Never buying a Sony Ericsson again

condra

Approx 6 months after spending over 200 quid for a w910i, I today sold it for the grand total 90 quid.



Despite its slick look, and decent feature set, the w910i was a complete nightmare for me.

Everything is over-complicated, for example, apart from the main numeric buttons, there are a total of 18 other buttons. 18! Crazy.

Theres about 3 or 4 ways to do anything. The main menu, the soft keys, the shortcuts, preferences, media button, etc. This also annoyed me.

The menu system was awful and texting was a real pain, especially as it required the use of the directional pad, aswell as having fiddley buttons. Predictive text was more annoying than I could possibly imagine it would ever be. Nokia do predictive text much better than SE.

Everything was a click or two more than any Nokia would ever need.
Would you like to send this message to a contact or put in the number yourself? Actually Sony, I'd like a default here without having to be asked, you twats.
You are about to exit a message, would you like to save it?
Actually Sony, I'd like you to stop prompting me every 2 seconds.

Aside from that, the software was buggy, and online support was shambolic.

More fun - Some files refused to delete. "Operation Failed" was one of its favourite messages, but even with perfect software, this phone would be a total, 100% LEMON.



I should have learnt my lesson when I had a crappy Sagem when I was 18.

Sony should stick to DJ headphones,


and Ericsson, well they can go and feck off with themselves.


Apple or Nokia from now on.

Random

Don't judge the whole company by one handset .. they have some cracking phones out there.

Creamy Goodness

erm since all your complaints about the phone are based solely on the UI and ergonomics side of things and ericsson don't deal with any of that, i fail to see why you tell them to feck off?

Perfect fit

womoma wrote: »

Approx 6 months after spending over 200 quid for a w910i, I today sold it for the grand total 90 quid.

whoever bought it off ya saw u comin:D

womoma wrote: »

Everything is over-complicated, for example, apart from the main numeric buttons, there are a total of 18 other buttons. 18! Crazy.

Theres about 3 or 4 ways to do anything. The main menu, the soft keys, the shortcuts, preferences, media button, etc.
.

the first person ive ever heard complain about there being to much choice, if anything having so much choice on how to do things would make the phone easier to use, nokia is for people that have no technology sense whatso ever that cant get the hang of predictive text after 6 months

condra

Perfect Fits comments merit response.

Perfect fit wrote: »

whoever bought it off ya saw u comin:D

I agree for the most part. - He got a decent deal, although it was very hard to shift it on adverts.ie, and I had to explain to the guy that the memory was dodgy.

the first person Ive ever heard complain about there being to much choice, if anything having so much choice on how to do things would make the phone easier to use,

I disagree (although I see where you are coming from).
Some of the most innovative designers like Apple and Dyson have been very successful by using the "keep it simple, stupid" rule. Personally, I don't want 18 extra buttons on my phone when 5 or 6 would do.
Perhaps it is just down to personal taste, and maybe I'm in the minority, but I'm a sophisticated modda fokka anyway.

nokia is for people that have no technology sense whatso ever that cant get the hang of predictive text after 6 months

Its quite patronising that you suggest I have no technology sense and cannot get the hang of predictive text.
As a sound designer, computer musician, and graphic designer, I have plenty of technology savvy.
The way which Sony deals with predictive text is not as intuitive as Nokias, in my opinion. Please don't make insulting assumptions or assertions about me.
Also - "whatsoever" is one word.;)

Perfect fit

why didnt you count the buttons before you bought it??:P

oh and modda fokka isnt a word :rolleyes:

Ah no in all seriousness im not trying to patronise you but id agree with the above in saying dont paint them all with the 1 brush sony generally are outstanding but like all makes do have that odd few rubbish models

condra

I quite liked it at first, because of the mp3 and video playback, but over time, the phone slowly drove me insane.

It is easy to say "don't tar them with the same brush", but I've had a SE, and so has my brother, and both of us had pretty dire experiences with them, mostly because of software and GUI.

Likewise, I've had about 5 Nokias, all of which have been stress free to use.

