Review: Sony Ericsson C902 / C902i

Sony Ericsson C902 Review

Phone rating:

In a nutshell: Sony Ericsson's new flagship Cyber-Shot phone lives up our high expectations. This is an outstandingly good camera phone with a 5 megapixel camera with face-detection autofocus, LED flash, and easy to use camera controls. It also packs in a music player, FM radio, 3G HSDPA, Bluetooth and loads of memory. In addition it's a superslim stylish handset available in Black or Red. We have deducted one star because of occasional freezing and crashing in early releases of this model.
Best buy: *Free* with half-price line rental from Dialaphone (Black) or Dialaphone (Red).

The C902 is the first in a brand new range of Sony Ericsson phones: "C" for Cyber-Shot™. Previously all Cyber-Shot phones were part of the "K" series, and the C902 is the replacement for the Sony Ericsson K850i. The Cyber-Shot phones have been enormously successful over the past few years, but we felt that SE had made a few mistakes in recent models with dodgy keypads and unreliable firmware. It looked like SE had hit a rough patch, so let's hope that with the C series they can leave all that behind and move on to greater things. The C902 is the flagship Cyber-Shot model, and so our expectations are high.

Physically, the C902 seems to be back to the old Sony Ericsson style at its best. It's a classic-style handset, but ultra-slim at just 10.5mm. The keypad is a good old-fashioned one that has good-size square keys giving tactile feedback and enabling fast texting. Hooray! We're also delighted to find a 5-way navigation pad that just works. Looks like SE have learned some hard lessons about keypads and have gone back to a design that works. It feels like a quality handset too, with a combination of metal and plastic, and an elegant finish. It's available in a choice of Black or Red, and both colour schemes look very nice indeed.

The screen is slightly smaller than the K850i's. This is because of the touch-sensitive shortcuts added to both sides of the screen. These are used to activate the camera and switch between still and video. They can also change the autofocus mode, flash and other camera settings. We have to say that these work really well in our view. As camera phones become more and more sophisticated, accessing the functionality from a phone becomes more of a challenge for the user (it's not a dedicated digital camera after all.) The C902 shortcuts are an excellent solution to this problem and give the user a lot more control over the camera settings than most other camera phones. It's a shame that the display size has been reduced to make way for the shortcuts, but at least the screen has the same high resolution as previous Cyber-Shots (240 x 320 pixels). It's a bright and sharp display that works well in most lighting conditions.

Let's take a peek at the camera next. The camera is actually concealed beneath a mini sliding cover. When you slide the cover open, the phone switches to camera mode. The camera is a 5 megapixel beast with autofocus, image stabiliser and flash. The camera quality is very similar to that of the K850i. The autofocus uses face-detection software, so it will automatically focus on a face in a picture. The image stabiliser software we're less convinced about, but it may help to avoid camera blur in low lighting. The camera also has the BestPic™ feature which can automatically take nine photos in a second, so that you can then choose which one to keep. An Accelerometer feature senses which way up the phone is being held, and will automatically rotate your pictures into portrait or landscape mode. The main difference between the camera in the K850i and the C902 is that there is no Xenon flash in the C902. A Xenon flash is more powerful than a regular LED flash, however SE had a lot of problems with the Xenon flash on the K850i, so at least we can be confident that they have chosen a safe option for the new C902. The LED flash used for the C902 is more powerful than a standard one, and should give good results. Video recording is also comparable with the best of the K series phones, and video calling is available too, on a 3G network. A new "Storyteller" application lets you create presentations from pictures and show them on Facebook and other social networking sites.

Although its a Cyber-Shot phone, the C902 has great music capabilities too. The media player is fully featured, with support for album art. Sony's MegaBass™ ensures that you get rich sounds out of the small speaker. The PlayNow™ feature lets you personalise your phone by downloading an MP3 ringtone (you have to pay for downloads, however.) MP3 and AC ringtones are supported. TrackID™ can identify a song from a few seconds recording. An FM radio with RDS is also included. You can plug in a stereo headphone, or use an optional Bluetooth stereo headset. One thing that we really like is the large amount of built-in memory available - at 160 Mbytes this is big increase on what's available in the K850i, and makes it much easier to manage files. The phone supports Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™) cards up to 4 GB, which is enough to store 1,000 music tracks. For some reason though, there's no support for microSD cards.

Connectivity is very good, with support for Bluetooth and USB. The USB connection enables the phone to act as a USB mass storage device, so moving music and images between phone and PC is drag-and-drop simplicity itself. As already mentioned, this is a 3G phone, with HSDPA support enabling an "always-on" internet connection with download speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps - comparable with a home broadband connection. As well as being 3G, it's a quadband GSM phone, so should be usable anywhere in the world.

Battery life is adequate, but ultraslim phones tend to have shorter battery lives than conventional phones, which isn't surprising. The smaller screen size does help to reduce power consumption, and we don't think that the battery life will be an issue for most users.

We had hoped that the C902 would be free of bugs, but a number of users have reported problems with the phone freezing or crashing occasionally. It seems that Sony Ericsson still need to improve the reliability of their firmware. We hope that firmware updates will sort out these problems soon. Despite this, we really like the C902. Although it lacks a Xenon flash, we feel that its a much better all-rounder than the K850i, and is probably Sony Ericsson's best camera phone so far. It can probably match the Nokia N95 too, especially in good lighting conditions.

By the way, a couple of people have asked us what the difference is between the C902 and C902i. There's no difference. Just Sony Ericsson confusing everyone by calling the same phone by different names in different countries!

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Features of the Sony Ericsson C902 include:

• 3G video calling
• 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, autofocus, 16x digital zoom and lens cover
• Video camera
• Display: TFT, 262,144-colour, 240 x 320 pixels
• Media player
• FM radio with RDS
• MP3/AAC ringtones
• Speakerphone
• Voice recorder
• Messaging: SMS, MMS, Email
• 3D Java games
• Animated wallpaper
• Web browser, RSS feeds, blogging
• HSDPA (3.6 Mbps)
• Personal organiser functions
• Flight mode
• Vibration alert
• Memory: 160 Mbytes plus support for Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™) (up to 4 GB)
• Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB mass storage, modem
• Quadband (GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900) plus 3G (UMTS 2100)
• Size: 108 x 49 x 10.5 mm
• Weight: 107g

Sony Ericsson C902 Consumer Reviews

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Average rating from 100 reviews:

You can read more Sony Ericsson C902 reviews at RecommendedBuys UK.

