Sony Ericsson P910i smartphone

Sony Ericsson P910i is a tri-band smartphone, and as such is a handset that will work in the USA. Although this is a chunky candy bar sized model it is not so large or heavy to be unwieldy, and despite its impressive specification it is still smaller than most standard PDAs. Being a very sophisticated model it will suit the most demanding requirements of the business user, and it will also appeal to anyone who requires a PDA style mobile phone. The P910i is an upgraded version of the P900, and it has some significant improvements over that earlier model, including a better quality screen, the addition of a small QWERTY keyboard, and the quadrupling of the phone’s internal memory. The P910i still retains its characteristic flip panel, which appeared on the earlier versions of this phone.

Sony Ericsson P910iOutwardly the phone is little different from the old P900 model, although the flip panel is noticeably changed and now contains two keypads. When the flip is closed you have access to the normal alphanumeric keys found on any other phone, but in this position the flip partially covers the screen to give a reduced size display. When the flip is opened this reveals the QWERTY keypad and the whole screen is exposed, which offers many more functions to the user. The phone can be used either with the flip in its open or closed position, and a further option is that the flip section can be completely removed from the phone.

The P910i smartphone is packed with a great many features, some of the more significant being its support for Bluetooth™ connectivity, GPRS and HSCSD data handling technology, WAP and Opera browsers, MMS multimedia messaging, streamed audio and video, video record download and playback, MP3 and MPEG4 players, memory card slot for a Sony Memory Stick PRO Duo™, a sound recorder, voice control, speakerphone for hands-free conversations, enabled for Symbian and Java™ software platforms, full e-mail client, and polyphonic and MP3 ringtones. It even has a Flight option so that you can turn off the phone’s radio on aeroplanes, while still being able to make use of the PDA facilities during a flight.

The P910i has a very large TFT type LCD touch-screen (touch-sensitive screen), which has an excellent 208 x 320 pixels of resolution and the capability to reproduce 262,144 different colours, the current state-of-the-art. When you need to put the display into its wide-screen mode, then is simply done by rotating the Jog Dial navigation control or tapping the screen. The Jog Dial control provides the user with many different functions of navigation by rotating it up or down, or by pushing it towards or away from you. Pressing the Jog Dial into the phone will select the chosen item. With the flip closed you can still access most of the phone’s functions by using the Jog Dial and the keypad.

It is possible to use your fingers to operate the touch-screen (for the nimble fingered), although a stylus tool is provided, which when not in use fits into a slot at the top of the phone. The stylus allows you to more accurately select the options from the screen menus, and this stylus is also the tool you use to write alphanumeric characters onto the screen. For example, you can use the stylus to operate the phone’s Jotter application; this is a notepad that enables you to write text or make drawings, and there is built-in handwriting recognition software provided in order to turn your freehand text into the printed type.

Indeed, you are almost spoilt for choice in the number of ways you can interact with the phone. Not only can you write directly onto the screen with the stylus, but you can also put a virtual QWERTY keyboard onto the screen and use the stylus to select the “keys”. The other ways to input numbers and text are by using the micro QWERTY keypad on the inside of the phone’s flip, or you can use the normal alphanumeric keypad on the outside of the flip (which allows you to employ the T9™ predictive text input). Although the typewriter keyboard is small, it should make life easier when you have lots of texting or emailing to do.

The Sony Ericsson P910i smartphone has a CommuniCorder™, which is a fancy way to say it can take still pictures and video and then send these via MMS messages, if you so wish. There is a perfectly usable VGA quality camera integrated into the phone, which may seem a little low specification for a top-end model like this, as one megapixel cameras are now being fitted into cheaper models. Maybe the buyers for this phone will be interested in its business potential rather than its photographic capabilities, but it does seem a pity that the camera is not better. There is also no flashlight to help with photography in poor light.

A button on the side of the cameraphone activates the CommuniCorder, and it also acts as the shutter release when taking photos. Three sizes are available for taking still pictures, and these are VGA (640 x 480 pixels), QVGA (320 x 240 pixels), and QQVGA (160 x 120 pixels), with video being offered at QCIF (176 x 144 pixels). Pictures taken with the camera may be modified using the phone’s picture editor, and it is possible to modify your pictures by, for example, digital zoom, cropping, rotating by 90 degrees, or writing and drawing on them using different colours. Pictures taken with the camera can be either used as wallpapers in the phone, or sent to your contacts via an MMS message. The video exposure is set automatically, but for still pictures you have a choice of exposures: automatic, indoor, outdoor, and there is a night setting to enable pictures to be taken in poor light conditions. An anti-flicker setting is also available to prevent problems due to the effects of artificial lighting, e.g. fluorescent lights. A timer and mirror are provided to help with the taking of self-portraits.

The P910i supports video and audio streaming and so you are able to make use of live links, such as those to news, sports and entertainment sites. With its video facilities this phone can act like a video camcorder, as well as having the ability to download video clips over the air. The MMS capability also means that you are able to send and receive messages containing a combination of video, pictures, sounds, text, and voice notes. The advantage of MMS will be obvious to anyone who wishes to share their special moments - recorded in video, still pictures or sound - with friends and other contacts. The phone’s QuickShare™ system makes the sending of such content easy.

