Sony Ericsson S700 review: Welcome to Japan

Marek Lutonskı, 26 October 2004. Read the original review at MobilMania.cz

We've always wanted to have mobiles like those they have in Japan, but nobody ever gave us something similar. The new Sony Ericsson S700 is close for it can do almost everything you may wish from a mobile phone. It features a top class display, megapixel camera and a very untraditional swivel-opening construction. Read further.

Sony Ericsson has chosen an interesting strategy for its top model. It is well-known that from the technology point of view Japan is years ahead of Europe. So why not to take a piece of Japanese know-how and use it in Europe? As a consequence we may say that the new Sony Ericsson S700 resembles mobiles being sold in Japan more than any other European phone.

Sony Ericsson S700 represents the new conception of "two front sides". It appears as a mobile from one side and from the other it looks like a digital camera. Moving the lock opens the sliding doors, than the phone activates the camera interface on the display and you can start shooting. In order shooting to be as natural as possible, the user holds the phone in a horizontal position as a regular camera. The finger fits exactly on the release; exposure compensation is controlled by the rock switch button, up and down arrows control the zoom. S700 is the first Sony Ericsson camera mobile with megapixel resolution.

This is how the Sony Ericsson mobiles being sold in Japan really look like

Sony Ericsson S700 is on the market since the mid October for about $650-$750 (USD). We are describing a testing unit, but it's perfectly reliable.

Hi tech at first sight

Sony Ericsson S700 is a phone from the category that we call "for technoids". It targets those users who would like to have the latest technologies in hand. The design of this mobile is therefore very technical. As I am comparing it to my ideas about the future from ten-fifteen years ago, I can say it looks almost the same; at least similar designs were usually to be seen in sci-fi movies.

Perhaps we can't say that Sony Ericsson S700 is a beautiful phone. Common thoughts about beauty are usually inclined to Samsung or other phones, which are attractive at first sight. That may not be the case of S700, but it's a mobile with its own style and it will surely make an impression to its target group.

Quite a fatty

The excessive miniaturization is not fashionable in Japan. Their phones are very big and massive from the Europeans point of view. That's the case of Sony Ericsson S700 as well. It's a pretty chuffy block sized 108 x 49 x 25 mm and it scales 137g. Comparing it to other phones we can see that it's quite big and heavy. However the edges of the phone are cut and rounded and despite its size the phone fits well in the palm.

Comparing the size with a card • imagine the Titanic

Sony Ericsson S700 has no replaceable shells and it's perfectly solid. You can press it as you wish and you won't hear a single creak. Shells are made of plastic but they seem to be of a very good quality. Also the usually problematic back cover is attached tightly and has no looseness at all. It's attached perhaps too tightly which I discovered when I was unsuccessfully trying to remove the cover.

Let's describe the swivel-opening construction, because it's different than with other European phones; we can find something similar only with Motorola V80. Sony Ericsson S700 is neither a clamshell nor a mobile phone with a sliding construction. That's because the display is swiveling towards the bottom part. The swiveling axis is situated approximately in the middle of the 4-way button. Unlike Motorola V80, the cover doesn't sling, you have to turn it manually. It goes in both directions, always by 180 degrees and the same way backwards.

Because the display part is not placed entirely straight, after complete opening you won't get a flat phone. The display is raised a bit above the surface of the bottom part. After opening the phone its size gets a bit striking, it's 164 mm long.

In contrast to Motorola V80, Sony Ericsson can't turn the image on the display. So if you are working with the phone in closed position, when it's possible to go through the menu and use some of the functions, you should turn the phone for complete opening. As to the placement of the control keys, which need to stay on their place, there's no other way. Two fixed catches are holding the display in both side positions - in fully opened and fully closed position. The phone is absolutely solid also during its opening and Sony Ericsson has secured it; both catches are working as wedges, which prevent looseness.

Amazing display and practical control

The display is very big, 35 x 46 mm, and it can display 260K colors in resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. If I had to evaluate the display in one word, the word would be "perfect". Really, just a few phones feature so soft and quality display.

Display is large and really top-class

The control buttons are placed in block below the display. You can find a 4-directional button with a confirmation key in the middle and 4 soft keys around. Traditionally Sony Ericsson is not using "red" and "green" call control keys. The soft keys control the calls instead. The back arrow button is used to get back to a previous position. The "C" button is used for canceling actions. A blue light highlights legends of the entire block.

