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CNET editors' rating:
3.5 stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 8 reviews
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Product summary
The good: The Sony Ericsson Z750a had an enjoyable feature set, user-friendly controls, a brilliant display, and satisfying call quality.
The bad: The Sony Ericsson Z750a's construction felt a tad cheap, and its external display wasn't very useful. Also, its interface was somewhat slow, and its speakerphone underperformed.
The bottom line: The Sony Ericsson Z750a is successful on many fronts, but its plastic shell and slow interface were worrisome.
Specifications: Band / mode: WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900; Talk time: Up to 540 min; Combined with: With two digital cameras / digital player / FM radio; See full specs
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 11/05/2007
Sony Ericsson may have been a bit late to the flip-phone game, but this year the company has done a lot to catch up. Just last month we examined AT&T's Sony Ericsson Z310a and now we turn our attention to the Sony Ericsson Z750a. Sporting a minimalist design with above average dimensions, the Z750a offers a midrange feature set with Bluetooth, a megapixel camera and support for North American 3G networks. As if this writing the GSM Z750a is available only as an unlocked model in the United States and Canada but we wouldn't be surprised if it landed at AT&T.
Design
Like many Sony Ericsson phones, the Z750a comes in multiple colors: phantom gray and rose pink. The pink version, which we examined, isn't as garish as the pink model of the Z310a, but it's still bright and shiny. It shows your reflection, albeit a rose-tinted one, and like any mirror, it attracts fingerprints. We weren't crazy about it, to be frank, but it's certainly eye-catching. As stated above, the Z750a is a tad bulky, but not excessively so. It measures 3.8 inches by 1.9 inches by 0.8 inch and weighs 3.9 ounces. It fits in comfortably, but the outer plastic casing felt a bit flimsy.
The Z750a's external display is similar to the Z310a's. Though it's invisible when the backlighting is off, a quick flick of the left spine volume rocker makes it appear in the center of the front face. It's a unique touch, particularly since the display has a vertical orientation, but we didn't love it. Though the display shows the time, battery life, signal strength, and number caller ID, it's rather small when compared with the phone's overall size. That means that the text is also small and that the screen won't show photo caller ID or work as a viewfinder for the camera lens. Also, the display is difficult to see in direct light.
Like most Sony Ericsson phones, the Z750a has an excellent internal display that measures 2.25 inches (240x320 pixels) and supports 262,144 colors. Colors were vibrant and images were crisp, though the display can be difficult to see in direct light. You can change the brightness and the clock size, but none of the other options are customizable.
The navigation array on the Z750a is quite well-designed. The four-way toggle is large and very tactile, so we had no problems zipping though the user-friendly menus. It's also surrounded by a pink ring and it's brightly backlit, so we had no problem finding it in dim environments.
The central OK button opens the menu when the phone is in standby mode, while the "up" direction of the toggle acts as a camera shortcut. The other three directions can be programmed to give one-touch access to three user-defined functions while a second shortcut buttons opens a customizable menu of oft-used functions. Other navigation controls include a Web browser shortcut, two soft keys and a clear control. And in an uncharacteristic Sony Ericsson move, the Z750a has dedicated Talk and End keys.
We also approved of the Z750a's backlit keypad buttons. They're large and tactile, which makes it easy to text quickly and dial by feel. Our only complaint was that the keys felt a bit cheap, but it wasn't a big deal. The dedicated power button is located below the keypad in a convenient location.
The Z750a's hinge has a solid construction, and the phone clicks audibly into place when opened. The rear half of the handset extends about a third of an inch above the hinge, which is unusual, but it's clear that's where the Z750a keeps its antenna. Completing the exterior of the phone are the external memory slot on the left spine and the volume rocker and a music player button on the right spine. The latter two features could be a bit larger. The camera lens sits just above the external display, a speaker sits on the rear face and the phone's bottom end holds the headset jack/charger port.
Features
The Z750a has a 1,000-contact phone book with room in each entry for seven phone numbers, an e-mail, a Web address, two street addresses, a birthday, and notes. You can save callers to groups and pair them with a video ringtone or one of 14 polyphonic ringtones. Your contacts also support photo caller ID, but keep in mind they won't show up on the external display. Other essentials include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, a voice memo recorder, an alarm clock, a calculator, a calendar, a notepad, a stopwatch, a task list, a timer, and a speakerphone (usable after you make a call). You can organize your all your files using the Z750a's file manager application.
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- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 8 reviews
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