Compromises are needed everywhere, because none of us is willing to use anything that is terribly annoying. For example, E72, on the one hand, is a regular smartphone with 114,3 x58, 7×10, 4 mm dimensions, and on the other hand, it has a set of keys, which are not very comfortable to use. It is a centimeter wider than ordinary devices, and weight (129 grams) is not allocated to minimalism, but it is comfortable, and does not require much pocket bulge.

2.4-inch display is protected from all adversities by a hard plastic. At first glance, we have quite an ordinary form of a smartphone screen, simply rotated by 90 ° and having 320×240 pixels. However, there is one detail that distinguishes the unit from last year’s E71. This is the backlight brightness, which can be dull and insignificant, and irritatingly bright in the sun providing excellent readability of information. Well, not mentioning the placement because in most cases one can only enjoy a good quality colour reproduction.

Keyboard

There’s not much space on the surface of Nokia E72, because the entire lower part is occupied by a keyboard unit, consisting of an impressive plate soft-keys and buttons of receiving / hanging up calls as well as inscribed on the edges of the rocker of the two additional buttons on each side. A large navigation key pad with an optical joystick is placed in the center, which can be used for deviations to one side or turn off altogether.
But it’s not the optical joystick and a good screen of E72 for which you should buy it. QWERTY-keyboard – is the main charm of this smartphone. For its sake, many are ready to forgive an impressive breadth of the hull, and “strange” screen, and too slight pressure on the flat navigation keys. This keyboard gives the greatest pleasure of novelty, because it is more convenient that E71 and E63 analogues’. Layouts have undergone significant changes, which were very useful for fast typing.

Power

The battery is hidden behind the big steel lid, which is removed without any problems, but not so securely fastened as desired. Actually it is located under the battery capacity of 1500 mA • h, which is enough for a week for a modest operation, or four days of active use of the device. With this wireless module, operating time is reduced to two days of use, but here the activity of exploitation of E72 during this time is impressive.

Interface and communication

Specifications are filtered, which means you can go to the interface. At first glance, everything here is like in E71, the same numbers, the labels are located on top, but it is held considerably neater and friendlier without causing ascetic, which sometimes seems an ordinary vacuum.
But don’t think that E72 is an entertainment for madams and sirs, as animation and drawing icons is one thing, but various add-ons and adjustments to the parameters are always useful in business. And that’s why there is a chip of switching the standby mode from personal to business, where content, design theme, and wallpaper are configured.

Applications and Communication

Among the pre-installed software for the Nokia E72 it is worth mentioning not a pair of logical toys and the ability to install N-gage, but the presence of a full-featured Quick Office 4.5, with which you can view and edit presentations, spreadsheets and with straightforward text formatting, if all this is created in Word 97-2003 formats. Also in the list of applications we should mention Zip utility and Adobe PDF, from which you can view attachments and directories, or to group archives for comfortable sending. Of course, we note dictionary with free downloadable databases, as well as file manager, supporting network drives with a paired device.
In the device there is Bluetooth 2.0 with support for dozens of profiles, among which appear A2DP and EDR. Also the smartphone has a Wi-Fi with support for UPnP, in addition to the basic features IEEE 802.11b / g. Well, the list is closed by wired connection via USB-cable from the PC, where not only an opportunity to work with the PC Sute is available, but also a data transfer to memory card, with speeds up to 4 Mbps.

Camera

Funny, but E72 is one of the most convenient smartphones judging by photography. And no wonder, since 5-megapixel camera with autofocus is much above the surface, but is still delivered to the upper edge. As a result, closing it by finger is simply unrealistic. In addition, we are provided with a sufficiently broad spectrum of all the settings where unless the adjustment aperture is only not enough. The camera can record videos in VGA-resolution, which then can be shown on the PC without any shame.
The picture quality is quite on a good level, in spite of the consequences of the lack of aperture optics.

Outcome

Summarizing, it won’t prevent saying about the Nokia E72 something which for some people may be important. Yes, here is the same earpiece, as in E71, a polyphonic speaker was even a little louder, while maintaining high-quality sound. But still there is a great vibro-motor, which is difficult not to feel even in the pocket of an autumn jacket. So here again everything is excellent, and there is no reason for despondency.
And what is written in general as a result of the review? Yes, it is a great monoblovk with a good keyboard, it deserves the right to be heir to the E71, and it has high-Q assembly. Yes, in the E72 not everything is good, and its price will scare away many people, but on the other hand, it is not just another problematic device with disabilities, but an excellent business tool, only now with a full range of entertainment options.

Samsung continues to delight fans of thin tubes who are concerned about every free millimeter in the pocket of their jacket or jeans. For them Koreans have launched a logical continuation of a monoblock X820, which was supposed to be named X840, but marketers know it as U100, and now it has entered into a new line of ultra thin phones.

