The Sony Ericsson T637 succeeds the manufacturer's wildly popular T610/T616 model: Larry Garfield looks at the latest phone in Sony Ericsson's high-end family.
Exterior
A virtual clone of the Sony Ericsson T610/T616 at 10.2 x 4.3 x 1.7 cm and 92.5 grams, the T637 is mainly distinguished from its predecessor through the design of its keypad and color scheme. Available in black and white, the T637's keypad is made up of large, square plastic buttons closely spaced, joined by the exact same joystick as that of the T610 - although with added resting space for ones thumb. Above the keypad, we find a bright and crisp 16-bit TFT color display with a resolution of 128 x 160 pixels.
 | The T637 offers a solid handset but a poor camera
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On the back of the T637 we find a large mirror just below the integrated 0.1 megapixel digital camera, handy for vanity shots. The camera also has its own dedicated button placed far up on the left side of the handsets, just above volume up/down control buttons. Meanwhile, the right side hosts a button activating the XHTML browser.
Ergonomics
Although cramped-looking, the keys on the T637 are some of the better buttons we've seen. Each key is clear plastic with a black backing and gentle white backlight, much better than the typical blue backlight. The keys are also nicely domed and the 5 key has a little nub, making blind-dialing very easy. On the other hand, the menu and dial buttons are the same design as the number keys, which is potentially confusing, and the effective length of the joystick, which was perfect on the T610, has been reduced due to the introduction of the raised thumb resting area surrounding the joystick. Nonetheless, the T637 lies well in the hand and is very comfortable to use.
Features
Equipped with GSM 850/1800/1900 MHz for voice connectivity as well as GPRS for data services, the Sony Ericsson T637 comes fully equipped with an XHTML browser, e-mail client and both SMS and MMS support. Polyphonic ringtones are also supported, although for eager users of the camera or those with a particular knack for J2ME applications, the 2 MB of dynamic memory available might prove somewhat challenging to users.
The T637 supports Wireless Village based instant messaging, and offers up a 'My Friends' menu choice to allow users to communicate with contacts - provided ones network operator supports such functionality.
More common functions are of course also present in the T637, including a calendar, alarm, calculator and clock, while PAN connectivity is ensured by support for both Infrared and Bluetooth transfers.
Performance
The menu system of the Sony Ericsson T637 is, as that of the T610, icon based, user friendly and intuitive. Text input speeds are quite satisfactory and the partial online help is quite welcome, however the 0.1 megapixel camera leaves something to be desired as 0.3 megapixel resolution is becoming a de facto minimum standard for phones of the T637's caliber. Sadly, video recordings are also not supported.
On the bright side, the T637 offers good audio quality. Its signal strenght was also very impressive, especially compared to earlier Sony Ericsson models. Its battery capacity is listed as offering up to 9 hours of talk time and 12.5 days of standby time. In practice, it lasted a long weekend of moderate use on just under one charge.
Availability
The Sony Ericsson T637 is now available in North America for $199.99 USD without service agreement. Price with service agreement will vary.
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