Let's look at what happened and what happened to the company about which there are so many good memories.
At the end of last week I returned from Sochi, where the official presentation of the new line of Sony Xperia X smartphones took place. More about the trip later.
On the way from there I thought. Over the past five years, we have seen first-hand the demise of major smartphone brands. The all-powerful Nokia has virtually disappeared. Palm has sunk into oblivion. Blackberry has practically disappeared. Scary (and strange) things are happening to HTC.
The market is being conquered by wild, regularly lying “Chinese” who often have no respect for their customers - just low prices and/or attractive designs. The real choice between truly high-quality smartphones is becoming less and less.
It's good that someone stayed. Sony is one of those that has withstood the onslaught of China and is slowly finding its niche - at least judging by the announcement of the X line.
It's time to remember what made them happy in the previous period of success - when they were called not Sony Mobile, but Sony Ericsson.
What do you remember from Sony during the Ericsson era?
Everyone will have their own model, their own story, so go to the comments and let’s see who has which tube 
A lot of time has passed, but best of all I remember these phones:
Sony Ericsson T68i
2002
One of the first color phones I've ever seen. I remember it for its comfortable joystick, cool shape and pumped-up “snake” option in pre-installed games. Who remembers what it was called - special respect
Sony Ericsson W800
2005
Everyone was talking about it and really wanted to touch everything. This is what the Walkman brand once did with people. Corporate colors, a stylized design theme and a music player, plus a separate button to start it - basically, that’s all this phone could boast of. But the Walkman itself sold the model in droves, and Java toys also worked very well on it.
Sony Ericsson k750
2005
I still regret that I sold it at that time! The camera was simply incredible: from sharpness to color rendition, there were no analogues on the market at all. Entire websites were opened where people posted photos from the k750i. Many people were also interested in the camera’s mechanical shutter, a rare thing at that time. Tellingly, the phone itself also worked quickly. It was a real flagship, without any “buts”.
Sony Ericsson T650i
2007
I was terribly driven along this tube. I think I ended up having 3 or 4 of these models. I really liked the design and quality of the case - it was a piece of metal and a display made of mineral glass, not plastic. The only negative: the paint on the keyboard wore off over time. I still consider it one of the most stylish phones ever released.
Sony Ericsson M600
2006
One of the first smartphones on the market with a 2.6-inch display. Advanced operating system – Symbian 9.1. There’s also an interesting rocker keyboard, as well as a physical scroll wheel on the side. Did I mention it was touch sensitive and could recognize handwriting? The M600 surprised us with its “advancedness”; everyone wanted to hold it and poke at the menu. By the way, in just 1 year the first iPhone will be presented, and such phones will disappear into oblivion.
Sony Ericsson W580
2007
The last smartphone from SE in my collection. Cool slider with a good screen and a constantly breaking keyboard. I got used to replacing it myself. It worked quickly, but otherwise wasn't very satisfying. It began to seem that the Erricksons were losing their grip, that Nokia was catching up with them. Time put everyone in their place, and then I changed 2 of these phones and eventually put the last one in the back drawer.
Sony Ericsson z600
In this review, I will tell you about a test of the most paradoxical phone that I have come across recently. It was the Sony Ericsson z600 phone. This device was long awaited, but did not bring any new features to users. All functional components have already been tested in the Sony Ericsson t610, which has successfully replaced the legendary t68i. Needless to say, the move is quite unexpected. Offering two models with the same functionality at the same price (in the showroom where I tested the device, the difference was no more than 300 rubles) is a rather risky step.
But let's not blame Sony Ericsson's marketers for short-sightedness. After all, this solution has long been used by many Korean manufacturers - only an ardent fan of Asian brands will not get confused in the same type of “flip-flops”. And Nokia has literally been hit with a hail of new 3-series models, which also differ extremely slightly from each other. This is Sony Ericsson's first attempt at writing. So, the SE t610 is a serious device for minimalists and fans of the classics, and the fresh, bright SE z600 is for parties and discos.
Specifications
- Standard: GSM 900/1800/1900
- Dimensions: 90 x 48 x 27.9 mm
- Weight: 110 g
- Standard battery: Li-Ion 780 mAh
- Maximum talk time: 6 hours
- Maximum waiting time: 200 h
- Year of manufacture: 2003
Display:
- Size: 128×160 pixels.
- Description: TFD
- Colors: 65000
External display:
- External display size: 2 lines.
- Description: LCD
- Backlight: blue.
