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| Sony Ericsson HBH-DS970 |
| Full review » Gallery » |
 Small, yet powerful; Sony Ericsson's HBH-DS970 delivers excellent audio through comfortable earpieces with an easy-to-use interface and enough battery juice to last all but the most avid users a day. Our only gripe with the headset is its lack of a clothes clip, as its pendant design will cause it to bounce uncontrollably around while you walk or land it in a bowl of soup; if this isn't a problem, go fetch - you won't regret. Release: June 2006. Price: $125.
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| Sony Ericsson C905 |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 The Sony Ericsson C905 is a phone that takes pictures that look fantastic, perhaps better than any other cameraphone we've seen so far. Unfortunately, that's about the only thing it does very well. For people who want to take print-worthy shots without carrying an extra camera, the Sony Ericsson C905 is a perfect fit. In terms of other features, it does an adequate job, especially in text messaging and GPS Navigation. But for a high-end phone, we were let down by the lack of a decent Web browser, and we were frustrated by the video playback that made our videos look foggy and poor. It's too bad AT&T is selling this phone without the included headphones and memory stick micro, as these proprietary formats are expensive, and a few features rely on these accessories to work properly. Still, cameraphone fans have found their king shooter at the top of the carrier pile, and AT&T has fired its latest shot in the burgeoning megapixel phone wars. Release: July 2009. Price: $180.
Pros: Great 8-megapixel camera with nice features and shortcuts. Solid interface design with a sleek look and convenient app switcher.
Cons: Doesn't excel much beyond the camera. AT&T has stripped package of necessary accessories. Big device with a mediocre keypad.
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| Sony Ericsson W995 |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 The Sony Ericsson W995 gets things right in a few key ways that its primary competitors miss. As an unlocked multimedia super-phone, the real competition for the Sony Ericsson W995 is Nokia's Nseries, and in terms of the Walkman music player with the Media Go software, the W995 proves itself a capable Walkman (to check out recent Sony Ericsson Walkman phones, click here). Since it isn't a smartphone, Sony Ericsson can keep a clean menu design in a way that Nokia cannot. In addition to the music features, the phone also gets Web browsing and Wi-Fi, but though the speeds are impressive, the Access Netfront browser found in this phone isn't. We think the 8.1-megapixel camera is overkill though, and image quality can't compete with Nokia's best offerings, like the Nokia N85. Release: July 2009. Price: $500.
Pros: Great music features, with an improved interface and management software. Surprisingly robust GPS features.
Cons: Doesn't quite measure up to similarly-equipped smartphones. Camera and Web browsing features come up short. Call quality and battery life disappoint.
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73%
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| Sony Ericsson Z555 |
Specs » Gallery » |
 Okay, so clearly Sony Ericsson is aiming at picking off some of Nokia's fashion phone crowd. The Z555 would be pretty mid-range, if it weren't for the unique geometrical styling on the face, clearly reminiscent of the Nokia 7900 Prism. We got to take a look at the black version, but a garish pink will be available as well, because you can't make a fashion phone in black without making one in pink. Ah well, if you like the design, look for it at Sony Style or online, because we can't see a U.S. carrier picking this one up any time soon. Release: February 2008. Price: $200.
Pros: Cool, unique geometric design. Um, probably won't slip, thanks to diamond-plate pattern.
Cons: Very mid-range. No real stand-out features like Walkman support or Cyber Shot-level optics.
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| Sony Ericsson Z770 |
Specs » Gallery » |
 The Sony Ericsson Z770 was the most mysterious phone at their Mobile World press conference. Though the company bragged about the phones "Web 2.0" capabilities, the phones on display were bolted to the wall and seemingly untethered from any network access. If this phone doesn't have flash support, it won't come close to living up to its promises, so we're curious to see what's really going on. This is a nice, small clamshell to come packed with a password manager for the Web and Exchange Active Sync support for corporate e-mail and calendar apps. Still, typing even moderately sized URLs on the small, flat, numeric keypad was a pain in our hands-on tests, so we can't imagine typing out an e-mail to the company. Release: April 2008. Price: $300.
Pros: Web 2.0 support, whatever that means. Exchange Active Sync support is rare on such a small, thin flip phone.
Cons: Display unit wasn't working, couldn't verify flash support. Keypad is small for typing, though features seem to require it.
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