» Price: $498 » Available: From authorised dealers
THIS candy-bar phone is better as a phone than a camera - surprising for a Cyber-shot mobile.
Its wow factor lies in a new 'SMS conversation' feature rather than the picture-perfect promise of a Cyber-shot.
SMS conversation is common in smartphones but absent in most Symbian-powered mobiles.
The feature allows you to see your conversation threads on a single screen in a style similar to instant messaging - a nifty tool for the texting generation. (SMS conversation is also available on the C905 after a software upgrade downloadable from the Sony Ericsson website.)
Also deviating from the norm, Xenon flash - so synonymous with other Cyber-shot models - has been left out. Then again, the C510 is billed as the most affordable Cyber-shot phone, so something had to give.
On a bright day, the phone takes excellent pictures with accurate colour reproduction. But it struggles under low light with pictures coming out slightly noisy. The LED flash is not much help.
Otherwise, the camera is extremely easy to use. I would just fall back on the default auto-setting no matter what type of shots I was taking - landscape, portrait or macro. Picture viewing and editing can be done comfortably on the 262,144 colour TFT screen.
Overall, Sony Ericsson has not failed with its sleek design, particularly the well thought out camera lens cover.
The brushed metal lens cover slides over the bodywork to reveal the lens. But when the cover is closed, the back panel is flat and will not open up in your bag to fire up the camera.
The 92g phone is also extremely slim - 12.5mm thin - for a Cyber-shot. It feels good to hold and the contoured keys are easy to press and are responsive.
The 3G and HSDPA handset is also loaded with these intelligent features:
Smile Shutter - detects a person's smile and takes a photo;
Face Detection - focuses on up to three faces at a time and
Auto-rotation - allows you to switch between landscape and portrait view by just rotating the mobile phone.
The phone comes in two colours: silver and black.
Final say
The price will be lower with a mobile service contract - a good phone to have and to hold if you?re not too particular about taking pictures in the dark.
This story was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life.
