Sony-Ericsson C902
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2008-04-16
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| At the Barcelona-based Mobile World Congress this year, two imaging-focused handsets were added to Sony-Ericsson's Cyber-shot family, the C702 and the C902. With that, Sony Ericsson's camera-phones have taken on a new naming convention beginning with the letter C to represent Cyber-shot instead of K which had its roots in the Swedish language, camera is spelt 'kamera' in Sweden.
Upside
Besides its 5-megapixel camera module, the C902 is one of the first of Sony Ericsson's camera-phones to employ touch-sensitive controls. Unlike the G900 which allows users to set the focus area of the picture simply by touching a point on the phone, the C902 follows a less adventurous path with only touch-sensitive keys for camera functions. There are eight of them in total--four above the QVGA display and four below--that control various functions such as shooting mode, scenes, timer and flash. Previously, dedicated camera keys such as the ones on the K850i and the K770i were numeric buttons that pulled double-duty. Despite being a prototype unit, the touch buttons on the C902 felt responsive during use.
At just 11mm thin, the C902 marks a huge departure from the chunky 17mm-thick K850i, making it the slimmest Cyber-shot from the Japanese-Swedish company yet. The biggest change compared with earlier Cyber-shot models, however, is the sliding camera cover that resembles a removable top lid that just happens not to be detachable. The moving parts aren't just flimsy, we also found it hard to grip and pull without worrying that we might snap the adjoining strips on the sides of the "lid". We hope this wouldn't be the case on the final commercial set.
Other camera functions include the face detection feature which has gradually become a standard option on digicams, and an onboard image stabilizer. Although it looks great to have these on paper, depending on the camera's algorithms in place and performance, it could turn out to be a different story in actual use. We'll find out more in a full review later.
Cosmetics aside, Sony Ericsson has spruced up the user interface for the C902. Users will be able to select two different main menu layouts in addition to the standard 4-by-3 grid. In Rotating mode, the icons are lined in a carousel and bounce when highlighted. In Single icon mode, users can see only one magnified icon while the rest of the options are arranged in a column on the right. When anyone of the menu options is selected, the animated icon "jumps" toward the user before fading off into the background.
On the entertainment front, the Need for Speed ProStreet game is perhaps one of the more successful implementations of the phone's built-in accelerometer. To steer the race car, we tilt the phone left or right. Though the game was still a little buggy on our set, it's heartening to know that Sony Ericsson is making full use of this feature rather than simply as an orientation sensor for the 2-inch screen display.
The quad-band GSM phone supports HSDPA and comes with 256MB of onboard memory. It also has an expansion card slot for Memory Stick Micro M2 cards.
Downside
Because of its unique design, the volume control which is usually found along the edge toward the top (when the phone is upright) is now at the bottom. This makes it slightly awkward to adjust the volume when the phone is to our ear as we have to rely on our pinkie instead.
We also had a minor issue with the keypad. Although the buttons are of a decent size, the angled surface similar to the ones on the Nokia Siroccos isn't the most ideal in design. We could feel only a small strip at the apex of each button with our thumbs when texting, making it a little less assuring to type than usual.
The biggest upset on the C902 is the lack of a Xenon flash module. Granted that it has happened before on the K770i Cyber-shot, it's not clear why Sony Ericsson decided to go with an LED flash on the "high-performance" C902. An LED light is more useful for shooting videos as it can provide a constant source of light, but we'd have preferred a more powerful Xenon flash for an imaging-focused phone.
Outlook
With the C902, the Cyber-shot series has taken on a more stylish front and should appeal to a snapshot crowd looking for a slim phone, although we're sure the missing Xenon flash will rile the series' more loyal fans. Its sibling, the C702, offers a more rugged experience with a splash/dust-resistant chassis but a lower-resolution 3.2-megapixel camera. Both phones are expected to be available in June.
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