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Sony Ericsson P800 Reviewed
Ch_Omega writes "For all those who have been waiting, there is now an in-depth and detailed review of one of the most anticipated connected handhelds of 2003, the Sony Ericsson P800, over at Infosync. Does it live up to the hype? According to the story, the answer is yes." I've been lusting after the t68i for awhile, but maybe I'll wait for this one. It just looks so cool!
I was planning on getting a P800 until I discovered that the screen is smaller than a Palm.
I figured if I was going to put up with a device with a screen the size of a postage stamp, I'd go with a t68i, which will at least fit easily in my pocket, and have a separate handheld computer linked via Bluetooth.
I'm still looking for the computer part of the setup; the new Sony CLIE is looking promising.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
it looks just like my ice box! kewl.
moo
It's a bit bigger than my last two cellphones, but it packs a lot of functionality. I've always had a handheld computer since I work in the embedded/telecom/handheld-industry, but I've never carried it with me. With the P800 I finally do - it's the perfect replacement for the cellphone/palm-combination.
Oh, and Symbian OS is the meanest, cleanest, leanest wonderful little operating system to run - and code for. Really.
it's in my head
According to my own experience with the T68i, the build quality and usability of that phone is significantly worse than that of the T68. Sure, you can bring them to the same level firmware-wise, but the T68 is just more sturdy than the 'i' model. I had one T68 and two T68i's, and the T68 works nicely still (it's the oldest and has had the roughest treatment), while the i's have both broken down, and been repaired four times altogether.
But I don't like any of them; they are just too damn slow. I mean come on - 2-3 seconds wait to open the address book? And what about typing SMS'es, by the time you wrote half the message you have to wait for the phone to catch up with you..
I really hope this new one is faster, sturdier and more usable. Then I'll perhaps check it out.
Love over Gold.
That doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the design team!
Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
Taco - If you've been lusting over the T68i, you are going to be sadly disappointed. The reception sucks unless you are withing about 6 inches of a tower. The only plus it has is bluetooth. Do yourself a favor. Get the Samsung S105 if you can't wait.
To make sure you're one of the first to reserve one?
I've used this and it was okay - I don't really have any need for making constant phone calls so the dual purpose of the device isn't really of interest to me. What is troubling and why I wouldn't buy this is that the only memory expansion you can use is the Sony Memory Stick - a proprietary memory device. What this says to me is that Sony wants to control the price of any future add-ons for the phone and that, in all likelihood, they're going to consistently steal my money! In some instances, you're forced to deal with proprietary formats due to lack of other choices, but in this case, I'm sure I'll be able to find a PDA/phone that uses SD or MMC.
I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
Looks good but is it the killer app that the industry is looking for to drive sales for new devices?
With the economy still in the crapper it's gonna take a real killer "gotta have" device to make people shell out some dough right now
All the best,
--Bob
I was originally going to be posting about how that's an insane price to pay for a cellphone, but after reading the review...
damn, that thing looks cool, not just in appearance, but feature-wise as well.
It still seems to be something of a steep price to pay for an integrated cellphone / pda (after not having a cell phone since getting rid of my TracFone last year, any price seems too steep for me), but it's still very interesting, and I wouldn't complain if one found it's way into my pocket.
Come to the University of Mars! Classes starting soon!
Can I connect it with my Linux box?
Check to see if you have GSM service It is pretty spotty in the US right now
Free cell phone tracking
That would be like a nerd's dream. Run a web server on your PDA..
Oh wait.
You CAN!
According to The Register you will be able to download Opera for the P800 on Monday. Sounds cool, but I wonder about how the web will look on such a small screen?
Never express yourself more clearly than you are able to think. --Niels Bohr
Remeber the P800 is a completely different architecture and OS to the T68m/i
To make the connection would involve only a small amount of code so why not? While they are at it, an FM radio is a nice (but largely ignored) touch. Also something that I have yet to see in a phone is universal remote control features for your television and stereo systems etc.
All in all the 3 very useful features (IMO) would probably cost less than $30 to include in a $650 phone.
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Interior design making Australia look flashy.
It's so cool that Opera is about to realease a P-800 version of their webbrowser...
1 /
http://www.opera.com/pressreleases/en/2003/02/1
Quote from the description:
Just in case the camera isn't entertainment enough, the P800 comes fully equipped with games, a video clip viewer and enough customizable features to keep you happy for weeks
Wow, I can be entertained for weeks! And for only $650 US. What a bargain.
Yeah, why not just carry a plastic replica if you want something that looks cool. Too small for a PDA, too large for a phone.
I've been using a wireless bluetooth headset for the last month or two, and this is a much better indicator of the future of mobile phones.
Split the headset from the phone, and you get something more practical: a larger box that can do more and that you do not have to lift to your ear like a small well-designed brick.
And... which you can actually write on with your stylus while you are making a call.
Sig for sale or rent. One previous user. Inquire within.
I know exactly where Taco is coming from, but I got the T68i anyway, because it was only $25 after rebate from Amazon. Now, you can get it for free(after rebates).
