Sony Ericsson MMV-100

Such accessory as MMV-100 has very niche audience. See for yourself, will there be a lot of people willing to buy device for 120-140 dollars in order to show the pictures made with their mobile phones on their TV-sets. The number of such people is not large and pretty approved. On the other hand this device should be considered as test one, soon phones with better cameras will be released (2mpx, auto-focus), the need of similar devices will be increased, as well as its market.

Today we are already impressed with the fact how this device is good after all. The pictures taken with Sony Ericsson P900 made in VGA resolution look pretty impressive. I can’t say that the quality is perfect, but it is not poor as well, the pictures are viewed lightly.

Process of picture transfer to MMV-100 is simple, choose the required picture and just send it via Bluetooth, choose MMV-100 from the list of available devices. Only static files can be sent, animation is not supported. Probably this was left for the improved version, which will be released soon, most likely this will be v200 since it must have something new, doesn’t it?

During demonstration everyone who had the will was able to send the picture to the big screen. I was the one who used it immediately.

A list of devices at the press-conference was more interesting, they were not even protected by passwords. Bluetooth technology becomes really popular and available. Speaking about MMV-100’s fate we can not forget the fact that this is niche solution, it will not become mass.

SonyEricsson T610

Launching of Ericsson T68 caused really a sensation on the market as it outrun all other models approximately for 1 year. As a result demand for this phone was really incredible. For the first time the company couldn’t satisfy all customers, because it just didn’t have so many phones. Potential of T68 was fully realized in Sony Ericsson T68i. It supported MMS-technology, which wasn’t realized earlier just because providers didn’t support this service. It was possible to transform T68 into T68i just by firmware changing. Hardware of the phones was the same. The company expected a high demand for this renewed phone and filled all warehouses with it. If you count total sales of T68 and T68i, they will be closed to maximum in this market segment. The other fact, which proves that T68 became a pioneer in its field, is that such phones as Siemens S55, SL55 are based on the same platform. But don’t forger that this two models are regarded to be modern phones and moreover, not long ago Siemens S55 was the most advanced phone on the market.

The situation changed after introduction of Sony Ericsson T610. One more time the company overrun the time and set a new standard for this kind of handsets. T610 is based on the same platform as T68; all last corrections were taken into account. Besides, developers built-in a camera and renewed software. It’s a nonsense that the company created a new product on the old platform but it was available thanks to its flexibility. All innovations are connected with revisions of existed functions. They became richer than they were.

First, what you notice when see the phone is a severe design. The handset looks very attractive and elegant; we think it is made in retro style to some extent. Usual and mat plastic (around the screen) and anodized aluminum are harmonically blended with each other. On the one hand, a plastic rim of the screen is very nice, but on the other - it is easily soiled. Unfortunately, grease stains remain on it after using. It’s not very noticeable from afar, but clearly visible when you see it closer.

Originally, three colors will be available on the market - Aluminum Haze, Abyss Blue, Volcanic Red. Rim of the screen remains the same in all phones, only colors of rear and partly front parts (lower part) are changed. Our tested sample was silver. We think that this color and blue one are the most attractive for customers. According to the company, T610 is a sample of industrial design. By the way, for the first time it is known the designer’s name of this model - Erik Ahlgren. We would like to thank him for that great job he’d made. The phone is really nice from aesthetic point of view.

Phone dimensions are 102х44х19mm and the weight is 95 grams. The phone is handy and very pleasant to touch. There is an illusion of metallic surface. A power on/off key is placed on the top of the phone, what is not typical for the phones from Sony Ericsson. Despite from Nokia phones, this key has only the main function. Sides of the phone are slightly deepened into the phone, therefore volume keys are very comfortable to press in the talking mode. When you press them in standby mode, you can see a current profile, date and time, but not an approximate operating time, which was so pleasant to see in the phones from other manufacturers. Availability of this function is logical and we hope that it will appear in the next versions.