Design
So, a very thin model of the last year has become thinner by 1 mm, which is certainly a pleasant trifle.
When you take this phone in hand for the first time, it seems that an awkward movement and something may happen to the device. But, in reality, Samsung U100 a couple of times was overthrown on the floor, once U100 found itself on the ground, and in general – this was over with a hardly noticeable scratch.
The phone is strong due to ferrule on the phone. It is painted the same color as the shell. I do not know if it will protect in a really critical moment, but it certainly looks nice.
Striving for minimum thickness, the developers have removed all “unnecessary” things from the ends. By reducing they got a slot for microSD cards. Here is left only a volume rocker, camera button and a connector for the charger or USB-cable.
If anyone thinks that the phone has a touch keyboard, he/she will be wrong.
There is no problem with dialing, but the navigation button requires skill and addiction.
The reason is simple – in accordance with the ideas of “thin “, it is not raised above the surface and its direction palpated with difficulty.

Appliances
In essence, Samsung U100 is the continuation of X820 not only in terms of design, but also in terms of functionality. I do not want to play “find 10 differences”. U100 – is a revised X820.
In Samsung U100 there is a horizontal TFT-LCD with a resolution of 220×176. Judging from the test images, the screen can be described as a pretty decent one, though small viewing angles are sometimes forced to keep the tube straight.
Behavior of the screen under the sun is also adequate, since the menu icons and text can be seen well; the colors fade a little bit.
Menu is well-known from other devices of Samsung. I personally like more concise design, which is in the tubes, based on the platform D500.

As U100 is a thin assistant of business people, there is a notebook for 1000 contacts with the ability to record five numbers, e-mail addresses, notes, and the choice of individual melodies and ringtones. It seems nothing extraordinary, but the convenience of using is worth noting.
Voice recorder limits the recording time by one hour, that is more than enough, and memory for 100 events in the organizer will not be filled in one day.
Data transfer speed via BlueTooth from PC to Samsung is about 50 Kbps.
In that case, if you are fond of talking regularly, climb on the menu, often use calendar, from time to time take photos, the battery will last for two days.

Functions for entertainment
Samsung U100 is equipped with a 3 MP camera – a legitimate question arises – whether it is better than a 2-megapixel brother X820? As for the size of the picture, it is more accurate, but the quality is slightly higher comparing the shots. It seems that they are a little sharper, and the remaining is the same.
MP3-player is also known as peeling, as its interface and capabilities are already well known. From the innovations we can only recall the work in the background and support for Bluetooth-A2DP profile to work with stereo headset. The sound quality of the player (of the phone, in general) is good; the volume is enough for most cases, except a very noisy street and subway.
To some extent there is no FM-radio, as the built-in memory can not keep many songs, but fans of music would like to listen to a fresh hit from beloved singers.

Conclusion
As a worthy successor of the model X820, Samsung U100, to some extent repeats its fate, becoming famous, but it remained a niche product, which will not be found in every pocket. In general, the device is quite successful, mainly because of the minimum thickness and business design. U100 can not boast with functionality but it wasn’t the aim of the manufacturer. Samsung focused only on the dimensions of the shell.

Philips continues to produce more mobile phones of its famous line Xenium. The list of models is already so extensive that only the last two phones are held in the memory; however, the replenishment can not be avoided. So, meet this new Philips Xenium 9@9h.

Design
Xenium 9@9h retained the general features of design, characteristic of “literal” clamshells of Series 9@9 – compactness, light weight, easy to use and nice looking shell shape.
The cover of Xenium 9@9h leans with one hand, but there is not an automatic closer, as in many modern phones, therefore, certain dexterity of fingers to the owner of the mobile phone will have to be demonstrated in any case. But the sides of the shell are made of a slightly rough plastic, which helps easily to hold the phone in hand.
The battery lid, on the contrary, is very slippery and thin. In addition, it is clearly recorded a tight clasp, excluding backlash.

Made at the outer surface of the housing, the connector to connect the USB cable and the slot for the dynamics of polyphony has no protection, which raises legitimate concerns, especially given the fact that the speaker is placed in a very unusual place – in the upper end of the tube.
Frightening to think what might happen if someone tries to talk on the phone under the rain, not even the strong one.

Keyboard
The keyboard of Xenium 9@9h is pseudo-sensor, i.e. with a minimum speed buttons. And of course, it has both advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages, in fact, are purely aesthetic: Yes, the phone looks very stylish, it disguises its budget nature and nothing more. But typing on the keyboard, even if it is sufficiently broad to which the boundaries between the buttons can be discerned only after long training, and it is very inconvenient, there is no any “save” button.
In addition, the buttons seem to be too tight, although it is a matter of habit.