I don't know where the other complaints about the phone here are coming from. Mine gets great reception, doesn't take 2 seconds to pull up the address book (it is slow, but not 2 seconds slow), and the way it syncs with my PowerBook over Bluetooth and iSync is a dream come true. I see other people carrying Palms and Handsprings and feel sorry for them having to carry bricks around in their pocket. Anyway, enough advertising. Just trying to balance out the reviews I've seen posted so far....
Boom Shanka
The SDK in itself, with which you can compile for the P800, costs nothing - just download it from SonyEricsson.
it's in my head
I can't wait to read MSN in Swedish chef on my P800!
This page has a bunch of Sony Ericsson forums and review links. Pretty good info about this.
To get back on subject the P800 is a really cool phone, a bit large perhaps but the best smartphone I've tried so far. The camera has really good quality and the phone has fast enough CPU to give smooth frames per secons - not at all like other cameras in phones if you've tried them.
If only the P800 could sync with iSync I'd get one today.
Ciryon
Oh... I thought you said "TI 86"...
The official gsm site and maps is at: http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/index.shtm l
--
This sig is inoffensive.
So far, I've been most impressed with the Danger Hiptop. It's not color but has a real crisp greyscale display. It's Java based and a SDK should be available soon. True desktop syncing with your PIM should be here shortly too, but the export to the T-Mobile website isn't too bad. It's been available for as little as $50 with rebates recently. It has it's own mail and can check other POP accounts (and IMAP in a limited/unsupported fashion), you can browse regular websites, it does AIM and overall can be considered a consumer version of the Blackberry.
Another device to consider if you're a CDMA fan (Sprint & Verizon) is the Kyocera QCP-7135. I don't have an eval unit yet as Verizon hasn't certified it yet, but it looks to be one of the best Palm/phone combos.
It'll be nice to finally see a P800 after all this hype, but there are other good options now.
Once you lick the lollipop of mediocrity, you'll suck forever!
>
it's in my head
See screenshots here:
http://www.esato.com/reviews/opera.php
It's got a killer color screen, an excellent keyboard that works really well, it runs every Palm 3.5 app I've tried on it, and it fits comfortably in my pocket.
SMS, e-mail, browsing the real web, excellent calendar and contact management. The only things it lacks are:
Expansion slot.
Bluetooth.
Better sound support (for music playback).
But if you really need a wireless productivity tool in your pocket, this is the only option. Palm Pilot, Blackberry, and cell phone, all in one.
And no, I don't work for Handspring :-)!
All I really want is a goddamn phone. I like my Palm just the way it is. And my camera.
... none of you, because then when the next-big-thing comes along, you couldn't change just that one piece. When surround sound came out, I bought a new receiver, and then slowly added more speakers. I just bought a new DTS receiver, and guess what ... my speakers, DVD player, VCR, CD player, and TV all work just fine with it. I looked at some of the all-in-one units and they stunk. They were all missing features that I could only get my buying the individual components.
.. I'll admit the cheap TV/DVD over the hot tub is kinda cool, but you only use it a couple of times a week and can live without all the neat features. You wouldn't watch The Matrix on it, would you??
.. phone company...sell me a phone to make phone calls. I'll take care of finding the best for the rest.
Did you ever notice that most cell phone commercials now don't even talk about the PHONE!!!! All I really need from my cell phone I got in the cheapest one out there. Then I bought a serial cable so I can upload/download phone numbers a couple of times a month. Sure, USB or Bluetooth would be nice, but data really doesn't change that much.
What is with all this "Let's put everything into one device" anyway. How many of you geeks buy all-in-one entertainment systems? Or TVs w/VCRs and DVDs in them?
Answer
OK
So
I rarely read replies, it's my opinion and if you thought about your opinion a little more, I'm OK with that.
I've only had my P800 for a week. It is the Swedish release model with the most currunt stable rom. Overall I find the phone to be everything expected and a bit more.
... whoa that was longer than I expected and now the Good:
.mod files to announce calls or alerts. ...!
First the bad:
* It is heavier than many of the current cellphones out and has larger dimensions. While it still fits in a pocket it feels like you are carrying a phone from '99.
* Because you can install any number of random apps from the world the stability can be suspect thanks to installing some garbage (there is a signing feature but I have yet to see any signed apps).
* The flip keypad actually just presses the screen. There are reports in the wild of people slapping the buttons hard and ruining their LCD screens.
* The preferences are in silly locations, go ahead try finding where you change the tone for message alerts.
* Doesn't seem to be a bluetooth networking protocol stack built in despite what some people have claimed.
* The vibration isn't impressive for a phone of this size. My pager can outshake it any day of the week.
* Reception is much better than the t68i but still seems prone to signal fade (then again maybe this is just something that happens extremely often with GPRS in tall cities).
* All of the buttons are very small.
* There doesn't seem to be a built in way to disable or reprogram the hard buttons on the right side of the unit (camera, internet).
