Well as most of you know I bought this phone a short while ago and too many people have been pestering me for a review, so here it is 
Describing the Sony Ericsson P990i as just a Cellphone would be a huge blunder, this phone, as I would humbly like to call it, is a master portable gadget.
From an PDA based organizer (based off Sony’s hugely popular CLIO series), to a good 2mpx camera (I say good, because it is sufficient for what a business phone should have), to a above average music player (not the best, mind you), to having a great touchscreen, QWERTY keypad, a Cellphone and not to forget a fully functional 802.11b WiFi device, you can’t really complain, especially when you’re paying a tad more than a lousy, lousy N70 Music Edition.
Anyways, I should probably let the review do the talking, enjoy it and please post your comments!
(Okay, please excuse the delay, I’ve been far too busy in the past few weeks)
[BREAK=First looks, Ergonomics, Touchpad, Keypad]
As you know the P990i offers extremely versatile text input options, right from handwriting recognition on its touchscreen to a full QWERTY keyboard. This naturally is very convenient and can be a bit disadvantageous due to processor lag.
Anyways, I personally prefer the full QWERTY for messaging, e-mailing and surfing the net. The handwriting recognition is a very cool way to impress people (*hint*), and the outer number pad serves its usual functions like dialing numbers, saving contacts, texting short messages very easy. You can screw off the outside number pad and use the phone as a candybar instead of a flip.
The phone is bulky, period. I’m not going to defend that point just because I own the phone, but if you can’t manage is size and thickness, please don’t buy it and complain later, I personally like the firm grip it gives my large hands (I’m 6’ 2†for the record).
Button placement though is impeccable and facilitates very easy one-handed navigation, which is remarkable to say the least. The jog dial on the left is a excellent to use and the lock/unlock slide button is a superb addition.
The inner keypad tends to be a bit cramped, but offers great tactile feedback and takes hardly a day to fall in love with.
The outer number buttons are a bit thin and Sony could have improvised a bit, but then I use it very rarely so no complaints. The main navigation buttons outside though are comfortably large and again offer great one-handed usage.
[BREAK=UI, OS, Firmware]
Well this is the most important section for us geeks heh, so one page dedicated to it!
The P990i runs a Symbian 9.1 3rd Edition Operating System, powered by the UIQ 3.0 user interface module.
Symbian needs no introduction, and the addition of UIQ makes the plain dull looking menus often seen on smartphone’s very peppy, and allows for a mind boggling range of themes to be installed, along with easy theme creation software for your own little personal touch.
Symbian is a delight to computer geeks as its functions are very similar to that of a PC. Navigating through the Control Panel and File Manager apart from other functions is a breeze and will hardly take any time getting used to.
Having talked about the UI and OS, the biggest trumpcard of the P990i is its firmware. I think its amazing that Sony allows users to upgrade firmwares legally and offer service incase a phone is corrupted during the update. He updates too are brilliant and Sony has responded exactly to what users have asked for in its firmware upgrades.
The phone started with CDA Ver. R3, which was slow, leaked lots of memory and had other defects such as a low volume, too. R4 still had memory leaks, as well as new issues cropping up. Now with R5 out, Sony has almost totally fixed memory leaks, increased speakerphone volume by 20%, fixed all of R4’s issues, its great !
I can go on record saying that my P990i running the R5 firmware has not hung/crashed for 4 days till when I’m writing this article, a stark contrast to Nokia’s S60 phones not having an average uptime of more than 1½ days.
Anybody who has any hesitations about the phone slowing down can clear all doubts, but make note, the phone uses its internal 60MB as RAM for its 208Mhz ARM processor, so filling up phone memory will naturally choke the phone.
I have used the phone with a 1GB MS Pro Duo as well as a 2GB MS Pro Duo (Both filled > 90%) and would no issues with both of them.
[BREAK=Applications, Games, WiFi, Internet, Connectivity]
Being a Symbian powered device application support is vast and a good variety of apps (both commercial as well as freeware) are available. Most of the applications listed on the Sony website are paid, but some of them are very good. A couple of Googles will be enough to find almost any app you’re looking for.
I have just one word for graphics on the P990i = STUNNING!
The pre-installed game, Vijay Singh’s Pro Golf is superb and addictive. I’ll let the screenshot do the talkinghyeah:
The P990i is an 802.11b Wi-Fi device and supports data transfer as well as downloads and browsing over a compatible WLAN network. I found the built-in browser to be a tad slow and cumbersome, I I got Opera Mini and it works like a charm. Surfing websites is easy and typing text is not an issue with a full QWERTY at your command.
The OS supports a lot of apps like Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo, etc, so it truly keeps you connected.
The internet experience over a GPRS connection is primarily the same though naturally being a bit slower.
