By Damian Koh
14/11/2008
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/mobilephones/0,39051199,43607673p,00.htm

The C905 Cyber-shot is Sony Ericsson's latest flagship imaging handset which had the honor of being the first camera-phone equipped with an 8-megapixel sensor when this was announced back in June. Since then, other manufacturers including Samsung and LG have unveiled competing models. The C905 doesn't have a touchscreen LCD, so naturally it competes head-on with the Samsung INNOV8 which beat it to the market first. We're just waiting for the LG KC780 to launch this quarter to rev up the competition.

Design

There are a few things we like about the design of the C905 Cyber-shot. Contrary to initial impressions that most people have regarding its bulky build when they first pick it up, the phone actually handles very well in the hands. The sliding mechanism is very smooth and we like the combination of a black chassis with soft-touch plastic and silver lining on the sides. It's a little thick, but Sony Ericsson has done a great job in streamlining the size of the phone, keeping protrusions to a minimal by adopting a gently sloping, flush surface at the back.

Dedicated camera controls are littered mainly on the directional pad with two additional ones above the 2.4-inch scratch-resistant LCD. These allow the user to toggle among various camera options without having to navigate the menus. We also like the distinct feel between half-pressing the shutter button and depressing it fully to take a picture.

Like the rest of the Cyber-shots with a camera lid, sliding open the cover activates the shooter. A conscious effort is required to push the lid away from the catch, but we think that works to its advantage as it prevents the cover from accidentally opening when the phone is in a bag or pocket. The lid slides down effortlessly and at the same time pushes the lower section inward, so there are no awkward protrusions.

Although the buttons are generously sized, they are unfortunately also the C905's biggest problem. Initially we thought the issue could be with us. So we did a quick poll and everyone came back with the same consensus after some hands-on. The buttons are too stiff and have uneven tactility. The top row of the numeric keypad is also too close to the lower edge of the slider, which inevitably leads to thumbs hitting the edge when typing fast.

Features

As far as digital imaging experiences go, the Cyber-shot range has introduced one of the best implementations and this is largely aided by the numerous physical camera keys. Like the previous K850i Cyber-shot, the C905 has both Xenon and LED flash lights for still picture-taking and video recording, respectively. However, the dual memory card (microSD and Memory Stick Micro) slot is no longer available and the C905 supports only the latter media.

Video recording is limited to QVGA resolution at 30fps, which is a pity since this is an imaging phone and its competitors are already offering VGA-resolution recording capabilities at 30fps plus slow-motion recording at 120fps at QVGA. Besides an integrated GPS receiver with Assisted-GPS for geo-tagging pictures, other features such as face detection, image/video stabilizer and BestPic are also available. The latter takes a total of seven pictures before and after you press the shutter to ensure you won't miss the critical shot, and it can now be used together with the LED flash.

Aside from sat-nav capabilities, the quad-band GSM C905 is one of the few Sony Ericsson handsets with built-in Wi-Fi. By default, the phone will route data-related functions via Wi-Fi if it's connected to a hotspot before attempting using GPRS, 3G or HSDPA. Other connectivity features include Bluetooth stereo A2DP for streaming music wirelessly to your earbuds and support for DLNA. The latter allows you to send photos from your phone to the TV via Wi-Fi, or directly using an optional ITC-60 TV-out cable.

What the C905 lacks is a front-facing camera for video calls and a built-in 3.5mm audio jack. You could argue that there's no need for a 3.5mm port on an imaging-focused phone. But if you were to look at its competitors like the Samsung INNOV8 and Nokia's Nseries, you'll start to wonder if you are missing out on an important feature regardless of the positioning of the phone in the market. Unlike the Walkmans which are usually bundled with a headset that comes with a 3.5mm port, the C905 ships with a standard earpiece. In the box, you'll also find a 2GB Memory Stick Micro card.

Performance

The C905 Cyber-shot is preinstalled with Wayfinder Navigator 7 and Google Maps for Mobile. The latter needs no introduction. In use, we found the features of the Wayfinder app rudimentary, letting you do only simple tasks such as planning routes and finding places. The trial license is valid for three months, after which it'll be a paid subscription service. During our tests, it took between 2 and 5 minutes for the GPS to get a lock on our position. That was slow compared with most of the GPS-enabled Nokia devices which take a minute or less to get a location fix.

Loading additional maps onto the C905 also isn't as intuitive as we would like. Instead of selecting the specific countries, the Wayfinder Maploader uses a grid system where you click and select the corresponding areas of the maps you want to download. We ended up unclear about whether we were downloading the correct data.



As far as image quality goes, we were pleased with what we saw. Our pictures showed that the camera was able to resolve a good deal of details and color reproduction was commendable. The camera was able to lock its focus mostly under a second in daylight conditions and shutter lag was just 0.3 second. As with most high-end camera-phones, the C905 comes with a bevy of imaging features. To see how the Xenon flash on the C905 fares in comparison to other camera-phones in the market, click here.

We found the Smart Contrast feature useful for backlighting situations, though this was done at the expense of blowing out the highlights in order to bring out more details in the shadow regions. Panoramic shooting was rudimentary since it records on VGA snaps in multiples of three as you pan along. There's no manual ISO setting available, so this is left to the camera's algorithm. We like the screen's legibility under sunlight, as with most Sony Ericsson models, which is great when shooting outdoors.

According to the listed specifications, the C905's 930mAh lithium-polymer battery is rated for 9 hours of talktime and about 16 days on standby. We managed to get about two days of use on a full charge, though this depends on your usage pattern. Expect to recharge more often if you use the GPS and Wi-Fi regularly as these are power guzzlers.

Call quality was fine throughout our review and the loudspeaker was sufficiently loud. We did find the bass lacking during music playback. As we mentioned earlier, there's no front-facing camera on the C905 for video calls.

Conclusion

It's fair to say that this Sony Ericsson is rather well-equipped with all the standard connectivity you can expect from flagship products. As far as 8-megapixel shooters go, the C905's direct competitor would be the Samsung INNOV8 since the Pixon and LG Renoir are both touchscreen models and the LG KC980 isn't available yet.

From the phone's software and availability perspectives, the INNOV8 has the upper hand with a more robust S60 operating system and a headstart in the market. But we like Sony Ericsson's implementation of the camera user interface. Obviously, for those used to Sony Ericsson phones, the C905 would be the natural choice. Plus it's slightly cheaper at S$938 compared with the Samsung INNOV8 at S$1,098.