UK 3G Mobile Phones - Sony Ericsson P990i Review

Your Sony Ericsson P990i Reviews

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Reviewer: James Iruero - Portharcourt, Nigeria
Date: 27th Jan 2010

I have tested all the features on the P990i & I have been using the phone for the past 3 years & it is perfectly OK according to the design but trying to make the phone faster than it speed it is will not allow you & anybody using the phone should be very patience with it in order to download properly otherwise it will hang & this will now force a user to open the battery pack & restart & I think this is one of the basic defect most consumers having. I suggest Sony Ericsson should do something even to other products & on the technical memory, it is specify 8 gigabyte on SD & it does not carry beyond 4 gig on SD card. Best wishes to Ericsson on telephony.

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Reviewer: Martin - UK
Date: 16th Feb 2009

I have been using this phone for 2 years now it's only down side seems to be its size & its camera compared to current mobile phones, were it comes into its own is its ability to recognise hand writing. This put it miles in front of the competition. Would like to upgrade to the P1i but this is not offered by the more competitively priced phone suppliers. So I may look at the X1.

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Reviewer: Muadili Saiding - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Date: 16th Jan 2009

I download the free TV player but I can't use it. The other thing is it doesn't read Arabic language.

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Reviewer: Quinton - South Africa
Date: 9th May 2008

I have had this phone for about a year & a half. It is bulky, very slow & now it won't start up. I have used a number of other phones over the years & now that I have used a Sony Ericsson phone, I will be going back to a nice simple to use, fast Nokia! Stay as far away from this phone as you can! I hate it.

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Reviewer: Mantu - Hayes, UK
Date: 23rd Mar 2008

Screen cannot be seen in the day time, it takes very long period to switch on, VERY HEAVY & CAMERAS ARE NOT VERY CLEAR & UTILIZE.

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Reviewer: Mark - London, UK
Date: 9th Mar 2008

I upgraded from the P910i. I have used this phone for about two months now & have got to say it is absolutely terrible. There are so many bad things. I will list just a few of them.

Okay, how about this for a gem, the clock on the phone loses a few minutes every week! Yes, I couldn't believe it! Right now I am looking at it & its lost 3 minutes since I corrected it two days ago!

Response time is slow, every feature you seem to select seems to take an age to load. Even on start up the phone takes over 60 seconds to load. Now you might not think this is as important as you'll probably very rarely have to switch it off, WRONG! The software is unstable which means you'll be switching it off, no actually that's not correct. You'll be opening the battery compartment, removing the battery & replacing it & closing the compartment in order to reset the phone! Because sometimes the 'off' button does not respond!

SMS, everything seems to have multiple layers in order to get to the relevant application. Take SMS's.
- You open the Flip.
- You scroll down to the SMS icon.
- You press the button to select it.
- You press again to select whether you want to write or read a sms.
- So you select write & another menu comes up you scroll down & press the button to select create a sms.
- Yet another menu appears to ask sms or MMS or email.
- Finally, now you can begin!

The whole thing is made worse because the response is slow.

Synchronizing with Outlook & the upgrade service:

DO NOT UPGRADE BEFORE YOU HAVE MADE A BACKUP! The upgrade service gives you no notice if you reinstall the software & wipes everything back to factory settings. Beforehand I was fortunate enough to synchronise with my laptop & outlook etc. But for some unknown reason some of the numbers have gotten the prefix chopped off! Or even worse have disappeared completely! You can imagine how much fun putting back that stuff is.

There are just so many bad things I could write I would be here for another hour putting everything down. The functionality of the Calendar should be a lot better & the car setting for the hands-free does not work as it should.

Personally, I think the main problems are.
- the phone has insufficient memory.
-the software is very poor.

Whilst Microsoft is no angel & I've only used their PDA software, what I've seen of it suggests it is leaps & bounds ahead of Symbian, in functionality & not surprisingly, in synchronisation.

I really wouldn't get this phone. I have since got the HTC TyTn & whilst this is no angel is far better than the P990.

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Reviewer: Bert Bryden - UK
Date: 2nd Mar 2008

A large SLR Camera, a Samsung MP3 player & a Samsung Phone Vs. Sony Ericsson P990i, Video & Music player no competition.

