Review: Sony Ericsson Z750a

I got my first SE (Sony Ericsson) by accident. Well, not really by accident, but it definitely wasn't a well thought out choice on my part. The screen on my Motorola V220 blacked out on me, so I need a replacement phone. A friend of mine had an old CellOne W580i she wasn't using anymore, and she said I could use it until I got a new phone. Yes I knew of all the manufacturer defects before I got it, but I didn't care. The screen worked and it was free. Now, after all the problems with the 580, why would I get another SE phone? Because I'm stuck on my mother's contract and she needed a new phone since my brother's dog ate hers. The Sony Ericsson Z750a was the one she wanted.

I've had my purple Sony Ericsson Z750a for slightly over one month and I love it. For me, this is the perfect phone. There are many pros to this phone, and very few cons.

Pros:

Camera/Video:

The 2 megapixel camera is quite a step up from the VGA camera on my old Motorola. The picture quality is not as great as my boyfriend's Motorola i880 from Nextel, but it's still a better quality camera than I've ever had (the camera on the 580i didn't work at all).

The camera has many different options to choose from as far as how you want your pictures to look. For "shoot mode" you have: normal, panorama, frames, and burst. There is also night mode, a self-timer, an option to adjust white balance (auto, daylight, cloudy, fluorescent, and incandescent), you can add effects like black and white, negative, or sepia and you can change your picture quality from fine to normal. You have the option of turning the picture review on or off or changing your shutter sound, and you can even change your picture size from 2 mp (megapixel) to 1 mp, or VGA (although I have no idea why anyone would want to).

The video recorder has some of the same options as the camera: night mode, self-timer, white balance, effects and review. Different options the camera doesn't have are video length, which can be changed from normal to MMS and microphone, which can be on or muted.

Once you have taken a snapshot or video, you have options as to what you would like to do with it. You can edit it in PhotoDJ or VideoDJ, or use Photo Fix if the picture is too dark among others.

Making/Receiving Phone Calls:

Unlike the SE W580i, the Z750a has a large number pad that makes dialing numbers and writing text messages quick and easy, and the send/receive button is more distinguishable on this model as well.

Voice clarity appears to be quite good during calls, although some people have complained on forum sites about other people sounding like they are trying to talk through water. This is one thing I have yet to experience.

Now for the cons. While I do like this phone very much, there are some bad points that I feel could use a little work.

Cons:

All of the cons that I have listed here I have not only experienced myself, but have found multiple other people have made the same complaints on forums.

Battery Life:

While the phone itself is great, I find that it needs to be charged on an almost daily basis, even when not being used that often. AT&T Wireless claims that this phone should have around 9 hours talk time, and up to 16 days standby time. Even though no phone will have the talk and standby times that companies suggest it will, a phone should still have at the very least, half the talk and standby times that are advertised. If I'm lucky, and don't use my phone at all, I might get two and a half, maybe three days of standby. When using it to make calls, that time will be shortened to about 36 hours.

In addition to not having a long battery life, I've noticed that the phone will not charge above 98% unless it is completely turned off. Other people have had this problem as well; however if you make a simple call to Sony Ericsson customer service, they will send you a new battery for your Sony Ericsson Z750a.

Camera:

As I'm sure you understand by now, I love this phone's camera. The only issue I have with it is that there is no zoom feature in camera mode. The zoom feature only works in video record mode.

External Display:

The front of the Sony Ericsson Z750a is a mirrored finish, meaning that it's shiny like a mirror. The external display is also "hidden" so it looks like there isn't one, until you open the phone then close it or push one of the buttons on the side of the phone. The external display in not back lit; the time, symbols and words are what are light up. The side effect to this is that you cannot see who is calling you, what time it is, or if it's a voicemail or text message you receive if you are out in the sun. To me, this is not that important. If I want to know the time, I can wear a watch. If I want to see who is calling, or see if it's a voicemail or text message that I've been alerted to, I'll simply waste the half-ounce of energy to open my phone and look.

Accessories:

When purchased through AT&T, the Sony Ericsson Z750a does not come with a memory card, data cable or ear buds for the music player. This is perfectly fine if you had the Sony Ericsson W580i because the memory card, data cable and ear buds work with both phones. If you didn't have the pleasure of owning the W580i, you will have to purchase all accessories separately which can get expensive.

The memory card is not a standard SD, miniSD, or microSD. It is a special SanDisk Memory Stick Micro M2 that is slightly smaller than a miniSD, but larger than the microSD.

All in all, the Sony Ericsson Z750a is not a bad purchase. Prices vary depending on where you go, but through AT&T Wireless it's about $50.00 after mail-in rebate. And for those of you who decide to purchase this phone, good luck and enjoy your new Sony Ericsson Z750a!