These days, it's hard to find a mobile phone without advanced features like an onboard camera, MP3 support and Bluetooth connectivity among others. Besides the Nokia 2600 and 2650 entry-level models, users now have another simple, straightforward mobile phone to choose from.

Design
At 74g and 101 x 43 x 19mm, the J200i is extremely lightweight and well-sized so you can barely feel it in your pocket. Despite the simplistic, candy-bar design, it is operationally intuitive with a logically mapped keypad and five-way joystick like the T610. While overall build quality is fine for a low-end phone, the back of the handset is susceptible to fingerprints.

The 128 x 128-pixel, 4K-color screen is disappointing on two counts. Overlooking the low-specced display due to its tag as a budget, no-frills handset, the passive-matrix LCD is hard to use under bright sunlight, while the slow refresh rate means you can see "ghosting" effects just like on the Nokia 2600.

Features
However, the J200i loses out to the Nokia 2600 in terms of operating speed. Our messaging pace was often bottlenecked by the slow refresh rate of the letters on the display. Menu navigation wasn't that smooth either.

The 40-chord polyphonic ringtones are decent if unspectacular, while the volume is sufficiently loud at maximum level. Although the J200i supports photo caller IDs, there isn't any onboard camera to take snapshots with.

To its credit, the J200i comes with an infrared port for file transfer which the Nokia 2600 doesn't. The Sony Ericsson also supports WAP surfing at GPRS speeds.

Another advantage of the J200i over the 2600 is its triband capability, so the Sony Ericsson will be a better choice for frequent travelers.

Reception, Battery Life And SAR
We had no problems with either reception or voice quality. The 700mAh Lithium-polymer battery performed impressively for its relatively low capacity, managing close to four days of moderate usage. In comparison, the Nokia 2600 lasted slightly over four days but on a 900mAh Lithium-ion battery.

The highest Specific Absorption rate recorded was 0.69W/kg, which meets international requirements concerning exposure to radio waves.

Conclusion
Priced at S$178 with a two-year plan and S$328 without contract, the J200i, being a highly portable and affordable triband handset, should be well-suited for casual users or jetsetters eager to travel light.