The Sony Ericsson C905 was the mobile phone that I owned prior to the Nokia E72 (check my archive for that review) and it was the first contract or bill phone that I had ever signed up for. My review of the Sony Ericsson C905 will be a mixed bag. There were some absolutely great features on the phone but the trouble it gave me over a 9 to 10 month period was just crazy. It was such a shame because I became really attached to the phone itself. I have always tried to resist the temptations of the iPhone (although not anymore lol!) and my last three phones prior to the popular Apple device were Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Nokia. Unfortunately, I just don't think I could ever go back to a Sony Ericsson again after having this phone as it just wasn't reliable enough.

I signed up to the contract and got the phone for free and my contract was £40 a month for a period of 18m months with 600 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited internet. I thought this was a great deal as I don't make that many calls and I send a huge amount of texts. I trundled away delighted with my new phone and started to enjoy it!

The C905 is a slick, stylish handset with a slide mechanism that I have always liked on phones. This was one the reasons that I have always tried to avoid the iPhone - I prefer the slide mechanism on a phone with buttons as opposed to the touchscreen (although I am an iPhone convert now!) - and this mechanism, as an example, allows you to answer calls very easily. The phone also comes equipped with the then new 'Cyber-Shot' 8.1 megapixel camera with 16x digital zoom. The C905 was one of the first Sony phones to incorporate this technology onto a mobile phone camera and it was one of the most attractive features for me as I don't own a digital camera. I like to incorporate a camera into my phone and this seemed like an excellent way to do it!

The main screen is very user friendly and uses very recognisable symbols for each section (an envelope for text messages etc.) and is very easy to use. I always thought Nokia were the most user-friendly phones but this handset was right up there in this regard. I also used this phone as an mP3 player as this was way before I owned an iPod! Overall, this was an excellent handset with great features and a stylish look.

However, about two months into my contract, the speaker at the earpiece packed in completely. I was gobsmacked. The phone was only two months old and I had signed up for an 18 month contract. I sent it back to Sony Ericsson and they repaired it under warranty. It takes about a week to ten days to get your phone back but it could take longer if, for instance, you work full-time! I received a replacement phone while I was waiting which I thought was a nice touch (it wasn't the most modern of replacement phones but hey!) and I was re-assured that it was a common fault of the phone and it would come back fixed.

It was all ok then for roughly around 3 months and then the top buttons on the front the phone (the direction keys basically) wouldn't work. This was very, very frustrating (just ask my girlfriend who was present when it stopped working!!) Again, I got it sent off to Sony Ericsson and they fixed it....again!!

This happened a further two times in quick and I decided to get rid of the phone as my sanity couldn't take anymore. I was finding myself with a replacement phone for more time than I had the C905 and I didn't think that was right at all. Apparently, my phone company was aware of some of the handset faults and when I decided to actually change my phone, I don't think they were even still promoting it!!

I swiftly moved onto the E72 and I have never looked back.

The C905 was a really good handset with both an excellent camera and good features that are very easy to use.

I couldn't, however, recommend this handset to anyone due to the problems I have had and so many others appeared to have had. What a shame, because I loved the phone itself.