On the backside you can find mainly the massive lens. On the battery cover there is easy reachable place to put your finger in a comfortable position during shooting. In fact the massive silver eye is only pretending to be a lens. After opening the sliding doors, it uncovers a standard small lens and a small mirror for self-portraits. There are also a diode for additional light and an external antenna connector on the backside of the mobile. A rubber plug protects the connector. The apertures on the side of the shiny circle are hiding the loudspeaker.

The camera with closed sliding doors • the lens and the mirror appear after opening • the hand grip

The Li-Ion battery has capacity of 780 mAh. We don't know the real duration time as we didn't have the phone available for such a long period. The producer claims 300 hours in standby mode and the S700 is supposed to last for 420 minutes of talk time.

The hand grip and the wrist eyelet • after battery removal

Interesting control elements are placed on both sides of the phone. There is a button for keypad lock activation for example. By pressing the button you can lock the keypad and unlock it by pressing it again. It's quite practical but there is an imperfection: when the phone is in open position, the button is placed on the opposite side than when the phone is closed which leads to confusion. There is an infrared port placed under this button.

The lock and the infraport • camera shutter and a memory card slot • removed plug

On the opposite side of the phone there is a double-button for volume control, which turns into an exposure compensation control button in camera mode. In writing mode - it's again a Sony Ericsson's innovation - the upper button is used for fast access to the second letter of the keypad button and the lower button for the third letter. The shutter release button is used solely for the camera; the memory card slot is above it. Sony Ericsson is using a Memory Stick in the smaller Duo format. The phone is not compatible with Duo Pro. Without the memory card the phone has 32 MB of internal memory space available and you'll get a card with the same capacity included in the package.

A rubber plug is attached to the phone to protect the classic system connector. There is an eyelet above the connector to thread a strap through if you would like to wear such a weight on your neck.

Volume control button (it's too low in open position) • plug protects the standard system connector

Keypad

I would appreciate clearer response by pressing the phone buttons (numeric and soft). Sometimes you don't know whether keys react by pressing them or not because they don't "click".

Details of the numeric and function parts of the keypad

Soft keys are big enough and there is sufficient distance between them, so you don't have to worry about typing errors. It's worse with the numeric keypad, which gets uncovered by opening the phone. Keys are quite small and they don't protrude over the surrounding surface. It's not the most comfortable solution - top-class keypads should look a bit different.

Keys are embedded in the surface

Besides the numeric keys there are also two function keys n the numeric block: a switch key and a key for accessing the WAP - the phone starts connecting just by pressing it softly. Due to these two keys the haptic orientation on the keypad gets a bit complicated. So in the bottom row there isn't the usual "triplet" star-zero-cross, but just these two keys. As the soft keys block also the numeric keys are illuminated by deep blue light.

Keypad illumination

Three looks

The phone can be used in three basic modes. The first mode is a standard phone. Keypad is slid out so you have all keys and functions available. You can write messages, add contacts, find a number, enter a note etc.

If you slide the keypad back and hold the phone still in a vertical position, you have a compact phone that is short just of some functions. So you can read a message, see the calls list, change a profile, switch on the radio etc.

Or you can use the phone as a camera. Hold the phone in a horizontal position; the finger of your right hand fits straight on the release and the finger of your left hand on the keys for exposure compensation. It might seem that it would be more logical to place the zoom function on these keys as it is with common cameras. Anyway, digital zoom is basically unusable in practice, therefore I think that placement of the often used exposure compensation on these keys is a very smart choice. The main cross button controls the zoom.

Three looks of Sony Ericsson S700

Graphics in the menu

Graphical interface of the Sony Ericsson S700 is very similar, or maybe the same, as with the K700 model. K700 has redesigned the environment, which Sony Ericsson phones were using for the last couple of years.

The menu features the classic matrix. You can find twelve items there. The icons are just lovely; you can see the display quality here. Selected icon gets enlarged and animated. Next menu levels are in most cases divided into well-arranged folders. The layout is very easy and intuitive. The menu browsing works fast enough, except the main menu where the phone slows down sometimes.

Main display without wallpaper • with an animated wallpaper • next picture • main menu

The graphical interface look can be adapted with graphic schemes, setting main display wallpaper and menu background at the same time. Original wallpapers are animated and they look pretty good on the quality display. There are four of them available in the phone and it's possible to download more of them straight from the producer's web pages.

Various graphic schemes

On the main display you will see a picture of the selected wallpaper. In the top row you will find status icons and the operator's name below them. Two bottom rows accommodate information about date and time and a hint for the actual function of the two keys below the display. After quite a short time a preset display saver appears. Animated savers made by Sony Ericsson are again very attractive.

