A look at the specification sheet shows that basically the Z710i is a W710i with several features removed - for example, the Z710i only has a 64Mb memory card bundled (compared with 512Mb), it lacks the Walkman media player and fitness applications, and it comes in a more conventional housing (although it does still have external media controls). The orange coloured external display on the Walkman version has been replaced by a pretty looking blue colour 128x128 pixel panel.
Sometimes though, less is more. And the Z710i is a much more practical and sober business phone than the "Walkman" version, and it still features 10 hours talktime, an email client, personal information management tools, a web browser and RSS news reader. It still comes with a decent multimedia player and an FM radio, and of course you can always buy more memory if you want to. And as it's a quad-band phone, you can use it pretty much anywhere in the world.
The Z710i comes in two colours combinations, "Twighlight Black" and "Metallic Sand". We prefer the look of the latter, although both handsets look quite smart.
Sony Ericsson intend to sell the Z710i in Europe, the Americas, Middle East and and Africa. In addition, there will be a Z710c version available for mainland China.
Of course, not all business will want the digital camera, and we have the feeling that if Nokia were to make a handset like this, then they'd make it a Symbian smartphone. Still, the Sony Ericsson Z710i seems to be a good overall package that will appeal to business and personal customers alike.
The push email feature allows the user to have access to email accounts directly to their phone. The user can contact others using any of the messaging services provided which include multimedia messaging, enhanced messaging, text messaging, email & instant messaging. The multimedia message can incorporate sound & text with a photo, image or video clip & provide an entertaining & informative message. The text message service provides a quick text input only message which is compatible with most mobile phone users whereas a multimedia message can only be sent to a MMS compatible mobile phone user which some mobile phones do not incorporate. The instant message works like an online conversation between compatible users & is just like an instant message service that is provided on the users home or office personal computer.
The user can synchronise their contact details & calendar between their PC & Sony Ericsson Z710i & even enjoy doing this over a wireless connection using Bluetooth® technology. The phone comes with a highly useable phone book complete with contact information, calendar, calculator, stopwatch, date & time, alarm clock, timer & notes. The phone comes with a flight mode feature which allows the user to access information on their phone whilst on a flight or in other mobile phone restricted areas such as hospitals.
Sony Ericsson Z710i Specifications & Features
Internal TFT 262k Colour Screen (176 x220 Pixels)
External STN 4 Greyscale Screen (128 x 128 Pixels)
Imaging
2 Megapixel Digital Camera
2.5 x Digital Zoom
Viewfinder Display
Video Clip
Video Record
Video Streaming
VideoDJ™
Image Blogging
SVG Tiny 1.1
Picture Phonebook
Themes Display
Picture Wallpaper
Screensaver
Wallpaper Animation
Messaging
SMS (Text Messaging)
EMS (Enhanced Messaging)
MMS (Multimedia Messaging)
SMS Long
Push Email
Instant Messaging
Predictive Text Input
Sound Recorder
Sound
Media Player
FM Radio RDS
Music Tones
Polyphonic Ringtones (72 Voices)
MusicDJ™
PlayNow™
Entertainment
3D Games
Java™ Games
Downloadable Games
Embedded Games
Phone Book
Contacts
File Manager
Business Card Exchange
Calculator
Calendar
Alarm Clock
Stopwatch
Timer
Notes
Tasks
Flight Mode
Push to Talk
Conference Calls
Vibration Alert
Handsfree Speaker Phone
Connectivity
Bluetooth®
Infra Red
USB
EDGE
Fast Port
Synchroniszation PC
Network
Quad Band (GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800 & GSM 1900))
Internet
Access NetFront™ Web Browser
Modem
RSS Feeds
Memory & Talk Time
10 Mbytes Memory Plus Memory Stick Duo™ M2™
10 Hours Talk Time
350 Hours Standby
Weight & Size
101 g
88 x 48 x 24.5 mm