Call tones:
- Ringtones: built-in, editable, downloadable
- Vibration alert
- Polyphonic melodies: number of voices - 32
Decor:
- Case type: Book
- Case color: blue, yellow, black, silver, etc.
- Antenna: Built-in
- Replaceable panels
Entertainment:
- Games
- Java: +Mophun.
- Camera: resolution 288x352 or 120x160 pixels, night photography, b/w image, negative, sepia, self-photo.
Mobile Internet:
- WAP: 2.0
- GPRS: class 8.
- Email client
Organizer:
- Dictaphone
- Calendar
- Watch
- Alarm clock: 2
- Calculator
- Scheduler
Memory:
- more than 2 MB, dynamic.
Phone book:
- 510 numbers in the phone + SIM card memory. For one name, you can enter your home/work/mobile phone number, as well as your e-mail.
- Ability to attach a melody to a number
- Ability to attach a melody to a group of numbers
- Possibility of attaching a photo to the number
Messages:
- SMS
- EMS
- MMS
Communications:
- Built-in modem
- USB Interface
- IrDA
- BlueTooth
Control:
- Voice commands
- Voice dialing
Other:
- Auto redial
- Call waiting
- Interface: timer, stopwatch
Equipment
After all, great jokers work at Sony Ericsson. They clearly have their own vision of life. Remember the lacquered body of the Sony Ericsson t610? It was so easy to get dirty with your fingers that a special cloth was included as standard for wiping the phone. In the case of the z600, the manufacturer acted differently. The main (silver) body of the phone is not varnished, but rather is dotted with shallow grooves - it would seem that this is where the bugs are being worked on. But the kit includes two dark panels that get dirty even worse than the SE t610. And no cloth included. Where is the logic? However, I personally was very pleased with the presence of an additional building. With dark panels installed, the phone takes on a more “glamorous” look than when using a more practical silver case. It turns out to be a casual and weekend suit: Otherwise, the equipment is absolutely standard. Instructions, charger, software disk. I didn’t really like the instructions, since there were simply no descriptions of some incomprehensible functions.
Design and quality
If you have read my previous reviews, then you know that I attach great importance to the design of devices. I can’t say that I was pleasantly surprised by the appearance of the phone, but at least the device attracts attention. A brilliant device in every way. A deliberately thick body, a deliberately small external display - everything seems to be a little “too much”. But at the same time there is no feeling of bad taste. However, when opened, the phone noticeably loses its elegance. I especially didn’t like the place where the two halves “joined”—the door hinge, by God. However, perhaps I am exaggerating. In a word, the design is not for everyone, but at least it exists. Evokes emotions, intrigues, attracts. The archaic SE t610 looks a little lost against the background of this eccentric young man. I give the designers five points, regardless of personal preferences. What does “industrial” design have in store for us? The quality of materials is also excellent. Despite the fact that the body is quite smooth, the phone miraculously does not jump out of your hands. All tactile sensations are very pleasant. And with what a charming click the device slams shut... Perhaps all these are little things, but it’s precisely from such small details that the impression is formed. The hinges look quite reliable and rigid, so unpleasant squeaks when opening and closing most likely will not bother the owner in the first months of use. However, time will tell. There are basically no creaks or backlashes. Simply amazing. Replaceable housings always appeared when compressed - the sound was like stepping on a creaky floorboard. After changing the panels several times, I was finally convinced that there was nothing to be afraid of. A lanyard fastening is provided - another fashion trend. Let's examine the device closed. The top panel houses an additional display and a digital camera. The screen is equipped with a backlight of a rather poisonous color, which, however, corresponds to the general style of the phone. Next to the camera is a small spherical mirror. If I had not read the instructions, I would never have guessed what it was used for. Surprisingly, you can use it to take self-portraits. Great idea! The back panel doesn't look too boring either. Above the battery cover there is a speaker grid. Beautiful and practical - the call signals are very loud.
