The Sony Ericsson Satio was arguably the most hyped phone at Mobile World Congress. Known initially as the Idou, its multimedia powers were obviously aimed squarely at the iPhone and the slew of now unleashed Google Android phones. So, can this all–rounder win out and become the go to smartphone of 2009? Read our full Sony Ericsson Satio review now and find out.
Grab the Sony Ericsson Satio and immediately you’ll be struck by just how much it feels like a compact camera. For a kick off, the sliding lens cover makes it look and feel heftier than its rivals. It may be 13mm deep at its slimmest point, but it’s much chunkier at its thickest point, meaning sliding it into your pocket is a far from cosy experience.
However, slip back that cover and you’ll find the finest ever camera we’ve ever seen shoehorned into a mobile phone. The 12MP sensor on the Sony Ericsson Satio helps produce stunning shots, and coupled with a Xenon flash, means it works incredibly well in a dark and dank boozer. That’s not to say that pics don’t lack noise. Use it in really dark places, and snaps do appear grainy and, well, like they’ve been taken on a mobile.
And therein lies a major issue with the Sony Ericsson Satio. It may have a mighty megapixel count, but it’s still lacking the clarity, not to mention the optical zoom, that can put it head to head with proper compact cameras. Our pictures might have proved to be good quality in bright sunlight, but compared to those taken on our ageing 8MP Casio Exilim EX-Z850, they didn’t stack up, especially as the light began to fade.
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That said, compared to rival mobiles, it’s a cut above in the camera stakes. The touchscreen, meanwhile, leaves a lot to be desired. If anything, it feels worse than those on early efforts by LG and Samsung. There’re no light touches here. You really have to prod and probe to get the Satio going.
The software underneath doesn’t help either. Symbian S60 simply doesn’t lend itself to touchscreen phones, and Sony Ericsson’s UI is little help. The Satio’s menus are very confusing. Access to the main menu is via the central bottom button. However, it’s not at all obvious to the eye. Likewise, simple settings such as setting an alarm are buried under a heap of sub-menus. In an age when Android and the iPhone make using gadgets easy, the Sony Ericsson Satio is left miles behind.
There are also myriad build issues. The Sony Ericsson Satio feels cheap to the touch and very plasticky, despite being a premium phone. On top of that Sony Ericsson has once again seen fit to omit a 3.5mm jack. At a time when other manufacturers are finally seeing the light on universal headphones, this is a huge miss, even if you can use the new MH907 buds instead.
Sadly, the hype around the Sony Ericsson Satio is just that. This is a chunky phone which lets itself down with poor build quality, an average UI and a lack of a 3.5mm jack. Sure, the feature list, including GPS, Wi–Fi, HSDPA and gesture control reads well, but in practice the hardware is simply not up to the job.
