Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot C902 - First Look review

Can the new Cyber-shot phone impress?

20 February 2008 20:40 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Sony Ericsson has launched two new Cyber-shot mobile phone models at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Pocket-lint was able to get a hands on with the C902 on the company's stand. So will it replace your digital camera? We look a closer look to find out.

The new Cyber-shot C902 is the Sony Ericsson's flagship camera phone and offers a 5-megapixel camera to bring the Cyber-shot range up to spec with Samsung's G800 and Nokia's N95 and now N96 offerings.

Core to the new phone is the design and focus on its image capturing capabilities.

The digital camera is activated by pulling the phone apart above the screen to reveal the camera behind.

It's very James Bond spy stuff and incredibly easy to do and it's clear from even our brief play that the benefits of this design approach are obvious.

The lens is protected at all times and it gives you a sense of having a camera as well as a phone in your hand, more so than the current K series design.

Sliding open the case to reveal the camera also activates a series of touch-sensitive buttons around the phone's screen and so as not to confuse the issue, these buttons appear at no other time.

The buttons (eight in total) give you quick access to things like flash control or ISO settings and in our brief play it was all very easy. The touch buttons are responsive and easy to use.

The shutter and zoom buttons are still on the side of the cameraphone.

When it comes to related camera tech Sony Ericsson has included Face Detection technology and auto-focus features, although have refrained from featuring the push to focus feature found on the also recently announced G900 model that lets you touch the screen as to where you want the main focal point to be.

Realising that you are going to want to save the images, Sony Ericsson has included 160MB of memory built-in to the phone, a nice touch, and it's enough to store up to 100 full resolution photos. Failing that users will have the option to slam in a Memory Stick Micro (M2) to give you even more space.

Of course, like other Sony Ericsson handsets, the C902 isn't just about taking pictures and so comes with a range of other tech as well.

Of course you'll get a music player, the company's blogging tool that allows you to upload your images to a Blogger account and TrackID which tells you a songs details by recording a part of it down the phone.

On the tech side you'll get Bluetooth and HSDPA connectivity although no Wi-Fi.

First Impressions

Although we weren't able to take any snaps away with us to look in greater detail at the camera's performance, the C902, from a usability point of view, looks very tasty indeed and certainly moves the K series from Sony Ericsson along and up a notch.

As a phone, there doesn't seem to be any major worries or issues here. The keypad is straightforward and the menu interface standard Sony Ericsson affair, which in our mind is easy to use.

If you like your phone with a strong camera emphasis this is going to be one to watch.

The Sony Ericsson C902 will be available later in the year.

Review Recap

Made by: Sony Ericsson
Price as reviewed: £price dependant on contract
The good: 5-megapixel camera, HSDPA, usual Sony Ericsson software
The bad: On the large side
First Impressions: If you like your phone with a strong camera emphasis this is going to be one to watch