Sony Ericsson F305 review

The Nintendo Wii shipped its 50 millionth unit this month. That makes it the runaway leader in the console arena and games industry phenomenon. What has this to do with the new Sony Ericsson F305? It was clearly the inspiration.

Looking like part phone, part Wii controller, the pitch of the F305 is to bring mobile motion sensor based gaming to the youth market. How it looks to achieve this is twofold: firstly, the handset comes equipped with an accelerometer and a selection of compatible games; secondly, it features rather mediocre specifications to keep the price down.

Given that they aren't going to excite anyone, let's get these specs out of the way. At the heart of the F305 are a surprisingly small (2-inch) and low resolution (176 x 220 pixel) display, a fixed focus two-megapixel camera with no flash, 10MB of native memory and EDGE connectivity. Relative luxuries like 3G, GPS and Wi-Fi are all understandably absent, but there is at least Bluetooth with A2DP support for streaming music to wireless headphones and an M2 memory expansion slot.

Still best we move onto the gaming aspect of things, or actually perhaps Sony Ericsson would rather we didn't since it's a rather disappointing experience. In short, a mere trio of motion games are provided out the box - 'Bowling', 'Bass fishing' and 'Jockey' -  and at best each requires more luck than judgement. At worst they are fundamentally flawed and ill thought out.

Take the example of Bass Fishing where a fish is reeled in by shaking the handset in a fast upwards motion, it's impossible to follow what you're doing. Think about it: there is a reason why the Wii doesn't have the display on the remotes themselves. Sadly, this problem affects all three titles to a greater or lesser extent and they degenerate into guessing games based on wild swipes. It all becomes quickly frustrating.

In hindsight, Sony Ericsson would have been better drawing inspiration not from the Wii but the iPhone. Of course on a budget mobile no-one would expect the F305 to display the same level of sophistication as this most premium of handsets but iPhone games are based on gentle movements that allow you to track the screen as you play. It's simple logic but it has been overlooked here. In fact, it is something of a sad indictment that the most enjoyable of all the F305 games is Space Invaders which is played in a traditional manner using the rocker pad and centre button. Even the rear fitted 'gaming' stereo speakers sound tinny and there's no native 3.5mm jack to attach your favourite pair of headphones.

With its main selling point something of a bust then we're left scratching around to find positives. Perhaps the most notable of which is battery life, something Sony Ericsson quotes at an astonishing eight hours talk time and 400 hours standby. We didn't get close to challenging this in our time with the handset but after four days comprising some light calls and numerous attempts to like the games more it still retained a near 30 per cent charge which is hugely impressive.

Countering this however are poor quality build materials which make the F305 feel every bit the budget phone it is and a spongy keypad that makes writing an SMS more of a chore that it should be. Even the PC cable has been left out the box in an effort to cut cost.

Sure the F305 is light at just 97.5 grams, but then again the rather chunky 96x47x14.6mm dimensions mean it still feels rather bulky in a pocket. Yes, somehow the Sony Ericsson F305 manages to make a final negative out of what seemed a plus. It's a scenario which ultimately sums up this well intentioned but misguided model.