Sony Ericsson T290 Review
The Sony Ericsson T290 is a very sharp and well designed mobile phone which is exceptionally light even by today’s standards. The shape is the more traditional slab, which is an interesting change from the more common clamshell design. The shiny black exterior and rounded edges compliment each other to give a very professional look. The phone has dimensions of 102 mm x 44 mm x 19 mm and weighs in at an impressive 79 grams, is available in misty black and frosty white, and aimed at the mass market. The phone itself supports a number of networks, including GSM 900 and GSM 1800 which will allow you access to services any where in the world – a useful option either for personal or business use. The battery performance is surprisingly robust offering a very impressive 12 hours talk time and 300 hours standby time.
The Sony Ericsson T290 offers a number of connectivity options and now obligatory Internet WAP offering. This particular model uses the WAP 1.2.1 protocol which is one of the more up to date versions available. As the mobile phone market has developed, Internet access has become more and more important, as well as confidence in the actual connection. This WAP service allows the use of both interactive lists and supports color on your Internet screen. As well as the WAP connection, the Sony Ericsson T290 also has inbuilt GPRS functionality, which allows the speedy transfer of data at up to 58 kbps – similar to the older style dial up PC Internet connections. As mobiles develop further, you will see the introduction of broadband mobile connection, but this is fairly rare at the moment. The USB connector is another simple, yet very useful option, allowing you to connect to PCs (or similar electronic devices) and exchange data. This allows the option of working on the move, and downloading information on your return to the office or home – ensuring all of your records are up to date.
The mobile also supports all relevant and up to date messaging services including your basic SMS texting service, with predictive text function (although this can be turned off). As well as the basic SMS service, the Sony Ericsson T290 also offers the more adventurous MMS picture messaging which allows you to send both pictures and short video clips from the phone. When you also add in the email facility – supported by the WAP connection – you in effect have you own personal mobile office. This ensures that you are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week, able to send and receive any type of message and also download various information from the internet. There is another useful function which is not too common in the market place, i.e. the option to record your own sound messages and send from your phone – quite a unique offering in an often predictable market place. The navigation system is both simple and very straight forward, consisting of a number of self explanatory icons which can be selected either by using the 4 way roll bar or function keys under the display screen. Some of the more basic, yet still useful, functions available are the main phonebook which allows you to store a vast array of contact details. The function allows you to store more than just the phone number, as you are able to add their name, email address etc. There is also a personal organizer type system which includes alarm clock, business card exchange (i.e. swap phone numbers), calculator, stop watch, timer and a rather useful events calendar. The calendar allows you to keep track of your appointments and meetings, with the option of using the USB connector to download the information to your PC. The main display screen is a rather basic LCD screen with 101 x 80 pixel resolution with a combination of up to 4096 colors.
The actual phone function offers the choice to make use of many of the inbuilt polyphonic ringtones (and the option to download further via the WAP connection); even denoting certain ring tones to certain phonebook entries – thereby allowing you to know who is calling without looking at the phone. For those of a more business nature, there is a conference call facility which allows more than two people to hook up for a multi-way chat. The external speaker on the Sony Ericsson T290 is vital to this service as you can lay the phone down, relax and talk normally – with the inbuilt microphone sensitive enough to pick up your comments clearly. For those long journeys, or even just to fill in a break between appointments, there are a number of pre-loaded Java games. Though not the most up to date games, they can be fairly addictive and help you to relax. As is the norm with Sony Ericsson products, there is a vast array of accessories readily available which include a portable hands free ear piece, useful desk speaker, a portable CommuniCam which easily snaps onto the side of the phone as well as various USB and similar connection cables.
As you would expect from a Sony Ericsson handset, the Sony Ericsson T290 is a very compact and useful mobile phone. On further investigation it is obviously designed to appeal to the mass market rather than any specific niche market. The design is sleek and tidy, light weight and very easy to carry around, whether slipped in a pocket or carried in a bag. The functionality and services available on the phone are fairly basic and not exactly cutting edge technology. The phone does however offer all of the basic services which a standard mobile phone user would require, although a simple camera would have been useful but for some reason was omitted. After considering the style and functionality of the phone, the Sony Ericsson T290 may well be a useful starter model for a new phone user. In the competitive world of mobile phone technology the Sony Ericsson T290 will not be a mass seller, but will appeal to a certain area of the market.
Predictive dialer software is designed to automatically dial the correct number of telephone calls to match the pattern of available call center personnel.
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