Reviewed by Chris from UK on 30th Jul 2008
Had this phone 2 weeks, from Orange. Came without MMS or internet settings installed. When i used the Sony Ericsson Update service, i lost the ability to send SMS messages. Otherwise, this phone seems very good, althought the softkeys can be hard to press unless you use your nails. Apart from the settings problem, i would recommend this phone, though it may be worthwhile waiting a month until it is more established.
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Reviewed by southcoastdj from uk on 30th Jul 2008
Great phone apart from the prob of switching off and rebooting, but since i have switched it to GSM only it has'nt done it,it seems a few of you have this prob.
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Reviewed by Jeff from uk on 29th Jul 2008
Having had the K750i, K800i & K810i myself this phone is simply not good enough, it just keeps crashing & every time you have to take the back off & bang out the battery, with-out this problem it would be a 4 star phone as it is thin, stylish & easy to use however the flash on the 5 mega pixle camera is rubbish as the range is only around two meters unlike is predecessors around 4-5. You can read down this list & see all the 5 star ratings saying "this phone is wonderful" but if your wanting this phone & want the opinion of a very loyal yet honest Sony fan............do NOT buy this phone!
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Reviewed by Rich from united kingdom on 29th Jul 2008
had this phone a little over a month now and my god its awfull i had the k850 before this and wish i hadent botherd changing, what a joke this phone really is, the speaker decideds to crackle and distort when ever your on the phone to say ' that important lady' which really irritates me, ive always had sony ericssons and never had an issue untill now, the camera is average, nothing special at all tbh a freinds n95 is much better, the phone decides to reboot and cut its self off when it feels like it, restarts it self again when it wants to, it also hangs up when it feels like, the flash on the camera is a joke compared to the zenon in the previous k series, im sorry but this phone has put me off sony ericsson for a while to come. samsung here i come
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Reviewed by Annie from England on 28th Jul 2008
Had this phone for a few days now and I love it!Its lovely to look at,nice and slim and red!!! I adore anything red LOL.The battery lasts two/three days but I do use it loads,the camera is excellant and so is videoing.The sound is good,and I keep finding new things on the phone to play with.Only thing I wish is that it came with a memory card but I can buy one.All in all a great phone and Im very happy with it :o)
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Reviewed by Anj from England on 28th Jul 2008
Had this phone now for almost a month ,the camera is brill nice slim and not too heavy. shame about the battery life but nevermind...brill video sound and quality ..however after two weeks the phone started turning off ,screen freezing so got it replaced no probs up to now that is... same probs back but with more probs with freezing waiting for 3rd replacement...:(
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Reviewed by yvonne from england on 28th Jul 2008
Had 2 phones now in 2 half weeks, 1st one went back next day as froze several times then just died all together and wouldnt start up again just vibrated for a second then nothing, got a replacement which was fine for a week, was charging up battery just before it ran out but on holiday ran out completly then the phone died, wouldnt charge up not even registing charging just vibrated again then nothing so sent it back and not getting a 3rd
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Reviewed by pHiL from UNITED KINGDOM on 26th Jul 2008
I WENT AND BIT THE BULLET AND FINALLY UPGRADED FROM MY BELOVED K800I(AMAZING PHONE) AFTER READING MANY REVIEWS OFF THIS AND OTHER WEBSITES I CHOSE THE C902. THERE ARE A FEW ISSUES I HAVE FOUND THAT ARE NIGGLING ME. FIRSTLY THE SLIGHLTY SLUGGISH NAVIGATION CAN BE A PAIN (I AM VERY IMPATIENT), THE MP4 QUALITY VIDEO CAN SOMETIMES BE OUT OF SYNCH WITH THE AUDIO, AND THE BATTERY LIFE IS NOT AS GOOD AS THE K800I(BUT THAT COULD BE BECAUSE I HAVEN'T PUT IT DOWN YET). OK NEGATIVES OUT OF THE WAY THE PHONE IS SLEEK AND SEXY, SLIMMER THAN THE NOKIA 6300. NOT BIG AND CLUNKY AS SOME PEOPLE HAVE COMMENTED AND YES THE CAMERA IS FANTASTIC WITH A LOAD OF TWEAKS TO GET YOU THE BEST SNAP. THE LIGHT THAT HAS REPLACED THE XENON FLASH OF THE K800I WORKS EQUALLY AS WELL IF NOT BETTER EVEN IN LOW LIGHT CONDITIONS , THE KEYPAD IS SMALL SO PEOPLE WITH BIG HANDS MAY HAVE A PROBLEM BUT OVERALL 5 STARS AS I AM SURE A FIRMWARE UPDATE OF SORTS MAY IRON OUT THE MINOR BUGS. ALL IN ALL A FANTASTIC PHONE.
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Reviewed by Sukh from UK on 25th Jul 2008
I have had to replace mine three times now due to bugs. Mine is the red model- DO NOT get that one! It may look a little more unique but the guy in the shop said for some bizarre reason the red model is the one that freezes/has a back that doesn't fit properly etc. Black is weirdly far more reliable. Aside from those, my only gripes are the fiddly/slippery keypad, and that the slider will collect oodles of dust in a few months time. If you take it off 3G mode, battery life vastly improves, and it is a great little phone as long as you can muster the keypad. Very annoyed I now have to give my third handset back!
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Reviewed by ian from uk on 23rd Jul 2008
i have just upgraded from a sony ericsson k800i, a fone that i highly recommend! although this new c902 is a fantastic fone there are a few things i am unhappy with (to be fair i have only had it a week) the fone screen is very dark when the key lock is on. i seem to be forever charging up the fone, the other thing ive found at the moment is that it will only have 1 ring tone! on the k800i i could have a dedicated ring for different people. all that said and done the camera and its fuctions im still getting used to but its better than my digital camera. as with all new fones its taking me time to find my way around the fone but all in all another great fone from sony ...
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Reviewed by Garry from UK on 23rd Jul 2008
It's a great phone lol since I had 11 k850 they kept breaking down so they replaced it with c902 lol but when I got the phone the keypad wasn't stuck on properly and the 9 button was stuck! getting a new one tomorrow the phone is very impressive no lag with the menu, and the picture movement has greatly improved also orange this time hasn't messed the firmware with all it’s software and stuff like the k850 :) I just hope that sonyericsson really get to grips with QC as I had a k750i with no problems for over a year? this is the only reason it not getting outstanding result from me.
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Reviewed by Keir from UK on 23rd Jul 2008
Got this phone from vodafone 17 days ago. I have had a mixture of problems, freezing. rebooting whilst in the middle of calls, i have been late for work because the recurrent alarm has failed to go off and much more. I have always had sony erics and never had a problem but this battery also seems awful. i would advise anyone who is thinking about getting this phone to stay well clear. even the shop supervisor said he had 3 phones in the space of two months. Sony Eric have made a right mess here. what has happened? i have made all my settings battery saving friendly, no 3g, lowered lighting etc etc. THIS PHONE IS A POOR REFLECTION OF WHAT SONY ERICSSON IS CAPABLE OF.
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Reviewed by Erfan from uk on 23rd Jul 2008
best phone going
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Reviewed by DJ from UK on 22nd Jul 2008
Overall I like this phone but there are software problems. The MP3 players has glitches i.e it jumps or skips just like a cd can when scratched? The alarm does not go off everyday as per the program, I have had this phone a few weeks and have tried various ways to test this, but it's a fact that sometimes it just does not ring. It shut down on me for the first time today although there was half battery life. Battery life is ok though not what I have gotten used to from SE... Infact my N95 8gb had better battery life. Sometimes the menus are slow, and when sending a text I have to wait a second or two for the letters to appear on the screen. The build quality seems good, I like the weight and size of it and to me it looks good. I'm guessing the software really needs upgrading, if this can be done soon I'll keep it as I think it will do everything I need. In saying that, my ONLY real gripe with SE is that they don't have a file protection like Samsung do??
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Reviewed by Ryan from UK on 22nd Jul 2008
So So Mobile , so its got a 5MP camera with touch buttons SO WHAT !!!! The screen is tiny the Zoom aint that great and the flash is ABSYMAL. The keypad is a bugger to text off with the odd shaped buttons you need really tiny finger n thumbs and it freezes regualar causing Images being unable to open and Caller Ids pics vanishing making you have to turn the power off n on to restore it. Its plus points are its size and slimness and also it rings quite loud too other than that its no W910i beater , jeez Sony Ericsson bring a cracker out !!!
