Sony Ericsson T610 - SIM Free Mobile Phone - Aluminum Haze

The integrated camera can be activated in one click, with once more click to take a picture. Sony Ericsson's new QuickShare technology enables you to easily share pictures with your PC or other phones, using Bluetooth, email, MMS or cable.

The high-resolution screen is of high quality, with 65,000 colours and plenty of space for the new graphical user interface, making the advanced features of the phone easily accesible. Great for use with the camera and for WAP browsing. Soft keys and menu hotlinks also help to make the phone user-friendly - a key consideration in a phone that packs in so many features.

Features of the Sony Ericsson T610 include:

Colour display (65,536 colours, 128 x 160 pixels)
Integrated camera
Bluetooth, infrared and cable connectivity
Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) - send pictures and sound like text messages
Downloadable polyphonic & mono ringtones, plus ringtone editor
Downloadable Java games
WAP 2.0 (GPRS), email
High Speed Data (HSCSD - up to 28.8 kbps)
Speed dialling & voice dialling
Predictive text (T9)
Mobile chat
Voice memo / recorder
Picture phone book
Exchangeable covers
Wallpaper, screensaver and themes - all downloadable
Calculator, calendar, alarm
Memory: 2 Mbytes
Size: 102 x 44 x 19 mm
Weight: 95g
Battery standby: 315 hours
Battery talktime: 14 hours
Vibration alert
Tri band

This time round I opened my eyes to see what else I could get for the same money and with similar specs. First impressions? Sorry Nokia, your looks just aren't sexy any more, and describing them as classic doesn't cut the mustard. And you haven't heeded that criticism concerning your undersized display.

I have found using the T610 an absolute breeze - it has a very simple, self-explanatory graphic user interface (like a PC's desk-top icons) which is easy to browse through using the phone's miniature joystick - left right, up down, press in to select. Easy. And to think I was worried about leaving the all too familiar Nokia menu behind. I don't miss it at all.

Naturally, a similarly priced Nokia has similar capabilities, but what the T610 has that sets it apart is Bluetooth. Now, you can use a cable with this phone to have it talk to your PC and synchronize with the contacts and calendars etc. stored in Microsoft Outlook. And it really works well. But using Bluetooth to open a channel between your PC and T610 allows you to do so much more - a cable allows you to upload pictures and photos from PC to camera (one way only), whereas Bluetooth will allow you to transfer the photos taken with your phone onto your PC. If you shrink them to about 2 inches, photos taken with the T610 in reasonable light actually look half decent.

Bluetooth will also allow you to upload midi ring tones from your PC, taken for free from the web. If you like ring tones, you'll save a lot of money this way. I should point out that you need to buy a 'Bluetooth Dongle' for your PC. They don't cost much and should allow your PC to talk to any other Bluetooth-enabled device.

I would like to point out that Bluetooth might not be the only means to have your T610 react fully with your PC - software may be available to expand communications via cable or infrared link, but I have no clear knowledge or experience of this. What I would say is that a Bluetooth dongle costs the same as a cable and is fully functional as it comes (software included), so why not? It's wireless, and unlike the also wireless infrared, you don't have to carefully align it 2 cm from your PC/notebook PC's receiver.

Technicalities aside, hands up who has forgotten to charge their phone again? And where did I leave the charger this time? You won't need to worry quite so often with the T610. I never imagined it would have, according to the manufacturer, an eleven-hour talk time. A very basic yet often overlooked functionality. Standby is excellent, too. However, with any phone that has so many widgets, if you constantly twiddle with it you'll certainly be out of juice in a couple of days.

So, to sum up the T610 as I have experienced it. Very easy to use. The phone and its display are pleasant to behold. The functionality is good for the money. I won't rate its reliability yet as I've only had it a few weeks. But it does seem solidly built. I'm very satisfied. Why four and not five stars? I'm not the kind of person to give a five. Let's say 9/10 for the money.

I'd like to end by pointing out that I have used Nokia for comparison here as they have a 33% global market share which is still increasing. I have nothing against them and I'm just as likely to buy another Nokia next time round. SonyEriccson has a 7% market share, and 60% percent of these sales are from camera phones. I though I'd give them a go as I was looking for something fresh but reputable, and so far I haven't been disappointed.

However, the screen is muddy and dull with poor contrast and flickers enough.

I would recommend the Sony Ericsson z600 phone instead of this. It is for all intents and purposes the same phone, but the screen is an order of magnitude better than the one on this model.