Sony Ericsson Satio

Editor's Review of the Satio

Formerly tagged as the Idou handset, the Sony Ericsson Satio emanates a stunning elegance in its classic black casing. This mobile phone's well proportioned measurements at 15 x 54 x 111 millimetres, as well as its weight at 126 grams, make it a handy communication device. Sony Ericsson added the Satio to its range of beautiful touch screen handsets that include the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1. Given is advanced features, this handset is also said to be at par with Apple's iPhone 2 3G.

Even as it is a compact handset, the Sony Ericsson Satio is richly endowed with top-of-the-line multimedia features. An attention-grabbing TFT screen makes up most of the front part of this handset, measuring 88.9 millimetres and displaying picture wallpapers, graphics and other images in 16 million colours in 640 x 360 resolution. This handset offers a selection of MP3 and polyphonic ringtones that users may set as call, text and other alerts.

This handset works on quad band technology, with support for GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800 and GSM 1900 and HSDPA 2100 coverage. With a flight mode option to boot, it makes an ideal mobile phone for roaming purposes and caters to frequent travelers but may be dependent on its user's service provider. This handset is also pre-installed with HTML WAP Web browser for easy Internet access. Users who are always on the move will appreciate the WLAN Wi-Fi capability of this mobile phone, through which they can go online in designated hotspots.

In addition, sharing and transferring of mobile phone data including photos, music and other files is possible through this handset. Depending on compatibility, users may simply connect this mobile phone to their devices, such as printers, scanners, handsets, personal computers and laptops and enable data transfers through USB connectivity. A more hassle-free option is its Bluetooth connectivity that gets rid of cables and wires that usually get tangled up. Bluetooth allows file sharing between devices that are within a 10-metre range. The EDGE and GPRS technologies that power the Sony Ericsson Satio assure faster Internet downloading and file transfer rates. Moreover, this handset has 3G HSDPA support which guarantees reliability in multi-tasking.

This mobile phone offers customary SMS or text and SMS Long messaging features supported by Predictive Text input system. It also has MMS or multimedia messaging support that enables users to share photos and other images with their contacts. The Internet connectivity in this mobile phone offers access to e-mail and allows users to compose, send and receive e-mail messages right on the handset. It also enables users to chat with their friends and family through the instant messaging feature.

Armed with a phone book, a calendar, a calculator, an alarm clock and a notes-and-tasks options, this mobile phone is a reliable virtual organiser. It also has a document editor and reader to enable users to access documents in most popular formats. This handset also offers direction guide with its GPS navigation tool that supports Google Maps.

The Sony Ericsson Satio is equipped with quality imaging features to please users who enjoy taking instant pictures. It has an integrated 12.1-Megapixel camera complete with digital zoom, autofocus, Xenon flash, and face and smile detection capabilities that ensure well-lighted and precisely taken shots. Users may either create a slide show out of the captured photos or store them in this handset's picture album repository. This built-in camera also makes an excellent recorder of moving footages. Users may check out their streaming videos or video clips in popular formats right on this mobile phone's wide TFT screen. This handset also comes with a dedicated camera button for hassle-free use. As this mobile phone is 3G-enabled, it supports video calls through a second camera.

This Smartphone comes with a music player that plays MP3, AAC and MPEG4 audio files that will delight music lovers. This sound feature entertains even more with its stylish Album Art display and PlayNow features that allow users to take a peek at the title, artist or album of the track that they are listening to. For an alternative listening experience, users may opt for the FM radio feature complete with RDS support for access to current events, sports or weather news from radio stations.

This mobile phone also turns into a gaming gadget with its support pre-installed Java and 3D games that game-crazed users will enjoy. They may also download games from the Internet and install them on this handset. It offers users 11 hours of talk time and 360 hours of standby time.

This handset is taking jabs from discontented users who find its interface unimpressive. Other observers also think that its operating system is too ordinary. Nonetheless, it enjoys the attention of photo and video buffs, as it is arguably labeled as the best camera phone so far. Satisfied users also contend that the Sony Ericsson Satio successfully unifies the features of a powerful camera and a communication widget without being too complex at it.