It is hard to believe that I am finally with the Sony Ericsson after my not-so-good experience with the frozen firmware of the P990. This has definitely been a different kind of journey over acquiring many different models of smartphones, especially with the last one being the iPhone. Initially this is the second phase of my smartphone search to find a lightweight device that can be my running mate on my 4-mile jogs. I tried and failed to make the E90 come along for my runs when I dropped it, so this search is about half necessity and half techno lust.
I am typing this on the P1i QWERTY and must say that I am attracted to the new design over the old P990. The interface remains the same while the keypad comes from the M600 model, and there is MUCH more stability in the firmware...MUCH more! I was busy saving photos I had transferred to the phone from my Mac via Bluetooth, and upon checking the Task Manager I saw that there were 20 applications OPEN! With these apps still running in the background I was still able to perform this function with no trouble at all. Even though the P1i's performance speed wasn't lightning fast it was still very adequate and impressive compared to the P990, for that would freeze with only 8 apps running. It looks like the huge increase in RAM has definitely salvaged the reputation of the Sony Ericsson P-series devices.
Having touchscreen navigation again is truly a privilege that I have missed since saying good-bye to the Palm Treo, so it is great to have it back again.
The small QWERTY took a while to get used to since I have been working with the full version of the Nokia E90, but more practice should improve one's typing performance. Multimedia apps are sufficient with a great still camera, music player and radio w/ RDS that looks great onscreen, but OS speed is not stellar compared to the E90. In fact I did notice that the OS overall speed is not as zippy as the Nokia, but it is adequate nonetheless. Still pictures with the 3.2 megapixel camera are absolutely impressive with a strong 2-LED flash, but the poor-resolution video at 15fps is dumpy compared to the E90 and N95 and I have no plans to use it. A welcomed addition to the phone is a default Today screen that appears on the phone's desktop that resembles the activity screen of the Nokia S60 devices, so a quick summary of the day is no longer a few menu clicks away (there are also more quick access shortcuts to favorite apps/tasks available on the desktop). The Quickoffice application is still just as reliable as the P990 version as a word processor on the go. Google Maps, thanks to my use of the iPhone, is a favorite app of mine that I have downloaded it to the phone. It works well, but permission pop-ups tend to get irritating during usage.
One HUGE benefit of this model is its ability to sync with my Mac via iSync!!! Yes it is finally here!!! I found a download to an SE plug-in via Google searching and it works just fine, although it did take a few attempts to get the Bluetooth sync to fully complete a session without giving a failure error message. All contact and calendar information accurately synced over to the phone once everything worked properly with iSync.
One test call did reveal that there is much earpiece clarity that even surpasses the Nokia E90, and the volume is very good if not better than my Nokias. To my surprise I was even able to carry a clear conversation even near the dead zones within my own house where the Nokias would begin to get static and fade out. I believe this may be a testament to the sound reputation Sony has when it comes to manufacturing great audio products.
At this point the P1i appears to be a bona-fide and much needed savior to the previous P990, which is more bulky and unstable. Whether this is worthy of the extra money to upgrade is of course up to the owner, but my answer is a definite yes. This slim QWERTY device has redeemed my experience with the SE P-series, and although it has its quirks I believe I have found a worthwhile secondary phone to my E90.
7 comments:
So SE P1i or iPhone?
Which one do you like better?!
If I was stuck between the iPhone and P1i, I would choose the iPhone.
Alright! Tanks for the answer, the review and the YouTube videos!!
You've done a great job!
Thks a lot for your review and vids.
At least, someone is reviewing a device according to its use : I just don't care of photos, films, music, etc, but reliability, stability, speed... and outlook sync become real things in the real life ;-)
I am currently looking for a smartphone but first a "usefull" smartphone".
I currently use a HTC Touch, which is "not so bad" in a professional use despite the delay between the time you press and the time it appears on the screen... and the quality of sound which is horrible, grrr !!! (Outook sync is of course excellent)
I was wondering if the P1i could be a solution according to your review but still wondering vs. outlook sync.