DisplayThe main goal that the developers of Xenium phones set themselves is the maximum battery life, so in this line of clamshells outer screen is either completely absent or replaced by a simple monochrome. In the case of the Xenium 9@9h, we have seen enough of the original decision. There is no external display on this phone. Instead, the outer cover is made of a dark plastic panel hiding 4 LEDs that show several states of the phone: entering a new text message, incoming / outgoing calls, the charging process.

The photo shows that you have a fresh SMS-SC and there is a missed call.
The main screen, is a real TFT-display, although not too large (128×160 pixels), with a noticeable grain, but generally provides acceptable image quality, including bright daylight.
In text mode screen is placed on five lines – more or less sufficient to draw or read a short message.

Options
A significant advantage of Xenium 9 @ 9h is a decent set of installed software, at least compared with previous models from this line. From business applications in the phone there is a calculator with the same nice GUI, as in the younger models. However, given the previously described problems with the keyboard input Xenium 9@9h, it is difficult to say whether this interface is tied to a navigation key.
In the functional set there is also a currency converter (maybe once developers figure it out replace it with a full-fledged universal converter units), clock with world time, alarm clock with three custom slot, voice recorder (maximum duration of one record is 12 minutes).

There is also a personal organizer with three viewing modes and three types of insertion events. Different sounds can be attached to events, as well as specify the regularity of recurrence – from daily to annual.
The notebook of Xenium 9@9h, on the contrary, is functionally very poor. It holds a thousand entries, each of which can store up to three different fields, conventionally marked as a phone number, fax number and IP-phone client. No additional fields. There is no opportunity to create groups of contacts, or the appointment of individual calls to individual contacts.

In Xenium 9@9h there is an FM-radio, and in the sales package you can find a good headset, serving as an antenna. It’s nice, because not every budget phone boasts about advanced multimedia capabilities.
But another problem emerges: the phone doesn’t play MP3-files! All that you can play with the tube (it is not even a player as a separate program) is midi, and AMR-files.
In Xenium 9@9h there is only 3 MB memory, and it does not support a memory card.

Conclusion
What I did not like in Xenium 9@9h is lack of functionality at the hardware level. Even as a budget model, the phone can not offer its users neither built-in camera, or wireless communication via Bluetooth. Given the penny cost of the two modules, we are inclined to believe that this restriction is not enforced due to the cost of production, as dictated by the positioning of Xenium 9@9h merely as a budget model, mimic a more serious mobile tool. Well, if the tube is designed to compete with Nokia 1100, then it has a good chance of winning.
On the other side Xenium 9@9h is equipped with long-life batteries and rather good design. Indeed, batteries, of Philips mobile phone beat all possible records, but how long this figure can persuade mobile users to give up opportunities that their comrades have grown accustomed for a long period of time?

After releasing GSmart i120 and i128 with an analog TV – receiver, the manufacturer offers its new communicator with a digital TV support.

Design
Among other communicators, GSmart t600 stands out for its unusually cheerful and bright snow-white shell, covered with a nice touch transparent plastic.
The black bezel around the perimeter of the shell makes the device much catchier to the eye. The black plastic on a white background and decorated with the camera lens, are located on the upper part of the back side. In fact, such a design is more familiar for MP3-players or game consoles, but not for communicators.
For someone this device will seem too pretentious, but someone will be delighted by its unusual design. In any case, no one can remain indifferent.

GSmart t600 has compact dimensions (110,5 x 55,5 x 18,5 mm, 140 g), it perfectly lies in the palm.
However, it doesn’t cause any discomfort while being in the pocket of its owner (even in the shirt pocket). The main controls for GSmart t600 have unusual design, though they are located in the same places. So under the screen the user will find seven round transparent buttons of various diameters, including the attractive navigation button with which it is very easy to work. The remaining buttons perform normal functions, although they have another design idea. Proceedings from the buttons are very clear and moderately short, but because of large gaps between the keys, the communicator is easy to control.
Another important control button is a sound control. It is located on the upper corner of the left side. The power button is on top.
GSmart t600 should be connected to PC via a normal USB-Cable – miniUSB port is located on the lower end.
The metal telescoping stylus is located in the corner of the upper end. Together with the stylus I found the telescopic antenna for TV.

Display
To equip this device with an unusual bright display with a resolution of 320×240 pixels would be quite wrong. Therefore t600 has a touch-sensitive TFT-panel with a resolution of 640×480 and a diagonal of 2,6″. All the main characteristics of the display of the communicator are almost close to the ideal – an excellent image sharpness and color rendition, wide range of changes in brightness, excellent contrast. But on the viewing angle the display leaves much to be desired. There is a slight distortion of the colors and brightness. That is the readability of the display is almost not affected, but the impression of the picture deteriorates.
There is one more drawback – the reverse side of the fashionable high resolution. Diagonal 2.6″ for this device is not enough. It’s quite difficult to get the stylus to the right button on the screen, and especially typing on the touch keyboard.