No complaints at all in the connectivity department as the device is loaded with Bluetooth/Infrared /WLAN connectivity for a cable free experience.
I noted Bluetooth transfer rates to other SE phones were about 15% quicker than transfers to Nokia and Motorola devices.
IR as usual was slow but did the job !
[BREAK=Day-to-Day Usage, Call Handling, Battery Life, Display]
Though bulky, the P990i is acceptable for daily usage. I bought the Rs.600 SE Genuine Leather Belt Pouch rightaway and this eases carrying the device around. You also get used to the weight on your belt and it is likely you will reach for your belt naturally if you have left your phone somewhere forgetfully. I would recommend one highly!
The P990i handles calls beautifully, it allows calls to be incorporated in the ‘Tasks’ menu in the organizer to allow you to follow up on a call. This is a classic example of how the P990i integrates the Cellphone with its organizer.
Battery life is good for a device having such a large screen. It’ll easily last a day with heavy usage, and about 2/3 days with light usage and of course setting an appropriate power scheme. The figures on the Sony website are a bit bloated to be frank, expect around 15-20% less than what’s claimed.
The 240x320 pixels, 2.8-inch, and 262,144 colour display does its job well and colour rendition is uniform and clear. Brightness can be adjusted manually; I prefer keeping it at 90%.
I use the picture viewer to show my photography portfolio to family and friends and the display does the images justice, to say the least.
The screen is large enough for comfortably viewing full sized web pages, and font size isn’t too small as seen on some of the newer phones (Nokia E50, SE K550i, etc.)
[BREAK=Organizer, Music Player, Camera, Quick Office]
Being a student, technically speaking I have no need for an organizer. But I can put this challenge to any open-minded, tech-inclined individual, “Use an organizer sincerely for about 3 days, and then tell me you can live without oneâ€
The difference it brings to everyday tasks like a meeting in the evening or booking movie tickets is breathtaking. I’m not thoroughly organized in life, and often used to carry my To-Do points on a tiny slip of paper, which flew away oh so often. No more worries of the sort, though these are tiny points I’m making, business users and employed people will certainly find many many more uses to its large range of powerful solutions.
The Music Player is a standard one, which plays .mp3 and .wma music files. It has about 10 EQ presets with NO custom option and is reasonably quick.
We’ve already spoken about volume issues through the loudspeaker, but no complaints with earphone volume/quality. I personally bought the 3.5mm converter and I’m happy using my Sennheiser MX550’s.
The camera is a 2.0mpx autofocus (the same as the K750i), with Macro Mode, Night Mode, Picture Effects, 2.5x Digital Zoom, Exposure Compensation and the usual frills. IQ is good for a business phone since cameras are anyways taped inside most industries. Here’s are a few 100% unedited sample pictures. Shot straight from the camera and uploaded.
Quickoffice is a section under the P990i’s menu which houses its other business functions, such as the ability to create and edit Microsoft Word / Excel documents, and view Adobe PDF files. It also features a business card reader that uses the phone’s camera to pick data off a regular business card and store it in the contacts menu. Somewhat of an OCR, I found its accuracy to be reasonable but I’d prefer a regular text input anyday !
[BREAK=Flaws]
Well I really shouldn’t be writing this, but I am an unbiased reviewer and don’t believe in hiding anything just because I own a product. So here we go:
1. Size – It’s bulky, period. Best advice, shut your eyes, hold the phone for 20 secs. Like it? Take it.
2. Loudspeaker – Does get annoying in a public place. The newer R5 and R6 firmwares have fixed the issue, though an extra 10-15% volume would have been highly appreciated.
3. Poor Multitasking – The phone has 60MB of internal memory. About 25MB is available as RAM for the OS, which after memory leaks, leaves about 18-21 effectively. Don’t expect to run more than 3 applications responsively, try overloading the phone and it conveniently reboots supposedly improving performance.
4. Camera not upto the mark – Can’t complain to be frank, it’s good enough for day to day pictures, but nothing like we’ve seen amongst the newer Sony K-Series or for that matter even Nokia’s N-Series.
5. Display very weak in sunlight – This does get a bit irritating. Watching a video for example is ruled out. Thankfully its bright enough for regular tasks like messaging and all, but its still a flaw nonetheless.
Having said all this, its hard to find flaws in this phone. And I think this limited flaw set makes it a true Best Buy purchase!
[BREAK=Conclusions]
The P990i is an outstanding Smartphone and its feature set almost matches up to more expensive options like HTC or even O2 for that matter. With the recent drop in pricing, its performance/price ratio has hit the skies and its going to get really popular too. Of course, this is due to the release of Sony’s P1i but then the differences aren’t worth the extra 20 grand, for me at least personally.
The important thing about the 990i is that you should be able to carry it off well enough. If you can handle its size and bulk comfortable, it is a very stylish phone indeed with the flip et al.