Sony Ericsson Z800

Sony Ericsson has gained a reputation of producing phones with the maximum set of functions providing with new standards in every class. The first 3G model Sony Ericsson Z1010 attracted great interest among users and on the market. This device gave life to a whole set of GSM-models and was quite a success itself. The only minus that always roused cavils was the size, since the device can't be called a small one. Though against a background of other UMTS-phones this model didn't look as big, just in the spirit of the time. The V800 came as the second generation relating the Z1010, but it was sold only in the Vodafone network. This stack on the operator was quite conscious since the majority of 3G phones are exclusively operator ones. They can't be found in free sale. The interest to the model was big and even bigger since it couldn't have been bought in many countries and because of the high price. An interesting thing - the more expensive the phone is the more interest it attracts, that is true for famous brands.

In the beginning of the year Sony Ericsson announced the release of a non-operator version f the V800 called Z800. The difference is in the software than is, naturally, original and not in Vodafone style. Operators' attempts to set the only menu style in all the distributed models lead to the fact a user desire to get rid of this menu. In the majority of cases original menu look better and more comfortable for perception. Other advantages of the mode are not seen at first sight, but come from a long presence of the previous model on the market, that guarantees the absence of rough mistakes in software, some program improvements. An algorithm for processing photos taken by the integrated camera and improved contrast may be referred to the main improvements. We can't say the photos became several times better but slight improvements are observed.

The dimensions remained big (102x49x23.6 mm, 128 grams), having put the device near the P900 you will see it is a bit shorter but thicker. These dimensions are acceptable for the 3G phone today but in the end of the spring and the beginning of the summer they will seem big. The market will be flooded with many 3G devices in small bodies. The tendency will grow by the end of the year; just remember Motorola v1150 (a UMTS variant of V3 RAZR). Comparing the device with Samsung Z110 (closest functional copy) you'll understand the dimensions are typical fort he class. The device is nice to deal with in everyday life; it may be put into the jacket pocket but not into the shirt one. It is a typically men phone not only looking bad in a woman's hand but being quite uncomfortable to hold for them.

In difference to the Z1010 and the majority of modern 3G phones the manufacturers refused an internal camera for video connection but integrated the main one with a rotating mechanism. In this or that way the construction is known by Korean manufacturers and is used by them for several years. The camera may be hidden in a usual condition to prevent from dust and the objective being seen. Light diodes are on both sides of the lens (3 on each side), they serve as a flash. Also the LEDs may be used as lanterns, a separate button responsible for than is on the right side.

Sony Ericsson W960i

Over at Sony Ericsson they live in a happy delusion, popular with some other makers as well, that consumers are very straightforward in their thoughts and motives. Specifically, if there was a music-playing handset last year, then this year those who went for the original phone will set their eyes on the updated version. And will never ever consider similar phones, even those offered by the same manufacturer. But in truth, this paradigm just radiates naivety, for the users seek not some particular feature (music, camera or something like this) alone, but the best possible mix of price, brand and punch they get for the money. Furthermore, the majority of users do not care about having some particular label on their phones – be it Walkman or even nothing – more importantly, it must be affordable, look classy and work properly. This is where some problems begin.

Back in 2006 the market saw a duo – the Sony Ericsson M600i and the Sony Ericsson W950i, where the former focused on communications and QWERTY-powered texting, the latter was a music-inclined flagship. Now, in 2007, nothing has changed, but this time around the duo comprises the Sony Ericsson P1i and Sony Ericsson W960i. But unlike the previous year, they have decided not to go down the same path when the two phones look more like twins, so that the M600i’s poor sales led to a substantial price drop for the W950i and, virtually, the downfall of the music-heavy offering as well. So for this debut they have exercised a more elaborated approach, making distinctions between the two pretty apparent. Below we will definitely take a closer look at them, and for now let us only note that it is the first time Sony Ericsson has coated the touch-sensitive display in a protective plastic layer. In fact, they were determined to come up with a music-minded phone with finger-based navigation, just like the much-hyped Apple iPhone. But the result finds itself somewhere in between two worlds. Just to make everyone sleep well, we do appreciate its being in the company’s line-up, but the finger-based device management system is somewhat inferior to that found in the Sony Ericsson P1i, even though the display is better protected.