GSmart t600 runs the operating system Windows Mobile 6.0 Pro.
Among other communicators, t600 is one of the most powerful CPU – Marvell PXA270 520 MHz. Onboard memory is 64 MB RAM and 256 MB of ROM (from this are available 49 MB and 152 MB respectively) which is not the smallest amount among analogue t600. As graphics accelerator Intel 2700G is used here.
With such a system, the communicator can solve the most diverse tasks, including calculation, games and multimedia applications. Performance was tested using Spb Benchmark. For comparison, the table shows the results of testing the communicator RoverPC S6 (TI OMAP 750 200 MHz, 64 MB RAM and 128 MB ROM, Windows Mobile 6.0).
Characteristics GSmart t600 RoverPC S6
Spb Benchmark index 268 953
CPU index 2001 975
File system index 464 98
Graphics index 4325 2359

The difference compared with communicators with 200 MHz processors is evident. The novelty can play smoothly even unconverted files.

Communication capabilities
GSmart t600 is a quad-class Communicator (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) with a support for GPRS Class 10. There are both wireless modules for the latest versions of modern communicators: Bluetooth 2.0 and Wi-Fi (WLAN 802.11b / g).
GSM-communication device keeps stable even in remote places. When you work with Wi-Fi, breaks occur, but rarely.

Built-in TV
Predecessors of GSmart t600, i120 and i128 models have the support of analog TV. Because of its compact size, built-in solid-state receiver often gives significant disruption, noise and other artifacts, for which users disliked it. However, many countries have replaced analog TV with digital. Naturally, having a digital TV receiver you can significantly improve picture quality.

Camera
Built-in camera for t600 can be found in most modern communicators. Its resolution is 2 megapixel with CMOS-sensor, there is an autofocus and the ability to capture in macro mode. The camera has a LED backlight flash.
Camera activation button is located at the bottom of the right end; it is placed quite deep in the shell that is why pressing on it is a little bit difficult.
Interface software application responsible for the shooting is quite stylish.

Photographs are available in JPG format with three options for image quality and resolution from 160×120 to 1600×1200 pixels, video – in 320×240 format wmv, mp4 and 3gp.
Quality of the photos can be estimated as average. Noise in the bright sunny weather is quite a lot, but the color rendition is lame.

Sound
The communicator has a mono speaker, located next to the camera lens. The sound of the dynamics is clean, noise-free even at a very high volume.

Battery
GSmart t600 is equipped with a Li-Ion-battery with capacity of 1300 mAh. This is sufficiently large, and, guided by experience in communicating with other devices, you can pre-suppose that two days of work without recharging should be sufficient. However, the assumption, unfortunately, is not justified. With sufficiently intense work (calls, phone book editing, checking e-mail) battery needs to be recharged in a day.
It should be noted that the t600 is not the first communicator, with a long battery life. The latest high-performance vehicles consume more and more energy, losing its most important feature – mobility.

Conclusion
GSmart t600 model is just as interesting, as controversial. Among the obvious advantages of the novelty the high performance, ability to work with unconverted video display with a resolution of 640×480, and the availability of the wireless modules can be mentioned. But without the drawbacks it can not succeed – there is no support for EDGE, low battery life, non-standard connector of audio input.

GIGA-BYTE Company is actively adjusting to the subtleties of the mobile market. Together with GSmart MW700, about which we have told you recently, the producer presented another novelty – MW998 communicator, which is nothing more than a GSmart t600 modification. As MW700 our today’s model MW998 is not flaring with bright colors and does not have an inbuilt TV module that did not win attention of buyers.

Construction
By its outward appearance the novelty is maximum alike GSmart t600 communicator. This is a rather bright outstanding model different with its unusual control bodies, but still this model looks very stylish (may be even too much strict) so many different categories of potential buyers will like it – youth and sound businessmen.
Instead of dazzlingly white body of t600 this new communicator is black; the front panel together with side insets is made of polished glittering plastic.
And the back panel smoothly turning into the ends of the body is made of mat plastic. This communicator is rather big (110,5 х 55,5 х 18,5 mm) and rather heavy (140 g), but it is comfortable to hold it in your hands.
It looks like the market experience with GSmart t600 showed that the white color is not so popular and it is more plausible to make it black. It is really so, in this case this device looks quite in another way, and Asian notes in design bring some exclusiveness to the device, but not flowery as it was with t600.

The central and the biggest control body of MW998 is 4-position wheel of moving cursor with a central confirmation key. Plus to that there are six small round keys placed in the sides of this wheel, their functions are answer/cancel of conversation, menu activation, start, actions confirmation and shortcut menu for any two programs on the choice of the user. Keys have a great tactile response and are easy to be distinguished by touch due to the different sizes and sufficient space between the keys. We can consider MW998 one of the best communicators in the market as for the navigation comfort. The only thing that may alert the potential buyer in the beginning is its unusual appearance of the main control block, but after a couple of days of using it you will easily get accustomed to that.
As well as t600 all central control black of the novelty has bright blue micro lights. It looks accurate and stylish on the black background of the phone case. It is flaring, but not too much.

