Sony Ericsson S700i Review

Overall Rating

SSSCCCRRREEEEEENNN!!!!!!
WOW-factor type Camera
SSSCCCRRREEEEEENNN!!!!!!
Diminuitive design...
SSSCCCRRREEEEEENNN!!!!!!
A very good keypad
SSSCCCRRREEEEEENNN!!!!!!
Excellent OS
oh yeah... and a
SSSSCCCCRRRREEEEEEEENNNN!!!!!!

big, but not as big as you'd expect... i've seen some real BRICK phones on 3 you know...

the following is not a bad point, but it's worth mentioning everywhere:
SSSCCCRRREEEEEENNN!!!!!!

Sony Ericsson S700i Review

This phone looks like something that Inspector Gadget would have built in to his wrist!
OUT OF THE BOX
the S700i comes in an ordinary cardboard box, which contains:-
-> Sony Ericsson S700i handset
-> some random Battery Pack (SE)
-> Charger
-> Sony Ericsson's Headset
-> get this: a 32 Mb Memory Stick DUO
-> Instruction Manual
...that's exactly what you'd expect in a standard box for any phone.
When you actually see the handset in its plastic bag you realise that it's smaller than you'd expect if you'd been reading other reviews on the net. Always nice...

STYLE/BUILD QUALITY
Interesting. Well, it depends what kind of a person you are. If you like 'bling bling' then you'll definitely adore this phone. If you're the kind to look closely into the seals of the phone then you'll notice that it's not too bad, but it could've been better. It certainly passes the test though. Another great feel to this phone that I like is that it clicks into place when you swivel it open, making a satisfying sound. The phone itself is quite bulky considering its depth. However, you begin to forget this once you have the keypad open you won't bother much about the depth as it will decrease. It's pretty stylish too whether you're a business user or on the street.

KEYPAD
Because SE had the whole area of a standard phone to work on for the keypad, they could make the keys a wee bit bigger and more clearer, and they decided to stick with the existing key layout that they use on their other phones. A really convenient feature about this phone is that you actually never need to use the keypad unless you're going to enter some text or dial a number. You can use the phone in micro mode (hehe) to read messages, view contacts, play media, etc...

SCREEN
This screen is most probably the best I've EVER seen on a phone. With the full 256K colours blasted into my eyes I cannot do anything more than smile every time I look at it! Just to put that into perspective, that's more than a quarter of a million colours!!! The screen works reasonably well in sunlight as well, better than Nokia's screens. You won't have any trouble with it, at all, ever.

CAMERA
The best bit. A 1.3 megapixel camera backed up by video at VGA resolution. If you have a Sony digital camera, then you'll be pleasantly surprised that this phone can handle THIS many a features! In micro mode (hehe) just slide open the protective cover on the camera lens and voila the phone automatically launches the camera! Photos are taken with the phone held horizontally and the viewfinder is basically the whole screen (did I mention that the screen kicks ass?). You can edit ALL settings just like with your Sony Cybershot camera. Let me say that that's how many features it has! Get this and you won't really need a camera! Also, as a phone you can crop images, resize them, place clipart on them, etc... This is done in micro mode then the camera is off.

OS (operating system)
OS, or 'menus'. This basically means how the phone operates. You know the OS in the K700i? This is basically the same but it's far more stable, faster (due to the better CPU), and brighter (screen, screen!). The 'Phone Tutorials' have the K700's pictures to show illustrations. I don't know why SE didn't bother with replacing them with S700's keys because they may cause confusion with some people. Menu icons are pin-sharp as well as everything else on the screen, screen.

STORAGE
A LOT of internal storage (32Mb I think) and A LOT of external storage (32Mb Memory Stick DUO provided). This is just killin' it! Screen! The memory capacity is just way too large for a teeny weeny phone like this with all the 'stuff' packed into it! Memory Stick DUO is manufactured my Sony and is basically half the size of an ordinary Memory Stick. ...that's why you can't put an ordinary Memory stick into a MS DUO slot (all you cheapo's thought you could get away with it there!). However a MS DUO can be used in an ordinary Memory Stick slot with the help of MS DUO <-> MS PRO card reader. These are available from www.sony-style.co.uk and cost a tenner. The phone can play MP3's. A good reason to invest in more storage, and by making it every so easy to transfer to a PC (especially VAIO) MP3s can be transferred to your card on no time!

BATTERY LIFE
Good. Very good. I used it for 2 days NON-STOP and the next day there was still a bar left in the battery icon!. I haven't checked how Bluetooth affects battery life on it yet as I haven't got one ...yet! One thing worth mentioning is that the battery indicator is VERY accurate

PRICE
The bad news. It costs about £400-500 I think. I got mine for £20 from www.mobilesandmore4u.co.uk with referral number 12772 for the special promotion. on contract the phone is very expensive. So expensive that nobody let me demo it in the shops unless I was going to buy it; they had me thinking... what's the point of that? This phone's gonna take a while to go out of date, but with the number of slim phones becoming available nowadays, its days could be numbered...

OVERALL
Good. Get it if you want a decent phone that will last you. Oh, and if you're visually impaired, screen!

Members' Comments onheminder's Review

• hawkerpaul on 1st Mar 2005

  Is the screen any good?

• heminder on 3rd Mar 2005

  RE: is the screen any good?
  ANSWER: YES! it's brilliant!