Sony J70 - T-Mobile - Pay As You Go

At first glance the Sony J70 is reminiscent of the style of phone that Nokia used to make. That's until they started making bricks (3330) and Kinder Surprise toys (8310). On first inspection the unit feels light and insubstantial, but once the lithium battery is installed it feels more reassuringly hefty. Not that it's heavy of course, but the build quality is enough to reassure you that the unit can take a few knocks.

The brushed aluminium finish looks great, and the unit is large enough to be accommodated by all but those with the chunkiest fingers. The phone is topped off with a big, clear screen and the buttons all light up nicely when operated. The only gripe I have about the design is that the thumbwheel (a Sony favourite) is positioned so that it falls under the LEFT thumb, right handed people losing out for once!

Ah yes, the thumbwheel, although Sony calls it a "Jog Wheel". It's used to scroll through various menus and settings, and also used for reading text messages and e-mails. I know some people who love it, I know some people who think it's maddening to use. Personally I like it. It can sometimes be a pain to use, particularly if you're in a hurry, but it does mean that the number of extraneous buttons is kept to a minimum. In fact, there are only three non-numerical buttons on the phone.

The unit features the (slightly gimmicky) ability to record your own sounds and ringtones. Personally, I can't imagine that anyone with anything remotely resembling a life will use the feature. The built in ringtones are somewhat cheesy and annoying and obviously Nokia ringtones won't work on this phone. I think that if you are the sort of person for whom ringtones, graphics and screen savers are important, this is not the phone for you. This is a phone for people who have no time for that sort of thing and want a phone that's easy to use and functional, as well as stylish.

The phone contains all the features people have come to expect - predictive text (a revelation if you've not used it before!), WAP, e-mail, scheduler, as well as less important features such as games and a calculator. The phone will hold 500 names and numbers, and is easy to program, driven by a very clear menu system. Sound quality is very good (come on, it IS a Sony!) even when talking to those with lesser mobiles! Battery life is excellent, with a five day standby time. In addition, charging is entirely painless and takes almost no time at all.

In summary, teenagers swapping ringtones and graphics will not like this phone. Business people who need functionality over style will not like this phone. This phone is for anyone in the middle ground. Anyone who wants a phone that looks good, is easy to use and works well. And isn't a Nokia!

It crashes about once a week. The only way to get it started again is to remove the battery and put it back in, then switch on again.

The power on/off switch is not recessed. This means the phone can switch itself on while in luggage. Yes, it happens to me.

The keyboard 'lock' does not affect the 1 and 9 buttons, to enable you to make emergency calls without unlocking the keyboard. As the point of the keyboard lock is to prevent accidentally pressing 999 while in luggage (see point above) this is self-defeating.

The icon to indicate an text message has arrived flashes nicely. However, it does not stop flashing after you have read your message - you have to delete the message for it to stop flashing.

One reason for buying it was that it has a vibrating alert. The vibrating alert is too weak for practical use. Also you can't have both ring-tones and vibration alerts (as both use the same speaker).

The screen is made of a particularly soft plastic that scratches easily.

The covers can't be replaced easily (unlike Nokia's xpress-on) so you have to live with the scratches.

My phone doesn't get much use, but already the number '8' is becoming faulty.

Wish I'd kept my chunky old Nokia. Time for a new Nok methinks...