Another useful feature of the P910i is that it includes a MP3 player, so giving you the opportunity to enjoy your favourite music while you travel around, and a stereo headset is supplied with the phone to give you the best sound. This player allows you to set up your own playlists, and to choose from the usual options you would expect to find in good music machines, such as random or repeat play functions. This music player provides you with the possibility to download MP3 tracks and other types of music files via Bluetooth™ or infrared links.

Storage is now even less of an issue than it might have been with the old model, as the P910i has up to 64 MB of internal user memory available, and it also has a slot to insert a Memory Stick PRO Duo™. Memory Sticks provide you with an almost unlimited extra capacity, to store as many as you need of pictures, video clips, MP3 music files, voice recordings, as well as games, applications and personal data. The phone is supplied with a 32 MB Memory Stick Duo™, although Memory Stick Duos of up to 128 MB are supported, and Memory Stick PRO Duo up to 1 GB. It therefore takes up very little extra weight to build up your own mobile music library of MP3 tracks, or to carry around all your important files stored on several Memory Sticks. The Memory Stick Duo format also provides an easy method to move large files from one phone to another - or to a PC.

The Sony Ericsson P910i can be personalised by changing the supplied themes, wallpapers, screensavers and alert sounds, and more of this content can be downloaded over-the-air to the phone, as and when you need it. Photos taken with the camera may be used in the Picture Phone Book, and sounds recorded on the phone’s memo recorder may be used as ringtones, and you can assign a personal ringtone and picture to contacts, to help you identify your callers. You can also use any MP3 music file stored in the phone as a personal ringtone. Another useful feature is that it is possible to get the phone to play back your recording of the caller’s name, which is particularly helpful when using the P910i with a hands-free.

Being Java™ enabled is a pretty important feature in a mobile phone such as this, as it enables the user to run a wide range of applications and games programs, and more of this software may be downloaded when you want to use something new. For moments when you need a little entertainment, two games are preloaded in the phone: Solitaire and Chess. This phone also uses the Symbian v7.0 Operating System, which means that it has a Windows-like operating environment, and this provides you with the means to use third party applications that work with the Symbian system. There is a large selection of business applications now available to choose from, plus many other games and leisure applications as well.

Although you do not get the same data speeds in the P910i that are offered by 3G phones, it is still fast enough for most purposes, and with its integrated GPRS and HSCSD technology you are also provided with that “always on” connection to the network. The phone has mobile Internet capability, being able to browse the standard websites as well as WAP services, and it has a combined HTML and WAP browser, allowing you to browse web pages in colour, to make use of secure banking and shopping, and to view formatted web content. An Opera browser is another useful addition, which adapts web content to fit the small size of the phone’s screen, and matches the download speed and resolution. The Opera browser is included on the supplied CD.

One essential business feature of this smartphone is its built-in e-mail client, allowing you to send and receive e-mails on the move using the standard e-mail protocols of POP3, IMAP4 and SMTP. The phone supports MIME attachments, and video clips, pictures, sounds and other files may be attached to e-mails in the usual way. The e-mail client is very versatile and supports most of the popular systems, so this phone would be a good choice for users who demand flexible e-mailing features as a main priority. The phone also supports calling card services.

Another useful business feature is the good provision for those who want to use the P910i as a mobile Office assistant. The phone is bundled with document viewers Quickword™ Quicksheet™ and Quickpoint™, which allow you to view and edit documents in Microsoft Word™, Excel™ and PowerPoint™. In addition there is a read-only viewer for Adobe® Acrobat™ PDF™ files.

As you would expect, the Sony Ericsson P910i offers a good choice of connectivity options: you can choose to connect via Bluetooth™, infrared or data cable, and it is then easy to exchange video, images, sounds and other files by using the simple drag and drop method. The integrated Bluetooth™ technology enables you to link up wirelessly by radio signals to other Bluetooth phones, computers, PDAs, or other compatible equipment within a 10-metre range. The phone has infrared wireless connectivity for a “line-of-sight” link up with other compatible IrDA devices. When you choose to make a USB or RS232 data cable connection, the P910i is plugged into the supplied SyncStation desk stand, and this cradle establishes the link to the cables connecting the phone with the other equipment.

Whatever method you use to interface with other PCs and devices, once connected you can synchronise your personal information and exchange files and data with that equipment. For compatibility with the standard personal information programs, the P910i will work with Microsoft Outlook™, Lotus Notes™ and Lotus Organiser™, and it supports remote synchronisation using SyncML™. The phone also supports connections using Apple® iSync™.

The P910i has some good organiser applications available, including a calendar, tasks, jotter, world clock, alarms, and calculator, although you can of course download any other applications that you might need for work or home. If you open the flip during a call, the speakerphone is activated and the volume will increase; this also makes it possible to access functions such as the Jotter and Calendar while engaged in a conversation, if you need to record any information from the call. The phone also has the usual feature of a vibration alert.

Sony Ericsson P910i Smartphone specification

Sony Ericsson product page

Manual and phone support

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Last updated 30th January 2008, 14:39 GMT