Larry Garfield takes a look at Sony Ericsson's entry-level T237, and finds just that; an entry-level phone, but a decent one at that.
Exterior
The T237 follows in Sony Ericsson's recent style of small and simple candybar phones. Measuring 101 x 43.9 x 19 mm and weighing a comfortable 79 grams, it slips easily into a pocket. The sides are tapered back slightly, making it easier to pick up but a bit harder to hold in big hands. The front and back are dull silver plastic while the sides are a frosted black that gives the user just a bit of view inside the case, but not much.
 | The T237 is a decent entry-level phone
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The screen on the T237 is a 101 x 80 pixel 12-bit color display, which while perfectly usable is not very bright and appears somewhat washed out compared to even the company's older mid-range phones. The buttons too have a low-end feel, as they are made out of hardened but slick rubber. The directional pad consists of a slick chromed select button surrounded by a non-slick rocker, flanked by plastic Yes/Dial/Left and No/Hang Up/Right buttons, as is typical for Sony Ericsson key layouts.
The left side of the phone includes a rubber rocker switch for volume control, while the bottom sports the standard Sony Ericsson charging and headset connectors.
Ergonomics
As mentioned, the tapered sides make the phone a bit hard for large-handed people to hold flat in the hand, although like the ridged edges of some other models it does make it easy to hold against the face. The rubber buttons do not feel good against the finger, although they are well-spaced and have good key travel making blind-dialing easy, despite the nub on the 5 key being rather unpronounced. The directional pad is usable, although the raised and slick select button can be annoying at times. Size-wise the phone is small enough to be easily portable but large enough to not get lost in the hand, which is good.
Features
The T237 is a dual-band 850/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS phone, making it compatible with American networks only. The basic PIM apps are included, although little else, including Sony Ericsson's overall well-designed phone book. The phone offers polyphonic ring tones, although they sound very tinny, as well as a voice recorder and downloadable themes. Input is via multi-tap, with no option for T9 or for voice dialing. Despite the lack of a camera the phone supports SMS, MMS, and a basic e-mail client, and as usual Java games are supported as well. There is no support for Bluetooth or infrared, though, making the T237 very much a phone-only phone.
Performance
In practice the phone performed adequately across the board. Audio quality was good, as was reception despite the internal antenna. There was also little interference in the reception from other devices or a hand or head, a problem with some older Sony Ericsson models.
The replaceable Lithium Ion battery is rated for 12 hours of talk time or 300 hours standby. That's a very long life for a conventional phone, but the T237 comes pretty close to it, making it good for casual users who keep forgetting where their power cable is.
Availability
The Sony Ericsson T237 is available through a number of carriers in the United States. It costs $69.99 USD retail, less with service agreement and possibly free, depending on the carrier.
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