Additional spring loaded scroll box is placed in the upper side of the left end. By default it controls the sound volume. Here you can also find a sunk into the phone body key of soft restart.
The right end is occupied by a silver oblong key of inbuilt camera activation and with two plastic covers of the same color with the body fringing. Under these covers there is a microSD slot and a brand accessory jack hidden. It is hard to say what was the reason why the producer could not use a standard 2,5 mm minijack so a user could use any earphones together with this novelty.
In fact, there is a 2,5 mm adapter supplied with MW998, but it’s not clear what a user should do in case of this adapter loss or damage. Plus to that, the opened cover of the body really bothers while using accessories. If you keep your communicator in the pocket, the cover will definitely get hold of something there.

For connection with PC you can use a simple USB cable, the communicator has a mini-USB port in the lower end of the body.
Right here you can also find an opening of the inbuilt loudspeaker for conversations and an eye for the thong.
Metal telescopic stylus is of good quality, but it is too thin and so using it is not very comfortable.
By the way, there is an additional stylus supplied with communicator, so in case you break the first one, you won’t have to run around shops. In a whole, the design and construction of GSmart MW998 gives only positive emotions.

Filling and efficiency
GSmart MW998 is operated by Windows Mobile 6.0 Pro.
The hardware of communicator is well-known to us by other GSmart models: rather high-efficiency processor Marvell PXA270 with CPU clock 520 MHz, 64 Mb RAM and 256 Mb ROM. A user gets only 49,10 Mb and 140,84 Mb correspondingly. A rather wide range of preinstalled software which of course occupies memory, but the part of it can be deleted by the user. In the result the user gets only 19,00 Mb RAM and 117,46 Mb ROM.
The communicator efficiency is traditionally tested by a Spb Benchmark 1.6.

Display
GSmart MW998 has good characteristics: 2,6 inch VGA TFT display with a resolution of 480 х 640 pixels. The range of brightness is wide, though it has only five levels. Color transfer and sharpness simply gladdens the eye. Display is simply ideal judging by these characteristics for viewing pictures or movies. And the viewing angles leave something else to desire, horizontally as well as vertically.

Camera
MW700 has the same inbuilt 2 megapixel CMOS-sensor camera that other GSmart have, and so we can hope for a rather good quality of pictures, different from the pictures taken by the majority of other communicators presented nowadays in the market. The camera is equipped with a LED flash placed near the lens over the battery cover.
A program application interface (responsible for photographing) is familiar to us from the GSmart t600 review.
You can take pictures in JPG format in three variants of the image quality and resolution: 160 х 120, 1600 х 1200, video: 320 х 240 in wmv, mp4 and 3gp formats.
Camera settings are quite enough for photographing in any conditions: balance of white, exposure setting, using different effects. Moreover, you can choose one of the preinstalled scenes to simplify photographing: album, night, portrait and macro photographing.
As it was expected MW998 shows a rather high quality of pictures: there are few noises and even if the lights are insufficient the colors are reproduced without distortions; focusing is almost perfect. Plus to that, a camera is working rather quickly and a viewfinder is moving quite rapidly.

Communication abilities
MW998 has a full range of communication abilities. This novelty supports GSM: 850/900/1800/1900, GPRS Class 12, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, but unfortunately this device does not have an ability to increase the rate of data transfer via EDGE. For comparison, a recently reviewed MW700 supported EDGE, and todays novelty does not support this standard as well as other GSmart models.

This novelty keeps the connections perfectly, signal is stable and it is not lost even in the zones of low receive level. Sound is clear with no distortions and noises. The same concerns the voice received via inbuilt loudspeaker for conversations. If you want to record a conversation or to put some background sound onto your voice, you should use a preinstalled utility Wise Talk. With the help of this utility you can imitate such places like airport, concert hall, highway and etc spoofing your interlocutor. You can also put on the conversation any other sounds which you earlier recorded.

Among additional wireless modules this novelty has Bluetooth 2.0 and Wi-Fi (WLAN 802.11b/g); these modules work gets no complaints. Besides that, we should note that there is a brand interface with simple settings and stylish appearance for working with Bluetooth-connections.