Buttons and controls
Instead of the usual joystick, this device uses navigation scroll keys. The key itself is quite large and comfortable, but operating with a joystick was still more comfortable. My “Nokiev” habit of confirming the choice of an item by pressing the joystick also had an effect. Here the programmable buttons at the top of the device are responsible for this. Below them are the return and clear keys. The layout is a bit non-standard, however, you quickly get used to it. There is a fairly large gap between programmable buttons and control keys, which eliminates double pressing. This is much more convenient than in the SE t610. There are also two non-standard keys - the so-called “operator” key and the device shutdown key. The “Operator” button opens the Homepage of the telecom operator being used. In my opinion, putting this function on the main panel is completely unnecessary, but the developers know better. Most likely, such a decision was dictated by considerations of symmetry. They also decided not to leave the side panels empty. On the right is the camera release button. This solution is absolutely flawless from an ergonomic point of view. When the device is open, the finger rests on this key. On the other side there are volume control buttons. The digital buttons are of a fairly comfortable size - this is an advantage of the “shell” case. However, the Cyrillic characters are not shown, although there is enough space for them. This is a serious omission. I quite often receive messages in Russian, and I want to answer them the same way.
Display
Sony has always been famous for its screens - any owner of a pocket computer will confirm this. And this time this company confirmed its reputation as a leader in the production of screens for mobile devices. The display is simply gorgeous. I have never seen such rich and bright colors on any mobile phone (except SE t610). Moreover, such color rendition is ensured not by excessive backlight brightness, but by the quality of the screen itself. In size, of course, it is not yet a competitor to smartphones from Nokia, but for quite comfortable work with menus and MMS, a resolution of 128 x 160 is quite enough. It’s difficult to say anything about the sun, it’s getting dark very quickly now, but indoors there was no less glare on the z600 screen than on the t610. Although, after reading the responses on the Internet, I come to the conclusion that in the sun the screen is still less blind.
Menu
Unfortunately, in this device you can completely customize the menu “to suit yourself”. The list of items is defined and is not subject to appeal. The items themselves are presented in a standard way in the form of icons. Item icons are animated - they “come to life” when the corresponding item is selected. I really liked it - I even scrupulously watched all these mini-cartoons. Although you get used to such things very quickly and stop paying attention to them. Menu items are numbered, so you can use number sequences for quick navigation. However, even without them, using the navigation key, all movements occur quite quickly. There are practically no complaints about the menu - you can quickly get used to it, although, of course, there are some rough edges.
Sony Ericsson
No no. Don't think that I decided to mention the manufacturer's name again. This is such an item on the menu. This is where the purely Ericsson stuff began, which I don’t like. The phone immediately offers to create a WAP profile and immediately breaks into its website. I don't like this kind of arbitrariness. And when a few minutes later I saw that the phone was still in WAP and downloading something, I just got angry. In general, I did not catch the meaning of this point, since visiting the WAP site of Sony Ericsson was not at all part of my plans.
Internet services
And I didn’t like this point. Firstly, it takes quite a long time to load, and when this process ends, four obscure items appear with the names “Search Server”, “Gallery”, “Directory”, “Options”. When you press any of them, the phone again immediately starts loading some pages via WAP. Where is the usual list of bookmarks? It is not that simple. To do this, you need to go to the “Functions” menu and only there select the “Addresses” tab. In my opinion, such “protrusion” of links to your sites is completely inappropriate. In the end, you can find the information you need yourself. But overloading the menu with unnecessary items...
Shortcut keys
This is a familiar menu for all Ericsson phone owners. You can add any menu item to this tab; you just need to tick it. Similarly, you can assign menu items to keys. Quite convenient, but not for everyone. It’s good that this feature was added to the phone at all.
Camera
Photo menu. Working with the built-in camera pleased me with the well-thought-out ergonomics of the controls, and simply the successful layout of the device. During shooting, your hands do not shake, the phone is held securely in your hand. On the other hand, you shouldn’t expect anything at all from pictures, because the maximum resolution this “camera” is capable of is 288 x 352. I understand that this is enough for MMS, but to capture a good moment on the street, so that later You will no longer be able to put the card into the computer. You can also shoot in a resolution of 120 x 160. But the camera is equipped with various effects. In addition to regular color photographs, you can take black and white and “negative” photographs. There is also an effect called “Sepia”. I don’t know what it is, but I took a photo just in case. There is also a night mode. As always, for filming in darkened rooms, the simplest technique is used - setting a long shutter speed of the camera. Therefore, watch out for hand tremors - it simply ruins your pictures.