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Reviewed by Andy from UK on 22nd Jul 2008
As far as phones go can't really grumble but same as emma below my alarm after working for a week no longer works. Has anyone else had this problem? It seems the recurring setting only allows for a one week time frame... very annoying when use it every morning! Other features are great camera, video and sound quality.
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Reviewed by chris from wales on 22nd Jul 2008
Had this phone for 2 weeks now and like all Sony Ericsson's I have had before it is well worth it's 'Outstanding' 5 Stars. Yes, for taking photos where lighting is a bit dim it is not as good as a dedicated digital camera but remember folks, this is a phone after all... Photo resolution is excellent when uploaded to a PC. The phone is slightly heavier than previous handsets I have had but until reading the reviews of people complaining about it's weight I had not even noticed it! Connectivity to a PC is outstanding with either USB or Bluetooth. Synchronising with Outlook, the PC Suite or even Thunderbird (with additional software) is flawless. I highly recommend this phone for anyone who wants an excellent mobile phone with an excellent camera! I'll be happy with this for my 18 month contract, maybe even longer!
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Reviewed by Professor Flange-custard from England on 21st Jul 2008
Great phone, however like Lisa below(Reviewed by lisa from england on 10th Jul 2008)my new phone has a habit of switching itself off. As i use the phone as my alarm clock this could be a big problem for me at somepoint.
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Reviewed by col from uk on 20th Jul 2008
I've had mine a couple of weeks. Plus points, nice screen, nice weight in the hand and doesn't feel plasticy, plenty of features, music player good. People have commented on the keys, they are angled a bit strangely but you do seem to get used to them. If you want the battery to last more than a couple of days then firstly turn the screen brightness down. But most importantly just switch the 3G network off, with that off the battery will last 5+ days on standby. It takes a few seconds to switch it back on if you need the functionality for something specific. Personally I use it as a phone mostly. I assume like most of the 3G ones it expends a load of energy staying (or trying to stay) hooked into the network. Camera is ok, but frankly its pretty poor compared to a compact camera, especially the digital zoom - but then what do you expect...
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Reviewed by Rusty from England on 20th Jul 2008
OMG. Just got this phone today. Couldent be bothered to get the C905 coming out in october. To long wait. The phone so far is fantastic. A really quality key pad. The pics are amasing compared to my N95, for some reason they are better. Strange giving they are both 5mp. Anyway. Lots of interesting gizmos on the phone which have kept me from being bored so far :D Really good speakers. The phone seems so freeze for couple of minisecs once in a while when taking pics or browsing through files which is odd and never happened on my Nokia. The phone looks like a work of art, although doesent feel like good quality becasue of its weight. Could have been abit more heavy for some reason. What do you think? All in all a brilliant phone and i highly recomend it to people are just out and about taking pics of randome things they see. well :)
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Reviewed by Emma from England on 19th Jul 2008
I love this phone which is why I hate to say that so far it has had a lot of teething problems (which should have been dealt with already. It keeps restarting itself, the battery life is appaling i have to charge it up every night and its nearly dead at the end on the day, it also freezes quite a lot and the camera flickers whilst its recording. Has anybody else experienced these problems or have I just got a dodgy model!
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Reviewed by Charlotte from UK on 18th Jul 2008
Well what can I say. I had a k800i which I replaced for a Samsung g600. I found the k800 better so I decided to go back to Sony Ericsson. I chose this phone at first sight. It feels great. Slim and Sleek yet still solid in the hand. The camera is great! I love the touch sensitive keys, they're really useful and speed things up a lot. What i didn't like about the camera is it only has an LED flash, I would've preferred a xenon flash but we can't have everything. The music player is good too. Not as good as my friends walkman phone but its a Cyber-Shot phone so the camera is its main feature anyway. Besides that this phone has some very nice apps such as google maps which i had fun with. Overall I would highly recommend this phone to anyone who's looking for a feature-rich phone yet doesn't want to be carrying round a brick.
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Reviewed by steve-e from england on 18th Jul 2008
great phone, except the alarm that doesn't go off. alarm 2 does ok most mornings, alarm 1 did the first day and never since... should I really have to set all 5 alarms just to be up at 5.40 for work!? like the camera, like media player,i like the look of the thing compared to my old 910 - not keen on battery life being so short but turning off 3g helps.
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Reviewed by Chris from UK on 18th Jul 2008
Had this phone 2 days and conclusions : great photo quality, good volume level from ringtone, texting works effortlessly as in the phone I am replacing (K810i). Feels solid - lovely to hold although the small keys may be a bind to large fingered folk. Gripes - still, Sony Ericsson have ignored our request for text alert reminders - if you don't hear your text alert first time, there's no reminder 2 minutes later as most other manufacturers do - after 20 seconds the screen goes black so there's no way of knowing you've a text unless you press a button to fire up the display. Come on guys, it's not rocket science - sort it with a firmware update. For this reason alone, it's only getting 4 stars - otherwise superb.
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Reviewed by elton from albania on 17th Jul 2008
realy good phone that i have used so far? well done
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Reviewed by Steve from UK on 17th Jul 2008
Had this phone a month now, after 3 weeks the speaker broke! Got it replaced and its been great since. Apart from that its a fantastic all round phone. Would be 5 stars if the speaker had not broke on me. By the way Chris how do you set it up to your hi fi?
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Reviewed by Chris from UK on 16th Jul 2008
Fantastic! Brilliant shots from the camera. Incredible sounds from the Music Player, even when played through a full home HiFi system. Texting not as easy as on a K750i or K800i due to to more resistant keypad but not a disaster, by any means. Definitely recommended.
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Reviewed by James from Wales on 16th Jul 2008
People say it is heavy? What phone have they had before this? It is slim and light!
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Reviewed by JAB from England on 16th Jul 2008
Just brilliant! I moved over from the Walkman series having had two before which I loved, but I wanted a better camera. (When will Sony E bring out a Walkman with a 5mp or bigger camera in it?!! Soon please!!!) So I went with the Cybershot range and luckily the new C902 came out just as my contract ended. No complaints bar the short battery life but I can live with that. What a phone, it's a real pleasure. And every time I use it I seem to find another gizmo, another shortcut, another great idea that SE have inserted into this phone. The move from Walkman to Cybershot was worth it as the camera is fantastic and the MP3 player is great too. All I need now is a dedicated music button and I'm laughing! Well recommended.
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Reviewed by john from england on 15th Jul 2008
The phone is a work of art. it is very nice to look at and feels solid in the hand. However i had to send back my 1st c902 as the camera in video mode had a severe lag when trying to zoom in and out, also the media player isnt as good as it could be my mp3 tracks sudenly stop for about 1-2 seconds at random times. and finaly the phone froze on me today for about a minute and the screen went blank for no reason. apart from the above mentioned it is a very good phone and i would recomend having one over th n95.
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Reviewed by emma from uk on 15th Jul 2008
hi guys, had the new c902 bout 2 wee now...i love the style and all the functions and not diapointed at all.....over the last week my alarm is set to go off every day at the sam time but for some reason it does not work also today my actual tones have stopped as though its in silent mode, also my media player will not function music or videos.....will be taking it back to the shop in the morning as i'm guessing the phone has malfunctioned..........i will replace it with same hand set but if problems persist on new handset i am sorry but will have to chage it soory SE
