Let Me Hold It:

The Satio box is thoroughly unremarkable but the bundled accessories are impressive. The stylus is stylish, the headset is excellent and there’s a pretty substantial video out cable in there too.

Satio Accessories

The device itself has been made with Sony’s special brand of super glossy plastic which attracts finger prints and smudges from passers-by, let alone the actual user. Don’t expect to be able to admire that black sheen AND hold the phone at the same time unless you’re a snooker referee. Perhaps that’s why they chose a resistive touch screen, so you can handle the phone with pristine white gloves. The device also looks like it may be vulnerable to scratches but only time will tell as I’m not about to break out the sandpaper.

There’s a good compliment of hardware buttons including call/end, menu, camera shutter, camera modes, playback, volume and a very handy keylock slider but as with several other touch based devices there’s no direction input keys. As pretty as Satio may be, the straight sided construction of the device quickly becomes uncomfortable and it struggles to sit nicely for single handed use. This is made several times worse should you attempt to use the phone while charging. Once again Sony Ericsson has endeavoured to place the fastport in the worst possible position, here being on the left side just below centre. This means the charger protrudes annoyingly to obstruct either the right-hand fingers or left-hand palm preventing any comfortable hold.

Let Me Use It:

First boot provides a minor tutorial and the antiquated process of calibrating the resistive touch screen. This is a drag at the best of times but here it was a nightmare as the device repeatedly claims “too far from point x”, even when using the stylus smack-bang in the centre of each throbbing dot. I don’t know if this is common to all Satio’s but I experienced this on first use and again after another factory reset. Recalibration via the later menus runs without such issues but the accuracy and responsiveness of the screen remain questionable!

Once reaching the home screen things look good with the “Sony Ericsson” standby theme in use. Swiping left and right changes between the five predefined tabs while lists or pictures on these support the kinetic scrolling method everyone is used to, albeit nowhere near as responsive as that on an iPhone or Android device. Instead the scrolling often either fails or overshoots, at least until you get used to using slow and positive gestures…casual flicks are not welcome here. Customisation, meanwhile, is limited to say the least…you get to set the list of shortcuts and that’s it. Other Standby Themes are available but these are dull, offering nothing other than three static icons and custom shortcuts varying only the quantity or location.

Entering the main menu reveals a typical 4 x 3 icon grid and a single press on each continues to the next screen but this is where things start to get messy. Selecting contacts, for example, pops up a bland list of names (with no contact pictures other than the one currently selected) but inexplicably this list doesn’t scroll in the same kinetic manner as the (thumbnail rich) contact shortcuts list on the home screen. No, instead it is now completely the opposite! Trying to “throw” the list up only succeeds in making a selection bar go nuts while the list remains stationary. This selection bar must be grabbed and pushed to the bottom of the list in order to move down…I can only describe this as idiotic and un-natural and it makes accurate navigation of any list a virtual impossibility. The only acceptable solution is to pull out the stylus and drag the bar on the right of the screen, just like using Windows way back before the invention of scroll wheels. At this point the seemingly negligible omission of any direction buttons becomes a critical flaw.

But wait, it gets worse! In case the experience wasn’t yet uncomfortable enough things make a baffling change from single click to double click selection!?! On first encountering this I simply thought the phone was experiencing huge lag, in fact the device is fast, but it soon dawned that the UI was just suffering another irritating inconsistency.

Looking for any opportunity to escape this nightmare I fired up the camera with a satisfying snap of the lens cover. This is good, really good in fact, the 12MP camera doesn’t disappoint and the xenon flash makes indoor snaps easy. There’s an impressive feature set including Smile Shutter, Touch Capture, image stabilisation and BestPic making the camera probably the best thing about this device.

Satio Camera Sample

Of course Satio is Sony Ericsson’s “entertainment unlimited” flagship device so surely the other media features are up to scratch to? Thankfully they are thanks to the familiar, XMB-style Media menu which remains intuitive and benefits from convenient YouTube integration. Kinetic scrolling makes a return here which would ordinarily be great but on Satio it really just adds further confusion to a terribly mixed up control system.

Eventually I had to leave the camera and Media to try other essential components such as messaging and web browsing. Messaging is as disjointed as the rest of the UI! The standard messaging app doesn’t display conversation lists, a separate “Conversations” app is required for such a view. New message notifications ignore this app and lead to the default messaging view while also failing to even preview who the message is from. Upon replying to a text the on screen keyboard does not even appear, making you jab at the screen until it responds and selects the text input area before displaying your selected input method. On screen keyboards leave plenty to be desired too, all feeling a little too unresponsive and inaccurate for fast typing which leads to frequent mistakes. The mini qwerty is laughable and while the full screen qwerty is better there is annoyingly no auto-rotation to change between them. Handwriting recognition is reminiscent of that on UIQ, I like this but many will not.

Web browsing is adequate but the lack of kinetic scrolling again becomes painful while added irritation is provided by the fact that the device cannot automatically switch between network coverage and WiFi. One or the other is exclusively selected and if you want to save entering more menus the only option is to have “Always Ask” activated so that you must choose the connection accessible to you when starting browsing.

