Sony Ericsson Z770i
A combination of fashion accessory and business phone, the Sony Ericsson Z770i isn’t quite one thing or another. This is an HSDPA capable phone, meaning that the Z770i is a 3.5G device capable of high-speed internet access. Although web access on a mobile phone is not usually much fun, the Z770i comes with the NetFront web browser which attempts to bring a more PC-like environment to the mobile phone platform.
The Z770i has a 2.2″ 240 x 320 pixel display, Bluetooth 2.0, a USB connection, microSD expandable memory, an FM radio, MP3 player, a two megapixel camera and an impressively long battery life that might well appeal to corporate customers. The Z770i also supports push email from Microsoft Exchange servers.
There are three colour combinations, Vogue Red, Graphite Black, Exquisite Golden. The silvery coloured handset in the pictures is actually Vogue Red, so it is hard to judge just what the other devices look like.
We mentioned battery life, and for a 3G phone it is pretty good. Talktime is a maximum of 4 hours, and if you are only using the Z770i on GSM then this increases to 8.5 hours. Standby time is around 14 days.
It’s a very stylish looking device, and at 91 grams and 93 x 48 x 16mm in size the Z770i is pretty compact for a 3.5G phone.
Our biggest gripe is the keypad - a combination of dead flat keys and a stylish but possibly quite annoying navigation pad might not be to everyone’s tastes. While it is certainly the case that the Z770i looks as good on the inside as it does on the outside, it is likely that some people would prefer a more traditional arrangement.
Sony Ericsson say that the Z770i should be available during Q2 2008, but did not give any guidance on pricing.
Sony Ericsson Z770i at a glance
Available: Q2 2008
Network: GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900 + UMTS 2100
Data: GPRS + EDGE + UMTS (3G) + HSDPA
Screen: 240×320 pixels, 262k colours (main)
Camera: 2 megapixels
Size: Medium clamshell
93 x 48 x 16mm / 91 grams
Bluetooth: Yes
Memory card: microSD
Infra-red: No
Polyphonic:
Yes
Java: Yes
GPS: No
Battery life: 4 hours talk / 14 days standby (3G)
The Z770 is basically a clamshell version of the K660, which I reviewed not too long ago. In order for us to not repeat ourselves over and over again, we’ll exclude any parts of the review that has already been discussed in the K660 review. Please refer to that review, if you feel you’re missing something.
Advantages
* Very slick design and beautiful finish on the front
* Outer display is useful, and looks classy
* Impressive tactile feedback on keypad
* Tri-band GSM, EDGE and 3.6 Mbps HSDPA
* Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
* Crisp and bright 2.2-inch inner display
* FM radio with RDS support
* Positioning services with Google Maps pre-loaded
* NetFront 3.4 with enhanced functionality
Disadvantages
* Only monochrome outer display
* Camera lacks sharpness
* Plain backside design
* Loose battery cover
* No memory card nor USB cable comes bundled
* No Flash themes
The Z770 is quite unique. It’s a new kind of product by Sony Ericsson, and the design is something we’ve never quite seen before in any previous Sony Ericsson products. This new way of thinking is something we’ll see in a few upcoming Sony Ericsson phones, although I have a feeling it won’t be particularly popular, as it’s not all positive. Because of this untraditional design on the Z770, you have a very bad sense of where the keys on the keypad are located if you’re not directly looking at it. The W980 is another one of these untraditionally designed phones by Sony Ericsson, and here most people will have a problem with the placement of the camera.
The Z770 sales box is quite small, and you get the most basic accessories and a bit extra bundled with the Z770. The Z770 comes bundled with a Bluetooth headset (HBH-PV703), which I’m going to do a write-up about later on, a standard HPM-62 stereo headset, a charger (CST-60 in my case) and manuals. There’s no USB cable, software CD or a memory card with the Z770 - I find this somewhat weird, but I’m guessing it was done to cut down the expenses.
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