It feels that the company actually does realize this, so that’s the reason why they have decided to kill two birds with one stone by throwing a wireless Bluetooth-headset into the package. First, they manage to boost the technology and corresponding accessories, and then they add more out-of-the-box value to the handset. All in all, the package you get with the W960i is pretty decent and for many this will be the first experience of utilizing such accessories.

Judged as a sequel to the Sony Ericsson W950i, this new phone has the right to exist, but when facing off against the Sony Ericsson P1i for the place in a consumer’s pocket, the music-playing flagship doesn’t get the thumbs up.

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Design, size, controls

The model comes in one single color scheme – Vinyl Black, where the front fascia is composed of black glossy plastic, which is extremely prone to fingerprints and grease. Furthermore, it has been covered with a protective plastic screen, which surely doesn’t make for a less smudgy looks. Unlike the P1i the display found in the W960i is not recessed into the casing, on the contrary, it sits flush with the surroundings. The side plates employ white matte plastic – frankly speaking, the color mix is pretty much bog-standard. The rear is made of black soft-touch plastic, and feels velvety.

Judged on its materials alone, the W960i seems to be pretty decent, but looking at the way they are combined in here, we are not particularly pleased. Let’s put it this way - it looks prosy. Altogether it leaves an impression of a cheap phone, and it definitely doesn’t stand in one line with the previous offerings from Sony Ericsson for this price-bracket design-wise. It even somewhat reminded us of the Sony Ericsson T300i (released long ago, there was a story with plastic supplies for this phone) in terms of the plastic it utilizes.

The W960i’s plastic stylus makes this impression even stronger – in fact, it would do for, well, toy phones, but decidedly not for a top of the line model. The early editions of the handset featured styluses with even stronger toy feel to them, and while it is better now, it’s still made of plastic. Curiously, similar stylus had been found only in Sony Ericsson P800i, but they dumped it eventually. Why would they need to bring it in again, given all this negative feedback? I feel somewhat befuddled. Perhaps they have had several generations of managers and marketers changed, so now the experience of the past years is gone.

Measuring up at 109x55x16 mm and weighing in at 119 grams, it is almost no different from the P1i, meaning that you can carry it as you please. It would seem that the same controls layout is a pretty much consistent solution for the W960i, but not this time – the maker has turned the things upside down on this front. The left-hand side no longer houses the Return button, since it has moved to the front plate. In fact, this new layout will prove convenient only if you don’t really need the JogDial, since when separated, these two control elements are pretty much useless. Basically, this JogDial+Return couple is designed to let you manage the device with only one hand. But in the case of the W960i, this is no longer possible. In other words, everyone who has been using Sony Ericsson’s solutions for years (the P-series, or the M600i and the W950i) can well kiss their previous experience goodbye – it doesn’t make any sense in the new model. Being a seasoned user of Sony Ericsson-branded phones, I can say that not only is it fiddly and awkward to use, such layout delivers a knock-out blow to the handset’s ergonomics. Obviously, my reflexes tell me that I shall find this key somewhere around the JogDial, but it is not there anymore. We could easily overlook this letdown, if only new users were able to handle the W960i single-handedly. However, even they have to use both hands to move about the device.

I have no idea who was responsible for the W960i’s ergonomics, but the solutions they made are devastating. If it was some second-rate manufacturer, and this was his first go at employing this design, we would appreciate that. But for a company with this much experience and development history, this approach seems to be more of a premeditated suicide. It is a very odd, inconsistent move that I can find no explanation of.

The right-hand side now features two volume control keys (the P1i has the network shortcut button, that can be programmed to access other features), and the dedicated camera button. The top end plays host to the power key, and flipping over to the W960i’s bottom end, you will find the service indicator, which isn’t the best possible place for it, except for when the phone is on a table in front of you. The SIM-card slot beneath the battery has no special traits to it, in contrast to the M600i/W950i, which used a couple of runners.

