The Z600 is damn near perfect

Sony Ericsson Z600 Only a couple of months after the release of the T610, a brilliant handset that was in my opinion fatally flawed, we have the release of its superior sibling, the Z600. Sony Ericsson was unable to supply me with a demo handset this early, so I had to rely on my local friends at ACS - the guys that supply me with many of the handsets I review. This test unit I have is meant for the Malaysian market, though, so bear that in mind.

No longer a fixer-upper

For me, the importance of the Z600 is based on the fact that it is functionally almost a clone of the T610. The T610 was a great handset marred by a poor screen and even worse reception. So let's touch on those two subject first.

First up, the display. While the Z600 sports the same sized display as the T610, and one that still displays 65,000 colors, it has been significantly improved. While still not as good in bright sunlight as a true reflective display, it is much better than the T610's display. It is reasonably bright and colorful, and is appropriate for a phone of this type. Certainly we'd like to see a QVGA display like that from the Sharp GX-20 in it, but we can't have everything. I'm just happy that the display has been improved as much as it has.

The bigger improvement, I would argue, has been made to the phone's RF capabilities. The T610 was a poor performer when it came to reception, not even holding its own against the aging T68i. But the Z600 is much better, and offers a true upgrade path for T68i users. I wouldn't say that the Z600's signal reception was as good as the best Nokia handsets of late, it is close. I really had no problems with it in my apartment, and was able to hold calls through some areas while driving that I was unable to manage with a T68i.

All I can say is: Thanks.

SE's first GSM folder

While Sony Ericsson has been making folder design handsets for the Japanese market, the Z600 marks the first time they have done so for the GSM market in the rest of the world. And it is about time, in my opinion.

The folder design lends some advantages when building a phone, such as the ability to have both a large display and a large, well-spaced keypad. The numeric keys on the Z600 are quite large and roomy - very easy and comfortable to use. The numeric keys, which are made of a hard rubber type substance, appear to be lit from the sides somehow, glowing rather than being backlit. With the extra room gained by having the display on the other half of the phone, there is still room enough for a large directional controller with a center select button. That's right, the center button actually acts as a select, not having been dedicated to something counterintuitive like WAP access, as is the case with most Samsung phones. All in all, I think this keypad is probably the best I have used.

Other changes afforded/required by the folder design include the use of a rear speaker for the playback of ringtones and such. This seemingly allowed Sony Ericsson to deal with some of the loudness issues had by the T610. The camera and volume control buttons are located on the side of the handset's keypad half, as you would expect, and are easier to use than those of the T610 since they are located on opposite sides of each other. With the T610 I always had the tendancy to activate the camera when I wanted to increase call volume. That won't happen on the Z600.

As is pretty much required with folder designs these days, the Z600 has an external display. However, bucking the trend for 65k color external sub-displays, the Z600 uses a simple conventional monochrome LCD display. I am so glad to see this, as the external color displays add unneeded cost and battery drain. They serve no real purpose, and are almost always harder to read than a conventional reflective monochrome LCD. The Z600 is already a bit thick, too, so a bit of added girth was probably also saved by using this more reasonable external display which is located by the hinge instead of being directly opposite of the internal display. Top-notch design, in my opinion.

The last physical aspect of the Z600 worth mentioning is the new changeable cover plates. Each Z600 will come with two pair of covers. Mine came with the striped set and electric blue. Other sets will be available later. The covers were easy to change and fit well enough. In general, I am very pleased with the appearance of the Z600. It might not be as pretty as the T610, but the design is more practical, in my opinion.

User interface

I find the Z600/T610's UI to be the best on the market. As phones gain more features, they invariably gain more complexity. So the long scrolling list of options no longer cuts it. I believe that icon based interfaces like those use by the Z600 and Nokia's Series 60 devices are currently the most intuitive designs available. But beyond the basic concept lie a thousand small touches that have to be well executed to make a UI intuitive. Buttons have to do what you expect, when you expect. Functions need to be grouped in a way the user expects, even if that means putting one feature in multiple locations (such as with Themes in the Z600).

With all that said, I really have no major complaints with the UI. I am a bit biased, perhaps, having used mostly Sony Ericsson and Series 60 devices in the past couple of years, but I've used enough other devices to know what is out there. It might not work for all people, but I think the icon based system offers the best combination of speed and learnability so far.

 

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