls: Easy as pie, as you would expect. The keys are a good size so typing in numbers is easy and they all respond well to a firm push. I hate keys that are either to sensitive or not sensitive enough and, for me, this phone is just right. Voice activated dialling is actually quite fun. You record yourself saying a name etc and then if you press a key on the side of the phone and say the name the phone will call that person. It also says that name when they call you; it's great as a warning if someone you don't want to talk to calls! If you use a hands free kit you can set up a word that takes your phone into voice activation mode but I have never done this as I don't have a hands free kit, (I don't drive). I do find that it sometimes takes a while to connect my calls but I think that is my signal strength not my phone.

Sending/Receiving Texts: I have had no problems with this aspect of the phone. Again the key size makes typing easy and I find the dictionary and the menus very simple to use. This is a phone that I could just pick up and use with out having to read the manual. If you are on the phone and you get a text or another all the phone makes a little beep so you know.

All in all this is a great phone for someone who wants to take reasonably good photos, use the internet and make calls and texts.

Summary: Sony Ericsson C902

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