| Author |
An Open/Constructive Letter to SE |
jasond
Joined: Dec 31, 2005
Posts: 408
From: Australia
PM |
Hey guys,
The following is something I'd like to put forward to SE regarding niggles that I have about their phones and software, suggestions for improvements, and things I already like. No doubt their has been a similar thread, but I just wanted to let you guys have a look at this letter before I post it off to SE, to get thoughts feedback and maybe stimulate a few ideas of your own on improvements:
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Hello,
I love my K750i, and if possible, would like to put forward some suggestions for future models. Please don’t take this as me telling you how to run your business – I’m only writing this because I, like so many people, have a real passion of Sony Ericsson products!
One big annoyance I find with SE phones, is the current inability to completely (and conveniently) backup the phone when upgrading to a new model, or new software version. Considering that all major SE phone models now come equipped with a Memory Stick, would it be possible to have an integrated application on the phone in a similar fashion to Microsoft Office’s “Save My Settings Wizard”, to backup not only contacts, but information that is very time consuming to re-enter into the new model. This would include, profiles, voice commands, messages, calendar. all contact information (inc birthdays, addresses, links to contact images, etc), all system settings (Bluetooth settings, MMS & GPRS accounts, backlight brightness, etc) and above all – the custom dictionary. Nothing deters me from upgrading a phone more than the thought that I have to completely retrain my phone to write messages again! This way, simply placing the Memory Stick in the new phone, and running the corresponding wizard would set up the new phone just as the old phone was set up, leaving more time for exploration of new and exciting features, and less time spent re-recording voice commands, or spelling out words.
An addition like this would be warmly welcomed. Secondly, I would like to congratulate SE on the following highly innovative features:
Software Update Over the Air – At last a universal method in the style of Windows Update, ensuring every phone has the latest bug fixes.
The Activity Menu – At a glance convenience, from ANY area of the phone. Fantastic!
% Battery Metre – Yes!
Active Shutter – (Although this may be on the way out?) This truly establishes your mobiles as imaging phones. To be able to launch the camera quickly and smoothly without unlocking the keyboard and traipsing through the menu is nothing short of brilliant. I hope that in future models, this feature is still an option.
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It's funny, but as soon as you start putting improvements into writing, you suddenly seem to forget a lot of them!
Hm?
T65> K700i> K750i> K800i> Mars. | |
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rockygali
Joined: Nov 21, 2005
Posts: > 500
From:
PM, WWW
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way to go mate... speaking as a true representative of the SE users community.
hope theyll get some time out to read it and do somthing about it...
"Darkness is the absence of light.. and not the opposite..." |
marktang
Joined: Dec 05, 2005
Posts: 196
From: toronto canada
PM |
good letter man. i think they need to hear what the real consumer thinks |
sadhanaputra
Joined: Jan 09, 2006
Posts: 1
PM |
Good idea to mail SE 
I'd like to also ask for one more feature from SE : the ability to set calendar items to be recurrent (either daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, yearly, etc.), just like MS Outlook's.. I keep convincing myself that the feature must be there somewhere, but i've been clicking 'More' everywhere and can't find the option.. (I'm using K600i, btw)
That's the number one pain i felt after commencing 'brand upgrade' from N****..
Thanks.. |
goldenface
Joined: Dec 17, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Liverpool City Centre
PM |
Nice letter JasonD. Let us know if you receive a reply from them. There is also a suggestions thread somewhere on here, I think.
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jasond
Joined: Dec 31, 2005
Posts: 408
From: Australia
PM |
I thought so too, but couldn't find it.  Would love to find it however.
I also wish there was the ability to create smart playlists in the media player, in a similar style to the iPod. I've noticed that even with the W800i, the same songs keep coming up on random (in the same listening session) long before the phone has cycled through the entire playlists. Odd.
I agree with the need for recurrent calendar appointments. I also wish there were an easier way of displaying the appointments in general.
We seem to be able to choose from either a one-at-a-time list (when an individual day is selected), or the entire week view (which is good, but lacks helpful labelling). It would also be a lot more user friendly if each time an appointment needs to be changed we didn't have to cycle through every single option (start time, duration, alarm, etc) to be able to adjust one small element.
T65> K700i> K750i> K800i> Mars. |
rockygali
Joined: Nov 21, 2005
Posts: > 500
From:
PM, WWW
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and how bout inserting numbers from phone book while composing your SMS. just like NOKIA's
"Darkness is the absence of light.. and not the opposite..." |
jasond
Joined: Dec 31, 2005
Posts: 408
From: Australia
PM |
Dear Jason,
Thank you for contacting the Sony Ericsson Call Center.
Thank you for your feedback regarding the Sony Ericsson K750i, all feedback about our
products is welcome. This information will be passed onto the correct department, thank you
for taking the time to write to us.
Best Regards,
Jordan Brennan
Sony Ericsson Call Center
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Seems to me to be a pretty stock standard reply, but it's certainly nice to know that the feedback is being passed on! One other annoyance I found was the inability to adjust the capital letter of a word immediatly after it has been typed - has anyone else noticed this?
