Sony Ericsson C902 review: Cyber-touch

Full steam into the megapixel chase, Sony Ericsson C902 is trying to show off its best before the 8 megapixel monsters start stealing the show. The Cyber-shot pedigree, touch-controlled camera and metal outfit are true predator stuff and now that we have a retail unit in our hands it's time to revisit our pre-release preview of the device and see if there are any chinks in its armor that may turn predator to prey.

Official photos of Sony Ericsson C902

Lifestyle photos of Sony Ericsson C902 in camera mode

Key features:

• 5 MP autofocus camera with unique active lens cover and touch controls
• Smile detection, image stabilizer, geo-tagging (via cell-ID)
• Slim and stylish metal case
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and HSDPA (3.6 Mb)
• Scratch resistant 2" TFT 256K colors display
• FM radio with RDS
• Bluetooth (with A2DP)
• Basic multi-tasking support
• Smart dialing
• Extended TrackID over previous generation phones

Main disadvantages:

• Smallish screen
• Images suffer excessive sharpening and purple fringing
• Poor video recording capabilities
• Slide-up lens cover collects massive amounts of dust
• No office document viewer

Sony Ericsson C902

Revisiting the C902 is also worth it as a taster of what's to come. It's been quite a while since our first glimpse, but Sony Ericsson didn't just sit on their hands in the meantime. The company made the very first announcement of an 8-megapixel cameraphone - the C905, which we previewed this summer. The other exciting prospect is the Walkman-meet-Cybershot W902.

Now, while the two sharpshooters above are yet to be baptized by fire, our Sony Ericsson C902 is right in the thick of action. The ironclad Cyber-shot is the thinnest 5 MP cameraphone on the market and that makes it quite an attractive deal. That alone is hardly enough of an edge though over a bunch of strong contenders.

If every ounce of style should count, the extra sleek C902 is in for quite a challenge against the exquisite LG KF750 Secret. Other than superb exterior, the Secret flaunts VGA video at 30fps plus QVGA at 120fps. The Secret's tangibly bigger 2.4" display is another great asset. The C902 with its 2" screen can hardly stand up to DivX movies of up to VGA resolution.

LG KF750 Secret

For those who don't mind keeping a low profile, Samsung G600 gets its edge from affordability. The year-old offer have sure lost some appeal but currently the cheapest 5 MP cameraphone might still be able to steal some market. By the same token, the inexpensive LG KC550 is also worth considering.

Samsung G600 • LG KC550

The Samsung F480 Tocco is another viable option with a full touch interface, gorgeous large display and a nice 5 megapixel camera. It's just a tad thicker than the Sony Ericsson C902, but comes at a slightly heftier pricetag.

Samsung F480 Tocco

Our roundup of 5 MP shooters won't be complete without Nokia N82. For the same asking price, the Symbian-powered N82 delivers bigger screen estate, WLAN and GPS. The imaging department is also quite tempting with xenon flash and VGA video.

Nokia N82

Finally, Sony Ericsson K850 might still enjoy robust demand. What used to be the Cyber-shot finest offers tri-band HSDPA and a larger 2.2" display. Other benefits include Xenon flash and dual memory card support (both M2 and microSD).

Sony Ericsson K850

That way or another, the sleek and thin C902 still seems fit enough, and the suave styling sure saves it from obscurity.