Sony Ericsson M600

The success of BlackBerry’s solutions has become a guiding line for many manufacturers, which have already taken a note of such solutions. Against the background of the growing popularity of these devices, the success has accompanied not the original BlackBerry, but smartphones armed with QWERTY-keypad, since they provided a completely new level of functionality and handling aspects. While the market of handsets equipped with a QWERTY-keypad wasn’t too large, even back then it was already developed enough, so one couldn’t ignore its tendencies. At present, the top 5 manufacturers propose this kind of phones, including smartphones. For example, Nokia offers one of these devices, which represents Eseries, Motorola features similar solutions in the framework of their A-series (not introduced into the European market, available only for the US and Asian markets), former Siemens mobile division has SK65 as a single device of that line-up. This list can be extended even further, but it’s more interesting to peek in their popularity statistics. At a first glance, if this many models have been introduced into various markets, they are in demand. But having a closer look you’ll realize that all this variety conceals only one undeniable fact – perpetual competition of smartphones (to be more precise, communicators, though the terminology doesn’t give a plain definition) and common handset with widened functionality. It’s obvious, that in smartphones a keyboard is vital since they offer capacities of working with mail and other similar services, although arming a standard device with a full-fledged keypad occurs due to two reasons. The former and the core one – possibility of drawing attention of a more conservative audience’s part, which seem to be afraid of relatively new technologies. This share of potential buyers is quite considerable, for them purchasing a smartphone is not essential, especially in light of the fact they will have to get used to a new platform. Yet the most distinctive difference between QWERTY-equipped handsets and “all-round standard” phones is exactly presence of this keypad. It’s a kind of vicious circle, which strongly affects sales of QWERTY-devices, which eventually turn out low. The latter target group could be those, who face the necessity of sending SMS messages pretty often and therefore requite higher speed of typing. Once again, all manufacturers are to deal with several negative aspects, like unwillingness of consumers to pay more for a device featuring a keyboard, or simple lack of functionality. In order to make it clear for you, let me set an example – remember such accessory as external keyboards for Ericsson handsets, this was an innovative solutions, providing fair functionality, though in the ended it failed in becoming a mass product.

A QWERTY-pad is usually featured in smartphones only as a handy addition to the overall functionality. What really exert influence on choosing a phone is set of incorporated functions, which is emphasized in all ads more that all other details. It may include a BlackBerry client (when the buyer uses this service and feels a need for this capacity), presence of WiFi, a touchscreen, etc. And among all these features, even though it may seem strange enough, a keyboard is just a clincher, helping to persuade a consumer to buy this or that handset. The share of people, who pick solutions exactly for their QWERTY-pad is insignificant and reaches 10 percent at best. However here I need to mention I’m not counting “maximalists”, in other words consumers, who are aiming at getting maximum of features and technical characteristics for a certain price – they consider presence of a keyboard as a handy feature and nothing more, I doubt even whether they know how to use it, but somehow it eventually appears on their wishes list.

Such a lengthy preamble was targeted to demonstrate that the market of QWERTY-handsets isn’t of large scope, and consumers don’t find this kind of devices extremely useful. Restating the aforesaid in different way, we may say that the success of QWERTY-keyboards on the European market depends on development of BlackBerry and similar services. Just one more note – communicators by Nokia stand aside this group, as they are aimed at a different market share.

Sony Ericsson’s announcement of model M600, powered by a QWERTY-keypad, which is at the same time a smartphone working on Symbian 9.1 UIQ 3.0, doesn’t appear to be a sensible step – until the very recent times the company had specialized only on developing ultimate-solutions, covering maximum possible audience. As a matter of fact, the company was lacking facilities, thus couldn’t afford producing other handsets and widening line-ups. The release of М600 symbolizes taking one step forward – from invading the market to the next stage, where product line segmentation steps into the limelight and line-ups begin offering high profile solutions. The company doesn’t suppose that Sony Ericsson M600 will dominate over the market and hit higher sales rates than Sony Ericsson P990 – even considering the fact M600 costs less and possess eye-candy shapes. The main explanation why the handset isn’t aimed at securing a significant market share is unwillingness to create competition without the company’s own product line – that’s why the device doesn’t have camera module and WiFi embedded, since if it had both of them, it would be a direct rival to P990, but it’s evident, that this kind of competition is very dangerous. Putting the cart before the horse, I will note that the next justified step is producing a truly mass product based off М600, armed with a standard keyboard, but with a touchscreen. A device of this type may become a line-up’s flagship along with Sony Ericsson K800i. In favor of its release one can say that Sony Ericsson strictly follows UIQ concept, which describes various types of devices and combinations of control elements.

