Was never crazy for mobile phones. Simply considered them a good tool for instant and convenient communication. Exactly 3 years ago, I started using mobile services. Subscribed to Reliance. Understandably, the instruments used had to be CDMA compatible. After about an year, I shifted to Nokia 2112. It served me well but of late it was getting a little boring. The same bland hand-set. Mono-colour and no other features... And when I went looking for a new CDMA hand-set I realized that the good ones would make the sky fall and others would continue to bore me.
I decided to switch to GSM connection. That meant I had a lot of choice as far as instruments were concerned. I searched on the Net and listed a few models in the range of 5k to 7k. I typically like Samsung’s hand-sets. They sturdy, different, stylish and yet not expensive or flashy. When I landed at the shop, along with the models I had already listed I was also shown Sony Ericsson Z550i. Price: 8k. Above my budget. But the features convinced me to go for it.
Music: Has FM radio. Plays MP3 music. Has a memory of 28MB if I am not mistaken. Has a slot to insert memory disk and store more songs.
Camera: Has a 4x Digital Zoom 1.3 Megapixel. Really cool for a mobile phone in this range. Have taken many pictures and have posted some on my blog too. Good quality. Check them out at siddharthsoni.blogspot.com.
Display: Two-inch colour display screen. Good resolution. Some good pre-loaded wallpapers and themes.
Usability: The buttons are really really cool. Using the menu and browsing through the phone is a delight.
Bluetooth and Internet Access: Last, but not the least important, features. I use bluetooth which works without hassles, though I don’t use the Internet since the whole day I am almost working on my PC.
Talk-time: Has a good talk-time of about 3.5 hours on one charging. In general usage conditions one charging can easily see you through for 3 days.
You can create shortcuts for certain facilities which you use often on the phone. You can assign the shortcut to any button and the facility opens up on just a click.
Hope this review gives you a fair idea of this SE Z550i. It’s a cool product for the price you pay. Go for it.