Sony Ericsson S710a
Phone Scoop Review
Mar 29, 2005 by Eric Lin
In-depth review of the Sony Ericsson S710a, the new high-end swivel camera phone for Cingular. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Great mutimedia, not so great phone
I just bought this phone a couple of days ago and am a bit dissapointed.
The mp3 player delivers exceptional quality through the internal speaker (not stereo hi-fi, but impressive for what it is). The headphones are ok, but the proprietary connector is a let down since it doesn't allow you to use your own set.
The camera is pretty good. A bit grainy, and not very good in low light. Video quality is lame. very tiny. (but for MMS, it's fine)
The maximum memory stick you can get is 128MB. This is good for taking pictures and video, but if you plan to use it as an MP3 player, you can only store 20 or so at a time.
All of the above things are totally acceptable since it is a phone after all. Unfortunately, this is where the real problem lies.
I was just at the L.A. airport, and needed to use the phone to check my voicemail. with all of the background noise in the terminal, I simply could not hear the messages. This is only a problem if you aren't using a handsfree. With my moto bluetooth h/f, I can hear everything just fine.
The speakerphone has very low volume, and is only good if you are in a quiet area.
The menu system leaves a lot to be desired. Not intuitive and very clunky. And as others have noted, the O.S. seems a bit slow to respond at times.
Overall, I give the phone a 3 out of 5. The multimedia is great, but they've missed the mark where basic phone functionality is concerned.
I hope the Nokia 6681 / 6682 is available in the U.S. before my 30 day cingular exchange period is up.
A Must Buy!!
pros-
bluetooth, camera, MP3 player, video player, screen, headphones, expandable, solid construction, hella stylish, fits right in the palm of your hand, RF, sound quality, just about everything else.
cons-
kinda slow OS (managable), kinda pricey, only goes up to 128 megs (still great for an mp3 player).
overall an amazing phone. if it was a bit quicker and had like 356kbps instead of a steady 80-90 (connecting my laptop to the internet, mind you), it wouldn't be touched by anything else on the market. out of ten i'd give this phone about a 9.5, only because of those minor cons listed above. overall, it's just amazing.
awesome phone
Pros:
+ Gorgeous screen. You have to see it to believe it. I work with a huge variety of phones daily, and this phone has by far the best screen I have seen on any phone. (Looking forward to comparing it to the Sanyo MM-5600.)
+ The 1.3 Mpixel camera's quality rivals my Olympus C3000 3.3 Mpixel camera. The S710 isn't as good at light metering (shots with strong direct light come out slightly overexposed) but it is amazing they can even be compared.
+ Speaker phone function is clear and seamless. (potential minor gripe: I haven't yet found a way to switch to speaker mode while the call is still ringing - I have to wait for someone to answer before switching to speaker mode.)
+ MP3 files can be assigned as ring tones, so you can rip your own CDs and use some simple tools to create your own MP3 ring tones. Copy them to your phone using Bluetooth or the included 32 Mb Memory Stick Duo.
+ Bluetooth setup is simple and easy to use - I have successfully pair with 2 computers and a Motorola 820 Bluetooth headset, all on the first try.
+ Phone has a very solid, dependable feel. Construction has very tight tolerances.
+ Phone came with a USB Memory Stick reader for your computer. (It reads MS, Duo, and CF.) This one floored me. That's the kind of thing they'd normally try to sell you extra, yet Sony Ericsson included it for free!
Cons:
- Battery life has been quite low for me - 2 days of my normal use which would be considered light by most standards. (Roughly 10 minutes of calls and 30 minutes of using games/apps/camera/phone book/etc each day.) I need to see if Cingular will, at the very least, check the battery to make sure I didn't just get a bad one. I didn't expect 8 days of continuous use, but I did expect it to go longer than barely making it through 2 days of light use.
- The phone's menus respond slowly, as does tri-tap. The menus at least seem to catch every keypress, but tri-tap loses one just about every time I try to enter data.
A tremendous purchase!
I sent the Motorola razor back to wirefly.com today as it was not all that and wirefly has the worst service I have ever imagined. So I went to cingular and picked up the sony s710.
WOWZERS! this is a cool phone. and as of now I have no challanges.
Pros:
Looks
Screen is AMAZING!
Feel
Swivel is cool
Easy to use (nothing like Motorola)
Form and function are fine.
Bluetooth
Cons:
Price a little steep but worth it after rebates.
I am unsure why a few of the reviews on here show this phone as being less than good. I am so glad I sent the razor back I am gonna go outside and do a dance in my boxers! haha..