I’ve come to realise that Satio is a mongrel, an impure mix of Nokia and Sony Ericsson and with rather more Nokia than I’d have liked (just look at the screen below). Virtually all of my dislikes are due to the S60 OS and the poor execution of it on touch screen devices:

Satio Nokia Nokia Nokia Nokia Nokia

I was yet to use S60 5^th Edition properly until now and perhaps was naïve to think that it would be better than this or that SE would have made better use of it. Unfortunately this device encapsulates the convoluted awkwardness of S60 and compounds it with the worst points of touch screen devices. There is nice hardware here, splashed with a couple of good software elements but there is no consistency and ultimately the user experience is confusing and annoying.

Let Me Get Rid Of It:

I’m bitterly disappointed with Satio, too much of the experience is uncomfortable and while the camera and Media are a saving grace, these are not enough to make me tolerate daily use of this device. If you want an intuitive and responsive touch screen phone, keep looking…and I suggest towards Android and iPhone.

If, however, you bizarrely enjoy the general unpleasantness of S60 5^th Edition and require each of your UI screens to operate completely differently, go ahead, you should at least end up with some decent photos!

Mik

Mik’s Previous Opinions:

• HTC Magic
• Introduction

The W995- king of the Walkmans. It was announced a few months ago and released just recently. As you may have noticed, we’ve already done a review of the handset. Thing is, it was written based on a prototype of the W995 and that’s why we’ve decided to write a “final impressions” piece after having used a retail version of the phone. We’re quite happy, actually and here’s why…

First off here’s a list of what we like and don’t like about the phone:

Neat stuff

• Aluminium housing adds an undeniable “sexy” factor to the phone’s looks
• The kickstand has proven useful on numerous occasions
• The large-ish 2.6″ screen is nothing short of brilliant
• Playback keys on the side can be used while the phone is locked
• The 3.5 mm jack at the top enables you to plug in any pair of headphones on the fly
• Finally some nice stereo speakers on a Walkman phone
• 8.1 megapixel camera is more than welcome
• Did I mention it has face and smile detection, along with an LED flash?
• 7 preloaded games and 9 additional applications
• Included 8 gigabyte M2 card
• Wi-Fi and aGPS
• Cool themes

Small annoyances

• The kickstand could have felt sturdier
• Volume rocker needs some getting used to
• Keypad keys exhibit various amounts of feedback
• M2 card slot is under the back cover
• Rather small softkeys

Let me just start by saying that the W995 is a fantastic media phone, despite the lack of a larger (preferably touch-enabled) screen. It’s got smarts, but it also definitely has looks. The W995 is by no means covered in aluminium – there are only 2 plates that cover most of the back and the front. Despite that, the phone is still lighter than, say a C905. The slider mechanism is also tighter and doesn’t allow any wobbling at all. The brushed look of the material is especially prominent here. Describing the phone side-by-side is, in my opinion, redundant.

What most amazed me about its looks is that when you opend the kickstand, put it on a table horizontally and launch the Walkman player, the W995 looks exactly like a mini-stereo system with its brightly-lit (naturally, in orange) keys at the top and the front, the large screen on the front and the stereo speakers on the side. Believe me, whenever you want to listen to music or watch a video, you’ll want to set the W995 on its kickstand somewhere. Fact is, the kickstand clicks into place, which saves you the hassle of adjusting it manually in accordance with the surface.

The speakers themselves are pretty powerful and of very high quality. I doubt many would want them to be even louder. They make for a pleasurable video viewing experience – along with the screen! Speaking of watching videos – the phone may not support DivX (or XviD for that matter), but it comes with this really neat software which can convert any of your .avi, .mp4, .mov or .wmv films into a format that can be played on the phone – automatically as you transfer the videos. This makes for a very effortless experience, I might say. Video playback on the phone itself is also something I can’t criticize.

Now, the audio output quality of the phone is superb. Its camera may not be able to replace a standalone point-and-shoot, but I am positive you won’t be using your mp3 player that often once you get a hold of the W995. No, seriously – it is that good. Of, course we have the usual SensMe and shake control gimmicks included in the Walkman v3 music player, but there’s also the Clear Stereo and Clear Bass audio enhancement technologies. I don’t know how they did it, but the phone sure sounds better than other Walkmans with the same music features (read W715). The keys on the side that control the audio playback are also a nice touch and often useful, as you don’t need to unlock the phone or have the music player on the screen in order to use these. They way they light up in orange is also something I should mention (yes, really).

Also worth mentioning is the fact that the phone ships with an 8 gigabyte M2 card. Neat, huh? Well, in that case, you shouldn’t be surprised that the W995 also comes with high-quality noise-cancelling headphones, which, by the way, are super.

The phone’s camera pack 8.1 megapixels, an LED flash and autofocus – quite surprising for a Walkman phone, no? Well, get this, it also has face and smile recognition and BestPic, which enables you to take multiple photos in rapid succession. The quality of the images itself could have been better, but I’m sure it’ll get sorted out in future software updates. To be more precise, the colours are spot-on, but the details could have been better. I also think I see some purple fringing in some of the photos. Here are the samples:

The phone records QVGA videos at 30fps. The audio quality is good, but it’s more than obvious that Sony Ericsson should have bumped up the video resolution.