I should have realised my post (which was meant as more of a jestful rant than a scathing review) would get on some peoples wicks, but I'm sticking to my guns.

Nokia or Apple from now on.

billbond4

Did you ever try to update the firmware to get rid of the "Operation Failed"?
Have you ever tried a Nokia slider? I think you would have the same problem with a slider phone due to its format.
I text a lot and would never get a slider, as its not a good phone layout for texting, candybar is the only type of phone layout if you text alot, no matter the manufacturer.

condra

billbond4 wrote: »

Did you ever try to update the firmware to get rid of the "Operation Failed"?

The download failed twice from the pathetic Sony Ericsson support site:
http://www.sonyericsson.com/support
When I eventually got it downloaded, it would not install for me under XP or Vista. It may have been a corrupt file, but by then I had had enough.

By the way doing a "factory reset" from the phones menu, did nothing more than delete all my phone numbers and text messages. All the games and pictures were left on the phone, aswell as calling history, themes etc.

Have you ever tried a Nokia slider? I think you would have the same problem with a slider phone due to its format.
I text a lot and would never get a slider, as its not a good phone layout for texting, candybar is the only type of phone layout if you text alot, no matter the manufacturer.

Yes, I have had other sliders, and no, not all sliders are crap for texting, certainly not as bad as the w910i.

_Kaiser_

Well, I have to say I moved to a Sony Ericsson phone once (a T610 in my case) - never again!

- Signal strength was abysmal where my older Nokia was perfect
- It randomly restarted itself a lot
- It randomly froze
- SE's predictive texting/texting in general was just different enough to drive me mad.

It lasted all of 2 weeks with me before it got sold on for something like €50.

Now granted the newer Nokia's aren't exactly flawless, especially the very slow E/N series - although the E51 I currently have is an exception to this, not so for the E65 I also have and which quickly found itself relegated to being my work phone.

Anyway, I made my mistake with SE once and will stick with Nokias I think

Hrududu

I've had an SE for about 3 years now. Best phone I've ever had. Its the K750i. After three years of daily use I only need to charge it once a week.

condra

Kaiser2000 thanks for sharing your negative experience with Sone Ericsson. This thread was always going to attract SE fans more than critics.

I forgot to mention, I also had a freeziing problem with mine, aswell as the screen turning itself off whenever the sun shined on the phone, requiring a restart.

Totally buggy software. Not just one bug, but many bugs.

Fratton Fred

I think SE are having the same problem Nokia had a few years ago, they are rushing phones to the market without giving them a proper tesing.

from what i can see, there isn't much to choose between the manufacturers, Nokia are maybe better for texters, but I really like the SE walkman functionality.

Horses for courses and all that.

laoisfan

the simple fact is that both SE and Nokia phones have lots of bugs in them.....sorry not bugs...unwanted functionality..or lack off

i have had SE now for a long time, 4+ yrs. before that i used to have nokia. there were several things i did not like about nokia.

but hey...as previous poster said "Horses for courses".

i would bet any money that we would find similar issues with SE & Nokias and other brand phones.

seems like you were unlucky.

btw i am going to leave Meteor in about 3 weeks time and port to O2. i'm thinking of getting the "SE W910i" a mate of mine has had it for nearly a yr now (O2 Uk) and has no issues with it. funny that....

condra

laoisfan wrote: »

the simple fact is that both SE and Nokia phones have lots of bugs in them.....sorry not bugs...unwanted functionality..or lack off

Big difference between bugs and functionality. My sisters candybar Nokia doesn't have the same functionality as many Sony Ericssons, but it has no firmware bugs.
I have used a lot of Nokias, and I know people who own Nokias, and I have never seen a Nokia with a firmware problem, yet have seen many SEs with many problems.
That is my experience, and that is primarily what I base my views on.

i would bet any money that we would find similar issues with SE & Nokias and other brand phones.

I would bet any money that Nokia phones have far less software/firmware issues than Sony Ericssons. I base this on my personal experience aswell as phone reviews which I have read.

seems like you were unlucky.

If you read up about the w910i, it would seem my problems are very common.

i'm thinking of getting the "SE W910i" a mate of mine has had it for nearly a yr now (O2 Uk) and has no issues with it.

