Sony Ericsson C905 - user opinions and reviews
- Dani
- nF9
The C905 is the first Sony Ericsson phone to break the 8 megapixel camera barrier, and launches in the UK in the second half of October.
The C905 is a slide design phone, unlike the classic-shaped Sony Ericsson C902, and is quite a bit thicker and heavier than the 5 megapixel C902. It's still smaller than its arch-rival, the Nokia N96 though. It's available in a choice of colours: Night Black, Ice Silver (pictured) and Copper Gold. We've got to say that it's a very nice-looking phone, with a distinctive Sony Ericsson style - both square and curved at the same time!
Not only is this the first CyberShot phone with an 8 megapixel camera, it also brings back the xenon flash, which disappointingly was missing from its predecessor, the C902. Xenon flashes are considerably more powerful than LED flashes, and are used on "real" digital cameras, so it's nice to see that feature restored in the C905. It means that night photography is much less likely to end up as a murky blob (unless you were pointing the camera at a murky blob, of course.) There are so many settings and options on the C905's camera, that it can take quite a while to work out how to use it at its best - it will certainly appeal to keen camera buffs - but on the other hand all of these tools and gadgets make it easier to get a good photo even if you don't understand the principles of photography. As a CyberShot phone, Sony Ericsson have borrowed technology and features extensively from their range of market leading digital cameras. The camera has autofocus with face detection, plus an image stabiliser and red-eye reduction. A new feature introduced in the C905 is Smart Contrast, which automatically balances light and colour (a bit like the Auto Levels option in PhotoShop.) If you're still not confident of getting a decent shot with all this stuff helping you out, then BestPic™ will automatically take a series of 7 pictures, so that you can choose the best one!
Of course there will always be someone keen to point out that just having 8 megapixels and a load of gadgets doesn't make a camera that can rival a dedicated digital camera. That's true of course, and Sony aren't going to destroy the digital camera market with the release of this phone. However, if you have a camera this good built into your mobile, then we think that you'll be pretty satisfied with the results. Buy an expensive digital camera if you want to get the best possible quality by all means, but this beauty can match many of the mid-range cameras currently on the market.
As well as the 8 megapixel camera, there are a whole load of goodies packed inside the phone. Assisted GPS is a new addition, and it means that you can use the C905 for satellite navigation, either as a pedestrian or on the road. Google Maps is included, and a trial version of the Wayfinder Navigator software is bundled with the phone. This is more advanced than Google Maps, giving you turn-by-turn navigation, suitable for use in a car. The GPS also enables geo-tagging of photos, so you can identify exactly where your pictures were taken.
A fully functional media player is included, even though this isn't a Walkman phone. The media player will play music in MP3 and AAC formats, and is a well featured iPod substitute, supporting album art, playlists and high quality stereo sound. You can listen to music through the integrated speakers or using a stereo headset or a Bluetooth wireless stereo headset. Other music-related features include TrackID, which can identify a recorded song by track, artist and album. PlayNow lets you download premium content such as ringtones, although you have to pay for these.
The built-in memory isn't huge, at 160 Mbytes, but is adequate, and you can add a Memory Micro Stick to increase storage up to 8 GB - enough for 2,000 MP3 tracks.
As well as the usual features that you'd expect from a high calibre phone, there are a few new things that Sony Ericsson have introduced into the C905. The mobile email experience has been improved with Exchange ActiveSync, which synchronises with your Microsoft Exchange mail server. The auto rotate feature switches the display between portrait and landscape mode when you turn the phone around - great for photos and videos.
Another feature that got us quite excited is the addition of WiFi support. This augments the standard connectivity options of Bluetooth and USB. You can use the WiFi connection to connect wirelessly in WiFi hotspots. You can also easily move data between the phone and a PC equipped with WLAN. The C905 is also a 3G phone with HSDPA supporting data transfer speeds up to 3.6 Mbps. This is fast enough to enable near-broadband web browsing, file downloading and video streaming. You get a personal blog site with the phone, so you can use the 3G connection to upload photos and videos to your blog. Software is built into the phone to make it dead easy to blog or to send photos and videos to friends via MMS.
The C905 is pretty much what we were hoping it to be. The guys from Sony Ericsson must have intercepted the letter we sent to Santa! If there's one thing we would have liked to change, it would have been the amount of built-in memory. Still 160 Mbytes is pretty respectable, and in every other respect, the C905 offers pretty much the very best you can get from a phone in 2008. Even though it's not a smartphone, it can match the best of the smartphones, and we're willing to bet that most people buy smartphones like the Nokia N96 or Samsung Omnia for their features, not because they run a "smart" operating system. We think that the C905 can easily match the competition and is going to be an absolutely huge seller this Christmas.
- Dani
- nF9
Kastrizzle, 29 Nov 2008Cannot get scratched indeed,even metal gets scratched wat more glass,mineral or not.Google 'Mineral Glass' then you will know what it is.
- Kastrizzle
- M@T
Dani, 28 Nov 2008Its 'Mineral Glass' - You can scratch it with anything as many times as you like The scree... moreCannot get scratched indeed,even metal gets scratched wat more glass,mineral or not.
