Sony Ericsson quality questions

November 25, 2006 9:14 AM

Are Sony Ericsson phones bad news or is it just in my head?

My experience has been that phone brands are consistent. Every Nokia and Samsung I've had has been trouble-free. I've hated every Motorola I've owned. The one time I owned Sony Ericsson, I quickly gave it away. It was a relatively new hand-me-down that never got signal and the interface seemed exactly opposite of what I was used to. Thus, until today, I've avoided paying them any attention.

It seems though that C-Net and other online sources think highly of them and are pretty adamant that they're the best camera phones [which is important, I'm replacing a broken pocket-cam too] on the market.

The particular phone at issue is the K750 [vs. Samsung D600-900 series]


--- The Skinny ---

- Are Sony Ericsson's reliable? I'm in China... warranty's don't mean as much, methinks.

- Are they durable? I'm going to drop it. Again. It will likely have at least one brief episode where I find how quickly it sinks.

- Do they have intuitive interfaces? I don't mind having to relearn an interface, but I don't want something that's fundamentally flawed.

- Were they bad but got better or have I had isolated experiences?

posted by trinarian to technology (29 comments total)

For me it's Nokias and Sony Ericssons that have been super reliable, almost everything else has been a nightmare. YMMV of course but I've never had a problem with Sony. Nokia are still the best for reliability and interface though.
posted by fire&wings at 9:30 AM on November 25, 2006

I've been quite happy with my SE phones. I had a K750i and traded up for a K800i [before that a T610 and a T68i]. I prefer SE's interface to the Moto interface. The voice quality is good. I like the browser and RSS reader. The camera takes great photos [I do prefer the K750i's torch over the flash in the K800i since I'd use the torch to read things in the dark]. It also plays well with my Mac. I drop my phones way more than I'd like, but they always seem to keep on ticking. My K750i did drown in a large cup of Diet Coke and lived to see another day.
posted by birdherder at 9:35 AM on November 25, 2006

Never had any problems with my SE phones (T300, K750i and now a W810i). In fact I much prefer them to any others I've tried in terms of usability and design. I've even dropped them a few times (onto concrete) to no ill effect. The cameras on SEs are pretty good and on the newer models they are incorporating tech from the Sony Cybershot cameras.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 9:40 AM on November 25, 2006

I've had a T630 and then a K750i and now the K800i, and all have been fab. The only minor problem is that the joystick in the middle is a bit dodgy on my K800i after only 4 months, but that might well be my fault (I don't exactly look after my phones - if the phone company gives it to me for £25 a month including free insurance I will use and abuse to my will until next year when I get a new one free!)

I've dropped my K750i down the loo twice and it survived (don't ask) and then sold it for £80 on ebay - not bad methinks! My K800i has been dropped from waist height to concrete and is fine.

I love the interface. I think its really intuitive, though you may think differently.

Hope that helps!
posted by philsi at 9:42 AM on November 25, 2006

Well, James Bond uses a Sony Ericsson.
posted by roomwithaview at 9:45 AM on November 25, 2006

As a K750i owner, and a T610i owner before that, I have very little doubt that Sony makes some magnificent phones. The sound quality is good, the interface is amazing compared with Moto/Samsung/LG, and the "extra features" (MP3, camera) are magnificent (the K750i sounds far better than my iPod did -- before I got rid of it and got a 4GB memory stick pro duo for the phone).

The interface is incredibly intuitive; it's not just random lists of text -- they've obviously put a lot of time and thought into it, and it's a joy to use. Nokia's the only other manufacturer who comes close. There are a lot of functions, though, so expect to do a little bit of reading for those one or two functions you just can't figure out (the K750i has an "Applications" button that allows you to place functions you choose in a list you sort in case you find something that's not in the "right place").

I believe that Sony Ericsson got a bad name because phones up to the early run of the T610i did have reliability issues (I had a few friends with T60i phones that just sort of fell apart), but since then, their phones have been top-notch. Durability's been no problem at all with mine; it's been dropped several times, and it's just fine. No scratches on the screen, either, even though it stays in my pocket.

