Sony Ericsson - C902 review

Let's get one thing out of the way right at the start. We found the C902 to be one of the best mobiles we've used for a long time. The combination of features seems just about right and, while there's nothing too flashy going on here, there is some rather good stuff when it comes to photography.

This is a Quad-band 3G handset with HSDPA and a front-facing camera for two-way video calling. The general design is well thought out and the phone feels good in the hand. The 2-inch screen is up to Sony Ericsson's high standards, though it does seem a bit small in relation to the handset itself.

The reason for this is that two bars down the left and right hand side of the screen offer touch sensitive icons when the 5-megapixel main camera is in use. Backlit a subtle deep blue, they offer access to a range of features that you might want to get at quickly.

For example, you can switch from photography to gallery mode and into video mode too. You can change the focus settings quickly, flicking into macro or face detection modes. You can turn on BestPic (the system which sees the phone shoot several shots when you depress the shutter button, allowing you to choose the best to keep). And you can choose scene, set the self timer, use the flash... Well, you get the idea. It works really smoothly and is, for once, a feature that's as useful as it is idiosyncratic.

Of course none of this matters a jot if the camera is poor. There is good news here, as it is up with the best 5-megapixel phones we've seen. For those who need to know where photos were shot, they can be geo-coded too.

As for the rest, well, the almost obligatory accelerometer knows when you turn the phone round and will obligingly flip the screen, and a music player copes well with your tunes. There is 160MB of built-in memory and a Memory Stick Micro card slot for adding more storage.

The side-slotting mains power charger has a through port so you can use the headphones when charging the handset. The end result is cumbersome to look at and is a travesty when compared to the good looks of the phone itself, but it does work. There is a 3.5mm headset connector beyond the microphone on the supplied headphones. Battery life for music playback is, incidentally, astonishingly good.

Sony Ericsson - C902 features - Verdict

This is the best Sony Ericsson handset we've seen for some considerable while. A good all-rounder, the camera features are superb and it is not a burden to carry.
£299.99 inc. VAT (SIM-free)