Sony Ericsson's imaging-centric Cyber-shot phones started with the K-series back in early 2006, so imagine our surprise when the Japanese-Swedish company announced that its latest range of camera-phones would be the C702 and the C902 at this year's Mobile World Congress. Although it may take a while for consumers to start associating the Cyber-shot brand with the C-series, we think it's still a good move in the long run.
Upside
One of the main features we like about the Cyber-shot range is the alphanumeric keys pulling double duty as shortcuts to frequently used camera functions. This lets the user toggle between various modes without having to scroll through onscreen menus. We've seen these buttons in earlier models such as the K770i and K850i, so naturally we aren't surprised to see it implemented on the C702, too.
According to the literature, the C702 comes with onboard A-GPS. Our alarm bells rang when we read about the location positioning feature. It's not the first time Sony Ericsson is introducing A-GPS on its devices. The earlier Z750i had it, too, though the problem was that only Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan had enabled the feature (as we were told by the company) at that time we were reviewing the phone.
Unlike handhelds with dedicated built-in GPS chips, an A-GPS receiver relies on an assistant server such as a cell phone tower to triangulate the user's position. The specifications of the C702 didn't mention anything about a built-in GPS chip, so we are going to take this feature with a pinch of salt for now. But if it works like it claims, the GPS feature will allow users to sort and view their images according to the place where they took them.
Geotagging features like these have been around with the help of external GPS loggers or the use of software, but it's still relatively new to see this built into mobile devices. Nokia's latest N96 and N78 also support geotagging functions, except that these handsets have a dedicated GPS chip on top of utilizing A-GPS. This should be able to help pinpoint location more accurately.
Other features on the quadband candy-bar include HSDPA, Bluetooth stereo A2DP, FM radio, 160MB onboard memory, Memory Stick Micro M2 expansion card slot and a splash/dust-resistant chassis.
Downside
One of the most disappointing points about the C702 is that it doesn't come with a Xenon flash module. Instead, it has a pair of LED lights to provide illumination for shooting in dimly lit environments. Xenon flash lights are usually much stronger compared with LEDs, so we found it strange that Sony Ericsson decided not to include it on the C702 Cyber-shot.
Although we haven't seen the actual unit yet, from the pictures, the Call/End buttons sandwiched between the softkeys and shortcut/correction functions appear to be rather small. That may affect the use of the keys slightly.
Outlook
The C702 isn't the evolution we were hoping for in camera-phones, although it should fit well within the company's lineup of Cyber-shots. It's also a good move that the maker has decided to initial its Cyber-shot models with the letter C for easy recognition. Although the handset comes with onboard A-GPS, we are a little apprehensive about it based on our previous experience with the Z750i. We'll have to wait for the actual unit due out in Q2 before passing final judgment.
http://asia.cnet.com/
By Damian Koh