Messages
On all devices this is one of the most “frequently visited” menu items. It’s very good that here the developers did without frills and did everything according to the classics. Message types are divided into natural categories: text messages, MMS, voicemail, email, push messages. Among the pleasant features of working with SMS, we can only highlight support for long messages. The speed of the T9 predictive input system has significantly improved. Previously, she very often did not keep up with me, but now there are no hitches. I have always liked the MMS editor in Sony Ericsson phones. Under pressure from operators, many manufacturers have banned adding more than one picture to one message. The z600 also does not have this feature, but you can create a second page on which you can also place pictures and sound files. Only one point is unclear - how such messages are charged. You can set an arbitrary interval between the appearance of pages on the recipient’s phone screen, so if you have imagination, time and a sufficient number of pictures, you can arrange a whole “micro-performance”: Since MMS works quite capriciously for some mobile operators in our country, the “Warning” function looks very useful " This option is responsible for notifying you about errors when sending multimedia messages. Email. The email client also looks like an old friend. Easy to set up, easy to use. You can create multiple accounts, which allows you to work with different mailboxes.
Entertainment
This is a games room. Here I was sincerely amused by the localization of the device, because two sub-items are called “Games, etc.” and "Other games". Maybe this is a subtle marketing ploy so that when you use this menu your mood will immediately lift. If so, then once again I take my hat off to marketers and developers. At the first point we will be met by long-familiar Colourbug and Erix. There is also a “New applications” item. As you might have guessed, this is the ability to install new games. When starting up, the z600 again cheerfully starts loading something on its own. No, after all, at times, this is a very capricious device. Four toys of different genres are offered as “other games”. V-Rally is a rather primitive race, and very simple at that. Minigolf - there’s really nothing to explain here. Honey Cave 2 is a standard adventure game, but it is very inconvenient to play, since the phone does not process simultaneous button presses. Perhaps, this particular game requires a joystick, which is offered as an additional accessory (not included in the standard kit). The last toy, AlienScum, is a rather banal flat “flying game”. The graphics are not bad for mobile phones, but the game itself is quite boring.
Pictures and sounds
As you can easily understand from the name, through this menu you can get to all graphic files and audio fragments saved on your phone. Any picture or sound file can be sent via Bluetooth, Irda, MMS or email. You can't even dream of more. There are items “Links-pictures” and “Links-Sounds”. Thus, the phone intrusively offers to replenish the supply of multimedia components from the Sony-Ericsson website. Many people will like it - no need to look for anything. In the “Themes” item you can set the design option for the device menu. The themes are very beautiful, but the process of loading one theme takes about a minute and a half, which is quite a lot. On the other hand, it is unlikely that anyone will change topics more often than once every two days. Design options, of course (!), can be downloaded through the “links-themes” menu. There are four different color options as standard.
Graphics editor
To be honest, I don’t understand the purpose of such a multifunctional graphic editor on a phone. I will not describe how it works, I will limit myself to describing the functions. A number of effects can be applied to a picture, such as mosaic, tint, relief, pattern, negative, contrast, ripples and brightness. The tools are the same as those used in the Paint program on any desktop version of Windows. You can draw with a pen, as well as draw straight lines, ellipses and rectangles. If desired, you can add a text fragment. There are functions for color selection (I still don’t understand what this is), magnification, brush size selection, and so on. I can only note that the functions of this editor are practically not described in the instructions; probably, the developers did not expect that this program would be actively used.
Composer
I liked the melody editor right away. Right in the main window, the melody is divided into four tracks - drums, winds, keyboards and guitar. Great idea. A melody can be formed from ready-made components - in short, in your free time you can devote a couple of hours to creating your own polyphonic masterpiece. On the other hand, the number of sites on the Internet containing the latest polyphonic melodies is literally hundreds, so this one will also be in demand.
Phone book
Telephone directories in mobile devices have long been brought to a common standard, so they are not trying to change anything. And thank God. Specifically, in the z600, each contact can be assigned a picture or a polyphonic melody. For users who are not keen on such frills, a regular convenient telephone directory with a specified set of fields is provided.
Call information
Almost no comments. A regular log of dialed numbers, as well as received and missed calls.
Organizer
The built-in calendar will help you get rid of pocket calendars and organizers forever, and the ability to take short notes will add a notebook to the list of unnecessary things. I was pleased to have two simple alarm clocks. The first one will simply ring at the appointed moment. The second one will call on the specified days of the week. The controls are intuitive and clear—it’s impossible to get confused. Among other “amenities” there is a timer, stopwatch, calculator, as well as a secret code memo where you can write down, for example, credit card numbers or passwords. The main thing is not to forget the password that will “unlock” all this.
Settings
As always, I will not provide a detailed description of this point. I will only note the unique ability to set the display contrast. Previously, such settings were hidden in the engineering menu, which could be accessed by pressing a special key combination. Now everyone has the opportunity to play with screen contrast.