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Reviewed by adam from england on 15th Jul 2008
20 days old and the scroll button doesnt want to play anymore. i took it back to the shop who informed me that another three phones had the same problem. good phone, easy to use but so much bleeding technology, something was bound to go wrong sooner rather than later. fix the teething problems (they already should have) and this will be an awsome bit of kit
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Reviewed by steve from uk on 14th Jul 2008
Had this phone for 2 days on upgrade.(My former being a se k800i wich done the job).The cameras awesome and I noticed the video recordings slighty better than the k800i.I recorded some videos with loud music and it seemed to pick up the sound much better sounding much more crisp and not as distorted.Call qualitys good I was speaking to a mate and had to turn it down it was hurting my ears!It seems to work fine its nice and slim with an expensive feel.If you get on with sony ericssons then its worth gettin one of these its stunning.
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Reviewed by Shani from UK on 14th Jul 2008
I do really love this phone, especially after having a Samsung D900 for the last year which was reliable, but there are just too many things that annoy me about Samsungs. My gripes are, the buttons are a bit stiff and it has frozen on me a few times in the last couple of weeks. I agree that the sound isn't great, so I've resorted to using my hands free nearly all the time. The sound with the earphones in is fine though. The alarm is either way too loud on the loud setting or too quiet on the normal setting, so you either wake up having a heart attack or sleep through the alarm... lol. Love the media player and the touch screen buttons. Slow sometimes, but bearable. Love the way you can arrange all the messages. Camera's not bad; it zooms in pretty close. Umm... think that's it. It doesn't have any of the major flaws that the other top phones have. It is a brilliant alround phone and I love it. :)
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Reviewed by Nick from England, UK on 14th Jul 2008
I have to say I do like this phone, looks good, impressive camera, and for the first couple of weeks I was very happy. However I am now experiencing constant problems with the phone freezing - often taking a couple of minutes to reboot itself. Maybe a firmware upgrade will help, but until then I'd stay away from this phone.
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Reviewed by Bri from England on 14th Jul 2008
Got this phone as a replacement for my old K810i and have been using it for around 3 weeks. It was quite a hard decision to make as I loved that phone and have only used SE phones for the past 3 years. Anyway, I have to say that I really do like it. It's got a lot of similar features to the K810i but slightly more refined. I'm happy with the camera (yes, even though it only has an LED flash whereas the K810i uses a Xenon flash)) and it suits my needs perfectly. Not had any problems as yet and the battery life is very good, weighing in at around 6 days between charges. All in all, brilliant phone, nice looking and some great feaures. Highly recommended.
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Reviewed by Oliver from UK on 13th Jul 2008
Bought the C902 as Pay as you Go for £260. My previous phone that I have been using for 2+ years was the K750i and what a fantastic phone it was. However recently I just felt like a upgrade was needed and so when the C902 came out I thought i go for it. I got the phone from the carphone house pay as you go and when I opened it I noticed there was finger prints over the screen and camera lens! But a simple wipe with a t-shirt removed those and I was ready to use my new phone. Looks wise it looks fantastic, and feels solid. The keypad works fine and the interface is smooth but is occasionly slow at times but I dont really notice it. The camera is rather interesting. First of all if you buying this you will want to update your phone to the latest firmware R3BH002, the improves the cameras performance alot. You can do this by using the sony ericsson update service on there website or download it on the phone itself. The camera is very good and shines at its best in daylight, its actually one of the best cameras out of there for this. However so far the camera seems to do not so well in low light shots, even with reasonable light pictures arnt that great, this may improve with later updates. But I believe with different settings (I have seen other photos with look outstanding with low light with the C902) low light pictures could be achieved. The music is top quality and it also has other gadgets like mylocation where it takes the location of a picture and stores it on google map. The flash is good enough but the xenon flash is still alot better. Overall a great phone and a very good camera in decent light conditions. Recommended.
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Reviewed by Mark from United Kingdom on 12th Jul 2008
Great style, good camera and video - average flash (when it bothers to go off - same as the alarm). HOWEVER!!!!! Reliabilty is awful, it crashes, hangs and reboots - this is really annoying especially when making important calls where it often freezes for 20 seconds or more. Sony sort your act out - RUBBISH!!!! BTW it's going back - Samsung time!!
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Reviewed by Kirit from London on 12th Jul 2008
I've had this phone for 3 days now - I think its a great phone. There are a few issues, which, for a Sony Ericsson are rather dissapointing. Firstly the flash is not xenon, and I think with alot of users of this phone, it is a concern. I do believe it makes a difference, I've had SE's for 4 years now, my old K800i is the best phone. If you compare the two picture qualites, you can see the varience in picture, although the 902 is 5 Mpxl. The battery life is not that great, and they have yet again changed the size, so you cannot use old phone battries as spare - Not very good for the environment. The other major issue I have is the design of the screen, the touch screen is great, BUT it can only be used when using camera, and it restricts the main screen size. It would've been much better if the 902 had a full bigger touch screen. I think SE have always had this marketing ploy where you can only have one or the other until the new model comes out. I like the phone, all SE phones have always been good in their own ways - But its time to have everything with one phone, or they will end up like my nokia's, in the drawer collecting some serious dust! If you don't believe me, check out the soon to be out C905, and you'll know exactly what I mean!
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Reviewed by Dean from England on 12th Jul 2008
Nice phone big down side is the flash its rubish sonys going two steps forward one back shame. Whats the point of a camera with no flash
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Reviewed by Betty Swollocks from UK on 11th Jul 2008
I thought about getting the Nokia slide but opted for this as I like Sony Ericsson's. I am glad I did; this phone is the dog's! The camera is brilliant and it's got loads of other bits and pieces. It is 100 x better than my last phone which nearly put me off Sony's for life; the W880i. I can't put it down! A good camera on a phone is important and I was worried about it after reading other reviews, but I can take photos in a dark room and they turn out great so it's happy days all round!!
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Reviewed by Poornima from India on 10th Jul 2008
I own a C902 and its the best sony ericsson phone i have used so far. It looks great and easy to carry.they have excellent features too.The speakers are great. The camera is excellent which is 5megapixel.once you turn the camers they have these setting on both sides of the phone which is touch scree and is great. In short its simply superb!!!!
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Reviewed by lisa from england on 10th Jul 2008
having recently received the C902 i am having problems with it keep freezing and just switching itself off also sometimes you have to press the keys a couple of times to make it work correctly. The flash is not too good and find the camera touch screen a little confusing, sorry to moan just wondering if any one else has had the same problems?
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Reviewed by Jenni from England on 9th Jul 2008