Battery capacity is 1300 mAh. According to the MW998 passport data this should provide 4 hours of working in speaking mode and 150 hours in stand by mode.
The battery capacity rate is a wide spread one and that is why in fact the estimated time of working should be about 1,5 days, which was practically proved. If you are an economic user and you are not surfing mobile Internet and you don’t chat and etc, your communicator can stand for about 2 days and you can use a memo book from time to time.
Additional software

GSmart MW998 is supplied with a small set of brand utilities and programs, familiar by other GIGA-BYTE communicators reviews. So we will not stop describing each of them, we will just enlist the set going together with this novelty.
Utilities for the work with a phone are presented with useful programs like a black list and quick automatic dialing a subscriber.
Multi media applications block has an interesting dictaphone brand, a simple an comfortable in use audio mixer and utility for the work with java application.
The most interesting system utilities are Spb Backup for reserve copying data; it has functions of schedule record and Zip archiver.

Conclusions
The most interesting is that despite all its advantages, this novelty is not expensive and that is a definite record for the communicator with VGA display. Plus to that – a stylish design, high-efficiency filling, comfortable control and high quality of the photographs taken by inbuilt camera – all this makes GSmart MW998 even more attractive, but this communicator has minuses as well, the lack of GPS navigator considerably decreased the quantity of potential buyers of this device, and having a good size display this device could become a good automobile navigator.

In 2006 Motorola began releasing a new line of MOTORIZR image sliders. The first was the model Z3, which is the first GSM-slider of the company. Great attention was paid to materials, as well as on internal functional filling which couldn’t make this mobile phone a bestseller. In early 2007, an updated model Z6 was launched. Now the phone is positioned as a musical image slider. And again – beautiful, functional, but unpopular. Till the end of 2007 an updated Z8 model released. In addition to black-and-green color it has Symbian UIQ platform and many other advantages.

Finally, there comes RIZR Z10 – an updated model of Z8 which has a more rigorous design. So let’s have a look at this novelty.

Design

With all of its non-standard (in a good sense of the word) design, Z8 had a very cool reception. Young people, to whom the acidic insert might come to taste, started criticizing the price of the device.

Speaking about its design, we can not accept the harsh brutality of the Staff. This feature is peculiar to many phones from Motorola. On the contrary, in an era when everything is “Slim, soft and low”, to have a heavy device in the hand during conversation is not very convenient.

Unfortunately, here come some disappointments. First of all the metallic color. The phone is entirely made of plastic.

The original arrangement of this new Z8 slider has not been modified. Moreover, the numbers did not differ from each other with designing elements, with the exception of the back side, which is caused by a more serious camera in RIZR Z10.

As in the previous model, the opening of the upper half is lifted under a small angle. This is definitely an interesting solution.

With regard to the process of opening / closing, despite the complex mechanism, to perform this operation you can either injure your finger in a special rubber stress below the display, or in the upper halves of the rib.

As for the remaining designing solutions they are acceptable, such as bolts on the rear lid. The size of the phone and the weight fit into the overall image due to the fact that the phone is large in order to work with it comfortably. In general, even in the pockets of jeans or trousers Z10 isn’t comfortable to carry. However, if once again we draw a parallel with the predecessor, the Z8 is 1.5 mm thinner and 5 grams lighter.

Display

Z10 is only a continuation of Z8 (in fact – an Update). Like Z8, it has a 2.2-inch TFT-display with QVGA-resolution (320 x 240 pixels) and supporting 16 million colors.

As in previous models, the screen does not have impressive specifications, but generally looks modern. Getting ahead, I will say that Z10, with its entire functions is a simple device poorly suited for multimedia.

Keyboard

Describing this phone’s keypad, we traditionally divide it into three units – nautical, digital, and additional keys. In the case of Z10 the navigation block is executed in classical style for this line. There is a 4-position button in the middle, two soft keys, two additional buttons (Menu / list of tasks and “back”), as well as standard “phone”.

The buttons are made of rubber, so pressing them is hard enough. That is, any action requires serious effort.

The second stage of our conversation will be about additional buttons. At the left end of the monoblock there are three buttons.

Two are responsible for the volume, and the third – for quick access to multimedia gallery. This is more than a controversial decision. You can easily get to the gallery through the menu and, yes, and you need it less frequently. Below there is a slot for memory cards. Suitable card format is microSD, up to 32 GB.

Right end is equipped with one button, which is responsible for the rapid launch of built-in camera. Here is the miniUSB connector, serves to connect the peripherals and the charging / docking to a PC.

All connectors are covered with plastic plugs, so the aerodynamics of the shell did not violate anything.

The digital keyboard brings controversial feelings. In principle, it has not changed since Z8.

All the keys are highlighted with pale green light, which is not very suitable for this device. Milky and white would be fine.

Features

As we have already noticed, the phone is built on Symbian 9.2 (Motorola Symbian UIQ 3.2). In fact it is a capricious platform which has little in common with the classic S60 from Nokia, and with UIQ from Sony Ericsson. As a result, all the charm of the smartphone as a multimedia device is reduced to 0.

First, it requires a very long download time. In order to switch the language from English into Russian (search for the notebook, or enter the address in the browser), you must enter the corresponding menu, select language, press “save”, then “use”, and only then get the desired result.