Describing the Sony Ericsson P990i as just a Cellphone would be a huge blunder, this phone, as I would humbly like to call it, is a master portable gadget.
From an PDA based organizer (based off Sony’s hugely popular CLIO series), to a good 2mpx camera (I say good, because it is sufficient for what a business phone should have), to a above average music player (not the best, mind you), to having a great touchscreen, QWERTY keypad, a Cellphone and not to forget a fully functional 802.11b WiFi device, you can’t really complain, especially when you’re paying a tad more than a lousy, lousy N70 Music Edition.
Anyways, I should probably let the review do the talking, enjoy it and please post your comments!
(Okay, please excuse the delay, I’ve been far too busy in the past few weeks)
[BREAK=First looks, Ergonomics, Touchpad, Keypad]
As you know the P990i offers extremely versatile text input options, right from handwriting recognition on its touchscreen to a full QWERTY keyboard. This naturally is very convenient and can be a bit disadvantageous due to processor lag.
Anyways, I personally prefer the full QWERTY for messaging, e-mailing and surfing the net. The handwriting recognition is a very cool way to impress people (*hint*), and the outer number pad serves its usual functions like dialing numbers, saving contacts, texting short messages very easy. You can screw off the outside number pad and use the phone as a candybar instead of a flip.
The phone is bulky, period. I’m not going to defend that point just because I own the phone, but if you can’t manage is size and thickness, please don’t buy it and complain later, I personally like the firm grip it gives my large hands (I’m 6’ 2†for the record).
Button placement though is impeccable and facilitates very easy one-handed navigation, which is remarkable to say the least. The jog dial on the left is a excellent to use and the lock/unlock slide button is a superb addition.
The inner keypad tends to be a bit cramped, but offers great tactile feedback and takes hardly a day to fall in love with.
The outer number buttons are a bit thin and Sony could have improvised a bit, but then I use it very rarely so no complaints. The main navigation buttons outside though are comfortably large and again offer great one-handed usage.
[BREAK=UI, OS, Firmware]
Well this is the most important section for us geeks heh, so one page dedicated to it!
The P990i runs a Symbian 9.1 3rd Edition Operating System, powered by the UIQ 3.0 user interface module.
Symbian needs no introduction, and the addition of UIQ makes the plain dull looking menus often seen on smartphone’s very peppy, and allows for a mind boggling range of themes to be installed, along with easy theme creation software for your own little personal touch.
Symbian is a delight to computer geeks as its functions are very similar to that of a PC. Navigating through the Control Panel and File Manager apart from other functions is a breeze and will hardly take any time getting used to.
Having talked about the UI and OS, the biggest trumpcard of the P990i is its firmware. I think its amazing that Sony allows users to upgrade firmwares legally and offer service incase a phone is corrupted during the update. He updates too are brilliant and Sony has responded exactly to what users have asked for in its firmware upgrades.
The phone started with CDA Ver. R3, which was slow, leaked lots of memory and had other defects such as a low volume, too. R4 still had memory leaks, as well as new issues cropping up. Now with R5 out, Sony has almost totally fixed memory leaks, increased speakerphone volume by 20%, fixed all of R4’s issues, its great !
I can go on record saying that my P990i running the R5 firmware has not hung/crashed for 4 days till when I’m writing this article, a stark contrast to Nokia’s S60 phones not having an average uptime of more than 1½ days.
Anybody who has any hesitations about the phone slowing down can clear all doubts, but make note, the phone uses its internal 60MB as RAM for its 208Mhz ARM processor, so filling up phone memory will naturally choke the phone.
I have used the phone with a 1GB MS Pro Duo as well as a 2GB MS Pro Duo (Both filled > 90%) and would no issues with both of them.
[BREAK=Applications, Games, WiFi, Internet, Connectivity]
Being a Symbian powered device application support is vast and a good variety of apps (both commercial as well as freeware) are available. Most of the applications listed on the Sony website are paid, but some of them are very good. A couple of Googles will be enough to find almost any app you’re looking for.
I have just one word for graphics on the P990i = STUNNING!
The pre-installed game, Vijay Singh’s Pro Golf is superb and addictive. I’ll let the screenshot do the talking
hyeah: The P990i is an 802.11b Wi-Fi device and supports data transfer as well as downloads and browsing over a compatible WLAN network. I found the built-in browser to be a tad slow and cumbersome, I I got Opera Mini and it works like a charm. Surfing websites is easy and typing text is not an issue with a full QWERTY at your command.
The OS supports a lot of apps like Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo, etc, so it truly keeps you connected.
The internet experience over a GPRS connection is primarily the same though naturally being a bit slower.
No complaints at all in the connectivity department as the device is loaded with Bluetooth/Infrared /WLAN connectivity for a cable free experience.