The main menu is formed in icon matrix: three columns and four rows. You can select an item fast by using an appropriate number key. Number selections are possible also in other menu levels but numbers are not indicated by single items, so you should count the numerical order.

Context menu • next level of the menu

You can assign fast selection of functions to the four directions of the main navigation key. In the car you'll certainly appreciate the possibility of voice control. Sony Ericsson S700 is now without a key on the right side for starting the WAP service as with previous models. Similarly dedicated key is now hidden safer in the block of numeric keys.

At first place in the menu there is an insidious icon for PlayNow service, which also starts connecting the WAP browser. By entering the main menu however a Messaging icon is highlighted and you shouldn't get to the first picture in the row by mistake.

Beware of the PlayNow icon • voice control menu • shortcuts settings

Maybe you'll ask what the PlayNow function is about. Don't expect something world-shaking. It's a possibility to download MP3 files straight to the mobile where you can play them. That sounds good so far but the main problem is that these music files are just 30 second demos and can be used only for ringing tones. In every country where the service is supported, a top chart is available and you should view the chart on your mobile. If you'll find a song you like, you can download it. All new Sony Ericsson phones will be equipped with this multimedia function.

Camera with mobile phone functions

The integrated camera can make pictures of very good quality in 1280 x 960 pixels resolution. With its setting possibilities it's comparable with a regular digital camera. Other photomobiles can only envy to Sony Ericsson S700 for its excellent picture quality and large display with outstanding color imaging and high resolution.

It looks like a camera

I've already mentioned the handy placement of the exposure compensation on the left forefinger key. You can do more tricks with the camera. It features a possibility of spot metering or setting the white balance in pre-defined modes. You won't be deprived - of course - of a self timer or a night mode functions. In lack of light you can use the intensively luminous diode to bring more light to the scene. Possibility to clear the counter of pictures you've made is just a handy complement.

The luminous diode

Pictures are saved in JPEG format and you can select whether they will be saved on the memory card or in the phone. If a megapixel resolution is too much for you (for example for a picture assigned in the address book), you can set it to 640 x 480, 320 x 240 or 160 x 120 resolution. You can shoot either in a classic way or in a form of four pictures series. A megapixel picture has an average size of 190 KB.

Camera environment • resolution settings • standby menu

You can decorate pictures with frames or modify them in the phone. The quality is excellent; you can find out from the pictures below. Just take into consideration that due to the high resolution the pictures are more size demanding. Pictures are positively the best quality I've seen from a camera phone and they are almost as good as pictures taken with digital cameras.

I would recommendtaking a look especially at the last two pictures of the test diagram

Digital zoom demonstration

You can switch over to video recording mode just by pressing the right navigation key. Of course it's not possible to record a video in full resolution and its quality is fully comparable to other photomobiles. Look at the demo.

Display during video recording

For managing the internal 32 MB memory and the memory card there is File manager available. Pictures, sounds, video files, graphic schemes, games, applications and other types of files are stored in various thematic folders. You will see pictures preview in default and if you press the joystick it switches over to a full-display mode. You can also select from the context menu and display a picture in horizontal position in order to utilize all the display's space.

File manager handling

Exposure compensation

Using exposure compensation from -2.0 to +2.0

Digital zoom

Digital zoom - the quality gets lower with higher zoom settings as expected

Photo frames

Photo frames samples. Playing with these might be fun, at least in the beginning

Picture sizes

1280 x 960 pixels • 640 x 480 pixels • 320 x 240 pixels • 160 x 120 pixels

Night photos

With and without flash

Effects

Negative • solarize • sepia • black and white

Metering

The same scene using evaluative (left) and spot (right) metering

Macro

50 cm • 40 cm • 30 cm • 25 cm

20 cm • 15 cm • 10 cm
Sony Ericsson can't achieve sharp focus on objects closer than about 25 cm

More samples

More sample pictures in 800 x 600 resolution

Comparing to Nokia 6670 and Siemens S65

Our article comparing Nokia 7610 and Siemens S65 proved to be very popular, so we decided that this might be also of interest for you. How is the photo quality of Sony Ericsson S700 compared to the competition? A picture tells a thousand words. Sony Ericsson S700 definitely has the best camera we've tested so far. Maybe the knowhow Sony has in the digital camera field makes the difference.

The contenders Nokia 6670, Sony Ericsson S700 and Siemens S65

Outdoor

Nokia 6670 • Sony Ericsson S700 • Siemens S65

In the studio

Nokia 6670 • Sony Ericsson S700 • Siemens S65

Telephony

Sound during calls is excellent; Sony Ericsson has been true to the tradition. It's loud enough and also the build-in handsfree makes a clear sound. I was surprised that it's not possible to accept calls just by opening the phone; it's necessary to press a key. In this case you don't need to open the phone; you can call whether it's open or closed. Similarly you can't terminate a call simply by closing the phone; again you have to use the appropriate key.

