Gunner
11-10-2004, 10:50 AM
Right,
First off, this phone is not yet available on Orange 3G but should be launching in the near future. As Orange 3G (for handsets) has not yet launched, changes may still take place before it is publicly available.
The Sony Ericsson Z1010 is not a small phone - but then you all knew that. It is, however, a well constructed and easy to use handset, and the size and weight of the handset are very acceptable. If you like phones the size of your little toe then you wont like this - but if you've owned a smartphone then the chances are you'll like the form factor.
Orange's Z1010 is all grey and silver (not the red version) and has a single Orange logo on the inside of the phone. Orange are, generally, pretty respectful with their phone branding, and the Z1010 is no exception. On the outside is a 4-scale monochrome screen, giving you everything from battery life and signal to who's calling, missed calls, and text messages. Starting from the left hand side there's volume controls and a Memory Stick Duo™ slot, then around to the front is a large infra-red panel and all the usual connection holes for charging et al. Around to the right is a USB mini connector, the Camera button, and the headphone connector. To look at it side by side with my NEC e606, you'd think 19 years had passed, not 19 months.
Opening and closing the phone is a joy (no, really!). The solid construction can be felt in the smooth click as the screen locks into place. Revealed is a large vibrant 65k colour screen. I was actually supprised this wasn't a 200+k colour screen given its clarity. The buttons on the phone are firm and reassuring to press, and the large keypad is extremely nice to use. Gone is the joystick found in so many SE's, replaced with a nice central menu/select button, surrounded by a responsive quad-directional navigation button. Two softkeys near the screen make for easy navigation, whilst "back up" and "cancel" keys make for a swift exit from any menu or application. Separate Video Calling and Orange World keys, along with the camera key on the side, mean you can access a great deal of content without going near the main menu at all.
The Main Menu, when accessed via the central menu button, starts as on most SE's with the Messages section highlighted. Other sections are: Media Album, Orange World, Entertainment, Camera, Video Call, Connectivity, Address book, Calls, Settings, Organiser and Media Player.
All options and applications are incredibly responsive and instantaneous, unlike too many other SE's, and you can instantly access every feature the phone has without so much of a sniff of a manual. Always nice - especially as my first Z1010 (which was replaced today, it just didn't work... a slight worry, and possibly why Orange 3G hasn't launched it yet?) didn't come with one!
MP3 playback on the phones speaker is supprisingly good, and with the stereo headphones supplied you can comfortably listen to your favourite songs. The song name is neatly displayed on the outside screen when the phone is closed. The Memory Stick Duo™, of which I now have two, is only 32MB, but I can see myself buying a much heftier sized one in the near future. MP3's set as ringtones are great fun, and downloaded MIDIs also work perfectly. Just as with my T610, I was impressed by how well the Z1010 plays back MIDI.
Yes, you heard me right! Downloaded MIDIs! Unlike 3G phones from Three UK, Orange 3G (and the Z1010) has full open Internet access. Browse WAP or small websites all through the built-in browser, or surf wirelessly at 3G speeds on your laptop or PDA - without additional software (such as the software that hinders the Orange 3G datacard - If you have one, you'll know what I mean). Finally you can get broadband speeds on the move, without needing extra kit. It's as simple as pairing and dialling *99# with Dial-Up Networking!
I've not tried video calling yet, but it's really nothing special anyway. I am told, however, that video calling is already xnet! That means I can video call people on Three et al. We'll see ;) I'll let you know more with regards to quality when I find someone to call.
The 3G-2G handover seems fine. Unlike Three, Orange wont drop calls. I've experienced the handover several times now, and it's absolutely spot on. Other than from the phone display, there was no other indication that the change had happened. Bravo! Quality of service is going to be Orange's biggest plus against Three, who offer cheapness but not much else! Orange 3G signal is much better here than Three's ever was - and Three's transmitter is actually closer...
There are niggles, of course. When the phone is on my desk near the monitor, signal on Orange has always been poor. However, the Z1010 tries overly hard to remain on 3G signal. A couple of times now this has caused it to stay on 3G with 0-1 bars (of 5) when it could be on 2G with 1-2 bars. I suspect this is mostly due to having poor 2G and 3G signal in this particular position, rather than something that will affect many people generally. The other thing is 3G speed; if you've only got about 1 bar of 3G signal, the lag on 3G data is pretty bad. Slows the connection right down under GPRS speeds. However, with decent 3G signal the speed is brilliant. Speedtest results gave over 300kbps down and over 50kbps up, and that was with 1-2 bars 3G signal.
All that's left to say, for the moment, is that I'm totally overwhelmed. Yes 3G phones need to get dramatically smaller, but the functionality has finally arrived. There are bound to be teething problems, but the sheer length of testing now from networks like Orange and Vodafone will have ironed out almost all problems. If you're lucky enough to see one of these handsets between now and Christmas (Orange will only sell about 40,000 3G handsets altogether this year, including the totally unexciting LG8150), you'll definitely want one.
Orange, you've taken a long time, but it was worth the wait.
