Review of GSM/UMTS-handset Sony Ericsson C902

Mobile-review have posted their review of the Sony Ericsson C902 Cyber-shot. Here is the final impression.

Our C902 unit was loud enough be hear in most, even call-unfriendly environmnets. The reception quality of the C902 was quite good – we got strong signal levels in most places and didn’t notice any significant differences from other contemporary solutions. Also going for the C902 is its superb build quality. The C902 is a direct rival to the Samsung U800 Soul – in fact these two have a whole lot in common, that is: build quality, metallic accents on the back, relatively small yet decent display, pretty much basic functionality. However the Samsung’s offering packs in a 3 Mpix camera, takes away some value from it. Interestingly, these two phones are reactions of Sony Ericsson and Samsung respectively to the Nokia 6500 Classic’s great sales, although the latter doesn’t have metallic accents or tons of memory onboard and some other smarts and feats. But it got to the market much earlier than either of these two phones. It’s quite another matter, though, that the update of the 6500 Classic will arrive much later than the Samsung U800 and Sony Ericsson C902, so they won’t clash directly in view of price gaps that won’t get smaller over time.

The C902 will retail for around 370 Euro, which is a somewhat common price tag for a fashion-conscious phone that has just started shipping – the Nokia 6500 Classic’s sales kicked off at a similar price point. Don’t view the C902 as an imaging-centric solution, though, since it ends up behind the Sony Ericsson K850i, Nokia N82 and some other phones, let alone the Motorola ZN5 that will be second to none this way. It’s a phone, whose major trump is fashion and it leverages it well enough, adding decent build quality, robust functionality of A200 with a couple of neat touches and good battery time to the mix. The C902 will make a great buzzer with somewhat advanced features and mid-tier camera. In a certain sense it’s similar to the C702 that’s more of a ruggedized phone, rather than a cameraphone. On balance, the Sony Ericsson C902 is a likable product that won’t be overly popular, but will generate a fair amount of sales after a scheduled price cut in October.