Sony Ericsson Z200

I've tried the Sony Ericsson Z200 on two separate networks: Fido (Ottawa, Canada) and MTCTouch (Beirut, Lebanon). In Beirut, the reception is good. But, in Beirut, the reception is good in *elevators*. In Ottawa, there is a buzzing sound when the backlight is on. And even when the backlight is off, it is not uncommon for the reception to become choppy. Why can't they make a sexy phone with good reception? (note: both networks are GSM)

There are other minor usability issues. The phonebook takes a little bit long to load, so searching for a number takes a while. Most of the numbers I call are on speed-dial so this isn't that irritating.

The one thing I find a little bit weird is the analog clock. There are two displays for the front analog clock, and digital clock. The digital clock view also includes other information. You can switch between the two with two keys on the exterior of the phone. Switching between the two also illuminates the front backlight. However, there is no way to illuminate the front backlight without switching views. So, if you want to show off the analog clock, you have a bit of a problem. Leave it as a digital view, and then switch to analog to illuminate it. Or leave it as analog, and do a double-switch. Kind of silly.

Also, it's not possible to switch views when you have a missed call. I'm not sure why this is, it just is.

The phone is also a bit big.

You can only store one colour image on the phone to set as the background wallpaper. So, you have to transfer the image, test it, delete it, transfer another image, etc.... until you find an image you like.

The Sony Ericsson Z200 is a good phone but had some problems with the actual phone. (See Bad Points).

Since my old mobile phone somehow found itself in the washing machine (Samsung A800) i was looking for another phone as stylish as my old one. This Sony Ericsson Z200 is the phone that saved me. It is GREAT!! The colour screen beats most nokias and you can change the phone to suit your mood. With other great features that weren't on the A800 like saving email addresses and wallpapers it is a very stylish phone. It is great value for money as it costs less than the A800 and is an all around great phone. BUY IT NOW!!!!!!!!!

This Sony Ericsson Z200 is a mobile phone targeted for youngsters who love to stand out of the crowd. It is an eye-catcher. If don't need camera, MMS, Bluetooth, email client, Java but you want everybody to ask you to take a look at your mobile, then this is the one. The sound is very loud and clear, the 4096 color screen is top for it's resolution (beats every Nokia), SMS messages are easy to write once you get used to the keyboard. You have also an IR port with which you can transfer pics and sounds from PC or other phone. Unfortunately you have the possibility of saving only 8 sounds and about 8 pictures. The reception is pretty good, WAP over GPRS works perfect (unlike my old Motorola T720), you have 3 Mophun games but you cannot download others. The battery life sucks big time (about 48 hours standby with 2 hours of speaking)

I've had good (T630) and bad (Z600) to say about the current batch of phones from Sony! My first impression when I opened the box on the Sony Ericsson Z200 mobile phone was WOW! The phone looks gorgeous and will definately be a winner with the style conscious users. But at what cost?

The flip style Tri-band handset has removeable front covers that can be changed to suit your mood. Mine came with a choice of dark blue or silver, but is also offered with a choice of red and white! The cover features the round hole through which you can see the Z200's LCD display. This is a simple black and white affair which can show the phones analogue clock, or after a push of the side button, the time in digital format, the battery condition and signal strength. Flip open the Z200 and inside is a colour 4K display similar to the recent batch of Nokia's. Having experienced the T610, Z600 and more recently the T630, I found the display a bit dull and lacking in contrast but it will do the job in all but the brightest of conditions. The keys on the keypad are slightly recessed and orange backlit. This can be a problem when texting as you aren't sure if you've pushed the button properly and spend a lot of time correcting your spelling. At the top of the keypad there is a five way rocker to select items from the menu, which is the now familier Sony icon system. Either side of this rocker the Yes, No keys can be found and these are used to select options from the menu as well as to make or cancel a call. If you are familier with the Sony Ericsson user interface on the afore mentioned T610/Z600 you will find the Z200 familier but confusing. Selecting the phone book for instance is easy enough, but it took a good 3 seconds for the list to actually appear! Scrolling to a number and viewing it resulted in the same slow response. This "slow" problem was also evident when texting using T9. The Z200 just could not keep up with my typing speed and suggested spellings have to be scrolled through one at a time until you find the word you want. Ringtones on the Z200 are 40 polyphonic and are pretty good with a decent volume level to get your attention in even the loudest wine bar! New ones can be downloaded from the Sony website or you can use the built-in infra red port to beam them from your PC or a friends phone! Contacts can be stored in the Z200's phone book but only one number per contact is possible so could be limiting for the party animal with more than 200 friends. Call quality on this phone was generally very good with clear speech and a decent level of volume. The battery only lasted around 2.5 days with regular use which is disappointing for a phone with only one colour screen to drain it. WAP over GPRS was reasonably fast and if you're stuck with time on your hands the Z200 has a couple of pretty good Java games including Alien Scum which kept me amused for a few minutes. New game downloads aren't supported on the Z200 though! If you can put up with the slow operating system, shaky texting and limited phone book capacity then the Z200 will certainly get some admiring looks from your friends. But, for me looks aren't enough and beauty has to be more than skin deep so I'm afraid the Z200 doesn't find its way into my pocket!