Sony Ericsson P1i Review (part three)

I have had some time to start getting to know the Sony Ericsson P1i in further detail and the following is an overview of further highlights and lowlights of using this phone-

 

Voice

 

As you would expect from a Sony Ericsson phone the call quality (in and out) is very good. I have long criticised Windows Mobile phones for their processed sound during voice operations and this phone is one to compare to highlight the issue. The speaker phone is exceptional and one of the clearest I have heard- it also appears to create a bearable experience for the person on the other end of the call, even when driving.

 

UPDATE: On one occasion the phone dropped a call and I could only then redial after switching to flight mode and back. I have seen this on some Windows Mobile devices before but never on a Palm or WM Smartphone device. Hopefully it was a one off so time will tell.

 

Email

 

Exchange Activesync is available on the phone to install and Blackberry software is already present. I use Activesync so chose this option- the overall experience has been positive but I still need to find some of the options for scheduling etc. On the whole the messaging application is more than capable but the displayed text is maybe too small for some, even at the large setting.

 

Navigation

 

My thoughts on the navigation are mixed- it should be fantastic with a touch screen, jog dial and QWERTY keyboard present but at times it can get confusing as to what to use next. UIQ is quite layer heavy but once again the P1i surprised me because I unintentionally started using my own way of navigation within a day or two and now find it to be as quick as most other platforms I have used. The shortcut buttons on the front help a lot in this regard and the speed of the device also ensures a smooth navigation experience.

 

Battery life

 

Not the best but I have learnt to hold off on battery judgements until it is fully conditioned. On my first day at work with 3G enabled, push email and after 5 voice calls I was down to 48% by midday- this is a concern for my usage but I will test it for two more days to see if that performance improves.

 

At the point of reaching 25% by 2pm I decided to employ the now standard practice of turning 3G off- so far this has been required in every 3G enabled device I have used apart from the Nokia E61 devices. One advantage with the P1i is that switching between 3G and GSM is effortless and thus means I can easily use 3G only when I need to.

 

Multi-tasking

 

This is a true multi-tasking phone and so far I have seen no speed drops at all but at times the navigation is almost clumsy. For example when in a call the only way I could see a text message was to choose task manager and hope that messages was open or in the recent list. There may be an easier way to do it but there was nothing obvious on screen.  I do like the ‘create a task’ function following a call though which should be on all smartphones. The only way I could find to close applications was via the task manager and this is a good and bad thing- on the one hand I would like a third party application to offer this facility but on the other the RAM is more than enough to cope with multiple running processes.

 

Mobile internet

 

With 3G enabled this is obviously a quick device and the built in web browser (Opera) is pretty good. I would class the mobile surfing experience as good rather than great but it is certainly a step up from my experiences with Palm and Windows Mobile devices.

 

Screen

 

A screen protector is definitely needed for this phone due to face grease when using it for calls. It is perfectly viewable in direct sunlight but less glare is always useful for when driving (if I find a suitable GPS software set up for it).

 

Tomorrow I will sum up my thoughts on the P1i- it is a hugely different device from a Treo or Windows Mobile smartphone but it has distinct advantages that make it hard for me to give it back. We will see if I do end up keeping it or not. The fact that I am considering making a UIQ phone my permanent device still surprises me even after a few days..