AT LAST:
A REALLY GOOD CONVERGENCE DEVICE!




Ever since my first pda-phone, the Treo 270; I have enjoyed the convenience of not having to carry two devices with me. I updated to the Treo 600 and then to the Zircon; and had a great time with the MS Mobile Windows Xphone, where there were over 18,000 views and 444 posts on my thread at SPUG.

When I lost the O2 xPhone two months ago, I was in no hurry to get a new device as all the current ones in the market did not meet my exacting expectations. I was eyeing the Sony Ericsson P910 which had a keypad, and when it was finally released, I picked up one this past Monday, on my day off.

Having played with it these past few days, I must say that it met and exceeded all my expectations. It's the finest mobile phone available, with features that will meet the most demanding user. Everything I can do on my past mobiles, this sucker can match and exceed all of 'em. Let me stop raving and start with this hands-on review.

First Impressions

I was very surprised when I compared the P910 with a Treo 600 at the Sony showroom. As you can see from the picture above, the P910 is only slightly smaller. Yet because of the absence of the fragile antenna, it actually looks much smaller, easier to handle and only slightly bigger than my wife's Nokia 6800. I wished it would be slimmer, thinner and lighter; but certainly acceptable as it slips nicely into my pants pocket. Like all Sony products, it is very well crafted, looks very classy and works great.

1. As a Phone...

The P910 works nicely as a phone. Pick it up, hit the keys and press OK. The reception is loud and clear. It allows you to do conference calls, flashes a picture ID on contacts that you attach a photo to and includes a speaker for truly hands-free calling. There are speed dialing, auto key lock, T9, bluetooth, stereo, voice dialling, calling cards and all the good stuff you would expect from a really good phone.

What really impresses is the bright high resolution screen that is so easy to read. The jog wheel allows you to use the phone on one hand with easy access to changing the mode of the phone, contacts, call lists etc. It is easy and fun to change wall papers; and ring tones are a breeze. You can even use speech, a Bible verse for your ring tone - using mp3, acc, midi, wav etc. formats.

This phone comes with 64mb of internal user storage memory - more than any phone I know of. The standby time is 400 hours; talk time 13 hours. Certainly a lot better than my previous phone, the O2 Xphone. With the lid closed, the device can be used as a phone and access SMS, contacts, call list, calendar, camera, music player, tasks, jotter and sound recorder.

Open the Flip...

And you will see that the P910 is more than just a pretty phone! BTW even if the auto lock is on, just flipping open the sturdy flip will automatically unlock the phone, answer a call or get you ready for many good stuff. You get the full screen of 208x320 pixels in a large 40x61mm format. The screen is bright, the resolution is the best on any pda. Some people liked it opened so much, that they removed the flip altogether, using the virtual flip program!

As for me, I waited until the P910 is released so that they will add the flip keypad to the device. Now there are 3 ways of text input - jot, virtual keypad or flip thumb-pad.

2. SMS

Besides the phone, the short messaging service (SMS) is the most used feature on a mobile phone. The SMS on the P910 looks more like an email than a typical phone. I use Jotter to write out a number of predetermined phrases so that I can copy and paste in quickie replies or use as signatures. Since I have divided my contacts into categories, it is easy for me to send a message to as many as 30 recipients at one go and repeat if necessary. MMS is possible also, but does not appeal to me as it is just a waste of money.

3. eMails

Right at the Singtel Hello shop at Orchard Road, my Pacnet email was configured and tested on the spot. Signatures and options to download the entire email or headers only are offered. You may configure as many accounts as you wish. I don't see myself checking emails on the P910 on a regular basis, but it is a good feature to have.

4. Internet

Until the P910, I have grave doubts about using a phone to surf the web. On the P910, eIdeas worked rather speedily. Best of all, the built-in Opera web browser adjusts all webpages to look good on the small screen.

