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Author P990 user reviews
laffen
Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
Joined: Aug 07, 2001
Posts: > 500
From: Oslo, Norway
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Posted: 2006-09-10 13:45
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This thread is for P990 reviews only. Feel free to post your P990 experience here. The intention is to start one single review thread for each new model. Feel free to start other threads in the Review forum.

Comments about the reviews should be posted in other threads.


Luke-the-magic-man
P990 no flip
Joined: May 31, 2005
Posts: > 500
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Posted: 2006-09-10 14:07
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Thank you Laffen, musch appreciated.

I think I will start this off by listing some good and bad points about the p990

pros:

Great build quality
decent camera
easy to use wi-fi
The flip can easily be removed
I think a new model battery will be out soon for exta long run time
incredibly quick charging
decent package contents, (cool desk stand)
very nice large display
Scroll wheel is very smooth and feels great to use
Stylus fees nice
Lighting up keyboard is nice to use in the dark


Cons:

stylus is on the left, which is a bit odd to me?
software is still buggy and the internet brwser crashes alot
Ram is small, I find im running on about 5% free most of the time
camera lense seems to rotate the wrong way
booring box
no in ear headphones
Cannot use the front cam for pics
mirror on rear is very blury, cannot be used for desnt pics
could do with a larger free meory card
missing a few smart functions like the light button on k750i
the back and play/pause button seem to be the wrong way round?


I know this is breif, and a bit sort, but I am planning to add to it after I have used it for a bit longer, One thing I will say is with the upgraded firmware is that its definetly worth the buy now
Check out my sales
I am a mac fanboy .
I will honor Laffens gift of P990 flip free avartar, but I sold the p990
Luke-the-magic-man
P990 no flip
Joined: May 31, 2005
Posts: > 500
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Posted: 2006-09-10 14:24
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OOOO and heres some pics I just took:

















higher res photos here:

http://web.mac.com/businessmaestro/iWeb/Site/P990i.html


and now some screen shots:













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[ This Message was edited by: Luke-the-magic-man on 2006-09-10 13:32 ]

[ This Message was edited by: Luke-the-magic-man on 2006-09-10 14:06 ]
haynesycop
Z800
Joined: Mar 10, 2004
Posts: > 500
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Posted: 2006-09-10 14:31
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*drool*

They are lovely pictures, what camera did you use? It is so sexy without the flip lol. Thanks for those.
Luke-the-magic-man
P990 no flip
Joined: May 31, 2005
Posts: > 500
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Posted: 2006-09-10 14:35
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No probs, I will get a load of better ones out later (working on screen shots etc)

I used a olympus e500, for the pics, gave up using my compact camera...


Check out my sales
I am a mac fanboy .
I will honor Laffens gift of P990 flip free avartar, but I sold the p990
jplacson
Sony Xperia P
Joined: Apr 21, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Philippines
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Posted: 2006-09-10 14:47
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I'm still not fond of the thumboard on the body... I still prefer the P910i's thumboard layout. On the P990, I would've preferred a widescreen LCD instead.

But hey, I'm nitpicking. I still think it's the best hybrid out on the market today. Let's hope SE keeps it up.
Luke-the-magic-man
P990 no flip
Joined: May 31, 2005
Posts: > 500
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Posted: 2006-09-10 15:08
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I kind of agree with that actually, the layout was allot easier to use wasnt it?

Although this one encorporates lots of extra bits that the p910i never had
Check out my sales
I am a mac fanboy .
I will honor Laffens gift of P990 flip free avartar, but I sold the p990
QuickShare
P990 no flip
Joined: May 06, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: MYR
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Posted: 2006-09-10 15:44
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nice review mate.. appreciate it much oh btw.. i've got to give a huge credit on your picture you took of your P990.. 2nd pic was my favourite one word to describe the picture.. Superb!
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spine6
X1 Black
Joined: Aug 07, 2005
Posts: 453
From: asia
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Posted: 2006-09-10 15:55
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guys did you try the new firmware?? Does it improve the phone??What battery is included with the new phones released this month??
Luke-the-magic-man
P990 no flip
Joined: May 31, 2005
Posts: > 500
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Posted: 2006-09-10 17:05
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im planning on seeing what firmware i have later and then i will update if needed. the original one was buggy, but when it was updated last week worked allot better. the battery i have is a bst-33 950mah. it looks as if there could be a bigger one though as it doesnt take up all the room in the battery compartment.