Connection
My favorite point. When I get a new phone, the first thing I do is explore the connectivity options with other devices. The presence and content of the Sim-menu item depends on the telecom operator, so I will not dwell on it in detail. Work with wireless Bluetooth devices has been noticeably improved compared to the t68i. Now you can safely use several Bluetooth devices at the same time. Unfortunately, I was unable to test this functionality. I just transferred pictures from the Nokia 7650 to the z600 and accessed the Internet via Bluetooth on my pocket computer. In a word, there is not the slightest complaint about the operation of Bluetooth. The “Communications” category also includes management of synchronization, data accounts, infrared port and selection of GSM networks. In a word, I liked everything. High quality and convenient. Impressions from the work My first impression of the device was extremely negative. I even deliberately looked for some shortcomings and found fault with little things, but I have to admit that the quality of the phone is at the highest level. It is very convenient to talk through the device, thanks to the convenient shape of the case. Extraneous noise is practically eliminated, the sound is very high quality. You'll never miss a call thanks to improved polyphonic ringtone playback volume. The vibration alert is quite powerful, I advise you to hold the phone tightly during games, as unexpected feedback can literally knock the phone out of your hands. But the built-in camera left an ambivalent impression. The camera performs its functions as an MMS camera with the ability to add effects. The opportunity to create self-portraits is also pleasing. However, the practical use of such a small matrix is practically impossible. For those who often replace SIM cards, the designers from SE have come up with a very interesting solution. When replacing the back cover, the battery automatically lifts up at one end for easy removal. In this case, the contact between the battery and the phone is not broken. The battery capacity, by the way, is 780 mA. The battery is not compatible with other SE models. The firmware, of course, is a little crude, but I couldn’t find any major flaws. The menu slows down a little when some items work, but overall everything is fine. There is not the slightest complaint about the operation of wireless protocols and the Internet. It was not possible to check a common “bug” in phones from this concern, which appears when using GPRS for a long time. Let's hope everything is fixed. At the moment, the Se t610 and z600 devices seem to me to be one of the most “advanced” devices on the market, and at the same time they are distinguished by the correct operation of all the announced functions. The programmers did a good job.
conclusions
The Sony-Ericsson family of devices has been expanded with another serious business device with an original design. Another good thing is that the price of the device immediately became almost equal to the t610, and did not linger around $500, as was the case in the first week of sales. At a price of 300-350 dollars, the device will be a good choice for almost everyone who wants to show off originality in design, but at the same time not deprive themselves of the pleasure of using a business device. Verdict: I liked it, but it didn’t grab my attention.
Sony showed PlayStation 5 and games for it
[Mobile news] Sony held an online presentation dedicated to games for the PlayStation 5. The company also finally presented the console itself.
The console will look like this: The console will receive two versions: with and without a Blu-Ray drive. In the latter case, games can only be purchased in digital format, and the console will be more harmonious: An improved and expanded version of Grand Theft Auto 5 will appear on the PlayStation 5. The trailer included clips from new cutscenes, which make it clear: the trio of bank robber heroes are back in in fact. In addition, PlayStation buyers... Read more » Other news on the topic: Sony will pay a fine of $2.4 million for violating consumer rights in Australia An Australian court has ruled to fine Sony $2.4 million for violating local laws. It all started back in May last year, when the Japanese corporation refused to refund PlayStation users money for returning games if more than 14 days had passed since the date of purchase or they had been downloaded… Read more »
Sony hinted at the high price of PlayStation 5
The closer the PlayStation 5 presentation gets, the more information about the new console appears online. This time, everyone who is waiting for the console was told about its price. Sony did not directly say that the PlayStation 5 would be expensive, but they did everything to give us that impression. The head of So… Read more »
Apple bought the rights to a new film with Tom Hanks from Sony
The military drama “Greyhound” will be released on the Apple TV+ service instead of a wide release: it became known that Sony Pictures sold the rights to the film to Apple. Initially, the film was supposed to be released in early March, then due to the coronavirus pandemic, the release was moved to May 8, and then to June 12. The main role was… Read more »
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JAR / JAD · THM / UTZ themes · GIF animation · JPG pictures · MID / MMF polyphony · Wav tones WAV · Mp3 tones MP3 Info about the site: The site is a public unofficial club of Sony Ericsson phone lovers aimed at uniting users using the company's phones Sony Ericsson. On this site we have tried to collect everything that the owner of a Sony Ericsson phone might need. Make your phone better! All files located on the site
