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Nokia N91
Score: 85% When: May 2006 Worth: €675 What: Phones, Music phones, Nokia phones
Read the full article » Not much holds the N91 back from scoring full marks in the music department; the lack of bundled quality headphones and stereo Bluetooth audio is about it. Otherwise excellent audio quality, an intuitive interface, comfortable controls and superb music transfer capabilities including Windows Media Connect support are all favoured traits, as is the massive 4 GB of storage - although we're a bit miffed by the rotund form factor. Voice and messaging capabilities are first-rate with the exception of a slightly cramped keypad, while the 2 Megapixel camera and browser are unlikely to impress. As a result of its varied feature set and hard drive reliance, battery life is expectedly average, but the N91 still outperforms the vast majority of music phones at the time of writing. |
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Sony Ericsson M600i
Score: 84% When: July 2006 Worth: €500 What: Business phones, Sony Ericsson phones
Read the full article » Quite possibly the ideal size for a business phone, the Sony Ericsson M600i is but a hair's width from scoring full marks in the messaging, productivity and browsing departments, hampered only by the smaller-than-the-competition sizes of its otherwise excellent touch screen and thumbboard. It also delivers a solid impression in every other department, with the near-sole disappointment being its lack of a bundled USB cable and USB charging support. Add good battery life and nice touches such as a scroll wheel, stereo Bluetooth audio and a clever, agenda-style standby screen, and what emerges is a winning recipe. |
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Nokia N80
Score: 90% When: May 2006 Worth: €675 What: Camera phones, 3G phones, Nokia phones
Read the full article » Starting off on a high note, the Nokia N80 camera phone lines up a brilliant high-resolution screen and 3 Megapixel-pushing camera only to put its foot in its mouth seconds later through the absence of an autofocus, which hampers its ability to produce quality stills with predictive consistency. Although it also includes the most extensive line-up of printing, publishing and image management services of any camera phone to date, it still falls marginally short of its N90 predecessor - yet retains broader overall appeal due to its music, business and wireless photo streaming functionality, rendering it a superb 3G phone. |
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Sony Ericsson K800i
Score: 88% When: June 2006 Worth: €475 What: Phones, Camera phones, Sony Ericsson phones
Read the full article » Although more susceptible to camera shake than a low-end digital camera, the Sony Ericsson K800i is in fact capable of replacing just such a product; a considerable feat, even though the vast majority of users will not want to rely on it for preserving precious memories. Its imaging prowess is backed up by strong performance in the areas of calling and messaging, while its browser is of the rather mediocre sort; handy, then, that the overall impression is picked up by the inclusion of a stereo FM radio with RDS, a RSS reader and even a sprinkle of stereo Bluetooth audio for an otherwise unnoteworthy MP3 player. |
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Sony Ericsson W810i
Score: 90% When: April 2006 Worth: €425 What: Music phones, Sony Ericsson phones
Read the full article » Picking up where the W800i left off, the Sony Ericsson W810i offers improved music navigation in tandem with the same excellent music management capabilities and decent amount of bundled memory as its predecessor. Out-of-box audio quality is on par with the high standards we’ve come to except from the handset maker, while we’re slightly disappointed by the lax transfer speeds of USB 1.1 and the lack of stereo Bluetooth audio. These niggles aside, the W810i makes for a stellar music phone with side servings of a 2 Megapixel camera and EDGE. |
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Mio Technology Mio A701
Score: 85% When: April 2006 Worth: €550 - €650 What: GPS phones, Business phones
Read the full article » As a GPS phone, the Mio A701 delivers the goods with precise positioning, extensive map management functionality, a decent user interface and a bright 2.7-inch screen for hassle-free navigation. Battery life is good, the bundled 512 MB memory card alleviates any storage issues, and aside from being able to boil an egg while waiting for the GPS application to start up, performance is impeccable. While the HP iPAQ hw6915 may be a better choice for business users, the A701 has the upper, better looking and more compact hand insofar as GPS is concerned. |
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Sony Ericsson W550
Score: 60% When: October 2005 Worth: €350 What: Music phones, Mid-range phones, Sony Ericsson phones
Read the full article » The Sony Ericsson W550 is obviously an all-round handset, aiming to provide a well-rounded feature set including a 1.3 megapixel camera and 256 MB of storage whilst also incorporating relatively innovative features such as a Walkman branded music player and landscape mode gaming. The lack of a means of memory expansion is disappointing, but all in all, the Sony Ericsson W550 stands out as the most capable handset available in the crowded mid-range at the time of writing. |
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Nokia E61
Score: 85% When: May 2006 Worth: €450 What: Business phones, Nokia phones
Read the full article » The E61 does what Nokia does best: connects people. Its all-encompassing connectivity setup is exploited in full by a broad line-up of quality messaging, office and browsing applications which run in tandem with a superb screen and more than decent thumbboard. Granted, it's not among the most powerful business phones nor does it fare well in the department of synchronization - but the latter is at long last addressable by several third party solutions. Sprinkle with handy utilities, attention to detail, good battery life and a compact form factor, and you end up with a very solid business phone contender indeed. |