I feel that commenting on the user interface is a tad unnecessary. It’s the same as on every other recent A2 feature phone from Sony Ericsson. There’s one difference, though – the settings menu is not tabbed any longer. This enables it to have one more sub-menu – the electronic user guide. You could say that’s both bad and good. The themes that come preloaded are also pretty nice. They employ nigh-hypnotizing animations and a very modernistic style.
Speaking of preloaded content, there are 7 pretty fun games that come with the phone and 9 more applications (excluding the ones from the organizer).
The software itself is as stable as can be. I’ve had no problems whatsoever. Bravo, SE!

Finally, I’d like to comment on the additional connectivity options. First off, we have your usual Bluetooth connectivity with the A2DP profile. The assisted GPS is also a feature worth noting – it enables geo-tagging for photos, turn-by-turn navigation, Google maps and assists in the sporty Tracker app. Then we have a DLNA-certified Wi-Fi (b & g) chip on-board. Connecting to a wireless network is easy as pie and the speed and range are also pretty adequate.

All in all, I am very satisfied with this phone. It’s a great all-rounder and given the already falling prices, it would be a good buy for anyone searching for a phone that has quality music… and a kickstand!

For a more detailed analysis, please refer to our full review.

The “impressions” articles are the sort that only describe certain features of a phone that are instrumental in defining the handset’s image. In this notion, these articles are shorter than both reviews and previews. They may also serve the purpose of building upon a previous review.

The review many of you have been waiting for is finally finished! Sony Ericsson’s very own W715 has been described in detail by yours truly. What’s curious is that it’s actually a double review of the W705 and the W715, since they’re pretty much the same. There are also lots of photos, UI pictures and galleries. I would like to thank Michell for taking the photos of both the W715 and the C510 and for generally helping me out while I was composing the article.

So, we’re quite positive about the phone, really. It’s both elegant and sleek, has Wi-Fi and GPS and boasts superior audio quality. The price is also pretty adequate. Have a look right here:

Sony Ericsson W715 Review

And here we have yet another review straight from the GSMArena testing grounds. It’s about the mid-end W508 walkman clamshell – W980’s little sibling. Ther review is generally quite positive. They praise the sound quality (save for the frequency response), its overall functionality, considerigng it’s a mid-range phone, and the attractive price. Hit the source link to have a look at it.

Source: GSMArena

Here we have another review from the folks at the popular mobile phone site GSMArena. This time it’s about the (relatively) recently announced fashion clamshell – the T707. It’s glitzy, it’s shiny and it’s glowy. Oh, the review itself is quite positive as well (sans a few remarks and a rather stupid conclusion).
Just follow the source link to have a look.

Source: GSMArena

Our large review of the upcoming Sony Ericsson W995 is finally online! Believe it or not, we started work on this review back in February, but because I’ve been rather busy we’ve not been able to publish it until now. Our review is based on prototype units running very early firmware versions. This means that some features either did not work or were missing, and our review will reflect this. Some sections of the review are rather short compared to our usual standards because of the prototype firmware, but we will naturally update the review with our thoughts of the retail version when it hits the stores in 2½ months.

I have yet to include screenshots in the review, but they’ll come soon. There are quite a few images to upload, and I thought you’d rather have the review without all the pictures early on. Many of the screenshots will be similar to the ones from the C510 and C905 review, so you can just check them out, if you want. In short, the W995 is Sony Ericsson’s best feature phone to date.

READ THE REVIEW OF THE SONY ERICSSON W995 RIGHT HERE!!

Today our own review of the C510 saw daylight. It’s full of hi-res photos of the handset, sample pictures and of course plenty of information about this little Cyber-shot. Generally, we feel that this is a very good phone with a great price and a probable bestseller. You can find the review here:

Sony Ericsson C510 review

PS. It’s also my first review. I hope you enjoy it.

Another quite positive review from the GSMArena labs. As the case was with their W995 review,  they are revieweinga prototype of the C903, so any faults that might be present will probably be fixed by the time the handset ships to your local store.
I, for one, quite fancy this phone. Don’t know why. Probably because of the lens cover.

Now follow the source link for the actual review.

Source: GSMArena

Forget everything you’re currently doing and go straight to the recently published W995 review over at GSMArena. Trust me, you won’t regret it. They’re very positive about the phone, as they especially praise the superb audio quality. There are tons of pictures as well.
However, you need to have in mind that they are, after all, reviewing a prototype – not a final product. That means that things can only get better with the W995

Here’s the link: http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_w995-review-329.php

Expect our own review of the Walkman flagship soon! You’ll want to read that one as well, I can assure you

I can finally say that our review of the Sony Ericsson C905 is now completed, and we’re pretty happy with the result. Almost 7,000 words and more than 120 pictures went into this review, and my fellow blog editor, NightBlade, has been a great help with this review. I hope you’ll enjoy reading his contributions to the review as much as I did.

We’re quite pleased with the C905, and ended up giving it a USEB Score of 83%, which is the highest score we’ve ever given a feature phone.

Go check out the review for yourself right here!