Good luck with it. I hope you get lucky.

byte

My other half had her heart set on getting one of those W910i phones, but the guy in the phone shop talked her out of it, saying that they were nothing but bother. According to him, she'd be likely to return within 6 months with a fault, usually the slider function breaking.

She went for a Nokia something-or-other instead.

Me, I've had 3 SE's in the past 5 years or so, none of them lasting 12 months without somethign breaking. Most recent is my K800i, which while it works, won't vibrate anymore. That said, I loved that phone and it has a great camera and battery life.

DRice

I personally find the SE's the most beautiful phones out there, i really really wanted that w910i but it doesnt have a flippin flash (why why why why)

anyway my nokia N73 was cool but nowhere near as good as my Se old w810i which i am back to using now as i dropped the N73 down the toilet by accident :mad::P

Im_No_Superman

Ive had my W810i over a year now and its the best phone ive ever had, never a bother with it. Would have no hesitation with buying a SE phone again. The W910i does seem to have alot of problems though so I hope SE arnt getting complacent with their recent success in the phone market.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

Rsaeire

I have used 6 SE handsets over the last 3 years and I've only had issues with the latest two, the K800i and the K850i.

I would still recommend them both, I'm in fact using a W910i while I have my K850i replaced, so I wouldn't be too discouraged against SE handsets. All manufacturers have some handsets that cause more problems than others but as a whole, I find SE to be the best.

120_Minutes

speaking as a se fan for the last 3 years, they havent made a good handset since the w810i. (or at least a good mid priced handset)

i've owned an w800i an 810i and k800i and used a k750i without a days trouble.

the w380i and 580i are utter sh1t however

and op, if you've never come across a nokia with unstable firmware then you're a very lucky man indeed.

BostonB

The only Sony's I've had were the K750i and W810i. Both were grand. My only complaint would be that the predictive text is a little stupid. It doesn't pick the most obvious words a lot of the time. The UI is a little too fussy but looks better than the Nokia's. The camera can be a little picky when it works sometimes. I can't understand why so few phones have autofocus like these do. Makes all the difference when talking photos. Lack of autofocus made the W910i a non runner for me. Have to agree though that a lot of Nokia's are easier to use. Though I don't understand why they move things around in the Nokia interface, so not all Nokia's are the same. That said the Nokia 6300 is a great phone too.

condra

2 points I forgot to make about the w910i. One positive, one negative.

+
Battery life was the best I've had on any phone.

-
The power charger and propriety headphones SUCKED. The rubbery cable on the headphones was impossible to untangle, and boy did those bad boys like to tangle.

Incidenntally, I pick up my Nokia N95 in about 25 minutes. Very excited.

BostonB

Better wear cargo trousers when picking that up.

I've been using SE phones since the t68 came out. The only one thats given any hassle is the k850i which bricked itself twice. Currently using a P1i which has been extremely reliable. Might change over to the xperia when that comes out,depending on the price.

condra

BostonB wrote: »

Better wear cargo trousers when picking that up.

Its quite chunky but it is a smart phone, and the 5mb camera is superb.

Run_to_da_hills

womoma wrote: »

Approx 6 months after spending over 200 quid for a w910i, I today sold it for the grand total 90 quid.

A 50% depreciation on any electronic device such as a mobile phone or pc over 6 months useage is about right. You did well.

partyatmygaff

get an n95,
it does everything and its stable and quick enough, runs doom, nes emulators etc etc


5mpx camera is really damn good and the music player and speakers are top notch
Cant fault the phone except for the short battery life but heh its one hell of a phone

condra

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

A 50% depreciation on any electronic device such as a mobile phone or pc over 6 months useage is about right. You did well.

And considering the memory was bugged up, I'm very happy. Also did ok to get a N95 for 250 yoyo, so the upgrade was 160, not too shabby.

get an n95,
it does everything and its stable and quick enough, runs doom, nes emulators etc etc

5mpx camera is really damn good and the music player and speakers are top notch
Cant fault the phone except for the short battery life but heh its one hell of a phone

Have it a few hours now. It was unlocked but not unbranded. I managed to get it unbranded in a couple of hours this evening, which is reason for great rejoyce, as the vodafone logo gives me homocidal urges.

