Pretty but impractical

I really like sony ericsson phones, they are easy to navigate & quite robust. I decided to purchase this phone as it looked stylish but not flashy, plus it had all the features I wanted.
I've now had two handsets both with exactly the same problem. I use the text function more than any other, but this is where the fault lies. When inputting text either the number/abc buttons cease to work, you can press them repeatedly & nothing happens. or it only registers the the first letter on each key. It is so frustrating! I loved the look & feel of this phone but I've had to return both of mine within days of receiving them. I've gone back to my old, less attractive but fully functioning sony ericsson phone.

Good phone bad phone

Sony Ericsson has been rather busy over the past couple of years. They seem to be improving the seeming impossible to improve handsets, but i fear here that they have failed to improve the excellent K850.

The C902 isn't a bad phone. It's just not a great one. It is good, but only just. It describes itself as being made of premium materials such as metal. The back face plate is indeed metal, but that's it. The rest of the phone is just plastic. The phone has a unique slide out lens cover which i expected to open with a satisfiying 'click'. It doesn't. We move on. Now to their credit, the screen quality is superb. The menu has had a slight re-style with improved icons. The accelerometers that turn the image as you tilt the phone are used again in this model, and can be used to reasonable effect when playing the built-in mobile game 'Need For Speed Pro Street'. The camera is an auto focus 5MP sensor and in many cases will replace your digital camera. It's that good. The flash isn't a xenon, though, but having an LED keeps the phone slim. Personally i like larger, fatter phones as they feel more sturdy and robust. The keypad is shiny, black plastic, like the Sony PSP, and we all know how easily they attract fingerprints. Yes it's a nightmare if you like your phone to look pristine every time. It's nice to text on and they are proper buttons for once instead of a flat keypad, or thin bar shaped buttons. Unusually the volume buttons are on the bottom right hand side of the phone instead of the top right, but it's for easy access when the camera is in use, for the zoom control. It also has a smallish screen because the outer edge is used for the touch screen controls for the camera, which do work well.

Overall the C902 is an okay phone. I'd like to have seen a better lens cover with a better opening mechanism, a bigger screen perhaps, and more metal used in its construction. Still, as a camera phone it will serve you well.

Back to Nokia!

I was offered a promotional £15 payplan by Vodaphone for a stylish beautiful Samsung, touch key pad and all the bells and whistles. One week later had to go back to the store and get a Nokia. Seven years have always used Nokia and cannot break away from it. My son tells me they patented their user friendly menu and believe me, its user friendly. The latest thing is smaller smoother keys, also stylus, but it don't work for this user. Nokia, long may you reign. Grey is a bit dull but will bling it up next week!!

Looks great but so fragile

I received this phone from 3 as part of a package deal. For the first five months it was great - good pictures, good sound. However the charger has never worked properly and battery life is very short. I recently dropped the phone and it fell apart - literally. The battery contacts bent out of shape, the sliding top bounced up on a spring and the retaining rods on both sides broke off and fell out. 3 refuse to mend it as it isn't covered for accidental damage under the warrenty and I cannot get the 3 sim to work in any other phone - I've tried 5!!
So the message is if you are going for a lock-in package don't get this phone or you may find yourself stuck in a contract with no phone and no service.

amazing

I got this for christmas and i am very pleased with it. the keypad is great and feels like no other,it looks amazing and the most important thing is it works well although it is confusing when your trying to work out how to store music on to it. If you know how to do this please tell me.

Worse Mobile I have ever had

The design is very nice but I have never been able to have a proper conversation on it even thou the signal line was full because the sound quality is bad. I've had it sent off twice for repair and still the same problem. I know other people who have had this too. This phone also gets hot quick. I now use my old phone which I've had for 4 years and it still works fine. Don't buy this phone! It's a waste of money.

A good phone for a cheap price

When I first got this phone. I was pleased with my choice. It looked cool and it was even cooler when I switched it on. On it,it has:

A load of great games including - Snake 2, Pinball with a choice of 2 different tables, Space Impact, Muniki and 4 in a row.

Quite a few screensavers including pictures of - flowers, football, pandas, the beach e.t.c and also some animated ones of - your name which flies around the screen, an umbrella e.t.c

Many ringtones featuring some such as - merry Christmas, Barn Dance e.t.c

THe phone is easy to use and provides something to do when you are on a train. I would recommend this phone above all others.