Almost every operation is perceived as a personal affront to the phone and requires a minimum double confirmation. For example, setting the alarm clock: you choose the time, say 9:00, press “save” and come out of the directory. In the morning, you get at 11:00, remembering that you have not clicked “use”.
However, the heavy menu is the only serious shortcoming of the phone. It is not just difficult to control; it is not suitable for everyday use.

From the additional features we can mention a list of supported formats, such as: AAC, AAC +, WAV, AMR NB, MP4, MP3, MIDI, WMA, MPEG4 (30 fps), H.263, H.264. Thus, the device is more than suitable for listening to music, and even for viewing videos. The player is quite suitable.

Regarding the possibility of connecting to other devices, you can use USB-cable or Bluetooth 2.0 (A2DP, AVRCP, DUN-GW, FTP, GAP, GAVDP, Headset-AG, HFP 1.5 AG, OPP-Client, OPP).

Camera

The camera is good. Basically the camera is the main difference of Z8 from the Z10. Thus, the latest has a 3.2-MP CMOS-matrix with autofocus and flash, and the opportunity to make up to three images per second.

The camera works in a horizontal mode, like Sony Ericsson. For the convenience of shooting the camera has a pre regime: “normal”, “indoor”, “street”, “Sport”, etc. There is not a very powerful LED flash (there is a regime of “red eye”). It has the following functions: color effects, white balance, sharpness, you can select the image quality and size. As you can see, it has a solid set of features.

Z10 has a 3,2 MP camera. The photos in good lighting are bright, juicy, but not ideal.
You can save the images in the internal memory (45 MB) and a memory card, moreover, the phone has a built in Photo Editor, so you can process the received pictures.

The modern phone should have a powerful battery. Battery 1130 mA • h (Li-Ion) is able to provide vital energy for needs of the phone up to 3 days.

Outcome

In a competitive market Z10 is largely inferior to the alternative proposals to price / capabilities and status of the device. If you want to stand out, then it is for you. The phone did not become popular and is quite rare. However, once again reiterate that this does not make Z10 a bad phone, it just has its own specifics.

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Appearance
The dimensions (110.0 x 49.0 x 11.7 mm) and weight (99.8 g) of Sony Ericsson W902 can be considered as medium – it is better to be carried in a pocket or in a belt case. The design of the innovation is strict, but without minimalism.
Moreover, the black plastic body from all sides has literally distinguished design elements. So, right end differs from the left by applied diamond-shaped notches, smoothly passing on to the right side of the unit. By this the manufacturer wanted to emphasize the key block, managing multimedia functions, located on the right facet. With this solution Sony Ericsson W902 does not look symmetrical, and that is what attracts attention. By the way, the whole idea of unbalanced design is very seductive, but manufacturers rarely gratify it with attention.
The feeling of the high cost is only intensified if you remove partly the metal lid that covers the battery – on the reverse side there is a riffling for roughness, soft inset for contact with the lens and the metal screen that simulates the electrical mass of the body. All these thoughtful little things once again underline the high status of the new item.
The front panel, covered with transparent plastic with a dark polished substrate is, of course, soiled, but it is the disadvantage of many modern tubes. The display of the device is covered with mineral glass; it is not afraid of scratches, and consequently, image eclipse in the future.
In general, Sony Ericsson W902 produces a very pleasant impression reinforced by the fact that the smooth curved lines and the oval surface are successfully combined with the sharp edges of upper ends. The play on the contrast of lines and forms, together with the broken symmetry makes the unit quite attractive.

The unit of Sony Ericsson W902, located below the display, is made in the form of protruding on the front panel keys. The manufacturer wisely decided not to implement any sensory “zests”, totally unsuitable for the harsh Russian winter, or a single keyboard, which creates a lot of problems with random functioning. But the form of government is very unusual. Above the digital block three circles are located, each containing three keys.
Complicated at first glance, the design was very easy to use. There was no false in functioning, and at the same time the buttons are easily pressed with finger pads, rather than nails, as with other models. As a result, we have a bold and original design combined with high functional management (there is even a button, which is responsible for switching between tasks), and perfect work (tactile efficiency of all buttons is ideal).
In addition, the block of multimedia keys should be noted. It is located on the right end, as well as a round button Walkman at the upper end.
They provide not only convenient management of entertainment functions, but also quick access to the MP3-player and camera. All these keys are significantly above the surface of the shell, but at the same time have a relatively tough course, so they cannot be pressed accidentally.
The only button that we would like to see in this musical phone is a slide locking button. The program blocking copes well with its functions, but hardware blocking would be better all the same.