Really feels like a clever device- not just a phone with frills.

The lack of propriety headphones means I can use it with my favourite technics cans.

The usb connection means I can simply hot swap it with my "sperm" style internet.

The included tv adapter means I can use the tele in my room as a quick speaker system for mp3s.

The excellent camera (with flash) means I can sell my old camera.

The excellent graphics and the fact that it is a smart phone (w910i is not) means I can play excellent games and make use of a ton of Symbian software waiting on the internet for me to download.

Its also very solid in operation. Very happy with the N95 so far.

_Kaiser_

womoma wrote: »

And considering the memory was bugged up, I'm very happy. Also did ok to get a N95 for 250 yoyo, so the upgrade was 160, not too shabby.


Have it a few hours now. It was unlocked but not unbranded. I managed to get it unbranded in a couple of hours this evening, which is reason for great rejoyce, as the vodafone logo gives me homocidal urges.

Really feels like a clever device- not just a phone with frills.

The lack of propriety headphones means I can use it with my favourite technics cans.

The usb connection means I can simply hot swap it with my "sperm" style internet.

The included tv adapter means I can use the tele in my room as a quick speaker system for mp3s.

The excellent camera (with flash) means I can sell my old camera.

The excellent graphics and the fact that it is a smart phone (w910i is not) means I can play excellent games and make use of a ton of Symbian software waiting on the internet for me to download.

Its also very solid in operation. Very happy with the N95 so far.

Slightly OT, but what's the N95 like for texting? I do a lot of it and the E65 I have is rubbish (and slow) that way. Is the N95 any better or should I stick with my E51 - I'm entitled to a upgrade ya see

partyatmygaff

the keys are a tiny bit too small but i have huge hands
actually texting is very fluid and stable and works perfect, have to admit though motorola's texting system works better though.

00sully

funny, i've gone from nokia, to motorola to samsung (u600 AWFUL software) and SE W800i and now SE W890i. I find the software on the 2 SE's i've had FAR superior to any phone i've ever had - I get a new phone every 6 months or so (addiction)

Software is now my number 1 criteria for choosing a phone and I have to say i've found SE's are far better than any other manufacturer i've touched. The W800i had the best software followed by W890i. I also find the predictive text on both to by far superior than other phones i've used too - including nokias which are prob 2nd on the list.

i wont even talk about samsung or moto's - brutal both. was gonna go for the W910i based on looks before i held out for the w890i - i doubt they can be miles apart in terms of software at least?

I know a thing or two about software too being a dev

Walkman

Using 2 SE at the moment, both on 3, the k770i and w910i. Had a few problems with the w910i at the start with it turning itself off but got it re-flashed and no problems since. Music player is second to none but the camera is pure rubbish (bought it as a music phone so not to bothered really but would have liked at least a flash). K770i another great phone, not one problem since I got it last month (touch wood), great camera and music player while not up to w910i does the job. All in all I definately prefere SE (closely followed by LG) to nokias. Have a look at the n73 for buggy firmware, or the e65 for slow functions.

sharkman

Deleted User wrote: »

I've been using SE phones since the t68 came out. The only one thats given any hassle is the k850i which bricked itself twice. Currently using a P1i which has been extremely reliable. Might change over to the xperia when that comes out,depending on the price.

Same here , I've had nearly every SE from The T68 to presentphones and the only one I've had a problem with was the K850i(which SE Ireland recently replaced free of charge) .

Next is the Sony Ericsson G900 , Will NEVER touch a nokia again !





Unless I get a N96 at the right price and that will only last two weeks before I get fed up of the stupid Nokia UI .

condra

I haven't used enough slider phones to compare it to, but it's streets ahead of the old w910i because the keys are rounded and deep. Its comfortable to text really fast, and difficult to hit the wrong key. I text a lot and Im very happy with the n95.
The directional pad also feels great compared to the silly round one on the w910i.