Entering a number • dialing

It's possible to record calls in progress; the recorder activation item is at the second place in the context menu. With some other phones it's necessary to go through the entire menu and it decreases the usefulness of the recorder a lot.

Call register

The major weakness of Sony Ericsson phones is always the address book and unfortunately it's the same with the S700 model. Get ready for searching by first character only and for a capacity of 510 numbers (I repeat, 510 numbers, not names). This solution takes Sony Ericsson out of the game for people with more structured address book. I don't think they will reduce their address book just for a phone limitation. As with the K700 model it's not possible to save a shortcut Find name, which was the solution for this problem with previous models.

Update: Sony Ericsson released a new firmware, which allows phones to search by more characters.

Address book • context menu at a name • contact detail • assigned picture

Otherwise the address book is very well arranged. Display can accommodate six rows; the active one shows the default number. By browsing left and right you'll get to the other numbers and pressing the joystick starts dialing.

Speed dialing settings • groups settings

Up to five numbers can be assigned to every name; types of numbers can't be repeated. That means that for one person you can have just one mobile, work, office, fax and other number. But the memory can keep more information, which fortunately doesn't suffer limited capacity: an e-mail address, web page, picture (appears during an incoming call), individual ringing tone and voice label for every number. Also a title (degree), company, postal address and a text note (max. 50 characters). Sorting the contacts in groups is useful only for multiple SMS sending. Groups have no influence on filtering the ringing profiles.

The profiles are traditionally well developed. There are eight of them and they all can be edited. It's possible to set a ringing tone, ringing volume, vibrations, message tone, keys and alarm tones, illumination (automatic or turned off), call divert (can be different for every profile) and allowed calls (all, none, from the address book only).

Except the selection of sound for incoming message, where it's still possible to select among seven options and a silent mode only, the ringing personalization is rich enough. Besides 40 channels MID files it's possible to use also MP3 files. The phone plays really well and loud. Quite loud is also the vibration motor, but that is not a welcome feature.

Messages

Sony Ericsson S700 handles all types of mobile messages that we know: SMS, multimedia messages, email browser and My friends client for instant messaging.

Text messages editor is not wasting space as before. We have seven rows available for writing. Due to the embedded keypad typing is not very comfortable; we know better mobiles in this regard. There is no delay in writing.

Messages menu • writing an SMS • context menu during a message writing

T9 dictionary helps during writing. Finally it features a great possibility to edit and delete words which you have inserted into the dictionary. Twenty characters before the end of every part of the message the phone starts to countdown, so you can notice that you are getting closer to another part. So far we don't know the messages memory capacity. The phone can certainly store a lot of them but we don't know the exact number yet.

Working with multimedia messages is very comfortable. In the editor you can see the picture right where you inserted it; Sony Ericsson supports also multi-page messages, but one MMS can not contain more than 100 KB of data. Besides pictures and text it's also possible to attach sound files and video records.

MMS editor

The email browser features the same parameters as e.g. Sony Ericsson K700. It can do practically everything what we expect from a mobile email browser. The important thing is that it accepts attachments, so pictures can be sent from a mobile to a mobile cheaper than via MMS. For the regular supply of emails you can use regular download from remote box content in preset intervals.

Email client menu

Now remains the My friends function. Actually it's a type of a mobile ICQ but for now this function is utilizable more for testing purposes than for a practical use.

Calendar

Contemporary phones are so similar, that I feel like I'm writing the same text again and again. Sony Ericsson S700, as any other high-class phone, features a calendar showing the events in a month, week and day view. Thanks to the outstanding resolution the display accommodates a lot of information; this can be seen well especially in the week view.

Month, week and day view in the calendar

It's not possible to select different types of events in the calendar; there is only one type available. Just enter start date and time, duration (either from the menu or select the end date and time), event subject, place and reminder type. Besides silent event, when nothing sounds, Sony Ericsson offers several possibilities of warning in advance; you can set also an exact day and hour. Again we meet a traditional problem: it's not possible to enter recurrent events right in the phone.

Entering a new event

The To-do list allows you to choose between two options for entering new items: a task and a call. In the first case you should enter reminder subject and date; for a call the phone requires a phone number (can be selected from the address book). Completed tasks can be marked as accomplished; which is a way to recognize the to-do list.