A shiny black slab of power.

After owning a previous incarnation; I was going to get the MDA Vario III (a.k.a the TytN II), but was swayed by the angular looks of another HTC beastie; the HTC Touch Diamond (a.k.a the XDA Ignito, or the MDA Compact IV). I'm a sucker for angles, and you'll find more angles here than at a dodecahedron convention. Beautifully crafted and sleek with a glossy (fingerprint attracting) black finish.

The phone is very attractive - without doubt the best looking HTC model ever, perfectly flat with no protrusions, the bottom part contains four buttons and a circular touchpad. The buttons are all part of the same `plate' - no joins between them, they `rock' on an axis and when pressed make a satisfying click. The circular pad allows you to select items, and when finger the rim finger clock-wise/anti-clockwise to zoom in and out on certain applications (such as PDF viewer). You can press up/down/left/right around the circular button to navigate round menus and the like (embarrassingly I didn't realise this until the second day I had the phone!). Certain events cause the outside of the circular button to illuminate white, this alerts you to any incoming messages, missed calls, etc

The screen is an impressive 2.8 inches, and with the VGA resolution you are watching a screen with the resolution you'd expect on a PC Monitor. When you watch video, or photos you can appreciate the quality of this screen. It knocks the socks off of my old MDA Vario/HTC TyTN.

There's no doubt that HTC fancy a slice of the i-Phone market, and it's a big one - especially with the i-phone being network limited, but you'd never do that with a standard Smartphone. For a start the Microsoft Windows Mobile Operating System is too clunky. If you've never used a smartphone before then it feels like a nightmare; thinking you've lost all of your photos because you're looking in the wrong `My Documents' folder (you often have one on the phone AND one on the storage card). The truth is that Microsoft have never been good at producing operating systems which are intuitive and feel natural - so there's a nifty solution here -"TouchFlo 3D".

I can see the merits of this. TouchFLO 3D makes the phone more i-Phone like, and when a phone doesn't have a keyboard/keypad then a good touch interface is essential. I was pretty impressed with TouchFLO 3D but found that every so often there was a stutter in speed. Again this is a common issue with MS Smartphones. It happens far less with the latest edition (Windows Mobile 6.1) and it's clear that it's come on a long way from the Windows CE (Compact Edition) days, but if you have a several things open (navigating from one programme to another leaves the previous programme open, you have to remember to clear the memory every-so-often) then the phone starts to slow. It isn't a massive drop in speed - like I say, it holds up well, VERY well in fact compared to the smartphones I've had in the past - but even just a blip in speed means that the scrolling effect of TouchFLO jerks slightly and I would maybe ending up selecting the wrong item. The i-phone is incredibly responsive - hopefully with future Firmware updates (afterall - this is new) the TouchFlo 3D will go from being a impressive interface to a desirable one.

I've turned TouchFLO off on my phone. To be honest, I enjoyed playing with it but I am pretty familiar with the standard MS Mobile GUI so I didn't really need it - I'm a geek so I quite like getting into the guts of the phone and browsing through folder structures. For someone new to an MS Smartphone though it's a great way to become familiar with it.

Word/Excel/PowerPoint provide a business suite to work on documents on the fly, there's Internet Explorer too but don't bother with that - Opera is bundled with the phone and it's a far superior browser on this phone. The automatic rendering of text size when zooming in and out is brilliant. You'll find yourself zooming like a nutter to see if you can catch it out, but you won't be able to! Syncing with Outlook is a breeze with ActiveSync - it actually came in handy as Smartphones tend to like re-formatting all your contacts to display as `last name, first name' which I don't like. But after exporting my contacts to Outlook on my laptop it took just over a minute to whiz through them to change the"file As" name to `first name, last name' - a click to re-sync them had my phone's contacts looking normal again.

GPS has become a standard feature of high-end phones, and it's included here. Your network may bundle a free trial of something like CoPilot, but you might be able to find some free software to use with the inbuilt GPS. Infact, there is an incredible array of third party software out there - and most of it is free (search around though as some sites will still charge a `download' fee, the cheeky robbing scoundrels!). A lot of the free software is considered to be standard fare for MS Smartphones, `Smart Explorer' for example is a fully featured File Explorer which allows you to peek anywhere in your phone and send anything via Bluetooth with just a couple of clicks.