The C902 is by far one of the best phones that have been out and that are out at present. Pretty confused to why some people are saying the phone is big and clumsy! Are you sure you're talking about the right phone?!! It is very slim, slimmer than I first thought by seeing the advertisements, I was looking at getting the Samsung Soul but I am so glad I got this one. It is around the same length as the k800. Screen is just the right size to display the excellent picture quality, I can certainly tell the difference in quality to the 3.2 mp cameras. The camera is well protected by being hidden under the slide up function. I like the touch screen camera settings when the camera is activated. It takes some getting used to as can accidently activate something you didn't mean to, like switch to video or change settings but you also have the option of vewing the settings the old way by using the phone buttons. The music sound is great, ringtones aswell. Not too loud or quiet, just fine. Phone accepts expanable memory, these are now selling at good prices, I have a 4g memory card. My fiance loves the game Need For Speed that is on the phone,it is great, you can choose to steer by tilting the phone slightly, is wicked! lol. Buttons are quite small but once your used to them its easy, the phone is attractive, love the shiny buttons, just makes the phone look great. very stylish. also i get internet for free and it is pretty good for a mobile internet. is pretty fast and works well. please take a look at this phone if you are soon getting a new one, its better than you may first think. and please dont listen to people that are saying it is bulky! its so not! you cant get a phone this good that is any thinner or lighter!!
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Reviewed by Andy W from England on 9th Jul 2008
If SE had put a xenon flash on this phone and not used such ridiculous keys it would have been outstanding, as is it's okay to meh. Keys are angled in a bizzar way facing towards the bottom of the phone so that when you writing a text with one hand and your thumb is pointing downwards it's difficult not to press the key above. Also, the key back light doesn't illuminate the outside rows of keys properly. The auto rotate is slow and the lens cover is constantly full of dust. Otherwise, the camera works great in middle to good lighting conditions. Being able to nudge the brightness up and down with the navigation key is handy and the camera controls around the screen are quick and easy to use. The styling is good, although the silver stripes around the edge look a bit cheaply done and emphasise the misalignment of the cover slide. Call quality is excellent and I seem to be getting about the same battery life as my old W850i. Shame SE seem to be intent on churning out lots of different models these days instead of taking time to produce a good quality product.
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Reviewed by gsm from india on 9th Jul 2008
amazing phone excellent cam..pity it doesnt have xenon flash.. sleak..and better that the k850i.. but the music quality could have been improved...
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Reviewed by Alan George from england on 9th Jul 2008
Ok this phone is and awesome improvement in speed ,web,media ,size and video over the k800i i had for 2 years. yet it has one major and i mean MAJOR drawback. one minor drawback is battery standby time with the high speed networks but thsi asside the flash sucks. in video its fine its awesome its a big improvement but in nigthclubs the flash is just no use at all. i have 2 pictures i like to submit both taken at 3meg pixels of the same sceen with k800i and the c902 and the fills the whole area with flash. the c902 you have to me half a metre away and aiming it a a person facve and thats all you get in dark enviroments. all in all i like the phone but now i have to take a seperate camera into night clubs with me.
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Reviewed by Daniel McT from London on 8th Jul 2008
Great phone, slim, espcially compared to my K800, good camera, secellent user interface. It has everything I want from a phone. Look forward to seeing the C905 and Xperia....until then...the best Sony Ericsson there is.
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Reviewed by Oxygene from England on 8th Jul 2008
Just got this phone few days ago and will have to return it as I am quite disappointed with the quality of the pictures both in low lighting and daylight. I've got K800i in the past and I expect more from C902, I think the picture quality is not much different from that 3.2 megapixel camera. The touch screen only works when the camera is on, and it is a bit confusing at first, to be honest I prefer using the manual buttons. And another thing I don't like is the key pad buttons which are too small, you have to have small fingers to type in correctly everytime. However The sound quality isn't too bad and the speaker is quite loud. The overall look of the phone isn't too bad either, it's compact and it's not too heavy as people say. So all in all I'd give this phone 3 star rating.
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Reviewed by James Kelly from PE on 7th Jul 2008
Good phone. Camera is just quality. Heavy phone. But have fallen in love with it.
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Reviewed by Grants from Scotland on 7th Jul 2008
Got the C902 yesterday, as others have said I had nokias for as long as I can remember so changed to the C902 after the excellent reviews and so glad I got the C902, Easy to use, superb camera, great radio sound, easy to use phone, looks the part and does the job! unlike so many other phones which some people just use as fashion accesories! All in all a big well done to Sony Ericsson keep up the good work!
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Reviewed by Mal from UK on 7th Jul 2008
This is a brilliant phone. The camera is excellent quality, i've noticed people mentioning poor quality in dark environments. You need to play with the settings, have your focus on infinate or auto, NOT face recognition, the flash then works better. Also a tip for battery life, if you dont need it on 3G for video calling etc..., do a manual network switch to GSM only, I did this and got a whole day longer out of my battery!! And the memory card it not under the battery as someone wrote previously, it is under the back cover, you do not need to take the battery out to remove the memory card and can leave the phone switched on. Music quality is fantastic too, extremely loud speaker means you wont miss a call. I've not had a problem with this phone, far better than the K850i.
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Reviewed by Frazer from UK on 7th Jul 2008
Just got this phone. Great phone great pics, I don't understand people that say its too heavy. Fair enough it has a bit of weight to it, but i think if the phone weighs nothing it kinda feels like a cheap toy. This phone is awesome, I just took it to twickenham stadium for the most insane iron maiden gig and it's had beer, water and sweat all over it and it still came out fine with no problems, so i guess its quite durable aswell.
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Reviewed by Jason from Wales on 7th Jul 2008
Very disapointing with this phone unfortunatly. i have always has sont ericssons and thought this would be a good one. The buttons are horrible to get used to, but with a bit of practise you will get used to them. i found the phone very slow, using all the functions it was not quick at all. The worst thing is that i exchanged this phone 3 times as i thought the other 2 were faulty. The problem i found was that the sound is very muffled. All the phones were exactly the same. I think it is a design fault as the ear speaker is partially covered by the casing of the phone resulting in the sound not being clear at all. Unfortunate as i liked the look of the phone and upgraded to this one - nevermind.
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Reviewed by ELLIE LITTLEWOOD from UNITED KINGDOM on 7th Jul 2008
I love this phone! The cameras great and has very cool features. The themes and and the whole style of the phone is very nice. Having a slim phon is also an advantage. I would reccomend buting this phone to many.
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Reviewed by j kelly from england on 7th Jul 2008
Had a play around with this phone, and its very nice. Can't choose between this and the LG Venus, which is also a nice phone. As usual though, after extensive research, I can't find one phone that has everything i want. My PC has a memory card reader built in, but both these phones hide these under the battery, making them a chore to get out. The alarm ob the C902 must surely be a very basic problem (can be fixed in a firmware update perhaps)? It seems to be an unusual problem, as through my research I've yet to find a phone that has a similar one. Does anyone know if firmware updates are free and how you get them? My last phone was my trusty Siemens A50 (over 5 years old - still works!). I am still undecided as to which of these two phones to go for...
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Reviewed by Paul from England on 7th Jul 2008
The phone is good, normal Sony layout and quality but, the alarm is prooving to be a major pain !!! (as noted in other reviews) Have it set up on the daily recurrence but, it just doesn't go off !!!!! Late for work this morning !!! It seems the only way for it to work is resetting the time every day, which defeats the object and even then, you are never completely sure !!! Any news on this issue Mobile Phones UK ???
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Reviewed by bob from england on 6th Jul 2008
this is a sick phone and its a great phone 4 taking pictures and its just great i got it today and i love it man!
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Reviewed by Mawieeeeeeee from UK on 5th Jul 2008
Ok, I work for a phone company and see phones every day and yet, this one caught my eye. I haven't been able to get it yet but I want it so badly. It looks small, sleek and the feature are excellent. Haven't had any faults coming through about it, apart from the low battery life, is this a problem? I cant wait to get this phone I only hope it lives up to expections, after reading some reviews I feel it will :D