Touch Screen (Beam me up Scotty).

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Reviewer: Tanvir - Dhaka, Bangladesh
Date: 29th Feb 2008

Use Microsoft outlook for email.

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Reviewer: Anthony - UK
Date: 9th Feb 2008

I bought this little fire cracker for £110 & to say that I am impressed is a understatement (from having a k530i) From it's killer looks to the ability to expand the applications the Sony Ericsson P990i does exactly what it says on the tin. I have always wanted a P series & had my eye on the P800 but decided to wait till the price came down for the P990i & bought it.

It has many things to offer from it 2MP camera that takes excellent pictures (those wanting a higher Mp should buy a digital camera) the ability to switch the screen round to landscape when using the Internet (looks like Apple Iphone nicked the idea) Watching Videos on it keeps me occupied on the train.

It is everything I want in a mobile phone & from a manufacturer that has a track record for producing high end phones. This phone puts other phones to shame. It combines the abilities of a pda & phone which is what I look for in a phone.

I would recommend this handset to anyone looking for a powerful device that can organise your life & keep you entertained; I don't know why some people make out that this handset is a dud; with a few firmware updates it should make it even better.

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Reviewer: George - UK
Date: 21st Jan 2008

Ever since I first set my eyes on the Sony Ericsson P990i I instantly thought 'I want it'. There was no other phone on the market at the time that came close to matching the P990i in terms of all round features & connectivity.

My previous phone was a Nokia 6680, & being the first Smartphone I'd ever owned I was impressed with the ability to multitask when compared to normal handsets (although for a Smartphone it didn't do this particularly well). I was also impressed with the variety of cool software applications & games available for the symbian platform, & for these reasons I knew my next phone had to be a symbian Smartphone. Being a university student I needed a phone that could help me keep up with a busy & demanding lifestyle but something I could have fun with when I wanted to, & this is what drew me to the P990i. I have had the phone for nearly a year now, & although the phone is hardly perfect & it took me a while to learn to get the best out of it, I don't regret my decision in buying it.

Physically the phone is quite big but after removing the flip keypad it looks smarter & slots into my pocket fairly easily & actually weighs in a lot lighter than you might expect. In the first few months of having the phone I found the user interface very slow & unstable, many of the juicy features such as the excellent web browser would not work as well as I expected often leading to the phone crashing or rebooting which grew very annoying. However since then I have upgraded the firmware on the phone & the overall performance has been VASTLY improved. To be honest the phone should have performed like this straight out of the box but at least Sony Ericsson sorted it out eventually. The stability has been greatly improved & the hardware & software functions run much more smoothly, which brings me to the rich features incorporated into the phone.

On the outside the phone has a 3 way jog dial which makes navigating menus easy, although it can be a little bit awkward pressing it in to make selections. The full QWERTY keyboard is great in my opinion & is my preferred method of text entry. It's compact yet easy to use & I never have any problems pressing the right keys although I am lucky enough to not have fat fingers so this might be a factor affecting its usability. Despite apparent criticism from others I find typing with the keyboard a pleasure, allowing me to input text quickly & efficiently. Typing with the number keypad isn't too bad either, the predictive text is probably one of the best I have used in a phone, learning & guessing words before you begin typing them. The handwriting recognition is also a nifty feature, although it helps to take a bit of time to learn how to use it properly if you want to get the best out of it. There is also an option for an onscreen touch keyboard however this is my least frequently used method of text entry, why use an on screen touch keyboard which takes time to tap at all the individual (& pretty small) letters onscreen when you have the hardware keyboard?

The 2.6' TFT screen is of good quality & I have found it to have very good resistance to marks & scratches which is a good thing considering that it is a touch screen after all. It is very sharp & clear & has a reasonably good level of brightness (which can also be adjusted). You can see pictures & videos at a healthy speed of up to 30 fps taken with the high quality 2 megapixel camera clearly at a screen resolution of 240 x 320 pixels (QVGA). The built in business card scanner also works surprisingly well although I haven't really found too much use for it.

