Sony Ericsson Z1010 3G/GSM 900/1800 Camera Phone Review (5)
Bluetooth 19 Apr 2005

Conclusion

The Sony Ericsson Z1010 is the first of its series of 3G phones. Being one of the first 3G phones in the market, it is one of the more feature packed phones I can find. Other than its bulkiness, I couldn't find any major fault with the Z1010. The probable regret is that the current firmware does not yet support the AAC file format.

The phone comes with 2 cameras, one for photos and the other for video calls. During a voice call, you can choose to show the other party what you are seeing by selecting the external lens from the menu. The video streaming is smooth but compared to my aging A835, the graphics processor might need an upgrade in future version of 3G phones. In some clips, I can't see the subtitles clearly, on the A835, it is very clear.

If you are those who loves to try out new firmware, the Z1010 is one of the phones that works with the DSS-25 USB syncstation. You can go to Sony Ericsson's website, follow the simple instructions and upgrade your firmware online. This definitely save me a lot of time running down to the service centre just to upgrade the firmware.

Although we have heard overseas users having drop calls, I never have any drop calls. The only noticeable thing is that when I use the same 2G SIM card on my K700i and Z1010, I noticed that the signal strength on the K700i is stronger than that of Z1010. The signal strength might have to be boosted on the Z1010 for 2G usage.

Z1010 is a swiss knife, you want a phone, MP3 player, watch video (streaming) or MP4, 3GP, you have it. In my opinion, It is of a multimedia device than a phone. Hopefully the upcoming Z800 or K600 will get me to upgrade from my another bulky A835.

Pros :

• 3G, JAVA, MMS, GPRS, EMS, irDA, USB

• External storage - Memory Stick Duo

• Ringtones are LOUD

• Optional DSS-25 for firmware update

Cons :

• No Radio

• No AAC support

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