Organizer main menu • working with tasks • a text note

In the alarm clock the alarms can be either standard or recurrent. There you can choose days to be alarmed at. Also you can choose sound, which can be an MP3 file. From the timing functions point of view there are a countdown timer and a stopwatch available. The Organizer section contains also a simple calculator and a secret codes memory. Usually we rate also the voice recorder in this section. The phone is not displaying what the maximum record length may be.

Alarm settings • countdown timer • stopwatch • calculator

Organizer functions of Sony Ericsson S700 are the same as with the K700 model and except the different graphical interface it's not different from the previous Sony Ericsson mobile phones.

Voice recorder

A real multimedia phone

Because Sony Ericsson S700 can work with a memory card, it can be successfully used also as an MP3 player. Unfortunately I don't know what the sound in the headphones is but the loudspeaker is fine. The sound is clear, just by higher volume the pitches are exceeding over the basses and the mids. You can adjust that with an equalizer.

You can listen to MP3 files even when the phone is in closed position. Using the sliding control button you can quickly lock the keys and let it go. When you have a call, playing is temporary paused and after the ending the call it starts again. From the advanced functions there is only random play available.

Playing sound • equalizer • playing possibilities

Due to the missing headphones, which are also working as an antenna, I couldn't try the radio, but I don't expect that it's working in a different way from the K700 model.

Java, only Java

In the Entertainment section we can find mostly games. There are three games and Sony Ericsson is trying to show us the possibilities of the supported 3D technology. We can throw darts to a dartboard, ride a snowboard on the ramp or play the still unbeated Super Real Tennis. Perhaps you wouldn't believe that these are games for a mobile phone.

Games in the phone

Sony Ericsson S700 left Mophun and bet on standard Java. As usually I tried how the phone stands the graphics speed jBenchmark test. And here are the results. You can compare them with a complete result list on www.jbenchmark.com.

jBenchmark 1.0: 1446 points
jBenchmark 2.0: 90 points

Applications: Units convertor and World time

The WAP browser holds a lot of information, again thanks to the large display. I appreciate that it remembers entered addresses so it's not necessary to enter an address every time again. Besides WAP pages it can also display simple web pages (HTML).

EDGE is missing, still interested?

Sony Ericsson S700 gets connected to a PC via cable, infraport or Bluetooth. GPRS class 10 ensures quite fast connection to mobile Internet. But considering the fact that some operators are running EDGE in their networks and others will, the absence of this technology can be a problem for plenty of users. Sony Ericsson S700 is losing a big part of its appeal for those who are interested in fast data transfer. They can still use HSCSD but today this is almost a dead technology.

Let's have a look at the American model Sony Ericsson S710a. It looks the same as the European S700 but with EDGE available. The question is what's hidden inside - but I wouldn't say that it's just a software modification.

The S700 Bluetooth supports perhaps all possible profiles. I'll make a note at one feature, that is already available in the K700 but I couldn't try it due to an older version of the drivers. It's about remote PC control from the mobile. You simply choose an appropriate item and then you can control the mouse cursor with the mobile phone, run programs, and switch between windows… It's cool and useful for presentations.

Connection menu• Bluetooth possibilities

Synchronization makes possible to get data from a PC (for example Microsoft Outlook) to the phone. You'll get a Synchronization pack on a CD probably, but it's also possible to download it free from the Sony Ericsson's web page.

Who is Sony Ericsson S700 for?

Sony Ericsson S700 is undoubtedly a top-class mobile. It looks like it has just arrived from Japan; the concept of the two sides is almost perfect. The megapixel camera is excellent, the best available in a phone. We haven't probably seen a better display in a mobile phone yet; I can't say anything bad about the functions composition.

There are also some negative points. The phone is very big and heavy, which perhaps can be accepted. A major disadvantage is the address book: low capacity and searching by the first character (this can be solved by the new firmware). That might be a big problem for users who are used to a comfortable work with the address book in other phones. Further disadvantage is the lack of fast mobile data transfer - EDGE, which is not supported by S700.

Furthermore we can't forget the price. Sony Ericsson claimed from the beginning that it's going to be very expensive and that's true. By its price S700 will compete with the new Sony Ericsson P910 smartphone. I see an outright winner of this duel; the open operating system with related possibilities is beating everything. Sony Ericsson S700 is a typical phone for the fiery technical fans. They're not looking at the price; the most important thing is the extraordinary top-class phone loaded with the latest technologies. S700 perfectly meets these requirements. Welcome in Japan.

Pros and Cons

+ outstanding display
+ high-quality camera, the best so far
+ original design and construction

- low capacity of the address book
- size and weight
- embedded keys