Other Features
The phone connects to a computer via USB-cable from the traditional for the Sony Ericsson brand interface. This connector is also used for charging and for connecting an audio adapter to a standard mini jack of 3,5 mm, to which the set headphones or any others are connected.
It is probably useless to appeal to the developers of the Swedish-Japanese joint venture, for installing a normal 3.5-mm mini jack in their musical models.
A slot for a memory card of M2 format is located under the battery compartment lid. However, in order to install the card itself you do not need to remove the battery, and therefore – and do not have to disconnect the phone.
But to call this method of installing the memory card easy is hardly acceptable. By the way, in the set with the new model a card of 8 GB capacity and a stylish USB-adapter are supplied.
This amount of memory is sufficient to create a music library for a few days, and even some additional space will remain for photos. Those who find it insufficient can buy a 16 GB card, its cost, though, will not be cheap.

Time of autonomous work
If you do not use the MP3-player, but talk on the phone about 20 minutes a day and regularly work with the address book, the device will have to be charged about once every three days. But if this includes exploiting the MP3-player (for three hours a day), then the battery of the W902 will operate for two days. Well, and with continuous music playing the time will be just over 25 hours, which is a fairly high rate.

Display
In addition to the aforementioned the TFT-display of the W902 has large angles of view, high rate of brightness and clarity of the image. But its technical features are standard – 2.2-inch diagonal, with a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels and support of 260 thousand colors.
However, this cannot be considered a weakness. Photos on the screen of the new model look superb – loss of details is minimal, and the color is as close to the natural as possible.

Connection
In terms of communication a musical top-model has to be omnivorous. The W902 not only works in all the GSM networks (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), but also supports 3G networks. Access to the Internet in the GSM-network is supposed to be via GPRS or EDGE, which is faster. And the connection to other devices is possible due to a built-in Bluetooth-module with support of EDR. No criticism to the quality of communication (we have not tested only the 3G) the phone works even in areas with weak signal. However, one detail was noticed – in such problematic places the indicator signal often behaves inappropriately, descending completely to zero, then suddenly issuing the highest rate. It has no effect on the quality of communication, but nothing like that was observed in other devices.
Another module on board is the FM-radio, which is operated by an original program with a fairly strict interface. The radio is no worse than in any stereo system.
As an antenna traditionally serves the wire of headphones, so without their connection the application does not operate.

Menu
The Russian menu of the W902 – is the acme of perfection, which the developers from Sony Ericsson have reached to date. Beautifully selected colors, stylish animated icons and intuitively comprehensible structure makes the interface of this phone one of the best in its class.
For beginners tips are provided for each section, not intrusive pop-up tips, but produced with hand.
The main menu is a matrix of 3 x 4 icons, but depending on the chosen topic it may be a text menu, and a rotating three-dimensional one, and in a form of a large icon displayed on the screen. Preset themes are available for every taste. The office abilities are presented by a standard set of tools: an extensive address book, alarm clock, calculator, stopwatch, a list of calls, internet browser tool to memorize the codes, etc. The flash of the built-in camera, may also serve as a flashlight. To determine the location, the supplement Google Maps is used. There is even a utility calculating steps.
The pedometer has few configurations, but also helps to maintain your body in tone (unless, of course, you fulfill the everyday norm). And among the three pre-set games with a three-dimensional interface the famous Need for Speed was found.

Camera
As we have said, the main priority of the new item is its musical ability. Nevertheless, the camera of the W902 deserves no less respect. It has a 5 MP resolution, with a possibility to save the image up to 2592 x 1944, an autofocus and flash.
The latter, although it is LED, has an extremely bright light – not xenon, of course, but the user will hardly feel significant difference. The lens is protected by glass, but unfortunately no shutter is provided – before shooting you often have to wipe the lens.
The program of working with the camera has a simple but attractive interface, which will certainly seem familiar to owners of other camera phones by Sony Ericsson. Settings are many: image quality, white balance, enabling / disabling of the flash, the choice of one of the standard scenes of shooting (including a panorama mode), the imposition of special effects, and insertion of a frame on the photo.
The quality of images is decent. Bright vivid colors, rich details and the availability of excellent focus will be an excellent incentive not only for the transfer of shots to the Internet, but also for their print, however, the format is not more than 10 x 15 cm. Still, this is not a photo camera, but a camera phone, though with an 5-MP matrix. The camera loses a little in competition, but in general the quality of images is worthy of deep respect – even in night scenes there is not so much noise, as we used to see. Below you see the test shots, and the archive with full size photos, can be downloaded here.

And on the following pictures you can see how the image stabilizer works. The filming was carried out with a hand in a moving subway car. The first upper frame corresponds to shooting without using a stabilizer, the picture below – with the stabilizer on.

Conclusions
Sony Ericsson W902 is good in everything: the original design, sound ergonomics, high quality images, excellent music capabilities, rich set. And though everything in the new model is of the highest quality, the price does not stand up to competition. Alas, but competitors showed slightly better results at lower cost for example Nokia N79 equipped (with a GPS-navigator, a Wi-Fi-module etc.).