You can learn more about 3G from Orange here: http://www.orange.co.uk/services/3G/
This review may not be replicated or reproduced in part or full without prior permission. ben@cbfmail.com
First off, this phone is not yet available on Orange 3G but should be launching in the near future. As Orange 3G (for handsets) has not yet launched, changes may still take place before it is publicly available.
The Sony Ericsson Z1010 is not a small phone - but then you all knew that. It is, however, a well constructed and easy to use handset, and the size and weight of the handset are very acceptable. If you like phones the size of your little toe then you wont like this - but if you've owned a smartphone then the chances are you'll like the form factor.
Orange's Z1010 is all grey and silver (not the red version) and has a single Orange logo on the inside of the phone. Orange are, generally, pretty respectful with their phone branding, and the Z1010 is no exception. On the outside is a 4-scale monochrome screen, giving you everything from battery life and signal to who's calling, missed calls, and text messages. Starting from the left hand side there's volume controls and a Memory Stick Duo™ slot, then around to the front is a large infra-red panel and all the usual connection holes for charging et al. Around to the right is a USB mini connector, the Camera button, and the headphone connector. To look at it side by side with my NEC e606, you'd think 19 years had passed, not 19 months.
Opening and closing the phone is a joy (no, really!). The solid construction can be felt in the smooth click as the screen locks into place. Revealed is a large vibrant 65k colour screen. I was actually supprised this wasn't a 200+k colour screen given its clarity. The buttons on the phone are firm and reassuring to press, and the large keypad is extremely nice to use. Gone is the joystick found in so many SE's, replaced with a nice central menu/select button, surrounded by a responsive quad-directional navigation button. Two softkeys near the screen make for easy navigation, whilst "back up" and "cancel" keys make for a swift exit from any menu or application. Separate Video Calling and Orange World keys, along with the camera key on the side, mean you can access a great deal of content without going near the main menu at all.
The Main Menu, when accessed via the central menu button, starts as on most SE's with the Messages section highlighted. Other sections are: Media Album, Orange World, Entertainment, Camera, Video Call, Connectivity, Address book, Calls, Settings, Organiser and Media Player.
All options and applications are incredibly responsive and instantaneous, unlike too many other SE's, and you can instantly access every feature the phone has without so much of a sniff of a manual. Always nice - especially as my first Z1010 (which was replaced today, it just didn't work... a slight worry, and possibly why Orange 3G hasn't launched it yet?) didn't come with one!
MP3 playback on the phones speaker is supprisingly good, and with the stereo headphones supplied you can comfortably listen to your favourite songs. The song name is neatly displayed on the outside screen when the phone is closed. The Memory Stick Duo™, of which I now have two, is only 32MB, but I can see myself buying a much heftier sized one in the near future. MP3's set as ringtones are great fun, and downloaded MIDIs also work perfectly. Just as with my T610, I was impressed by how well the Z1010 plays back MIDI.
Yes, you heard me right! Downloaded MIDIs! Unlike 3G phones from Three UK, Orange 3G (and the Z1010) has full open Internet access. Browse WAP or small websites all through the built-in browser, or surf wirelessly at 3G speeds on your laptop or PDA - without additional software (such as the software that hinders the Orange 3G datacard - If you have one, you'll know what I mean). Finally you can get broadband speeds on the move, without needing extra kit. It's as simple as pairing and dialling *99# with Dial-Up Networking!
I've not tried video calling yet, but it's really nothing special anyway. I am told, however, that video calling is already xnet! That means I can video call people on Three et al. We'll see ;) I'll let you know more with regards to quality when I find someone to call.
The 3G-2G handover seems fine. Unlike Three, Orange wont drop calls. I've experienced the handover several times now, and it's absolutely spot on. Other than from the phone display, there was no other indication that the change had happened. Bravo! Quality of service is going to be Orange's biggest plus against Three, who offer cheapness but not much else! Orange 3G signal is much better here than Three's ever was - and Three's transmitter is actually closer...
There are niggles, of course. When the phone is on my desk near the monitor, signal on Orange has always been poor. However, the Z1010 tries overly hard to remain on 3G signal. A couple of times now this has caused it to stay on 3G with 0-1 bars (of 5) when it could be on 2G with 1-2 bars. I suspect this is mostly due to having poor 2G and 3G signal in this particular position, rather than something that will affect many people generally. The other thing is 3G speed; if you've only got about 1 bar of 3G signal, the lag on 3G data is pretty bad. Slows the connection right down under GPRS speeds. However, with decent 3G signal the speed is brilliant. Speedtest results gave over 300kbps down and over 50kbps up, and that was with 1-2 bars 3G signal.
All that's left to say, for the moment, is that I'm totally overwhelmed. Yes 3G phones need to get dramatically smaller, but the functionality has finally arrived. There are bound to be teething problems, but the sheer length of testing now from networks like Orange and Vodafone will have ironed out almost all problems. If you're lucky enough to see one of these handsets between now and Christmas (Orange will only sell about 40,000 3G handsets altogether this year, including the totally unexciting LG8150), you'll definitely want one.
Orange, you've taken a long time, but it was worth the wait.
You can learn more about 3G from Orange here: http://www.orange.co.uk/services/3G/
This review may not be replicated or reproduced in part or full without prior permission. ben@cbfmail.com