- Dani
- nF9
phone lover, 29 Nov 2008hey dani now u got the point.ne ways i think we should waive this topic.Lol
- Jalal
- mJe
Just would like to know if it is practical to assign the main camera for the Video Call????
- Anonymous
- ji{
The C905 is the best buy. The INNOV8 maybe had a monster spec, but it doesn't really have an appeal.
- Anonymous
- MNT
ppl stop comparing smartphone vs feature phone,innov8 is smartphone and c905 is feature one,so it like u comparing fighters in high and middle category,and even if you look on that way c905 again is winer,ask yourself what u acc need,is that 16 GB of memory,or 3.5 mmm jack,16 000 000 colors???
come on guys,take a brake and come on earth,C905 is definitely best buy!
- phone lover
- PyN
Dani, 28 Nov 2008Look yeah ...... I hardly ever use my phone for video recording ..... so IM NOT FUSSED ... morehey dani now u got the point.ne ways i think we should waive this topic.
- fizy_258
- 25K
c905 the best for spec latest....i suggestion sony ericsson the bigger skrin TFT...the power of dream my life.....
- Frein
- TfX
..i really love sony ericsson phone..features are fantastic,,,the design is fashionable and friendly user and the best things are the music capabilities and the camera are uncomparable...i love sony ericsson...
- Dani
- nF9
Cipry, 28 Nov 2008I saw the phone and it's great. The greatest part i ever saw and i thought it would'nt be poss... moreIts 'Mineral Glass' - You can scratch it with anything as many times as you like
The screen will NOT be scratched.
- Cipry
- 0Ue
I saw the phone and it's great. The greatest part i ever saw and i thought it would'nt be possible, is that the screen it's like indestructible. The guy who had it took a razor and practically scratch the phone's screen like 10 times.Guess what? NOT EVEN A SCRATCH!!! I dont know wats made from but it impressed me and marked me.
- Dani
- nF9
Look yeah ......
I hardly ever use my phone for video recording .....
so IM NOT FUSSED
im not speaking chinese
- nick
- nxw
Anonymous, 01 Jan 1970yeah lol, if he doesnt use it, the feature aint necesarry!!
- phone lover
- PyN
Dani, 28 Nov 2008C905 is the best for Camera and Music!wht is best,try to accept.dont go for which brad u r using.innov is the best one in camera i hv seen so far.otherwise i accept tht c905 hv enough musical power nd its as usual,coz its a normal part of all se phone.
- Dani
- nF9
phone lover, 28 Nov 2008forget those things tht wht people lov or wht not nd wht use to like.whr evry phone company br... moreLol .................
you make me laugh crying about 'video quality'
what sadooo uses their phone as a camcorder haha
- phone lover
- PyN
Dani, 26 Nov 2008Hardly anyone iv seen use their phone as a camcorder - its not a popular phone feature to be h... moreforget those things tht wht people lov or wht not nd wht use to like.whr evry phone company bringing advatages in the segment of video recording,here se doing a worse job.if phone as a camcorder is not being popular,other company dosn think abt it,they konw people always look fo something new. i lik to use my phone as a camcorder alsoo.so this is all abt my comment tht se c905 has a fu**ing video quality!!
- Dani
- nF9
C905 is the best for Camera and Music!
- Dani
- nF9
mz, 28 Nov 2008I don't agree with you Dani. The C905 is one of the best in Music and Camera. Only the other 8... moreDude dude, I forgot to put C905 in my previous post of list's of 'Best Music And Camera'
All SE's are good in Camera and Music.
And yes im a Big SE Fan aswelll:)
- mz
- nid
Dani, 27 Nov 2008Sony Ericsson W902
Nokia N95 8GB/N96/N85
Samsung i8510 INNOV8
Sony Ericsson K850i
... moreI don't agree with you Dani. The C905 is one of the best in Music and Camera. Only the other 8MP camera's and perhaps the N95 (because of the video) are good/decent cameraphone's compared to the C905, which has the best camera in my opinion (I value the Xenon flash a lot higher then video recording). And as most phone users can agree, Sony Ericsson has the best Media/mp3 player, which is also implemented in the C905. It only lacks SensMe or Shake control like the W series have but who uses those functions?
The C905 has some downsides as a multimedia device:
- The acceloremeter is a bit slow when watching movies or playing mp3. Annoying when taking the phone in your hand trying to read the song or see the film in the other direction.
- As mentioned here before the lack of internal memory. The 2GB is filled up in no time as pictures are 2,5mb. But these days for 50 euro's you can buy a 8GB card which is enough.
- The phone doesn't come with the great SE in-ear headphones which are around 40 euro's. Luckely I'm a Sony Ericsson fan and already have 2 pair of those :)
Furthermore is the phone great in functionality and webbrowsing (with Opera mini that is!) only the materials and body sturdyness don't convince me. The phone fell twice already and already has big scratches while the sliding up it's as steady as a Samsung U600, which is a bad sign. Don't know how to express it well in english but I prefer a candybar on this part.
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