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Reviewed by Alex M from UK on 5th Jul 2008
This phone is fantastic, stylish, smooth, and works perfectly. sony are back on form with this one. I'm 100% happy with everything about this phone. camera is top quality, media player rocks, can't fault it in any way. PLEASE NOTE, this is not a smart phone, so all the reveiews that are saying get a N95 should be ignored, the smart phones are slow any way, and i have sent 2 back in favour for this one. if you like sony or not you will fing this phone is brilliant. i'd give it more than five stars if possible...
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Reviewed by Ben from London - Croydon on 4th Jul 2008
Got the phone yesterday, so far this is my HONEST TRUTH. SIZE - small size slightly weightier than it looks but good. CAMERA - Pictures don't really look 5mp but will probably do when shown on bigger screen like pc. Camera flash improved i think. VIDEO RECORDING is amazing with the lighting available for dark videoing. Im disappointed with the zoom however because My fone freezes when zooming during recording. MUSIC - quality sounds brilliant through the speaker, no problems there. USER INTERFACE - Menu viewing options vary so cant complain, if u dont like 1 switch it up. MEMORY - 160mb is EXCELLENT compared to the usual 64mb. General View - Ive been waiting for a small stylish "has everything" phone like this for ages and its doing the job. WELL DONE SONY! oh yh....c905 has 8mp camera!!!! cant wait....
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Reviewed by Liam D'Arcy from England on 4th Jul 2008
I have had the C902 for a few weeks but seem to be experiencing a massive issue with the alarm not going off in the morning. I set the alarm to go off automatically on the 5 days for the week but twice this week it hasn’t worked. My girlfriend also has the same phone and the same problems!!! Is anyone else experiencing this?? Any on got any news on this??
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Reviewed by ben from uk on 4th Jul 2008
got the phone thmis morning. No probs at all with it. looks good camera is good menu's good, whats with all the moaning K85i users. get the phone, its a class above the rest you chumps
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Reviewed by yo yo from uk on 3rd Jul 2008
very good phone even outstanding
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Reviewed by dAVE from UK on 3rd Jul 2008
Camera is excellent but phone is rather big and clumsy, It weighs a tone and without a belt on your trousers could easily lead to embarrasement. Also is a bit sluggish going through the menus. All in all Ok but k850i is better
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Reviewed by john smith from Uk on 2nd Jul 2008
Its small, thin, light weight and has great features. I can't understand some people saying that its heavy because it isn't LOL.
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Reviewed by john from wakefield on 2nd Jul 2008
brilliant handset , does everything but not a lump, had nokias for years so this phone gets you away from boring, do miss the security keyguard lock though
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Reviewed by Paul from London on 2nd Jul 2008
Simply Beautiful, best phone I ever had. Tried U900 before but return within 7 days and I got this phone which is great to having it. Brilliant camera, sound quality and easy to use. WELL DONE!!! SONY
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Reviewed by Ryan from Manchester , UK on 1st Jul 2008
Issues i have with this phone is : 1..The poor lighting when taking dark shots the dual LED may aswell be Singular as the pics are still dark. 2.. Listening to music the earphones are loud but a call rings thru and its quiet ???? No smartass'es it aint the settings not been checked !!! 3.. Screen is so so tiny 4.. For a handset its actually quite weighty. Sony ericcson outdid themselves with the W910i and to this day they cant beat it.....
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Reviewed by Tim B from UK on 1st Jul 2008
For those who are worried about the lack of Xenon Flash see my comparison pictures C902 - LED Flash: i11.photobucket.com/albums/a193/timmyb12345/DSC00006.jpg K800i Xenon Flash: i11.photobucket.com/albums/a193/timmyb12345/DSC00060.jpg [Editor's comment: The Xenon flash is a lot brighter in this example, but there's probably not so much difference after putting both images through PhotoShop. If anyone else has similar examples, please feel free to post them here!]
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Reviewed by Leon from UK on 1st Jul 2008
Nad - make sure you've removed the plastic protective sticker. I didnt...and wondered why i couldn't open the lens cover lol. Great phone so far.
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Reviewed by Bob from UK on 30th Jun 2008
I got this phone at the weekend and I've got to say it deserves 5 stars easily. I can't believe how they can fit so many features into such a slim, sleek phone. One thing that does bother me is the camera quality in poor lighting conditions. I wouldn't have minded if it had wifi aswell, but then again you can't have everything. Besides these minor problems, it is pretty much the perfect phone with a pretty good price tag (£250 pay as you go). I give it a well deserved 5 stars!
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Reviewed by Laurie from England on 30th Jun 2008
Fantastic phone but cant read text messages as text size too small. Can't understand why the facility is there to increase text size on e mail and picture messaging but not sms!If you have trouble reading texts in dark bars beware!Its back to Samsung and Specsavers for me.
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Reviewed by mike from england on 30th Jun 2008
Nad ur holding the phone in wroung place when opening the camera thats y u cant open it. hold it on its sides half way down by were u plug in the charger it should just slide open easy then. Your probs find like me & a few other people the only really problem with the phone is battery life at max i get 2 days well 2days if i dnt use it much. oh & the keys are a tad small but u do get used 2 it pretty quick
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Reviewed by dave from uk on 30th Jun 2008
This phone is solid. Heavy, but you are not worried about accidental damage cos it wont happen by accident. This phone is being sold as a camara phone, and as a camara its not bad, until you use the zoom. This is a wysiwyg phone, so at maximum zoom you will see the distortion and that is the inmage saved. Maybe if they said this was a 'walkman' phone, then I would be estatic, (160Mb is poor, need more basic memory), but its being touted as a camera phone with lots of extra features. Unfortuneatly, when it is pushed to its maximum it fails. [Editor's comment: 160 MB is virtually the largest memory of any phone currently available. Only a couple of phones offer more than this! And digital zoom always pixellates - that's how it works!]
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Reviewed by nad from uk on 29th Jun 2008
the new c902, is great, but why cant i open the camera. first of all i found it hard to take out the battery.. Every thing on this camera is hard toget open. ne1 agree::(
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Reviewed by Daniel Roberts from UK on 28th Jun 2008
Had this phone for a few days now having upgraded from the SE W880. The phone is not branded as a Walkman phone but the music playing functions are almost identical - the only thing that appears to be missing is the Music suite software that can condense music file size. The only bug bears are minor- *the memory card is under the battery making access trickier than if the card was accessible from the outside. *my W880 had non-slip pads on the back which the C902 doesn't meaning that it can slide off a table/car dash quite easily if knocked.
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Reviewed by Hannah from Denbighshire on 28th Jun 2008
I upgraded from a K800i which was pretty faultless and I thought hard to beat until the C902 which is simply brilliant!!
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Reviewed by Grattus from England on 28th Jun 2008