* You can use the jog dial to select and go into things but there isn't a hard button to back out, you must use the LCD.
* Navigation of the phone without looking at it is nearly impossible.
* Limited size and proprietary nature of Sony memory expansion.
* Requires Outlook/Notes for address book sync.
* Expensive dev kit for creating native Symbian apps.
* Oh Jesus, it is damn sexy.
* Very powerful, one of the included games is a rather bland race car game that you can play networked. What is impressive about it is that it is all shaded polygons similiar to what one would see on the 1st gen of Atari Jaguar games. Nothing too special really but when it is in the palm of your hand, awesome.
* The camera is much better than any one inclued in any cellphone so far. The max resolution is 640x480, there is no flash, but the camera seems to take pretty decent pictures. Comparable to any of the $75-$100 digital cams one can currently purchase.
* You can use practically anything for a ringtone. In some strange conspiracy it seems to only not support using
* Syncing (if you have msoft products) works well. Just hook up the phone and go. Combine with an external sync program like trusync and syncing through outlook to your favourite web service is a breeze.
* Practically every midlet I have tried on it works.
* Ports of games like DOOM and the emulator MAME if you are into that sort of thing. While they work I've found MAME to be more of a showoff than usable to play games. The stylus just doesn't lend itself to old arcade games.
* The screen is bright and the clarity kicks ass.
* Phone comes with 12meg Internal and one 16Meg stick, that holds a lot of stuff if you aren't trying to fill it full of mp3s.
* Included headset (headphone/microphone) have suprisingly good sound.
* Handwriting recognition is fast, accurate and easy to get used to.
* Support for POP/IMAP. This is probably my favourite feature of the phone, there is something just damn cool about having the phone pulling your email for you every hour or so and replying wherever you are.
* SMS becomes insanely more easy when you can just write out your responses.
* Played with a beta of the Opera browser which comes out on Monday. It is a *real* browser in your hand.
* Bluetooth file transfers with laptops seem to work well as does moving files from phone to phone. I can not get bluetooth syncing to work.
* Did I mention it was sexy?
* Speakerphone quality is amazing (and very loud).
* In fact the phone is *very* loud. You can play an MP3 loud enough for an entire room to hear.
* Easy to assign pictures to any contact info.
* Quickdial screen features icons of pictures for your friends/family. Nothing like just touching someone's face to call them.
* IRDA works.
* Flight mode.
* Better than expected battery life for such a complex device.
* Great sound quality in calls.
*
Okay I am tired. Suffice to say even with the downsides this is by *far* the best integrated solution to come along.
--- I do not moderate.
And, as for cameras, even with the small image sensors of digital cameras you need quite a large zoom lens for good pictures. To me it makes sense for someone to produce a good quality camera for which you can use your PDA as the monitor screen, something better than the optically poor add-ons we have seen so far.
It seems sensible to optimise the gadget for its function and enable the gadgets to talk.
If they also had a common battery charger and interchangeable battery, I guess that would be functionality heaven. Your PDA would be able to use expensive mobile phone connectivity only when necessary, otherwise using the local wireless network: I can't see a phone manufacturer wanting to allow that any time soon. So, although this thing looks like a v. cool gadget, I remain unconvinced.
Panurge has posted for the last time. Thanks for the positive moderations.
Just to add my fuel to the fire...
Thankfully I managed to offload that T86 POS off to the girlfriend and I'm using the wonderful Nokia 7650 now. I just couldn't take the T68 any more.
Basically all the same complaints as above - not receiving calls even though you have full signal, losing the address book for 4 months (where did it go? Why did it suddenly reappear?) The endless repeating text messages. It is an absolutely attrocious phone. If you take your mobile seriously, don't even think about getting one. Nasty, nasty thing. And I can't even count the number of times I deleted the 1st entry in my phonebook.
Rant over
Anyway, if you have a phone with camera, visit Phlog - Mobile Photo Blogging Phlog.net
I just spent a week in Europe playing (well, working, really) with the t68i, P800, SPV and GX10, and I like the GX10 best, hands down.
The screen on the T68 series sucks, badly. The joystick moves when I want to click, and clicks when I want to move.
The SPV (Orange only, AFAIK) runs some form of windows, and it sucked... It *crashed* constantly, and the menu layout and function navigation was terrible. F'rinstance, from reading an SMS, it took no fewer than for navigation steps to change from one folder (eg. inbox) to another.
The GX-10 has a great screen, intuitive navigation interface, easy camera functionality, great form factor, great controls, and was the easiest to configure and use. My only carp is that it's not great on memory - it refused to download MMS messages that the t68 had no problem with (but that may be due to greater color depth - 68k colors vs. 4096)
The duo is slimmer, shorter and narrower. It is electrically compatible. I can take the duo out of my P800, put it into the adapter that came with the phone, and stuff the adapter into my regular-sized memory stick USB reader to transfer stuff from the PC to the memory. Great for brining MP3's with me on the go.
Still can't seem to be able to purchase Duo's on the street, though...