5. PDA Applications

Phone, SMS, MMS, eMail and internet - what more do you want? Like any self-respecting pda, there are the usual PIM (personal Information manager).
- Address book (Contacts - with photo album capability)
- Datebook (Calendar)
- To Do (Tasks)
- Memopad (Jotter - notes and colour drawings)
- Calculator.
Also included are world clock (time); dataphone (sound recorder) and useful software like Quick Office (where you can edit MS Word and Excel on the go) and pdf reader. Though I don't use Word much, the ability to read Excel and pdf files without conversion means I can access them on the web and carry important documents where ever I go.

6. Multi-Media Entertainment

If you happen to be waiting for a meeting to start, on the train or bus, there's a lot that this device can keep you entertained. Here's the lowdown:
- Video player - mpeg-4 quality
- CamCorder - with unlimited recording time
- Camera - lackluster 640x480 vga quality (can't believe that Sony cant do better than this!)
- Image Viewer/editor - jpeg, bmp, gif, png etc
- Music player - mp3, midi, wav etc with 16-voice polyphony
- Games - lots of freeware, unlike Nokia.


Second Looks - update from my SPUG thread

it took me just a few days to get used to the symbian os
- not much different from the palm or ppc os

with everything in place, i synced the p910 to the pc
and backed up all my stuff for peace of mind

besides the bible software and more mobili reader books
i also got some more software

solitaire - for the spare moments waiting for meetings to start
casino - what is life without some risk?
gamepak 2 - invaders, pac man, froggy, breakout and more

but the most useful software must be handyday 2004
which i believe if sony ericsson have burned it in their rom
they would be doubling their sales in next to no time


what is handyday 2004?
it's a lot more than ppc's today and palm copycat freeware


on opening the flip, handy takes over the phone
with neatly laid out date, time, status, appointments, to do, sms/emails
with your choice of colours, wallpapers and options

but that's not all,
there's a taskmaster that keeps your ram free and uncluttered
as the symbian os, unlike the palm
can run multi apps and keep them open

then there's a nifty desktop
(or as many desktops as you want to create)
where you can place all your icon of favorite contacts, apps and even urls
and get there with a tap of the stylus

this app does all these and more
and makes the p910 even easier to use.
everyday, i find myself liking it more.

P910 Software - update from my SPUG thread

having done up my p910i the way i wanted it
i spend the morning spending a fortune on a software spree
as a whole, there are much more software for the symbian os
than the windows mobile 2003 software for the xphone
the freeware are quite good,
but the commercial ones are really outstanding
and generally more expensive

handango is the best place to purchase p910 games
although there are several other places on the web, including
http://my-symbian.com/main/index.php
which lists both freeware and shareware as well.
many p800/900 games will work as well
the trick is to d/l the trial version
look out for the UIQ version
see if it works, then go ahead and purchase them

i made the mistake of purchasing games from phone sites
games like pinball, hearts, booble for the p900
the p910i just couldnt download those .jad java stuff
lost almost a hundred bucks before i became wiser

besides the mobi reader, ultimate bible suite
i got more mobi books to read on the road
- i especially like the auto-scroll feature
religious stuff, biographies and fiction types

then i installed some utilities - day2004, worldtime etc
got some games like casino, gamepak 2, and a bunch of mgs' stuff
- cobra attack, steel warrior, karting, vr pool and silver ball
below is a screenshot from vr pool - awesome stuff


some notable freeware games that i really enjoyed from
http://my-symbian.com/main/index.php
are brickout, freemine, gridlock, lopan, pairs, qbubble,
stb, acetetris, bubblet, gemdrop, jworm, mobileothello, sokoban,
symline2, jpong, submarine - all working fine on the p910i


enjoy!

Bottomline:

After having used many pdas and mobile phones, I believe that this is probably the most useful and feature-rich convergence device that money can buy today. Bright, fun and easy to use. Whatever your needs, the P910 will meet 'em. So glad I waited for the P90!