SE got it right with the K750i and subsequent revisions. Give it a try.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 9:46 AM on November 25, 2006

I also had a T630, now have a K750i, and expect to stick with SE next time I upgrade my phone. They have survived the occasional drop and knock without any problems. Opera Mini works well on the K750i and the camera is great for a phone, especially outside.
posted by teleskiving at 9:58 AM on November 25, 2006

I'm using a Z600 that I picked up on eBay unlocked last year that I use on Cingular, and before that I've had a Z200 and a black and white thing that I don't remember the name of on Fido in Canada. Before that, I had a Sony Ericsson handset in Japan with DoCoMo.

They've all been pretty ok, with the exception of the DoCoMo one, which I loved and is responsible for my subsequent devotion to SE. I've found the interfaces on the North American GSM handsets to be quite slow at times, although I have few complaints otherwise. The feature set on the Z200 and the monochrome thing before that were pretty slim, and they did their jobs reliably. The Z600 has excellent bluetooth compatibility with my Powerbook, although the camera quality leaves a lot to be desired, especially compared to what's standard now. The problem with the Z600 is that it crashes quite often. Moving through the interface too quickly, or having a call come in when you are doing something else on the phone can occasionally cause it to freeze.
posted by mariokrat at 10:05 AM on November 25, 2006

I've owned three Sony Ericssons since Motorola changed their UI. I've never had a problem with any of them.

As someone mentions the UI is just the best I have come across. Not only are things fairly naturally placed anyway, but there are customisable shortcuts. That said, I find the numberpad shortcut so fast once you know your way around the menu that you can get anywhere you want in three or four blind button presses. Setting an alarm takes about 4 seconds for instance.
posted by opsin at 10:08 AM on November 25, 2006

Happy T616 user here for 2.5 years. Just as reliable as my Nokia candy bar phones of the past. Lots of drops and mishandling...no issues. Had a SE T62U before that, and it lasted a couple years, and my wife used one for 2 years also w/ no problems. She's VERY hard on phones.
posted by Bradley at 10:16 AM on November 25, 2006

My T68i was way ahead of it's time, feature wise. It was pretty rugged and well designed as well. The only problem I had, and the one that finally made me get rid of it, was that the internal antenna repeatedly failed. I had T-mobile replace it 3 times (no charge to me, so I didn't care).

In the end, I discovered that if I dismantled the phone and touched a piece of metal to the antenna, it would start working again for a couple of weeks (something about removing a static charge from it or something), and while this worked, it was irritating. So I got something else.

That said, at almost 3 years, it was the phone I had the longest, and I would definitely consider getting another Sony phone in the future.
posted by quin at 10:18 AM on November 25, 2006

I think the top teir in cell companies are Nokia and SE. I think Motorolla has terrible UI and FW issues while LG seems to be creeping up towards a better product.

I have a SE k790a. By far the best phone I've ever had; great reliability, 3.2mp camera, xenon flash, excellent UI, everything I need for a night-time phone. Plus its design is beautiful and the buildquality is out of this world.

Just my 2 cents
posted by stratastar at 10:18 AM on November 25, 2006

I had a k700i as my last phone, and said when I flung it to the floor so that it broke into pieces, that I will never buy SE again. The interface is fine, but I found it incredibly difficult to connect anything : headphones, charger or data cable. All the cables were made with rounded connections simply designed to fall out, so every time I tried to use headphones with the phone in my pocket, they would 'roll' in and out of the connector, losing the sound. The charger also refused to stay in unless I adjusted it about 6 times, and sometimes disconnected while sitting on the bench, meaning it hadn't charged by morning. To transfer data to/from the computer, I had to physically hold the data cable in. I also found battery life very poor in general, so that it would last maybe 2 hours if I listened to the radio on it. I may have simply had a poor model, but my boyfriend had exactly the same issues with his k750(?not positive about the model, but higher than mine). Now I have a nokia and am happy with it.