The handset is available in two color schemes - Granite Black and Crystal White. Measuring 107х57х15 mm, the device can be justly considered as a bearer of the very minimal thickness, and as a result, a product residing in the “slim” line-up. Its weight is 112 grams, which is also acceptable. The main material the casing is made of is plastic, similar to the other products by the company quality wise (e.g. Sony Ericsson K750i). This lets us assume that the majority of users won’t have any problems with the wearing out of the surface; nevertheless, active users like me will face this problem after 6-7 months of usage (scratches etc.).

Video, comparison of size with other devices (4.67 Mb)>>>

The side panels have silvery framings, this relates to both color schemes. The handset’s design appears pretty severe, with only blue details applied to the loudspeaker, back side and stylus varying the outlook.

The handset fits both left and right hands, though the way all managing capabilities are organized, makes it clear that on the whole the phone is aimed at right-handers. In this case the device resides in left palm, and thumb is on JogDial button. This control function is equal to the same one, featured in Sony Ericsson P990i, there is a possibility of scrolling and pressing this key, however additional degrees of freedom, like it was in Sony Ericsson P910i, Sony Ericsson P900i are absent here. But basically this device doesn’t need this, as the software maximally corresponds with the incorporated controls, what makes it even handier. A bit lower than JogDial’s button one can find the Return key, which leads to a higher menu level or to the stand-by mode.

Video, handset’s design (7.23 Mb)>>>

The device doesn’t possess common hang/pick up keys, nevertheless all there functions can be performed via JogDial or context menus on the screen. You can easily move your finger to the screen and press popping up icons. The developers didn’t mean you to work with the phone without touching the screen in most of the cases (the only exception is Today screen and the media player). I should note, that it’s an easy way of organizing a menu – the most frequently used items can be accessed in one touch, at the same time in order to perform all other functions you’ll have to use the touchscreen, and this seems to be quite logical. The “OK” key may be used for making a call as well.

The device’s keypad is one of its high spots; therefore it’s natural, that we’d like to draw special attention to it. The keys themselves are small in size and have considerable span separating them from each other, that’s why you should be an extraordinary person to have frequent error presses. Despite the first impression, each key is double – it springs out from the fact there are actually two symbols on each button: one on the left and the other one on the right. When pressing any key you should have to have a clear idea of which side you’re pushing. This way of keypad realization is rather innovative, as so far it has been used only in one more handset. Pros are as follows: bigger keys, tied up with multiple symbols, rather the ones, featuring only one symbol per button. On the other hand, the drawbacks of this keypad are lengthy adaptation period and many error presses at the start. I can’t say this is the first QWERTY-device in my practice with an unknown layout, though fast typing was a real pain at first. For myself I have discovered the following explanation: when entering text, merging two keys into one and, consequently symbols allocated on them, distracts a bit – my mind just keep harassing me, that I should use this or that letter there, while it is placed on a key just next to the one my finger points at. Having not found the needed letter, for some reason my sight begins browsing all the lines without realizing that the symbol it needs it just in a few millimeters away. A curious psychological effect, that has been checked on several of my friends and every time the experiment ended up with the same outcome. In order to make completely sure of this phenomenon, I asked a colleague of mine from the US, who had been dealing with various solutions, armed with a keyboard, to try out this handset. Even though it took him much less time to get used to that system, he admitted that it requires certain skills and concentration of attention at first. So now we can rightfully draw a final conclusion: the QWERTY-keypad in this device significantly differs from all the solutions, presented on the market nowadays and requires some time to get used to – anyway, all you’ll have to do is just to resign to the state of affairs and practice a bit.

