May 28, 2007 09:42 AM
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Having used the Nokia 6101 for over a year and half, I realized that I needed a new phone. Yeah I am a geek but unlike other geeks I just need a simple device. The N6101 fulfilled all my needs but since its battery was running out of steam really quickly after every recharge, I realized that I needed a new handset. My search zeroed in on the Sony Ericsson Z550i.
Much of this review may look like a comparison between the Nokia 6101 and the Z550i although I will try to give as much information about the Z550i as possible.
The Z550i has pretty much the same functionalities that are available in the N6101, except that there are a few extra features as well. By looks, you will see that these two handsets are very similar; having a flap(SE likes to call it the clamshell model) that opens to reveal the keypad and the enlarged screen. The camera is fixed on the outer side of the clamshell in both the handsets. Both cell phones have a FM radio tuner as well, capable of saving up to 20 radio stations. But this is where the similarities end.
By the looks of things, the Z550i’s body is made up largely of a combination of plastic and metal while the N6101 has a predominantly metal/alloy body. Look wise both phones are impressive but let’s concentrate on the Z550i. This handset has two screens, the external being a monochrome one line screen showing time when in sleep mode and also showing the name of the contact whenever you have an incoming call. The blue backlight is soothing in colour and is the same for the keypad display as well. The internal screen is a 262K colour screen, giving a vivid display and a realistic feel to the photographs clicked.
Camera is one feature that I didn’t necessarily want in my phone. I wanted Bluetooth and this was the best I could choose in my price range so the camera came to me as a bonus. Still, since I’ve used the camera in N6101 as well, I know what to expect. And a comparison makes the Z550i a clear winner. The N6101 had a simple 1.3MPx camera, but even though the Z550i has the similar 1.3MPx camera, it has a lot more features. You can enhance the picture size up to 1280 x 1024 although this will reduce the number of pictures that you can click. Also, this phone supports digital zoom and a few effects like the black/white mode, negative, sepia tint and solarizes. So if you’re one who likes to click pictures on the go then this is a good choice for you. I did click a few pictures from it but I’m still to transfer them to my PC so I can’t comment on how good they look on your desktop. But I have heard from a few users that the camera is great.
The overall operating system is faster than the N6101. It supports icon based menu which you can navigate quite easily. The 4-way navikey is quite similar to the one you will find in most Nokia phones. Here I must tell you that in standby mode, the navikey is not completely customizable. For instance, I did not want the camera on the topmost navikey but that shortcut is not editable. The operating system makes it quite easy for you to navigate from one menu to another and switch between tabs as if you are pressing button on a console.
For people who are switching from Nokia to Sony Ericsson, it will be a little difficult for you to get acquainted to this handset because the functions are named differently and may be placed under some different menu. For instance, in any Nokia phone, you will find cell information under the settings -> phone settings menu while the same will be found under messages -> cell information in a SE phone.
Technically the phone looks flawless. It doesn’t support infrared although the Bluetooth is powerful enough to work in a range of approximately 10 metres. It is a nice idea to get a Bluetooth headset and talk while you keep your phone in your pocket.
The Z550i supports a memory card of up to 1GB and it is advisable to buy an original SE memory card. Apart from that it has a built-in 25MB shared memory which can be used to store photos and music files. Various photo and audio formats are supported.
I haven’t yet played the pre-installed games but apart from games, it has some other applications installed as well. Facewarp is an application that can distort some portion of a picture that you’ve clicked. There’s another application that supports RSS feeds which the phone can download if you have GPRS activated in your subscription. The best application I found of my use is the world clock. This Java based software shows the time in different cities of the world on a rotating globe. You can set a default city and rotate the globe to see the time in any part of the world. It looks impressive.
The Z550i has a media player installed which can be used to create new tones as well as creating play lists of songs that you may have stored in your memory card. It also has a graphic equalizer, something that you will find in most SE walkman phones, though one or two features may be missing. There is no limit on the length of the video clip that you can record and apart from that it also supports streaming video over a suitable internet connection. There are a good number of polyphonic ring tones and it also has support for mp3 and wav melodies.
A word of caution – I have heard complaints from many people that the ring volume is quite low. It could be true compared to any Nokia phone although I haven’t faced any problems as yet. One reason could be that its external speaker is located under the phone and it can block some amount of the tone as the phone rings.
The connectivity is superb. I haven’t noticed any weak signals as yet. USB support is good if you want to frequently synchronize the phone with your PC.
The radio is my most preferred feature of this phone. I like to listen to radio a lot, especially when I am travelling. The Z550i can auto-save up to 20 FM radio stations. The reception is impressive. The loudspeaker is not as loud as the N6101’s but I don’t have any use of it. I prefer to keep the earphones on all the time I listen to the radio.
The phone comes in two colours – sterling black and pearl copper. The black colour model is more popular and seemingly more easily available.
The only drawback I found compared to the N6101 is the battery. With moderate use(about 1 hour of talk time and 2 hours of radio usage) I found that the battery of the N6101 would last 3 – 4 days while with similar usage the Z550i’s battery lasts barely 3 days at most. This is a point where Nokia scores over SE in almost all categories. I wonder when SE will come up with a solution for it.
Final impressions
Go for this handset if you want a trendy phone in your hand and want practically all functionalities of a smartphone at a low cost. It cost me INR 7000 although I expect the price to go down in the next few months.