(I had it for about 18 months. When I broke it, I had been unable to charge it for several days, the power button no longer worked (I could turn it on by plugging it into the computer) and the battery had just died on me when work rang at dawn to ask me to come in for an extra shift.)
posted by jacalata at 10:42 AM on November 25, 2006

I hated my t68i. The bluetooth implementation sucked and GSM reception (over AT&T wireless) was always spotty. Before six months had elapsed, the "6" key was so soft that I considered the phone unusable. It never seemed physically robust, especially compared to the Samsungs and Motorolas I've had since.

I had friends who loved theirs though.
posted by coelecanth at 10:51 AM on November 25, 2006

I've got a k750i - I'd always had Nokias before but I'd say it's better in terms of build quality. And it's more user friendly and takes excellent day-time pictures.

I too bought mine for the highly rated camera, but I since a I shoved in a 1GB Memory Stick ($25 on ebay) I've found it's Walkman feature the thing I like about it most.
posted by forallmankind at 10:56 AM on November 25, 2006

I work in a lame mall Cingular kiosk and previously worked at the Tmobile just down the hall, I don't think we've had an unusual amount of complaints with SEs, I previously used a z520a, and though I didn't love it, it never treated me wrong.
posted by haveanicesummer at 12:03 PM on November 25, 2006

I loved my k750i. I bought it (on the recommendation of Ask MeFi) for the camera, which exceeded my expectations, and was happy to find everything else about it great, too; user interface, sound, form factor (fits so easily in my pants pocket that it was always with me). My one complaint is that the lens cover would occasionally come open while in my pocket.

During the year and a half I used it, I dropped it several times, once while camping on the beach, where it sat buried in sand all night long and was probably stepped on several times. After I found it, I blew out the sand from the various crevices using compressed air. Still worked great.

However, I recently dropped it on a concrete floor, after which the camera stopped focusing properly. Given the beatings I gave it over its lifetime, I blamed myself rather than the camera. I didn't try to have it serviced; instead I upgraded to its successor, the also excellent k800i.
posted by medpt at 12:11 PM on November 25, 2006

Yet another K800i user here. Best phone I've ever owned, works great with iSync (with a 1,49 GBP plugin), takes great pictures. The walkman feature is great as well (with a 512Mb or 1Gb memory card you're set). (If you're a Mac user, you will probably like this theme).

I personally like the interface much more than Nokia. The high resolution screen with clear icons vs. the one-option-at-a-time of most Nokias has a lot to do with that.

I've owned a T630 before as well, as well as phones by Qtek, Kenwood, Samsung, Siemens and Nokia. Sony Ericsson are the best ones so far (imho).

It's not unbreakable, it's not water resistant. It is a bit thicker than a regular candybar phone. It has so far survived my reckless daily usage. (Ie. falling out of my jacket when running, constantly in my pockets with keys, coins, ..), albeit with some light scratches.

A "dumb" Nokia may well be more durable, but having a good camera and flash with you at all times (even during impromptu drunking nights out) is priceless.
posted by lodev at 1:07 PM on November 25, 2006

I have owned a few of them, including the their infamous K750i model. Yes - its a sleek phone with a superb camera but the toggle button can fail after a couple of months.

The connection quality in SonyEricsson phones can be flakey even on a good quality network in an urban area. I've received several SMS messages late and some calls that went straight to message minder. This never happened with my Nokia.

Yes, they are well designed, nice to look at phones but I would not rush to buy another one.
posted by jacobean at 1:07 PM on November 25, 2006

I've owned the T68, the T68i, and now the W600i and love it. I've always had great luck with the Sony-Ericsson phones, and if you ever use Bluetooth, the SE phones are the way to go. (Bluetooth sprang up from Ericsson)
posted by drstein at 1:25 PM on November 25, 2006

I'm absolutely in love with my SE K750i. Much better than the (old) Nokia 3530 I owned. The camera is supreme!
posted by PuGZ at 1:29 PM on November 25, 2006

My T610 is probably the worst piece of commercial technology I've owned.