@ quick thanks mate
Check out my sales
I am a mac fanboy .
I will honor Laffens gift of P990 flip free avartar, but I sold the p990
laffen
Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
Joined: Aug 07, 2001
Posts: > 500
From: Oslo, Norway
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Posted: 2006-09-11 01:50
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Please try to keep this thread free for general P900 comments. Use the more appropriate Sony Ericsson P990 discussion thread for that.

thanks
chriswg85
P990
Joined: Aug 16, 2004
Posts: 210
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Posted: 2006-09-11 03:39
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Here is a semi-review / first impressions post I made in the P990 Discussion thread some time ago. I am reposting it in here because it belongs better.

I love all the things you can do in FC mode -- much more useful than P910. One of the best parts is being able to browse the internet with Opera Mini while the flip is closed. And with WIFI, it is unbelievably fast!

Yes, build quality is great -- no squeaks, rattles -- it is very solid.

The screen is amazing! I didn't think the resolution would be that impressive compared to the P910, but it is outstanding. I compared them side by side and the difference is incredible. It is also much brighter on 90% than the P910 is on 100% brightness.

I don't have 3G here in the US, but I've been able to be in WIFI coverage the whole time so far (in a college town), and browsing if very enjoyable. I even turned off WIFI to test GPRS, and the browser is much quicker than the P910.

I've been using the phone for about 24 hours straight with WIFI, bluetooth, web browsing, and music playing. I charged it initially and it lasted very long. It only got down to 30%, but I decided to charge it again anyway. I'll have to see how long the BST-33 battery lasts in the coming days.

I have taken many photos, and the quality is superb. Haven't done much with videos, but they look pretty good so far.

And yes, the media player sound in incredible. Even with the included headphones, it is pretty good. And the organization of the media player is nice too with the album art and playlists.

I've gotten low on RAM a few times too, but overall I haven't had much trouble. I still haven't had a single lock-up, shut-down, or error message. I did notice that when I was down to only about 2 MB of RAM and I went to open the web browser that the task manager automatically shuts down other programs to make room. I don't know if it is supposed to do this, but it does for me.

And now I'll add a few of my own thoughts and impressions since a few of you wanted a review. I've never done a review before, so I'll do my best. I'll also post some pictures, even though I think there are enough pictures of the phone on the web already. Here goes:

HARDWARE:

First of all, it feels really good in your hand -- nice and curved. I like the feel of the new scroll wheel, but I hate this stupid back button! It is just poorly placed or something because my thumb never makes it there without reconfiguring my hand. But I do like the "mushy" feel of the select (inward press) of the scroll wheel.

The rear of the phone looks much better in person than in pictures. I didn't think I would like it from the pictures, but it is very nice. The camera slider has a good feel to it.

I also like this external keylock. It has a nice slide to it and is easy to use.

The QWERTY keyboard takes a little getting used to, but it is very usable for me. And it is great to type in the dark with the backlight that the P910 didn't have.

The flip keypad is good too. I didn't have a P900, so this is different than the P910, but I like it. The backlight is nice and bright.

The media play button and the internet button are useful, but I find you have to press and hold them for a second for it to register. And sometimes you have to press it twice. It would be good if you could just press it and know it will work. The camera button takes some getting used to because you have to depress it pretty far to take a picture, which can make it difficult to hold steady.

SOFTWARE:

The UIQ 3 interface is beautiful. I got so bored of the P910, but I don't see that happening with the P990.

The Opera browser is great and very speedy. There does seem to be an issue with the homepage/bookmarks. The first bookmark becomes your homepage, but there doesn't seem to be a way to organize the bookmarks. The other issue with the browser that I ran into was when I tried to download a file from the Member Area of the SE Fun & Downloads page, I got a message the the URL was too long. So I think that will need to be fixed. The only other thing is that I would prefer to browse in "Select Text Mode" so that I can highlight and copy information, but when I tried this, it was hard to click on small links. One nice feature is the built in "Web Guide," which is basically the entire user manual online.

E-mail and messaging work great. Everything is highly functional in FC mode. And the predictive text is amazing! I was typing a message and it guessed the right words before I even typed anything! Much nicer than P910.

The Today screen sort of doesn't seem to work for me. When I have missed calls or unread messages, they don't show up. I dont' know what the problem is there.

I'm not too fond of the Notes application (the drawing part). There is a slight lag between the pen and what shows up on the screen. It was much smoother with the P910.

WIFI works flawlessly. I set up the connection and whenever the phone needs it for e-mail or web browsing, it automatically connects.

The media player and radio are excellent and have very nice features. I read that some people had problems with their network reception after turning on the radio. I haven't had this problem. When connected to the radio, I still keep the same number of bars. It might be a 3G problem. The music player is great. Sound quality is excellent. It plays perfectly smoothly even when switching and moving around in applications. I have also read that the volume seems low for some people, but it is more than adequate for me on about 70% volume.

