Sony Ericsson P910i

Nearly a year after Sony Ericsson's P900 launch, this smart phone gets a new lease of life in the form of the P910i. Rather than a major overhaul, the company has opted for a simple refresher this time, with minor enhancements instead.

Design
Existing users will be pleased to learn that the mobile maker kept much of the aesthetics and top-notch build quality reminiscent of the P910i's predecessor, the P900. Apart from a subtle colour variation on the chassis, the only noticeable difference at first glance must be the rectangular buttons on the removable keypad. Much to the delight of heavy texters, the keys are now larger and spaced sufficiently for easier messaging.

Once the flip is flicked open, a miniscule QWERTY thumbboard is revealed. Unfortunately, cramming 33 keys onto this limited real estate isn't feasible. Despite hours of painstaking practice, we weren't able to type comfortably on it. We reckon you'd be better off relying on T9 input or handwriting recognition instead. For users who want to use the P910i primarily as a data device, you can opt to remove the keypad so it functions like a PDA.

The sizeable 208 x 320-pixel TFT that dominates the facade sports an increased colour depth of 262K. This display is vivid and the company claims the screen is 60 percent brighter. True enough, a side-by-side comparison affirms a notable difference.

Sony Ericsson has also ported its tried-and-tested five-way jog dial to the P910i. Well-implemented and intuitive, it doesn't take long before we are navigating through menus effortlessly.

Similar to most camera-equipped phones, the lens and self-portrait mirror sit at the back of the unit. With megapixel handsets such as the Nokia 7610 on the market currently, it's disappointing that Sony Ericsson has failed to pack in one of a similar resolution.

Features
Apart from the screen and thumbboard improvements, the internal RAM has also been quadrapled from 16MB to a spacious 64MB. This is a welcomed addition as it's essential to have more room for storing email attachments. As a bonus, the P910i now features a Memory Stick PRO Duo slot so it's possible for this phone to support up to 1GB of external memory.

Based on the UIQ flavour of the Symbian OS 7.0, there is a multitude of software available for users to customise the device. Performance-wise, the unit is generally snappy and whizzes past day-to-day tasks without sluggishness. However, the ARM9 156MHz processor does seem a little underpowered when running resource-intensive applications from third-party developers. Compared to Pocket PC devices, the P910i is weak in the area of multitasking.

Unlike other thin-sounding PDA-phones such as HP's iPaq h6365, the P910i's speaker outputs loud quality acoustics so you won't have problems with missed calls. In addition to the 24-chord polyphony, you can assign MP3 audio files as ringtones. As the onboard MP3 player lacks an equaliser for bass and treble adjustments, this may turn off music enthusiasts.

Needless to say, this feature-laden smart phone from Sony Ericsson is brimming with connectivity options. Apart from the usual GPRS and a WAP browser, infrared and Bluetooth are also built in. The only omission is Wi-Fi. Once again, Sony Ericsson's QuickShare technology allows users to transfer media files between devices seamlessly.

Although the desktop synchronisation software supports a variety of Personal Information Managers, we have one major gripe. When populating the P910i with data from Microsoft Outlook, not all fields are transferred. For instance, additional addresses and emails that are defined in the desktop fail to port over to the phone.

Reception, Battery Life And SAR
We didn't encounter any issues with reception and voice quality during our review period. The 1,000mAh Lithium-polymer battery lasted slightly over two days of standby on moderate phone and PDA function usage.

The P910i recorded a highest Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) value of 0.88W/kg and complies with international requirements concerning exposure to radio waves.

Conclusion
There is so much to like about this feature-packed device but the limited enhancements will mean that existing P900 owners should give this upgrade a miss. However, for busy mobile professionals looking to purchase a smart phone to complement their lifestyle, the P910i is worth considering, if price is a non-issue.

Set for release in November, the P910i will be priced inline with earlier models such as the P800 and P900, with an estimated price of around AU$1400.