The numeric engravings are located right in the centers of the corresponding buttons are marked with blue color. In the majority of modes, when one can type only numbers, the numeric layout is activated automatically, but while entering information in text fields, you are forced to switch between the layouts manually (by pressing Alt). The upper line of additional symbols is called up in the similar manner. Typing speed is pretty high – even faster than on a normal keypad. Nevertheless you should realize that it may find yourself confused when trying to input treatises and essays using this kind of keyboard. In the presence of a touchscreen, the need for a QWERTY-keyboard is farfetched – the field, it can be applied to, is a number of special services provided by mobile operators. Apart from typing, using the keypad, you’re liberty to resort to the keyboard display and hand-written input mode. Model М600 is to be shipped in three different language editions, differing in layout engraving (English, Cyrillic, Azeri). The Russian market will officially offer models adopting both Russian and Latin layouts – there is no way the developers could combine these two in one edition due to lack of available space. At that you can programmatically assign symbols of English alphabet to all buttons, even when they have letters of Cyrillic alphabet engraved, although one can hardly find any use for this capability.

The keypad’s backlight is white, even though it’s not too vivid, one can clearly distinguish it under various conditions, including direct sunlight.

Video, working with keyboard, hand-written text sample (5.81 Mb)>>>

The model features a TFT QVGA display (240х320 pixel) with the diagonal of 2.6 inches. The screen doesn’t fade in the sun and what is more, provides a vivid picture with good color rendering (up to 262 K colors); therefore the phone leaves a favorable impression. Keeping in mind the fact, a number of functions require touching the screen, one could have expected an additional protective substrate, and an upgrade of Sony Ericsson P990i technology. Though the developers didn’t incorporate something like this into this handset, that’s why you should consider purchasing some screen protectors, since when touching the screen your fingers leave prints. Key and screen locks are also very essential in this device, as you can randomly press some buttons, while carrying the handset in your pocket (this function is realized on the software level with no separate key performing it is located on the body). I will emphasize that the device should not be transported in one place with keys and any other hard objects, since small thickness and exposure of the screen may result in damaging it; moreover the touchsceen isn’t intended for being carried along with any other items.

The right side holds WEB-browser start-up button, but it can re-assigned to calling up other functions. In contrast to Sony Ericsson W950i, there is no double key for adjusting volume, since its utility is doubtful considering the presence of JogDial, which can be used for changing volume in any mode. In place of this button, the developers have inserted MS M2 memory cards slot, covered by a plastic stub, fastened to the casing. At bottom there is a Fast Port interface connector, therefore the model supports all available accessories. The microphone is also located here. Finally, one will find the holes for applying a strap at this end of the shell.

The upper part features the power key (which is also used for changing profiles when at the stand-by screen) and IrDA port.

Unlike W950i, the back lid may have a small gap – even though it’s very minimal, but on hard pressed the cover utters strange sounds. The battery applied to this model is Li-Pol with a capacity of 900 mAh (BST-33). According to the manufacturer’s statement, it provides up to 340 hours of working in standby mode and about 7.5 hours of talk time. Under conditions of Moscow networks, the charge lasted for 2 days on average with an hour of telephone conversations, about 6 hours of music playback, 2 hours of listening to the radio and seldom files transfers via Bluetooth, mail checks (approximately 20 minutes) and web-pages browsing. Full recharge time of the device is around 2 hours.

In the most intensive mode of usage, the charge on the batter will last for 1 day – during this time span you can not only listen to music without taking a break, but also check mail and browse Internet pages on regular basis. Taking into consideration that the majority of users don’t exploit capabilities of the device to this extent, we can talk about average life time of around two days, but it depends on every given case. Those, who don’t aim at listening to music and using other functions too often, the device will offer 2-3 days of life time. From my point of view, three days in this mode can be readily reached, but in this case, purchase of this device loses any meaning.