I was looking forward to using the motion sensors to turn the device sideways to view the screen in landscape mode, but I was disappointed to find that this only works for certain applications such as Opera web browser. I was hoping to use it when composing messages, but never mind. You can actually download a free piece of third party software which allows you to configure the"Motion G" sensor so that you can use landscape viewing whenever you like. For anyone thinking that such a svelte phone would have issues packing in quality motion sensors, have a go on the built in game `Teeter'. This is a truly addictive game where you navigate a metal ball around the screen in order to drop it into a green hole whilst avoiding the other holes. It is entirely controlled by tilting the phone. It is incredibly responsive and a perfect way to demonstrate the impressive capabilities of the device. I referred to the ball as being metal, as every time you bump it into an obstacle you can actually feel it make contact and you honestly get the sense that you're moving a metal ball around a rather beautifully crafted box.

In a nutshell: As a phone this makes and receives calls with a sound clarity better than any mobile I've ever used. And despite the annoying latency you get with Microsoft Mobile, this is still a cracking phone. I think people moving from a `standard' phone will take a while to get used to it, but once you do then you quickly learn how to maximise its potential. I was initially lost without a keypad/QWERTY keyboard (and left wishing I'd gone for a TyTN II) but I now find that I rarely use the stylus. When writing text messages I used the onscreen phone keypad to tap away with my finger as I would have done on an actual keypad. The screen responds well and it's not an issue. The Wi-Fi was up and running in seconds, it was literally a case of activating Wi-Fi and entering the WEP key from the back of the router. Some have critcised the battery length - but get over it! This is a slim attractive but very powerful phone; the battery was never going to be one that needed a fortnightly top-up! If you use this alongside a PC then chances are you'll be synching it regularly - and the USB connection will keep it charged.

I was going to give this 4 stars, but any issues I had with the phone were ironed out after going through each of the settings and customising it to my needs.

Easy to use - brilliant display

I am not a mobile phone fanatic and I am normally bewieldered with the controls of these hi-tec models. Not so with this one - within a day I had mastered nearly all of the features and there are lots of them.
The display is really clear - especially so if you switch to the black theme.
Previously I had Motorola V3 and I was reluctant to change from the slim, easy in the pocket design. This model is so much easier to use than the Motorola - a really good menu system - and it sits in the pocket just as well.
I have noticed that there is a considerable pause between pressing"OK" and getting the shutter to operate on the camera. You have to set the photo resolution to one of the higher settings to appreciate the full quality of the camera.
The MP3 player seems just as good as my Samsung K3 and the radio pulls in a good reception. What more can you ask for in a phone. I said that when I bought the Motorola.
By the way I agree with the previous reviewer - imported ringtones are not very loud but I record my own on my electric guitar - no problems with volume if you do that.
Overall a great buy.

Wonderful but Vulnerable!

Properly set up, this thing will go, on voice command, to do your shopping or get your tyres blown up. It's equipped with just about everything. But the outer 'anodized' surface is incredibly vulnerable. With a finger nail, I injured mine just taking it out of the box despite the protective wrap. Accessories are basic. Charger and hands-free. The rest you must buy, and if you want to keep the surface in good condition you'll need a cover of some kind. I've always been 'Siemens' before. 'M' is a departure for me. I'm impressed with its capabilities. Glossy surface durability I can't comment on yet, but I'm not hopeful.

Good so far

I was offered a free upgrade to this phone. I accepted before I found out more.

My last phone was a SE w810i so I'll compare it to that.

Good:
Mini menu on front page to access phone book, calls, texts, calendar, etc (that may have been put on by Orange, though).
Very clear screen.
Predictive text not only tries to predict your current word but, when you're finished that one, it tries to predict the next word (my favourite feature).
Text message memory (and memory of previous people contacted by text) seems to have been expanded.
Charger has socket in back of it so it looks like you can use another device at the same time as charging phone.
Very good at finding a signal (I could use it in places that I couldn't use my w810i).
It's a slide phone so you can unlock it just by sliding it open.
The half moon buttons have gone so it's easier to press the right key.
The navigation key is bigger so it's easier to use.
The calendar tells you, on the front page, how many reminders you have for the current day.

Bad:
Whilst the battery lasts a few days it seems that it's not as long as my old w810i.
Reputed to be unreliable (I've had not problems as yet). I've taken a star off for that as the reports are so numerous that I've got my old phone a new sim in case my new phone breaks down.
It seems to take longer to pick up e-mails (but that could just be down to Orange network traffic).
There is no flash/light for the camera.