On this last (but not least) point, I really can't stand any default as it is for a professional use. I use a Mac at home and understand there are no pb at all.
I have also checked with blackberrys but I undertsand they can't sync with an exchange server...
By the way, what would be your reco now for the best ever device according to my needs ?
PS : Suggest my employer to swith us on Mac is definitely not a answer ;-)))
There are moments when I go from my Treo 750 or TyTN 2 to my E90 and feel a bit bored myself...unless I'm taking pictures/movies which is not that often. At this point the only saving grace for my E90 is its widescreen in occasionally watching a movie and its great camera with flash and AF, and even those features are starting to get old. Unfortunately I have been running into problems with bluetooth syncing with my Mac via iSync and have done away with it altogether until MissingSync for Symbian is released. Just yesterday I kept having issues with emtube and resorted to wiping the app off my E90 and going back to vtap. Just like with my previous red version a long while back, the E90 is once again starting to eventually lose favor even with its outstanding features that set it apart from other smartphone brands.
Day by day I have come to realize that multimedia is not my primary need in a smartphone, but it's texting, email managing and internet surfing. While it would be a huge benefit to have a reliable convergence device where everything worked flawlessly, that is right now a dream even with the E90, Treo 750 and TyTN 2. At the end of the day I basically have to weigh the pros and cons of Symbian against WM6 Professional...and WM6 practically wins from a daily usage perspective. Even though the TyTN 2 has 3G, wifi, GPS and a bigger screen I typically have been going for the Treo 750 due to its compact form factor and operating simplicity. Sometimes it feels good not to have to worry about sliding or flipping open a qwerty when it's right there in front of you, and the touchscreen access for WM6 Pro is absolutely a must for a UI so complex. WM6 Pro UI also has been impressive in the way that it handles itself as a mini-PC computer whereas S60 just comes off looking like a phone, and its upper hand over comes from the flawless bluetooth syncing ability with my Mac via MissingSync for WM. Even calendar categories are synced over to my Treo and TyTN 2 and I seriously have had no problems with infromation syncing over like I've had with the E90. Email management on Outlook mobile, calendar reminders, message alerts is absolutely amazing in comparison to the basic, bare-bones offering of the Nokia S60 UI. Despite their smaller screens, internet browsing with Opera Mobile 8.65 with my WM6 devices has been a rewarding experience that can rival the iPhone with features liked tabbed browsing. An upcoming update to Opera Mobile will include built-in flash which will hopefully blow its competition out of the water! Another issue that slightly gets under my skin is the fact that while WM6 Pro offers automatic word prediction and punctuation assistance, S60 does not and I almost paid extra money for Quickwrite software! S60 has proven itself in the mobile multimedia industry with its cameras but the UI is still very much lacking...and I am wondering if it is due to my being partial to touchscreen navigation.
There is absolutely no doubt that Nokia E90 has some benefits against the Treo 750 and TyTN 2 like a great camera and long battery life, but those are starting wear thin as time goes on. If I should seek to make up for the WM6 Pro shortcomings by keeping my N95-1 as a separate camera and having an auto charger for my WM6 units, I probably wouldn't mind going without the E90 myself. Is it me or is S60 starting to go down the same path as Palm in regards to functionality innovation? Though the E71 looks interesting I just can't help but think that it will face the same fate as my E90, so maybe I should just hold my breath until the Xperia X1 and the S60 Touch are both released.
TRENT
Sent from my Nokia E90
hey um, i have the tilt and i like it but i don't really like windows mobile 6 and i don't really need most of the office features because I'm 15. but i used to like the m600i model and then i saw this which is close to the m600 but has a camera and wifi. now i guess my question is,,,is it still worth getting the phone now with all the other phones out there. I'm really just looking for a cool phone that's good for messaging and i don't have a service plan. thats why i like the wifi feature. um tell me what you think.
i heard the wifi on this phone isint good, also is the touch screen responsive and is it s "slow" phone
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