Sony Ericsson C905 review

We’ve been itching to get our hands on Sony Ericsson’s C905 since our preview a few months back. Thankfully the Swedish doctor has now given us some cream for our itching in the form of a handset to review properly. Gawd bless ‘em.

We thought pretty highly of the device following our 20-minute play and, after living with the handset for more than a week, we’re happy to announce we haven’t changed our minds whatsoever.

OK, so at 136g with vital statistics that make it one of the bigger-boned kids in class, the C905 would easily beat the likes of LG’s KC910 and the MOTOZINE ZN5 in a fight – spitting on their comparatively wimp-like 114g. But, when the fight’s about more than just sheer muscle, how does the C905 stack up?

Thankfully its 8.1-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics isn’t the only punch this device packs. But more about that later as this is a review of a camera phone, after all.

While the weight of the C905 may put some off, it also helps convey a feeling of solidness. This isn’t a phone that’s going to shatter into a million pieces if you accidentally drop it while drunk. Although doing so might result in scuff marks on the phone’s classy exterior; it comes in Copper Gold, Ice Silver and Night Black. For the record, ours was the latter.

The metallic finish around the keys and camera casing added a certain touch of class to our review handset, although we’re a bit concerned the lens cover may prove a haven for bits of dirt.

Dedicated zoom, camera and shutter buttons can be found on the right-hand of handset, while the proprietary charging/headphone port and Memory Stick Micro slot are on the left. The lack of a 3.5mm adaptor for the headphone was a bit of a let down.

The C905’s sliding action is smooth and the keypad and menu keys are well sized, nicely spaced and highly responsive.

With a vibrant 2.4-inch screen and an equally bright, breezy and easy to use UI, this phone is a pleasure to use let alone take pictures.

With the usual high-end camera functionalities such as auto focus, face detection, red eye reduction, image stabilisation, Smart Contrast, BestPic and PhotoFix, you could be mistaken that this is a camera rather than a cameraphone. Images are crisp, and in dark conditions complemented by the xenon flash that blasts the alternative LED light out of the water.

The camera is easy to use with shortcuts for the most useful functions and the accelerometer kicks in when you flip the phone sideways, making it feel ever more like a proper camera in terms of taking and viewing pics.

The integrated speaker was adequate enough with sound coming through without a tin-can effect and, although it was quite loud, we wish sound could have been cranked up higher.

The C905 receives no complaints whatsoever about standard call quality and battery life, although it’s worth keeping an eye on the juice meter if you’re one of those people that takes photos of absolutely everything and then uploads them to the likes of Facebook, Flickr et al as that may drain your handset prematurely.

Talking of uploading, the C905 boasts HSPDA action of up to 3.6Mbps as well as the delights of Wi-Fi, assisted GPS and the ability to jump on the geo-tagging bandwagon with your pics to boot.

In certain phone categories, such as music, the C905’s bulk would go again the grain and see it collecting dust on the shelves why its svelte counterparts flew off theirs. When it comes to camera phones, however, a good quality snapper can help you overlook such shortcomings.

The Sony Ericsson C905 is a quality camera phone and then some. With the extra features it packs in it’s no wonder the handset is more Arnie than Ally McBeal in terms of stature but, contrary to popular belief, the best things don’t only come in small packages.