Just different:
The keys are a lot flatter (to enable the sliding) so that does take a little getting used to.

Not recommended.

Given that the only thing wrong with my old phone was that I couldn't buy a replacement battery and add to that the fact that I'm a middle aged man with mostly no real need for a phone, and perhaps you'll understand why I bought this one. Firstly, it was cheap, around £25.00 from phones4u, secondly it was basic, and thirdly, and most importantly, it meant I didn't have to trawl round a load of shops getting the hard sell from the eager young salespeople. So,

good points,
cheap,
small,
basic,
I can now send texts (is that a good point?).

Bad points;
buttons too small,
screen barely visible,
can't find a way to allow it to ring for longer - I almost always end up having to phone callers back because mine has gone to voicemail before I can answer it,
very quiet ringtones so you don't always hear it if you're in a fairly noisy environment,
can't necessarily always get a signal from the same location.

I would only recommend this to people with small fingers and good eyesight and hearing.It gets 3 stars because I'm not entirely sure that any mobile phone would really suit me, so it's, perhaps, unfair of me to be too critical.

Looks good but doesn't perform as good

This is a very attractive looking phone, it looks very expensive and is also very well designed. The memory on the phone is excellent and also the audio quality. The phone has a 2 mega pixel camera which performs ok, however you would expect a phone like this to have a much better quality camera. The downside to the phone is the slide mechanism which tends to wobble and generally feels that it has not been secured to the bottom section of the phone properly. It is also quite heavy and bulky to carry around in your pocket.

Brilliant Nokia

Build quality is amazing. Several bumps, drops and scrapes later this phone still looks brand new.

Metal finish is a joy to hold/look at and adds a nice weighted feel to the phone.

Features are perfect and balanced, everything (well, almost) that you could need. Although feature-packed, the ace of this phone is it's ease of use.

Ultimately this phone's acessibility makes it one of the best slider's ever and it should survive the ineviteable new wave of nokias next year.

Battery life a joke

My girlfriend bought a this phone 2 months ago, and from day one complained about the battery life. I thought she was exaggerating but she got so sick of it that she ditched it in favour of my older nokia. Just yesterday I decided I'd try out the 6131 for myself, because I'm partial to new gadgets.
I started the day on a fully charged battery. By 1pm, after a total of about 30/40 minutes of phone calls and about 5 or 6 SMS messages sent and received, along with about 10 minutes of playing Sudoku, the battery was showing as down to a quarter of its full life. I need my phone all day, so I promptly switched back to my Sony Ericsson K800i.


The *appalling* battery life of this phone renders it almost unusable as a day to day phone. I'm surprised this phone ever got released into production by Nokia. Generally I'm a Nokia fan- I like their user interfaces, although I am a bit less gone on their phone design in general. But this particular model is a failure in my opinion.

Other bugbears about the phone:

No micro SD card included as standard. Just seems a bit cheap to me.

Camera button on the side of the phone is easily activated when the phone is in your pocket, draining the battery even more quickly.

Non-intuitive interface at times, e.g. when sending messages you have to scroll down 3 items to access your contacts. Not a deal-breaker, but an annoying niggle not present on my last Nokia

Positive points:
Quite a nice clamshell design.

Easy to use, big keys

The Maria Callas of phones

The Nokia E90 is an impressive piece of kit. It is fully buzzword compliant and has an excellent build quality. The phone feels really nice to hold, its bulk is reassuring rather than getting in the way. The most impressive part of the device is the screen. It is big, clear and provides an excellent internet experience. The keyboard is too big to use one handed like the Nokia E61, but too small to touch type on.

Much of the software available fails to take advantage of the big screen, aside from email and the web browser. The mapping software is quite hard to configure but is really useful once you get it going.

The look and feel of it as a mini computer, belies the devices inherent weakness. Like other Nokia S60 devices I have owned the software doesn not like 1,000s of contacts like you may have in your outlook and hundreds of appointments in your calendar. In this respect it is useless compared to the old Palm Vx that I had some 7 years ago.

It frequently needs to be wiped and you need to start again. In a short space of time my pre-production model would no longer recognise a USB connection and wouldnt allow me to load contacts, calendars, third party software.