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ALL STYLE AND CLASS
The Star, In.Tech, April 15, 2004
Z200
(Sony Ericsson)
Mobile phone
Specifications: Colour LCD with 4,096 colours, picture gallery, picture phonebook, picture wallpaper, 128 x 128pixel display, EMS (enhanced messaging service), dual LCD, T9 predictive text input, melody composer, content online, Style-Up Covers, wrist strap, embedded games, infrared port, GPRS, triband GSM 1900/1800/900, WAP 1.2.1, lithium-ion battery, vibrating alert, four hours talktime, 200 hours standby time
Dimensions: 96.4 x 52 x 25.4mm
Weight: 98g
Price: RM799
Website: www.sonyericsson.com/my/
UNLIKE the no-nonsense design of Sony Ericsson’s many other handphones, the Z200 appears to be a more stylish handset offering lots of features to the young and hip. The Z200 appears to be one of the few departures from this manufacturer’s usual candybar design.
This clamshell phone is the successor to the Z600 model which was reviewed here earlier.
Like its predecessor, the Z200 allows for interchangeable covers and sports an external LCD display (for time, network, and network information, as well as a scrolling message when there’s a new message or an incoming call). Looking at the two designs, I found this phone to be the more stylish of the two.
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If you are one of those people for whom style is everything, then I'm sure you will love this phone.
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Whereas the Z600’s external screen is small and horizontal, the Z200’s is a circular one. The placement of the external screen — a bit off-centre — gives the phone that extra touch of class. Also, I’ve been told that this is a phone for women … I’m not sure why, though.
Bare necessities
Unlike the Z600, this model is missing one thing — a built-in digital camera. Not having an integrated camera makes this phone more affordable, but I think it also makes it less marketable. Don’t most new phones today come standard with a built-in camera?
With its colour screen, exchangeable covers (in colours named Velvet Blue, Cosmo Silver, Frosty White, and Pulse Red) and polyphonic ringtones, the Z200 really appears to be targeted at the young, hip and trendy. However, this is the same group of users who would appreciate a built-in digicam.
Still … for a basic phone, the Z200 is difficult to fault on any level.
It’s even quiet. Some clamshell phones have a ratchet hinge that makes a click every time you open and close the phone. This one doesn’t — it has a standard hinge, so you can open and close the phone more quietly (now you know why they say this phone is for women; most men wouldn’t even notice this feature, or care. — Deputy ED).
The screen on this phone is a 128 x 128pixel display. Just nice for viewing the menu and playing games. The screen could have been made a tad bigger but I guess there really is no reason since there’s no built-in camera. It was difficult to read the screen in bright sunlight, but I had no such trouble indoors.
The keypad was easy to use. I had no problems here except for the few mistakes in my SMS (short message service) messages when I typed too fast and kept missing keys. No fault on the part of the keypad here because the buttons are of regular size and easy to press.
There’s even a four-directional D-pad at the top to help manoeuvre within the menus. It also came in handy when avoiding aliens and trying to shoot them in Alien Scum.
That’s the other great thing about this phone … the onboard games, or in my case, game. Alien Scum had me shooting aliens morning, noon and night … I had to save the world from the aliens, after all! Besides, what’s a person to do if her friends are late for tea?
For those of you who want more wallpaper and polyphonic ringtones, as usual, these are all downloadable from Sony Ericsson’s website.
Extras
I had no problems transferring files using the infrared port. Although I do have a suggestion for Sony Ericsson: Why not make it possible to send contact numbers by infrared, instead of just pictures.
The phone also has GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and WAP 1.2.1 for users who insist on surfing, checking e-mail and getting downloads on their phone.
The Z200 also has a melody composer for those of you who want to create your own ringtones. Unfortunately, I can’t string a tune together to save my life, so I gave up after two attempts which merely resulted in an insane jingle.
The picture phonebook is great for those who want to associate pictures with certain numbers to make incoming calls more easily identifiable.
I liked the scrolling message on the external screen whenever I received a new message or there was an incoming call. Kinda cool I thought.
Everything else on this phone is pretty basic, including speed dialing, status view, stopwatch, timer, and vibrating alert.
Throughout the duration that I used the Z200 it only hung twice: Once when my nephew was listening to ringtones, and the other when I had it in my pocket. Apart from that, the Z200 behaved very well.
The phone comes with a strap … apparently it is to allow you to hang the Z200 around your wrist. There was no mention of the strap in the manual or at Sony Ericsson’s website and this resulted in me looking at it for a while, trying to figure out what it was for. I found the strap a bit tacky and cheap, and wondered why Sony Ericsson did not supply a better quality strap to match the style of the Z200.
The strap and the exchangeable phone covers make the Z200 not just a handphone, but also a fashion accessory.
Conclusion
Seriously, if you are one of those people for whom style is everything, then I am sure you will love this phone.
However, do take note of the price.
For this same price, you should be able to get a phone with a built-in digital camera. And if you want a basic phone, without a digicam, then there are many cheaper models out there.
Pros: Style; easy to use; infrared, WAP; triband GPS; GPRS; colour LCD; dual LCD.
Cons: No digicam; pricey.
Copyright Star Publications (M) Bhd
ALSO:
Just right for SOHO needs, September 6, 2006
It's a Zoo Out There, June 16, 2005
Make Me a Screensaver, Sept 2, 2003
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