Sony Ericsson Z710 Review

The Sony Ericsson Z710, is one of the most reliable and consistent phone I’ve ever used. I received the phone locked from Fido on a three-year plan, and I was blown away by many of its features. It comes with a 2 megapixel camera, a large exterior screen (128 x 128 pixels) with a blue illuminated background, and music functions on the exterior of the phone. There is a Memory Stick Micro (M2) card slot, one of the first phones to have it, which supports up to 2GB.



This phone is arguably the best phone reception-wise that Fido has ever had. It has GSM 850 and 1900, which is on all Fido phones. I normally get around three to four bars in my local community center with my Sony Ericsson K550 and my Motorola KRZR K1, and I was getting five bars consistently on this phone. Call quality is excellent, as the earpiece is nice and loud, and the person was hearing me clearly. The microphone however, does pick up some background noise, but none the less, great call quality and reception. One of the key selling points of this phone.

Exceptional battery life from this phone, Sony Ericsson is known for its powerful batteries, and the battery life from the Z710 is the best I’ve tried. I listened to the radio for 12 hours while playing games during a road trip, and I still had 55% battery life. Charger is relatively easy; simply charge with the charger that came with the phone for around 3 hours.

First thing you notice when you first hold the phone, is its bulkiness, a major downside. There is a large external screen (128 x 128 pixels), which has a blue background color and white words on it. It is able to display appointments by pressing left side key, the song you are playing, and the FM radio station. You can change the song or channel by simply using the external music buttons. The music player is the normal player on all present non-Walkman phones, and I find the quality of the music good. The only downside of not having the Walkman player is not having the megabass feature, the ability to change skins and the feature to show album art, which it’s twin the W710 has. It did not come with any earphones, so I had to purchase a pair from an authorized Sony Ericsson retailer.

The camera on this phone is definitely not comparable to the likes of the W810 and the K750, which is the best 2 megapixels that were ever on the Sony Ericsson line. The camera on this phone lacks autofocus and flash, so do not expect nice quality photos. Next to the camera lens is a mirror, for self photo taking. Close up photos come up blurry, because it doesn’t have macro mode. Pretty disappointing, as I was expecting a nice quality camera from a phone that wasn’t the most stylish.

The looks of this phone is more of a downside, especially due to its big and wide structure. Although it still fits in your pockets, it will definitely be noticed. The overall look is pretty nice, with the large screen on the outside and the chrome outlining it. There is a loop on the back of the phone, and underneath that is the speaker. If the Z710 was thinner, talking about 15mm, I believe it would be a much more attractive phone. This phone is great for people who want a phone that is more serious, not something bright and vibrant like its twin, the Walkman based W710.



Expect the user interface of this phone to be top-notch, as Sony Ericsson’s user interface is the best in the business. Although it’s been out for some years now, it is extremely neat and organized, and takes no time to find anything no matter how many gigs of files you have. There is a flight mode when you open the phone, which allows you to access the phone, without getting a cell phone signal. To get FM radio you have to insert the headphones, which act as an antennae, which I believe should be built in especially since the phone came with no headphones.



The external speaker of the phone does an adequate job of playing music, but the lack of bass made me keep my headphones on. It is nice and loud, and you will definitely be able to hear your phone ringing. As my phone was Fido-locked, you could not use your own MP3 ringtones unless you use a DRM Packager or flash your phone to enable ringtones. The vibrate wasn’t as strong I would like it to be, but definitely enough.

The keypad on the phone was exceptional, much better than many of the phones I've tried. They have a blue illumination behind them, and are extremely comfortable. Nice to see a good keypad that's great for playing games and texting.



Overall, I believe that Sony Ericsson is definitely not ready to dominate the flip market yet, as the technology in the Z710 has been already demonstrated in the past. If you are working in a business, and you want a phone that is classy, and does the most important job of making and receiving calls, this is the phone to get.

Maybe ill but one

My buddy has this phone...it's alright