The Box
The box is small and that is because it contains little accessories even though Sony Ericsson C903 has huge capabilities. The standard accessories are a Sony Ericsson C903 phone, a stereo portable handsfree, a battery, a charger and a simple manual guide. There is no USB cable, memory card or TV-out cable. My MP3 player’s manual guide is thicker than Sony Ericsson C903’s manual guide is.
The Unit
Sony Ericsson C903 is made from glossy plastic, hence, fingerprints magnet. When pressing the buttons, I hear some plastic cracking sounds but that is not a real problem. The whole build still feels solid though. The 2.4” screen is great but it is still small than some bar-type of phones as the keypad slides behind the screen.
In order to open Sony Ericsson C903 battery cover, there is a sliding switch at the bottom of the phone. By sliding the switch manually, you are essentially releasing or locking the battery cover. Even when you slide to release the battery cover, the battery cover does not come off straightaway.
The Buttons
Sony Ericsson C903 buttons are quite standard compared to other Sony Ericsson’s models. The front panel buttons do not sit tightly in their position. The keypads look flat but once you put your finger on it, you could feel that each key protrudes slightly which makes typing easy.
As Sony Ericsson C903 is a cybershot phone, there are designated camera buttons on the right which allow you to shoot, zoom, view and change from camera to video function or vice-versa.
The Camera
To me, a mobile phone with 5MP camera is more than enough. It can never replace a proper camera but Sony Ericsson C903 5MP camera is still an alternative, as you will not be carrying your camera all the time. Taking pictures is easy, as the phone will enter camera mode as soon as you slide down the back cover. On the D-Pad, there are small pictures such as macro, flash, shoot mode and timer which indicates that you can change the settings with a press of a button rather than going into the menu options.
I felt the camera is a bit too slow and that may be caused by the fact that it is using Three network firmware. There is no secondary camera but Sony Ericsson C903 is capable of video calling. The battery cover that also provides a sliding function to reveal the camera feels fragile.
The Functionality
Since the USB cable is not provided, I will have to use the Bluetooth connectivity to copy files into Sony Ericsson C903. I find that the Bluetooth connectivity is not very stable but again, it may be caused by the Three network firmware. The GPS enable geo-tagging function in the camera and several pre-loaded applications use GPS as well.
The Interface
I am not sure whether this is something new but the wallpaper changes every few seconds according to themes.
The Applications
Sony Ericsson C903 comes loaded with tons of applications. Connecting to Windows Live Messenger, Skype, Facebook, Twitter and so on is easy as there is a shortcut menu on the front panel to a list of favourite applications. Immediately, I tried logging into Skype on both Sony Ericsson C903 and Samsung Omnia i900V and made a Skype call. The connection was all right and the call could be heard clearly with little or no interference.
There is this tracking application where it tracks the distance you have walked using the GPS function.
Wayfinder Navigator is included to ensure that you will always find your way home with Sony Ericsson C903.
The Verdict
It is a neat phone with tons of applications and desirable functions. Unfortunately, there is no WiFi connectivity. I believe some functions such as the camera and menu speed could be improved with an upgrade of firmware provided that Three network provides one. Otherwise, debranding the phone may be an option but that might cause incompatibility issues or losing some applications.