Sony Ericsson K750i

The Sony Ericsson K750i is undoubtedly the most highly anticipated model of 2005 for the majority of mobile phone users. This waiting was caused by many things, but mainly because of information about the phone appeared much earlier then the phone was officially announced. We mentioned the phone in December of 2004 for the first time, and the functionality of the phone was clear then. Keeping the functionality in mind, we thought it would be classified as a T650. The latest reorganization of the product line saw the T-series removed, and the manufacturer decided to renew the indexes. In 2003, the leader of SE's line was the T610, which was a bestseller and is still sold in some places. A new device was later introduced with a few improvements in a similar style to the T68 and T68i. Keep in mind these facts for the end of the review.

The new leader of the company, the K750i, had the name of Clara inside the company. Similar to previous leading models, the emphasis is put on the most demanded and actively promoted functions in the market; for 2005, this means a quality camera and Mp3 player, all other functions were also changed in accordance to the device itself. As for the previous models, the device inherited all of their strengths and the hardware became more powerful, which is necessary for properly working and storing pictures from the 2-mega-pixel camera. The processor operating speed and its power grew, which is why there were many software problems in the development of the K750i. The main challenge for engineers was not the functionality of the phone, but forming a specific set of characteristics to fit in a body comparable to the previous phones. The company decided that the user should see not only the inheritance of features, but in design as well. Why should they accustom users to a smaller size if the next device in this class will have larger dimensions? That is not only illogical, but it also pushes the audience away. The company's lack of resources has made developing modern devices in a short time next to impossible.

The phone itself will be presented in 2 colors, which is very interesting. The operators will be offered models in more colors, but with different indexes; for example, the K750 copy for T-Mobile is the D750.

The dimensions of the K750 are quite comfortable (100x46x19.5 mm, 99 grams) but unusual for a phone with these functions. The device belongs to the group of models with double-side orientation, a phone on the one side and a camera on the other. The integration of a phone interface and a digital camera allows users no need to put extra effort in learning how the camera works, since everything is similar to usual cameras. Looking at the front panel you see the standard layout of keys and functions. The first unusual thing is that the loudspeaker gaps are placed very high on the phone, almost on the top edge. This is caused by the small size, since the dimensions haven't changed but the filling has. This position hasn't hampered the loudspeaker work in anyway, the speaker is heard well, and the position means nothing. The decrease of the loudspeaker power may be considered a negative factor; we managed to get the same sound, volume of call, melody reproduction and mp3 player as on the models of the current line. Energy consumption of the loudspeaker is much lower, and that is an evident plus.

The screen has undergone no changes and is the same as previous models, such as the K700 and K600. It has the same resolution of 176x220 pixels (28x36 mm) showing up to 262K (TFT) colors. Physically, its matrix has no differences from the previous models, and using another controller causes the increased number of shown colors. You won't see any principal difference between 65K and 262K colors in the screen, the picture is good, vivid and the interface drawing is very pleasant. The display gives way to Samsung and Sharp models in the picture brightness, but in general belongs to its own group rather than to the middle-class. No problems appear in the screen, and moreover, it is obviously one of the best in this form-factor. The picture fades in the sun, but text remains readable. To tell the truth, small font-size prevents from seeing all the necessary details sometimes but this doesn't concern SMS and names in a phonebook, here everything is all right.

The keypad is made of plastic and number keys are placed in a single block. Working with the keypad is of normal comfort and that is seen as a compromise. One can't call the keys uncomfortable but they don't represent the best variant. The majority will find the keypad acceptable and nothing more. The backlighting is white and well seen in various conditions.

The joystick is unusual in the model. It is made in the style of the "soft touch" technology, when the slightest deviation allows controlling movement along the screen. It doesn't look comfortable at first sight, accidental reactions are frequent, and a feeling arouses it lacks some harshness. With time you get so accustomed to the joystick that on the other phones they seem too tough and hard to control. Many people found it very comfortable having acquainted themselves with the K750.