Sony Ericsson's shiny Z750i is one of a crop of recent phones granted a blue tick from Telstra. According to the Big T, this means that it is particularly suited to people living in rural areas that use the company's Next G network. If you're none too happy about being kicked off the CDMA network, these are the handsets that are designed to convince you of Next G's amazing incredible awesomeness.
Design
The Z750i shows that "country phone" doesn't have to mean "bulky and grey with a big honking antenna" (not mentioning any names, Telstra F165). The Sony Ericsson mirror-coated clamshell contours mimic those of the company's similarly shiny Z610i. In fact, you'd have trouble picking one from the other in a line-up - the 97mm by 49mm 20mm measurements of the Z750i differ from the Z610's by a paltry three millimetres. Their weights are identical at 110 grams.
The outer shell of the Z750i has a glossy coating, or what Sony Ericsson refers to as a "mirror effect". The surface is shiny and reflective, but not quite as mirror-like as the LG Shine. At the top of the shell is a 2-megapixel camera. An OLED display seems to float within the gloss -- it's visible when you close the clamshell, and shows the essentials such as time, battery life and reception level.
The combo multimedia/volume buttons on the left side of the Z750i are very small and scarcely distinguishable from their surroundings. It's a similarly stealthy affair for the Memory Stick Micro slot, which lurks on the right. Beyond these and the all-in-one connection port on the base of the handset, there's naught that mars the phone's smooth surfaces.
Flip the phone open and it's a slightly more retro affair; the number keys have a blocky look, and contrast with the small circular soft keys, send/end keys and shortcut buttons. All up, though, the Z750i is more quirky than daggy -- though all bets are off when you factor in the dorky suede pouch that comes in the box.
Our review model arrived with a bright purple coating, but the phone is also available in a more sedate silver version.
Features
The Z750i has a pretty standard features list apart from some nifty Web-focused inclusions. RSS feeds and picture blogging allow you to give and receive a daily dose of data, while a decent media player and stereo headset -- or A2DP Bluetooth, should you swing that way -- take care of your music needs.
Telstra has also ponied up the Web goods for the Z750i. Its My Place menu option offers mobile Foxtel, BigPond Music, directory search courtesy of Yellow Pages, and BigBlog, which allows you to trawl through angsty strangers' six-month-old ramblings from your very own phone. A GPS service from Sensis called Whereis Navigator is also in the list, but our repeated attempts to access it were met with a "Coming Soon!" message.
Performance
Unfortunately we didn't have time for a whirlwind trip to the outback in order to test Next G reception, but calls sounded fine within metro Sydney.
Telstra's My Place offerings failed to entice, with the Foxtel option being particularly puzzling -- is anyone out there actually paying AU$12 a month to watch a tiny, pixelated, battery-draining version of cable TV?
The Web browser is passable, but the default text size is quite small, and zooming in results in dodgy-looking images cluttering the screen.
Whereis Navigator's failure to launch was also frustrating, as it makes an entire menu section unusable. If you're keen to use location services on your phone, you could try your luck with the Java version of Google Maps Mobile.
The Z750i is not a bad phone. Though the included Telstra stuff is pretty naff, the handset coasts along on the merits of Sony Ericsson's standard solid menu interface and decent multimedia offerings. If your focus is on finding a handset that will keep you connected in the bush, there are cheaper options out there. Should you prefer a bit of flashy gadget flair, the Z750i is an acceptable, if overpriced, choice.
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Olliealexis
06/08/2008, 12:07 PM
rating
9/10
After having had an LG flip, then a Nokia slide, I am on an Ericsson flip and am loving it! COmpletely different menu to what I am used to, but it didn't take me long to get the thumbs flying!