I was probably one of the first in the country to get the C902 having received it early May. I had high hopes that SE had finally produced a mobile that ticked all the boxes. Looks wise, it is very attractive and the slim design makes it easy to slip into a pocket. The keypad layout looks easy to use but this is where the problems start. The navigation key is obviously better than a joystick but like the keypad itself offers little feedback leaving you wondering if you have pressed a key at all! Many times when texting or navigating the interface I have had to double and sometimes triple check that a key has been depressed. The backlight is very poor only illuminating the centre of the keypad further limiting the ease of use. The user interface has had a cosmetic facelift giving options for style of icon display. The transition between screens has altered also with the previous screen shrinking to a dot in the distance. This is all very pretty but I am sure is a major contributor to the devices poor battery life which bears no comparison to my old K810i. In the course of one day I took 1 ten second video, sent and received approximately 12 texts, made 3 short calls and this took my fully charged battery down to 57%, my K810i would have got down to about 80-85%. I have the brightness as low as it goes, volume down also, the connection set to GSM to ensure battery isn't wasted searching for 3G networks I don't use but to no avail. Build quality is fine, the slide mechanism for the camera is solid enough though I have had the phone freeze in camera mode. Picture quality is fine though not as good as top Nokia phones and barely better than the K810i I still have. The touchscreen effect requires very rapid fingers to operate so I used the menu instead. There are lots of features which enhance the picture quality. The video is greatly improved and should satisfy most. Call quality is as ever very good, ringtone and vibration alerts strong enough. The hspda works well and quite swiftly giving rapid access to the internet. I have owned several SE and was looking forward to this one as being the outstanding phone in any line up but the poor keypad, relatively poor camera, firmware problems and terrible battery life have ruined what should have been the market leader. I shall be selling this and getting the Nokia 6220 classic thereby ending my long association with SE.
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Reviewed by Kelvin Baker from England on 27th Jun 2008
After having a K850 since last November (one of the few that worked!) and praising it on this site, it was clear that Sony had made a rare error in producing that particular phone. Bugs in the software, small keys, finger print magnet - the phone just didn`t feel right. Now for the C902...I`m pleased to report that this is everything the K850 should have been. Back to classic Ericsson keys, a slim, sleek overall design and software that actually works! The camera is superb with easy navigation to all the settings and takes sharp pictures. People may moan about lack of xenon flash but the flash on this phone does the job perfectly (unless you are in a pitch black dungeon for some reasons!) Whilst every one is going on about the camera the phone is a very good mp3 player with all the Walkman benefits like Megamass and Playlist options. So to conclude this indeed is a 5 star phone - the best Sony phone to date!
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Reviewed by Nilsh from UK on 26th Jun 2008
I've had this phone just over a week now after i'd been waiting for ages for its release and i think its a great phone! The buttons do take some getting used to but its not a major problem. Its easy to get around. Only niggles i've had is the battery life isn't too great but it could be a lot worse. The only other thing i'm finding odd is the alarm does go off when its supposed to. I've checked the settings and its all ok but its rather strange it doesn't want to get me up in a morning! The camera hasn't given me any problems so far when tested. Def reccommend it though.
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Reviewed by Andy from UK on 26th Jun 2008
Switched to Sony Ericcson phones at the K700i and they have progressively got better and better with this being no exception. Got this phone a couple of days ago and can't fault it in any way. Previously had a K800i and this is just a better version of that! The functionality (media, email, web etc) is outstanding and the camera gives crisp photos (not noticed any problems with the flash) and am overjoyed they have sorted the lense cover thing so it dosn't open in my pocket!!! Styling is awesome too, no longer are the SE Cybershot phones bulkey... 10/10
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Reviewed by aidan from eire on 25th Jun 2008
just gat it da ay lurv it itz class worth every single pound!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Reviewed by Paul from UK on 25th Jun 2008
I've had the SE C902 for a week now, and I am very pleased with it. I changed the LG secret I had for this phone and I am so glad I did as the Secret was a real let down for me (see my LG secret review). The C902 is a good looking phone packed with great features and a easy to use interface. The camera is fantastic, the best I've ever come across on a phone. The only downside are the buttons, they are tiny and compact but I am getting used to them. Battery life is ok, I'm currently getting about 3 days out of it.
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Reviewed by Jim from UK on 25th Jun 2008
I've been living with the C902 for a few days now after I sent back the unspeakably terrible Samsung Soul that I ordered in the first place. The C902 is great. As a phone (the important bit), it works just fine. The 3G features are good, with fast (and surprisingly usable) internet. The media player I love, especially with an 8Gb card fitted. GPS capability is a major boon (just get a £30 bluetooth receiver). The party piece is the camera, which gives crisp, clean photos and decent quality video. The only complaint, and it's a minor one, is that the keys are a little bit fiddly. You get used to it.
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Reviewed by Ross from Surrey on 24th Jun 2008
Got this phone as an upgrade from the K800 after spending a LOT af time looking at Samsungs and Nokia's etc., and nothing came close.I almost went for the k850i until I heard all those bad reports.But this phone is fantastic!! I've had it a week now and sure, the flash may be no xenon but I find that picture fix helps to brighten up the dark pictures,and maybe I'll get dust in the camera slide but at least it won't open in my pocket(like the k800). Nice also to have an ipod style media layout and be able to download album art(good to hear it takes 8gb card!)Suppose the speaker does get blocked at the back but its in my pocket most of the time anyway! and now it lies flat on the table instead of wobbling about. Had no problems with the battery life even during the first few days. The slim styling is really classy and will age well and in black looks awesome. Supporting software is easy to use and I can use pictbridge with my stand alone printer.only wish they had made screen bigger and removed touch screen buttons but thats the trend.just need to to get 8gb card and fm trasmitter then sorted...great phone
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Reviewed by Dan from Devon on 24th Jun 2008
Had this phone for a week now and I think its awesome. Been using SEs for a while having lost faith in Nokia. The interface is just what I'm used to so it took no time at all getting started. Only tiny issue is the battery life, as others have noticed I'm only getting about 2 days at the minute. I've been assured that this is a SE thing and the battery life will improve. I've been promised a replacement if it doesn't improve.. cant argue with that!! Top phone
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Reviewed by keith from England on 23rd Jun 2008
ive had my c902 for 4 days and im just getting used to the buttons as i have biggish thumbs..i hope it does'nt break in my pocket as it does seem a bit flimsy.but the colour and the style it is a bit of a bobby dazzler..
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Reviewed by Mike from England on 22nd Jun 2008
ive had the phone for 3 days now & my only problem with the phone is battery life it last 2days most so iam gonna take it bak & c if its a faulty battery or sumit coz ive not even used it alot 2 even drain it that much iam gonna give it a 4 star coz the phone so far is great apart from that
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Reviewed by piers from England on 21st Jun 2008
worst phone ever the camera is not as good as the d500 1.3 it is shaky i could break it by squeezinit the keys cracked and only had 2 days
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Reviewed by Jon from Northamptonshire on 20th Jun 2008
I got this phone yesterday in the red and it looks sleek. To add to this the phone works perfectly, the applications are brilliant and camera amaizing. This is the best phone I have ever had and you will not be dissapointed when you buy one. Love this phone and I agree It's easily a 5-star phone!
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Reviewed by andy from england on 20th Jun 2008
The features on this phone are excellent...BUT the camera is not a patch on my previous phone, The K800i (This is still the daddy of all camera phones)! The look, feel and the features of the C902 are still top drawer though...Hence the 4 stars, The upgrade from this (Whenever that will be) MUST have a xenon flash!
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Reviewed by Derek Jones from Uk on 20th Jun 2008
The first 3 days with this phone were (almost) brilliant. The camera isn't too bad, nice user interface, etc. The build quality is a bit creaky, and it doesn't feel like it will last me a year. Fast forward just over a week, and the same old reliability issues which plague most Sony Ericsson phones started to appear. It started crashing and freezing for no apparent reason. I've had enough of them now, and this phone is going back. Other people warned me about daring to get a sony ericsson, but i didn't listen - i thought all those "typical Sony Rricsson problems"(their words) wouldn't happen to this phone as well. How wrong i was. Bye Sony Ericsson - I've had enough of your buggy cheap rubbish phones.
