Samsung i550/i550w review: Low-key all-in-one

Fascinating as they are, ultra high-end handsets are not everybody's cup of tea. In fact, the good old mid-range is the bread and butter for every successful mobile phone company, for that's what gets those sales numbers right. As we see it, Samsung i550 might just be the phone to perfectly fit this description. It doesn't yell expensive out loud, but has great all-round functionality and might just become tomorrow's classic.

When first announced, the Samsung i550 had only one version and it crucially lacked Wi-Fi. However, just as it started hitting the shelves, a second WLAN enabled version named Samsung i550w popped up. The two versions have no other differences in terms of hardware or software. Anyway, the second version places Samsung i550 in a somewhat different league - handsets that have it (almost) all. It may not have the best camera or GPS receiver around but performs adequately in both departments and that is what really matters most of the time.

Key features:

• 2.6" 262K-color TFT display of QVGA resolution
• 3G with HSDPA
• Trackball navigation
• Built-in GPS receiver
• Symbian OS with S60 user interface
• Wi-Fi (Samsung i550w only)
• 3 megapixel camera with auto focus
• MicroSD card slot
• 3.5mm stereo audio jack
• FM radio
• Decent battery life
• Bluetooth with A2DP support

Sony Ericsson W760 review: Walkman meets GPS

Sony Ericsson W760 made a name for being the first Sony Ericson phone to offer an integrated GPS receiver. With a large QVGA display, stereo speakers, Media Center and the 3 megapixel camera on top, the W760 packs a nice punch. It's an exciting slider that may look no-thrills on the outside, but has all the prospects of becoming a bestseller.

Expected in Q2 2008 Sony Ericsson W760 may as well make this summer hotter. It's got nearly all the high-end Walkman stuff. Right from the very first moment we saw it, we were struck by the resemblance to Sony Ericsson W850. Both handsets share pretty much the same size, form factor and market positioning, so we think it's a safe bet the W760 is the true successor of W850, bringing the best of the Walkman range to the current Sony Ericsson lineup.
For starters, the W760 takes advantage of the proprietary Sony Ericsson Media Center enabling users to organize and enjoy all their multimedia files, be it music, video, photos, games or streaming content such as YouTube. The Sony Ericsson Media Center offers ease-of-use and rich functionality unmatched by current feature phones on the market.
The user experience with the Media Center is further enhanced by the built-in accelerometer that enables screen auto rotation, as well as Shake control. Speaking of multimedia, the W760 packs in the latest Walkman 3.0 player and even supports the SensMe mood recognition feature that allows creating playlists based on mood and tempo.
On top of that, you also get the benefit of the integrated GPS receiver - you can use it to geotag your photos, work out with the Tracker fitness application or use turn-by-turn navigation and Points of Interest search.
Sony Ericsson W760 will be available in three different color versions: Rocky Silver, Fancy Red, and Intense Black. We had the grey/silver one for a review. A definite thumbs-up for the 1GB memory card in the retail package, though we've seen Walkmans ship with 2-gig cards.

Sony Ericsson C702 review: Allroad Cyber-shot

The yummy camera features like Auto Rotate, BestPic and Photo Flash, along with the TV Out, were obviously reserved for the 5MP Cyber-shot C902. Sony Ericsson C702 on the other hand is keen to impress with GPS and splash and dust resistance. Its 3-megapixel camera takes advantage of geotagging, and features face detection, red-eye reduction, autofocus and dual LED.
The C702 also bundles up HSDPA 3.6 Mbps, FM radio with RDS, Media center, Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP and the respectable 160MB of built-in memory.

Sony Ericsson C702 is a new Cyber-shot bar. Enough has been said already about the new Sony Ericsson naming convention. Suffice to say, it's now C for Cyber-shot.
Another interesting fact is that this is the first splash and dust resistant Sony Ericson handset. The C702 also features the GPS-based Tracker sports application. Clearly, it's a phone for the youth and the sports minded. We're reviewing the Cool Cyan variety (yeah right, someone had to tell us it's cool), but there's a Speed Black alternative for the not so easily trusting.