If you are on the fence about which phone to get. TRUST ME get this phone and see what you think.. I switched from Verizon for the razor and regretted it.. but now the sony has made the transition nice...good luck!
What took so long???
First of all, I waited for two months for this phone only to discover that it is a glorified camera. Pictures are great, but I constantly cover the mic with my cheek totally cutting off my voice. NOT the greatest phone... but here's the breakdown..
Pros:
1) Screen - BRILLIANT!!
2) Call quality - Clear, no distortion
3) Reception - Up to par with Nokia
4) EDGE - FAST internet, really makes a difference
5) Storage capicity - Additional memory comes in the box!
6) Bluetooth
7) 1.3mp Camera with light - Great shots
8) Organizer - Calendar, tasks, phone reminders, reminders, notes, alarm, stopwatch.. yea, it has it all
9) Speakerphone - Clear and crisp
10) E-mail client - It has that too
11) Wireless modem - fast and strong
Cons:
1) BOTH games are demos (don't really care though, it's a phone not a gameboy)
2) Microphone - sits right on your cheek, be careful
3) AIM - it sucks, can't hold a conversation due to network LAG
4) Almost impossible to sync via bluetooth
Everyone says it's big, but I mean seriousally.. it's jam packed with stuff. And the keys are NOT slippery, but they are smooth and easy to press. By the way, the swivel does not accept or end calls. Overall good, but not great.
Love it!!!!
Well I was debating buying this phone or the Razar. My co-worker has one and I took a look at it and was impressed so I went to the Cingular store to look at this phone and it won me over easily. It is rather bulky(con) but the features are awesome. Now for the Gentlemen below me-If I'm in a busy airport and can't hear my phone then just wait till you get to your car to listen to your messages! Overall I rate it a 4.
Pros: Mp3 player,video recorder, good camera and overall excellent phone.
Con:Bulky I had a T637 before this one and when AT&T merged I was told that I had two choices go to Suncomm or wait until my contract was over and go with Cingular(which I did)so it would have been great if I could get all these features in a phone the size of the T637.
OUTSTANDING PHONE!!!!
I GOT THIS PHONE WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT. AND I WAS EXTREMELY PLEASED. RECEPTION IS THE BEST OF ANY PHONE I EVER HAD.(IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING, THIS HAS THE BEST ANTENNA TECHNOLOGY OF ANY PHONE ON CINGULAR, INCLUDING THE RAZOR) THERE WERE A FEW QUIRKS WITH EARLIER PRODUCTION MODELS OF THE PHONE(I.E. COULD NOT TURN SHUTTER SOUND FOR CAMARA OFF, COULD NOT ENTER WEBSITE ADDRESS DIRECTLY-ALWAYS HAD TO CREATE A BOOKMARK, AND BLUETOOTH HAD TROUBLE FINDING DEVICES). THANKLY I DROPPED THE PHONE AND IT BROKE SO I HAD TO GET A REPLACEMENT. THE NEW PHONE HAS UPDATED SOFTWARE, FIRMWARE WHATEVER. AND ALL THE OPTIONS THAT WERE LACKING BEFORE HAVE ALL BEEN ADDED!!! NO PROBLEMS NOW WHAT SO EVER. IF YOU ARE A CINGULAR CUSTOMER THIS IS THE PHONE TO GET!!!!!!!!!!!!
Awesome Phone!
Pros:
Great camera, Good gaming engine, Fun to open and close :D, alot of connectivity options, loud and clear ringers as well as speakerphone, looks good, built sturdy, feels expensive :D, fast bluetooth (25kbps), good RF, Perfect screen, Easy on the eyes, themes, music DJ, pretty good memory, AWESOME 3D GAMES!!.
Cons:
Only goes up to 128mb on msd, a bad phone to drop and get messed up, kinda slow UI, you get scared when its in your pocket, too precious to scratch, screen exposed.
overall, this is a great phone for anyone who wants basically like a little multimedia center with them all the time.
Great phone
Great phone, great layout, sony always makes good phones and this one is no exception. no complaints and this one just looks great and i love the swivel. to bad sony is not coming out with anymore phones with this design.
This phone is and will be a legend.
2005 was worth joining Cingular now AT&T, that is the year when all the cellphones was cool. The Sony Ericsson S710a was their magnus opus. The unique swivel feature not the dual one peice where most Sony Ericsson always have. The speaker feature, Video Cam, and the vast memories this phone has is a must have. Yeah, Yeah, this phone was very pricey, but it is worth the money for the phone of the future. Cingular why can't there be more collaboration between Sony Ericsson.