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Reviewed by Andy from Southampton, UK on 19th Jun 2008
What an excellent phone.. SE have come up trumps yet again. Easy to use, lightweight, looks good, sounds good and a superb camera. My last phone was the K810i which was good but this, this is by far better. My only gripe is the slanting buttons but i'm sure I'll get used to them. Well done SE!!
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Reviewed by Sanchez from Norway on 19th Jun 2008
Awesome phone, and by the way: I have a 8 Gb memorycard in mine, and it supports it.
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Reviewed by Graham from UK on 19th Jun 2008
Got the C902 a few days ago, although its not a xenon flash the LED is extremely bright, so should be adequate in most situations. It also gives you the advantage of having a light when recording video. I'm impressed with the slimness of the handset, nice screen, ok battery life although they could have made it a mil or 2 thicker and made a larger battery. I'm not overly keen on the slanted keys though, as it makes them slightly difficult to press. I would love to have seen a repeat of the round keys of the K810i, which although unusual, were very user friendly and great to text with. The sound quality is fantastic, i've never heard a handset as loud or as clear. All round a good phone, but only 4 stars out of 5 due to the buttons not being quite as good as they should be, but still in fairness much better than the K850i
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Reviewed by Virus from UK on 18th Jun 2008
I have upgraded to this from the the K800i and 1st impressions are okay. I did have the K850 a while back but returned it due to major bugs. The shape of the C902 does make you realise how dated the K800 actually is, but is it better? Well yes and no! looks-wise no contest, screen has more contrast and the menus are nicer, it has megabass which was missing from the K800i. But I have one MAJOR gripe and that is the flash. Sony were leaders in the camera department as far as cameras were concerned, the K750i pioneered with it's autofocus and flash and then the K800i cleared up with it's Xenon flash, so why have Sony decided to go back to the LED flash? it is very poor in comparison and whatever flash problems were on the 850, the K800/10 were excellent. Comp;aring the actual 5mp camera in tests with the 3mp K800 should poorer overall pictures in both detail and lighting. Shame. Where Nokia are advancing with wifi, Xenon flash, gps, etc etc, Sony have stepped back and lost the fight. Plus, as flat as it is, why do Sony continue to put the loudspeaker on the back. Now without a protruding lens cover to act as a release the C902 is flat to the surface muffling all sound from an otherwise good music player.
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Reviewed by Steve from England on 18th Jun 2008
Responding to Gemma's issue surrounding not get the camera to open, have you taken on the transparent screen cover, which is stuck over the camera extension section? All in all great phone, only this I do miss is the Weight / Mass / velocity coverter I had on my N73.
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Reviewed by Alfie from UK on 17th Jun 2008
My brother just got one, and the first thing I said is that it almost looks identical to the K770i. Menus are hardly different to that of the K800i as mentioned by other reviewers, so what has changed apart from the way the camera opens, which is better in the pocket and the 5mp camera with the inferior flash to the K800i......Not alot. However, whats the point of changing something that seems to be a winner for SE. Until the N series for Nokia they were also very samey....so lets see where SE decide to take the C series.
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Reviewed by pieman from UK on 17th Jun 2008
Basically seems an upgraded K800i. Better built, nicer features, great 5mp camera, a solid all rounder. Only bad point is the LED flash isnt as good as the K800i. Overall the C902 is a very good phone.
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Reviewed by Warren from UK on 17th Jun 2008
I've used this site for a while to pick phones, but this is the first time I've ever reviewed a phone. I've had SE's for a few years now, using my K810i for ages purely because I loved it so much. I upgraded recentley to the Viewty (rubbish) then when I went to upgrade again I saw the C902. I've got friends who use the 850i and to me it seemed far bigger than it's older brother the 810i and the touch buttons were shocking to use, but I can safely say the C902 is quality! A lot thinner in the pocket, better looking and all in all a better set-up. I take a lot of pictures and I've not had a problem yet, I'm sure the flash is slightly dimmer, but not too much. The slide is also a good feature, although this does collect dust, but hey, give it two months and the phone will be scratched and dropped anyway. I'd highly recommend this phone to any SE lovers or people who are simply bored with Nokias.
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Reviewed by Glyn from UK on 16th Jun 2008
Amazing! It's just like a k800i with respect to menus and general navigation around the phone and it's better, much better. Well done Sony!!!
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Reviewed by Gemma from Wigan UK on 16th Jun 2008
On my Second C902 and sending back again, i cannot for the life of me get the camera bit to open! No matter how hard i pull it will not budge, on 2 phones now!!!
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Reviewed by Tom E from UK on 14th Jun 2008
I was looking forward to recieving this phone, as i had heard bad reports about the K850i and its flash problems. The camera on this phone, even though it is 5Mp, is far inferior to the one on my old cheap k800i. where has the flash gone!!!! This is absolutely necessary to a cybershot phone and i cannot believe it does not have one. pictures taken on a K850i or a K800/k810 are infinitely better. i will be returning this phone and hopefully getting a K800 back. Comon Sony, you can do better than this! Bring the flash back and this will be an unbeatable phone! [Editor's comment: What do you mean? Where has the flash gone? It's on the phone!!!]
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Reviewed by Andy from England on 13th Jun 2008
Had this phone for a few days and it is quite simply the best phone I've ever had. Everything about it is excellent - the camera, music player, design, intuitive software....the list goes on. There is nothing in the current market that touches this phone. Buy one now!
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Reviewed by Kieran from UK on 13th Jun 2008
just got this phone today, will be returning it tomrrow, the flash is absolute rubbish.. i took two photos one with my old K800i and one with this in a dark room, u could barely see me in the c902's photo whereas the whole room was visible in my old phone. I am extreamly disapointed.
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Reviewed by Clear Cut Chap from UK on 3rd Jun 2008
The C902 is a superb form-factor, slim and stylish. It packs the optimal specifications and features, especially the face-detection feature in the camera. The slide-out design is unique and really works well, and I would say is a very clever evolution from all the other existing mechanisms seen in the market today like the slide-out/flip-open etc. SE thankfully reverted to the traditional-style with the Keypad and it just works very well, with good Tactile feedback. The main grouse if at all I would have with it, is the sacrifice of the Xenon flash. Considering this is a 'C'ybershot camera phone, the importance of the Xenon flash cannot be forgotten. The LED flash is bright, but does not match the performance of the Xenon-what would have been fantastic is to have the arrangement like in the K850i where both the LED and Xenon flashes work for the Video and Photograph capture respectively. The LED also is a useful Torch light. The other let down is the sacrifice of the Screen size, to give way to the Blue icons(touch buttons) that get activated in the Camera mode. Again while this aides for faster access to the various adjustments on the fly, the K850i arrangement of having them on one edge of the keypad while maximising the screen-size was a better arrangement, and in this regard a slight step-backward. Another point to note which is not too significant a difference unless you use wired headphones on the go with this phone is the side-located power connection. Again the K850i arrangement with the slide-out door was a brilliant design. However I will grant the advantages of a slim design that SE have achieved with this model and therefore a requirement of locating it on its side. In conclusion, it is another brilliant handset, and an all-round performer which I would award 5 stars, except for the fact that it lacks the Xenon flash and has a smaller screen than the K850i. I would hence award it a 4.5 star but since thats not an option here I have to make it a 4 stars rating. Perhaps in time if the performance and the ownership experience changes my mind, I might upgrade it, but I dont think so...for that 5 stars will be awaiting the upcoming G900i! I will eagerly wait for that phone!
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Sony Ericsson C902 links