Sony Ericsson P990i Review

Overall Rating

Great screen.
Very usable keyboard.
E-mail.
Wi-Fi.
Good camera.
Fantastic video playback.

Memory errors.
Lock-ups.
Reboots.
Crashes.
Weak signal compared to the P800 and P910.

I have used Ericsson and Sony Ericsson phones for a number of years now (5 or 6). I have had the P800 and P910, both of which were great phones. So I was very excited when the P990 was announced. It seemed to deal with most of the small things the previous phones lacked. It had a very clear screen and a usable keyboard, amongst other new features. The only issue I could see was with the scroll wheel. It was 5d on the predecessors, but it now seemed to only be 3d. No matter, I can learn to live with that.

However, that all paled into insignificance when measured against what is actually wrong with the phone. I am a Vodafone customer. They have been fine. They have replaced my P990 3 time now. Every phone has had the same issues, and each one I get seems to find a few new ones.

- The phone is better looking than its fore-runners. It feels very solid. The screen is crystal clear, and only slightly shorter and slightly wider than the P910 (in order to fit on the keyboard). The phone loses nothing from this decrease in screen size. The picture quality, and the fact that some application (like the internet) can be used landscape, are an absolutely acceptable trade-off. The keyboard is great. I have pretty chubby fingers, and I have no issue typing at a reasonable rate with my 2 index fingers. The keys feel firm (not rubbery), and the feedback is very positive.

- The camera is also very good. Yes there are better out there, but 2MP will be good enough for a 6x10 photo print. You have to work the settings a little to get good results, and don't even think about low light if you want to print your picture. However, for a phone it is just the job. It has digital zoom, flash, exposure settings and a decent quality video recorder.

- The interface is a little tricky to get to grips with, especially if you have used the P800 or P910 before. However, as with these things, you get used to it.

- The video playback is fantastic. I have a piece of software for converting DVD to MP4. The quality is amazing on playback. I can say no more. Sound quality is fine, and headphones (with mic) are supplied.

- The MP3 player is also fine. Reasonable functionality; just the job. you will need to add more than the 64Mb memory stick supplied.

- There is a spreadsheet and document editor, as well as a PDF and presentation viewer, which are all fine.

- One of the coolest functions is the business card scanner. Take a photo of a business card and it uses OCR (optical character recognition) to put all the details into an entry in the phone book. I have tried many types of business card, and it is pretty good.

- The FM radio is good. RDS etc.

That is the end of the good stuff. Here are some of my issues so far. I will try to keep details to a minimum as I could go on for days...

- When I am performing a task with the flip closed and I decide I want to open it half way through (texting, e-mailing, taking a photo) the phone just locks up. Only taking out the battery will sort it (my friend gets the same problem, but when he is closing the flip mid task).

- The phone has random memory errors and closes applications midway through a task.

- There are plenty of other random errors (E32USER-CBase etc). Phone locks, and removing the battery is the only way out.

- Some applications just do not open sometimes. They are selected, the icon blinks and nothing happens. Sometimes needs a reboot to get things moving again.

- The 5d wheel of the old phones has been replaced with a 3d one, and a button for moving back out of applications. Not as good as the old phones, but you get used to it.

Basically, the software is not very good. I have the latest version. A few of my friends have the same phone and the same issues. If Sony Ericsson cannot sort it then I am going to swap this one for something different. I am very disappointed. I think this phone could have been good. It was 6 months late and not working properly.

It is great on paper, but not good in practice. Perhaps you should wait for these issues to be sorted before purchasing, or look for an alternative. ********** UPDATE TO MY REVIEW OF 21st NOVEMBER 2006. **********

In an effort to give the phone one last chance I bypassed Vodafone and contacted Sony Ericsson support by phone. I got through very quickly and they were very helpful. They gave me the address of their repair center and I posted the phone recorded delivery.

About 5 days later my phone came back and it 100% improved. I still have the odd reboot (once or twice every 2 weeks but my phone is never turned off so I kind of expect it) but other than that it is working fine. I would recommend to anyone who is having issues to do this. It is well well worth it and proved to be very little hassle.

Battery life is longer.
Applications open quicker.
Phone is more stable.
Very very few memory errors (and they never stop the phone working when I get them).
No more call drop-outs.

see my previous review for more detail on the phone itself.

REMEMBER TO BACK UP THE PHONE BEFORE SENDING FOR REPAIR. They reset the phone and install new software. All the memory will be cleared. Also remove and keep the battery, battery cover, sim card and memory card. Best of luck.