After being upstaged by a slew of new touch-screen, clam-shell and slider phones, candy-bar handsets are making a snazzy return.
Just take a look at the new Sony Ericsson G502, a compact phone that is designed to allow users to surf the Internet on the go.
It helps that the phone, which comes in 'champagne black' and 'brilliant hazel', looks nice and classy too.
Despite its small size - half the size of your palm - it has all the standard features found in most phones.
These include a 2-megapixel camera, a music and video player, a radio, as well as a slot for your Sony memory card.
Although it is small, its keypad is nicely designed with clear demarcation of the buttons so that you won't press the wrong button even in a rush.
With its high-speed 3G web connectivity, Sony Ericsson wants to position this phone as tool that can help busy executives to stay in touch with the office even when they are out meeting clients.
This is done simply by activating its e-mail set-up wizard which guides you on how to access e-mails that are sent to your web account. You can also choose to have e-mails 'push' directly to your phone.
For those who move around a lot, the G502 comes with the latest version of Google???? Maps for Mobile.
So to find your way around, simply enter your start and finish locations, and receive point-by-point directions to direct you to your destination.
But if you still need more help to get around, you may want to consider getting the GPS Enabler HGE-100 accessory which can be plugged to the phone to make it a full GPS device.
For music lovers, they will love the TrackID feature of this phone - it helps them to identify the song that is playing on the radio or even on a speaker at the shopping mall.
Just allow the phone to 'sample' the music by holding it close to the speaker and it will provide the name of the song and even its singer after it processes the information.
Now that's what I call an intelligent system.
And its best feature? The phone is a bargain at only $288 (without contract).
Rating: *** 1/2
This story was first published in The New Paper on 24 August 2008.