I encourage all people to pass on feedback to SE about glitches, bugs and niggles - it will only help make our next phone better!
T65> K700i> K750i> K800i> Mars. |
jasond
Joined: Dec 31, 2005
Posts: 408
From: Australia
PM |
Hello all. In addition to the first post in this thread, I have just sent a second feedback form to Sony Ericsson, detailing the following points. I'd love to hear some Esato feedback on these listed improvements!
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Hi there,
I have written to you previously with feedback for the K750i, with specific relation to the inability to backup the custom dictionary and contact voice commands amongst other things. Since this time, I have thought of a few other things that I would like to put forward to the software development team:
With R1A008:
- Capital Lettering In SMS Composition - Bug
In T9 input mode, it is not currently possible to adjust the capital lettering of a word as it is being typed, even though the icon next to the T9 symbol indicates otherwise. After pressing space after typing the word, regardless of the setting that the capital letter was on, it reverts back to all lowercase. This applies to not only when a word is being typed for the first time, but also when it is being edited. The only way to adjust the capital lettering of the word it to move the cursor off it, and then back onto it, or set the capital letter before typing the word…
- Adding Contacts To Messages - Suggestion
At present, there is no way to add a contact’s number to an SMS (or MMS). If someone sends me a message asking for a phone number, the only way for me to get that number to them is to either only send the contact (by going through the phonebook and choosing ‘Send Contact’) or to exit the SMS, go to the phonebook, jot down the number on a piece of paper, then go back to the message and copy it in from the piece of paper. It is such a simple thing, but adding such a feature it would make this common process much easier for users. It is my understanding that the feature is possible on Nokia’s.
- Auto Retry Sending Failed Messages - Suggestion
At present, when an SMS fails to send, the user is asked if they would like to save it in drafts. Would it be unfair for me to assume that if the user attempted to send this message - it would be unlikely that the user would then choose to not save that message to send it later? Currently, the phone by default automatically saves SMSs with recipients without asking, however for some reason when a message fails to send, the user is it still given the option to not save it.
When an SMS fails to send, the phone should present the choice to retry immediately (in a similar fashion to how the phone automatically retries engaged numbers). The message would then be stored in the Outbox folder, and the phone would attempt to send the SMS at regular intervals or when the phone re-enters an area of reception.
If the user chooses not to auto-retry sending the message, it should be saved in drafts by default.
- Send Later’ SMS Option - Suggestion
In addition to the above, would it be possible to utilise the Outbox not just for MMS, but also for SMS. In the Compose SMS’s ‘More’ menu, there could be an option to ‘Send Later’ where the user can specify a time for that message to be sent. This way the message would sit in the Outbox folder until the specified send time, rather than in drafts.
- SMS Overview - Suggestion
In addition to the Inbox and Outbox, it would be a fantastic addition to Sony Ericsson’s messaging capabilities if there were also an ‘SMS Overview’ (or something similarly named) option in the messaging menu, where all messages (both sent and received) are listed by date – allowing the review of messaging histories with complete ease. It could also be possible to filter the list and only see conversations with just one, or a handful of contacts. This filtering process could also be initiated from the phonebook.
- MP3 Rating System - Suggestion
Stepping away from SMS improvements – I would love to see the option to rate (out of 5 stars) music on the phone, for use with smart playlists. This would be in keeping with most leading music players.
Also - at present I find that when my K750i’s Media Player is in ‘Shuffle’ play mode, it is likely that the phone will play the same song two, maybe even three times before first cycling through all the songs in that current playlist. Would it be possible to introduce smart playlists (customisable on either the phone, or PC software) making it possible to customise exactly what songs are in certain playlists (greater than 3 stars, has not been played in the last 2 days, etc, etc). This feature would no doubt be warmly welcomed, and ensure that Sony Ericsson stays abreast of other MP3 options. Currently this is the one main drawback for the K750i and Walkman brand in comparison to iPods.
- Using Letter Keys To Browse Folders - Bug
At the moment, Sony Ericsson has implemented a fantastic way of browsing through the phonebook by typing in the first few letters of a contact. I’ve noticed that a similar system is in place for browsing the phone’s folders (e.g. The Sounds folder); however the phone has never taken me to the correct file when I type in a letter. Typing in ‘W’ would take me to the file named ‘Sony Ericsson’ and so on. Also, if a folder is selected, typing in a letter would only scroll through folders (albeit incorrectly), the only way for it to search the files is to scroll down past the folders and then enter a letter (however this would still not correspond with the correct file name.
This feature would be sensational if it was as accurate as it is in the phonebook. It would also be great to have a similar automatic ‘Find’ function in the media player!
I must pass on my congratulations for the addition of a light sensor on the upcoming W810i. This is a great innovation!
I hope that the above feedback is of use to you. I have been a user of Sony Ericsson for a long time, and am passionate about seeing their products succeed beyond all expectations. I appreciate that you are very busy, but if possible, would love to hear back from you with regards to my above thoughts.
Kind regards,
- Jason.
T65> K700i> K750i> K800i> Mars. | |
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Posted: 2006-01-09 04:05