I noted Bluetooth transfer rates to other SE phones were about 15% quicker than transfers to Nokia and Motorola devices.
IR as usual was slow but did the job !
[BREAK=Day-to-Day Usage, Call Handling, Battery Life, Display]
Though bulky, the P990i is acceptable for daily usage. I bought the Rs.600 SE Genuine Leather Belt Pouch rightaway and this eases carrying the device around. You also get used to the weight on your belt and it is likely you will reach for your belt naturally if you have left your phone somewhere forgetfully. I would recommend one highly!
The P990i handles calls beautifully, it allows calls to be incorporated in the ‘Tasks’ menu in the organizer to allow you to follow up on a call. This is a classic example of how the P990i integrates the Cellphone with its organizer.
Battery life is good for a device having such a large screen. It’ll easily last a day with heavy usage, and about 2/3 days with light usage and of course setting an appropriate power scheme. The figures on the Sony website are a bit bloated to be frank, expect around 15-20% less than what’s claimed.
The 240x320 pixels, 2.8-inch, and 262,144 colour display does its job well and colour rendition is uniform and clear. Brightness can be adjusted manually; I prefer keeping it at 90%.
I use the picture viewer to show my photography portfolio to family and friends and the display does the images justice, to say the least.
The screen is large enough for comfortably viewing full sized web pages, and font size isn’t too small as seen on some of the newer phones (Nokia E50, SE K550i, etc.)
[BREAK=Organizer, Music Player, Camera, Quick Office]
Being a student, technically speaking I have no need for an organizer. But I can put this challenge to any open-minded, tech-inclined individual, “Use an organizer sincerely for about 3 days, and then tell me you can live without oneâ€
The difference it brings to everyday tasks like a meeting in the evening or booking movie tickets is breathtaking. I’m not thoroughly organized in life, and often used to carry my To-Do points on a tiny slip of paper, which flew away oh so often. No more worries of the sort, though these are tiny points I’m making, business users and employed people will certainly find many many more uses to its large range of powerful solutions.
The Music Player is a standard one, which plays .mp3 and .wma music files. It has about 10 EQ presets with NO custom option and is reasonably quick.
We’ve already spoken about volume issues through the loudspeaker, but no complaints with earphone volume/quality. I personally bought the 3.5mm converter and I’m happy using my Sennheiser MX550’s.
The camera is a 2.0mpx autofocus (the same as the K750i), with Macro Mode, Night Mode, Picture Effects, 2.5x Digital Zoom, Exposure Compensation and the usual frills. IQ is good for a business phone since cameras are anyways taped inside most industries. Here’s are a few 100% unedited sample pictures. Shot straight from the camera and uploaded.
Quickoffice is a section under the P990i’s menu which houses its other business functions, such as the ability to create and edit Microsoft Word / Excel documents, and view Adobe PDF files. It also features a business card reader that uses the phone’s camera to pick data off a regular business card and store it in the contacts menu. Somewhat of an OCR, I found its accuracy to be reasonable but I’d prefer a regular text input anyday !
[BREAK=Flaws]
Well I really shouldn’t be writing this, but I am an unbiased reviewer and don’t believe in hiding anything just because I own a product. So here we go:
1. Size – It’s bulky, period. Best advice, shut your eyes, hold the phone for 20 secs. Like it? Take it.
2. Loudspeaker – Does get annoying in a public place. The newer R5 and R6 firmwares have fixed the issue, though an extra 10-15% volume would have been highly appreciated.
3. Poor Multitasking – The phone has 60MB of internal memory. About 25MB is available as RAM for the OS, which after memory leaks, leaves about 18-21 effectively. Don’t expect to run more than 3 applications responsively, try overloading the phone and it conveniently reboots supposedly improving performance.
4. Camera not upto the mark – Can’t complain to be frank, it’s good enough for day to day pictures, but nothing like we’ve seen amongst the newer Sony K-Series or for that matter even Nokia’s N-Series.
5. Display very weak in sunlight – This does get a bit irritating. Watching a video for example is ruled out. Thankfully its bright enough for regular tasks like messaging and all, but its still a flaw nonetheless.
Having said all this, its hard to find flaws in this phone. And I think this limited flaw set makes it a true Best Buy purchase!
[BREAK=Conclusions]
The P990i is an outstanding Smartphone and its feature set almost matches up to more expensive options like HTC or even O2 for that matter. With the recent drop in pricing, its performance/price ratio has hit the skies and its going to get really popular too. Of course, this is due to the release of Sony’s P1i but then the differences aren’t worth the extra 20 grand, for me at least personally.
The important thing about the 990i is that you should be able to carry it off well enough. If you can handle its size and bulk comfortable, it is a very stylish phone indeed with the flip et al.