* The charger developed a contact problem after a fairly short time. It won't charge unless fiddles with extensively, and even so I often wake up to an uncharged phone (or an obnoxious signal, see below).
* The user interface is MUCH worse than any Nokia I've had. It responds painfully slowly and common actions require a multitude of button presses. I usually type in numbers that I know by heart rather than accessing them from the phonebook.
* Different kinds of data have different shares of memory, and the boundaries are fixed. That means I constantly have to erase old SMS in order to receive new ones, while there is room for enormous amounts of MMS.
* When the battery runs low, it merrily wastes whatever power is left by lighting the display and making an annoying sound every half hour or so. This is non-negotiable, the only solution is to turn the sound off altogether.

I'll throw this phone from a bridge and get a new one as soon as I find the time. When I do, I've sworn myself never to get a SE again unless they fired major parts of their GUI department.
posted by springload at 2:29 PM on November 25, 2006

Always found Ericssons super-reliable - recently gone back to them, with 750i, after going Samsung for a while. I've already dropped the thing on a number of surfaces from a variety of interesting heights: solid as a rock. The interface is pretty intuitive, the keys nicely responsive, and it gets signal pretty much everywhere there's signal to be had. And the camera is just about the best you'll get in that price range right now.

The one issue I have is that the screen occasionally freezes (and it is only very occasionally), necessitating a turn-off-turn-on-again. But, as I say, it's rare, and little more than a minor irritant. I'm waiting for the toggle button to go titsup, but it hasn't yet...
posted by flashboy at 2:42 PM on November 25, 2006

T610 is the one I had that I quickly gave away, which is the one Springload had troubles with. Given the opportunity to come here and gripe about spending $xxx and getting bad equipment, I was expecting a lot more complaints [my roommate has even griped about her last Nokia candybar.. everything fails sometime]. I think that says a lot. I'm going out now to shop around for a 750c, thanks guys!
posted by trinarian at 6:54 PM on November 25, 2006

I miss my Ericsson z600, why the hell did I upgrade to a Motorola v3x? erg.
posted by a. at 3:47 AM on November 26, 2006

I switched to SE k750i after my last Nokia died. More out of the opportunity to try something different than dissatisfaction with Nokia.
To be honest, I'm not thrilled with it. The joystick has gotten sticky and refuses to scroll down after only 6 months, the software is slow to respond compared to Nokia and the signal drops more often than the Nokia did. Latest bug is that it's suddenly decided to change profile whenever I plug in the charger.
Next time, I'm heading back to Nokia or maybe try a Qtek or Samsung. YMMV though!
posted by arcticseal at 6:17 AM on November 26, 2006

My SE was the best phone I ever had. It was sexy. It was reliable. I'm pretty sure I dropped it. And this thread is making me think I should go buy another one.
posted by eleyna at 6:33 PM on November 26, 2006

I refuse to get rid of or upgrade my 2.5 year old Z600 until it dies in my hands. It's a gorgeous phone, reliable as hell, and has taken many crashes onto concrete and wooden floors. It's still stylish - people continue to ask me now where I got my phone from.

The only small issues I have with it is that it needs more consistent charging (battery must be dying), and occasionally I need to switch it off and on because the screen freezes. No biggies.

Have had a Nokia before that, and it has outlasted it (lasted only 1.5 years, but I was brutal with it).
posted by chronic sublime at 10:28 PM on November 26, 2006

SE T610 experience: SE spent time developing circuitry to detect cheap ebay batteries "charging alien battery" and making it annoying to use them by doing the low battery warning springload mentioned for over a day.

No other problems.
posted by Akeem at 2:40 AM on November 27, 2006