The camera application is really great, with tons of options for the pictures. I just wish there was a way to toggle the flash using a keypad button or something. If there is, please tell me (I couldn't read the manual because it was in Swedish or something I think ... lol ... and it's a hassle to read it online). And the camera takes amazing 2MP pictures, both macro and normal.

Call quality is the best I've heard yet on a phone. Crystal clear and very smooth. I tried both a P910 and a RAZR in one location with very little coverage, and they both had breaks in sound, but the P990 did not. The speakerphone is okay too.

The Contacts application has a good setup. One problem was that when synching with Outlook 2003, all the mobile numbers I have show up as Mobile (w) work numbers on the phone. Also, when adding a number, I prefer to have the number with area code in this format: (555) 555-5555, but the phone automatically removes all formatting, so it shows up like 5555555555. I wish this could be changed. Adding pictures for contacts is good, and I like that you can zoom to a certain place in a picture to make the contact fit (although the zoom increments are a little too big).

Okay, I'm exhausted and can't think of anything else to write about. For those who don't have the phone yet and have any questions, just ask. I'll be happy to check things out and give you an answer!

In conclusion, I couldn't be happier with my decision to get this phone. I was worried for a little while there before ordering it at such a price, but it was well worth it.

And now for some pictures (the screen came out kind of strange looking in some of the pictures ... sorry):



































dineshrai42
T68 gold
Joined: Sep 11, 2006
Posts: 16
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Posted: 2006-09-12 13:54
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The camera doesn't take any decent pictures. They all appear as though they have been taken under cloudy conditions. And forget about taking pictures when in zoom mode as autofocus will not lock on to give any crisp pictures. Very poor.
tele_xpert
T68 gold
Joined: Oct 31, 2006
Posts: 5
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Posted: 2006-11-01 16:46
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[ This Message was edited by: tele_xpert on 2006-11-01 16:00 ]
Ollsbols
T68 gold
Joined: Oct 24, 2004
Posts: 9
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Posted: 2006-11-21 14:36
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I have used Ericsson and Sony Ericsson phones for a number of years now (5 or 6). I have had the P800 and P910, both of which were great phones. So I was very excited when the P990 was announced. It seemed to deal with most of the small things the previous phones lacked. It had a very clear screen and a usable keyboard amongst other new features. The only issue I could see was with the scroll wheel. It was 5d on the predecessors but now seemed to being only 3d. No matter I can learn to live with that.

However that all paled into insignificance when measured against what is actually wrong with the phone. I am a Vodafone customer. They have been fine. They have replaced my P990 3 time now. Every phone has had the same issues and each one I get seems to find a few new ones.

The phone is better looking than it for-runners. It feels very solid. The screen is crystal clear and only slightly shorter and slightly wider than the P910 (in order to fit on the keyboard.) The phone loses nothing from this decrease in screen size. The picture quality and the fact that some application (like the internet) can be used landscape are an absolutely acceptable trade-off. The keyboard is great. I have pretty chubby fingers and have no issue typing at a reasonable rate with my 2 index fingers. The keys feel firm (not rubbery) and the feedback is very positive.

The camera is also very good. Yes there are better out there but 2mp will be good enough for a 6x10 photo print. You have to work the settings a little to get good results and don’t even think about low light if you want to print your picture. However for a phone it is just the job. It has digital zoom, flash, exposure settings and a decent quality video recorder.

The interface is a little tricky to get to grips with. Especially if you have used the P800/910 before. However as with thee things you get used to it.

The video playback is fantastic. I have a piece of software for converting DVD to MP4. The quality is amazing on playback. I can say no more.

The MP3 player is also fine. Reasonable functionality, just the job.

That is the end of the good stuff. Here are some of my issues so far. I will try to keep details to a minimum.

When I am performing a task with the flip closed and I decide I want to open it half way through (texting, e-mailing, taking a photo) the phone just locks up. Only taking out the battery will sort it. (my friend get the same problem but when he is closing the flip mid task).

The phone has random memory errors and closes applications midway through a task.

There are plenty of other random errors (E32USER-CBase etc). Phone locks, removing the battery is the only way out.

Some applications just do not open sometimes. They are selected, the icon blinks and nothing happens. Sometime needs a reboot.

Basically the software is not very good. I have the latest version. A few of my friends have the same phone and the same issues. If Sony Ericsson cannot sort it then I am going to swap this one. I am very disappointed. I think this phone could have been good. It was 6 months late and not working properly. Sony Ericsson are having a laugh.
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