Pros: Easy navigation
Great reception - doesn't drop out in flat spots like my Nokia did
5 alarms to program and schedule
Outside magic screen is brilliant
Headset clear as a bell
Predictive text is actually very intuitive
Cons: You can't set your snooze time - default is 9mins and you can't change it
You can't have a silent alarm with just vibration - you need to make a recording of nil sound and that still starts playing back with a beep
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techman
14/06/2008, 10:17 AM
rating
6/10
I've got 2 of these phones contracted to telstra. One of the phones had a non responsive button since day 1 and has been sent back to sony ericsson to have a clean and adjustment of buttons, came back within 7 days. The other of the 2 phones just decided to stop sending or recieving picture messages or accessing online features. After spending an hour on the phone to telstra's tech support guy it was decided that the handset was faulty and took over two weeks have new software installed and be tested by sony ericsson
Pros: large buttons for big hands
Cons: Phones only come with a 12 month warrenty yet most contracts are 2 years which is double the phones expected life. go figure?
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09Julesy
04/06/2008, 03:30 PM
rating
1/10
Piece of garbage. Had two change overs due to bad battery life.
Pros: Zero
Cons: Everything
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Foolstra
02/06/2008, 12:45 PM
rating
2/10
Nightmare from start to finish. Bulky. Telstra crap coming out of my ears. Living in the middle of Canberra, and Next G coverage didn't work. Cumbersome to hold.
Pros: I could check my makeup at the bustop on the shiny mirror image, but that's about it. Very fast navigation.
Cons: No network coverage. Too much Telstra advertising all over the phone. Fingerprints. I'm going back to GSM Vodafone.
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danmc
10/05/2008, 03:01 AM
rating
9/10
Excellent phone. Equal reception to the benchmark best performer (that I know of thus far) the Samsung a411/12. I tested by connecting both phones at once to someone at base with two phones and driving around in the country with them side by side. There was no discernible difference in dropout rate or distance. Standards based Java platform means that many custom apps work properly. GPS works well - despite what people who don't know say (hands up Telstra). Ring control button can be fiddly. Phone needs to be flashed to remove Telstra branding- this fixes shortcuts to bigpond etc (removes them I mean). Phone has the same problem as all others on the market - The algorithm that determines which band it stays on is flawed, or hamstrung (on purpose?) Band choice should be settable to strongest signal, but the phone will stay on nextg with marginal signal when 2100 signal is full strength. Overall the best choice for us.
Pros: Reception, call quality, external antenna optional, Operating system, fairly well built (equal to others on market, no better no worse I guess) large bright display. Clear numbers when dialing. LARGE keys. Great accessory range. See complete review and battery mods at www.dan.net.au
Cons: Control ring can be fiddly to use. Volume buttons too small. Other buttons and keys good.
Needs debranding to get rid of Telstra crap (same as all Telstra phones)
Call divert function can't be set for timeout - this is available in some phones but not all - can be set by telco operator so is just an inconvenience.
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daisy
01/04/2008, 05:45 PM
rating
9/10
just got the phone and i love it
Pros: awesome colour, great features, good reception, not locked to telstra so optus sim also works in it
Cons: scracthes and chips easily
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symbol57
11/03/2008, 12:15 PM
rating
4/10
The phone is great and in improvement on the 600 series that I have had for 5 years.
Pros: Slimmer. lighter. Better screen.
Cons: Telstra software interferes with everything and has chnaged the configuration of the phone so as not to match the mannual. You are better off buying one not interfered with then using your choosen service provider.
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lyn.edmonds
06/02/2008, 09:19 PM
rating
8/10
Good features and functionality, excellent screen, NextG reception very good with quick internet connection.
Pros: Keys easily navigable, long talk time, well designed, turns out quickly
Cons: Non so far
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StrangeAttractor
05/02/2008, 11:09 AM
rating
8/10
came with my new telstra contract, I quite like it. Just wish I could change the shortcut buttons that show foxtel and bigpond at the moment.
Pros: can see screen in sunlight! Calls crisp and clear.
Cons: can't customise home screen. Useless bundled stuff (foxtel whereis etc)
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Zirro
24/01/2008, 08:45 PM
rating
5/10
Why is it impossible to find out what speed HSDPA this phone does on the NextG network?
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