One of strong points of the phone is its broad range of connectivity features. WLAN & 3G coupled with the excellent Opera integrated html web browser are very useful meaning I can access Internet resources whilst in lectures or on the move. Document readers for Microsoft Office & Adobe Acrobat also make the P990i a powerful tool when it comes to work. Bluetooth 2.0 also allows for fast wireless connectivity with other Bluetooth enabled devices, good for sharing media. Media playback on the P990i, as with most Sony Ericsson phones, is very good. The media player has preset graphic equaliser settings including the MegaBass setting found on Walkman phones, which really does make a big difference in sound. It has an easy to use interface & supports playlists which is useful for organising your music. The memory stick duo slot supporting up to 4GB for media storage & the dedicated play & pause button make the P990i potentially a confident performer when used as a music player. I have a 4GB card in my P990i & often use it for music playback. Playback doesn't kill the battery too much either meaning you can get a good few hours of music playback out of the phone between charges. Battery life in general is quite good for a phone of this type, & mine easily goes for about 2 to 3 days between charges depending on how much I use it

The P990i, being the first Smartphone sporting the UIQ 3.0 Symbian 9.1 operating system, unfortunately old favourites on when I am on the go!

The only downside I can really point out with this phone is that it can take a while to learn how to use it properly & really get the best out of it, & in terms of the interface it can be a bit annoying sometimes switching between different input methods such as the flip keypad & the touch screen, which is only enabled when the flip is open & removed for example. When the flip is closed you can't really do anything useful except for quick calls & short SMS messages. Some things are better done with flip keypad, some are better with the touch screen & some are best done with the jog dial, but you will find yourself switching between the many input methods with this phone as there is no one dominantly effective way of doing everything.

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Reviewer: Pedro - Plymouth, UK
Date: 15th Jan 2008

This phone does everything, badly. It freezes regularly & takes ages to reboot. Usually needs the battery removing to reboot as the keyboard locks up. Incidentally, removing the battery cover requires great care as it's easy to break in the process.

Putting it in your pocket can easily unlock the keyboard or switch on the camera, both of which mean that when you remove this house brick to make a call, the (already rubbish) battery life is probably totally depleted.

Answering an incoming call needs the precision of a micro-surgeon as pressing 1mm out on the dual function button sends a busy tone to the caller & cuts you off.

It needs recharging every day, twice a day if you actually make any calls. The screen is practically invisible in daylight. Need I go on?

Do yourself a favour & don't buy it. If you do still want one after reading this then mine is up for sale, perhaps I should add that the screen is broken after I threw it at a wall in frustration!

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Reviewer: Osei Yaw - Accra, Ghana
Date: 14th Jan 2008

I started using p990i phone three month ago. I have used so many phones, but p990i is different. I can recommend this phone to every businessman & other user, to go in for p990i.

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Reviewer: Kevin - Swindon, UK
Date: 4th Jan 2008

Firstly I like the site. Good range of opinions can't you show a running average of reviews I.e. Design, features, usability. Just as a rough guide.

Anyway the phone, moved up from the P900, which I loved, for me in its time a great phone. Bit of a brick but loads of tricks. So when it came for upgrade the P990i was an obvious choice.

I was disappointed right from the start, a silly thing but moving the stylus to the other side, crazy, key board on the back of the flip. Too small to work the buttons you're in danger of breaking the flap. Besides I use the on board key pad & stylus recon software which is great.

Screen clarity is good over the p900 & camera also the addition of a 2mg flash card helps to store a moderate amount of MP3's when walking my dog. Radio & Wan also a useful upgrade the business card recognition & translation brilliant until the camera auto focus packed up. In terms of positive things to say that's it.

I am really disappointed with its performance. I have had it now for 18 months so I can be very objective.

I really couldn't recommend it, as others have posted. Regular crashes, Camera auto focus failed. Buttons work sometimes then not. Screen Navigation too clever for its own good. Toggle 2d, 3d on P900 (was one of the best bits) head phone socket shares change socket so now can't listen to music when charging Stylus change (as mentioned before). Keeps conflicting when synchronising with Outlook. Crashes & screws up my desktop Outlook.

It won't work when I am Skiing (Cheap old Nokia fine) either must be the cold or altitude.

The most recent thing to annoy me is it got wet in my pocket (I was walking). Now the screens bleached & the main nav buttons failed. If I had dropped it in the drink I would accept it but it was rain water through a coat. I would expect some performance in this environment.

There's a saying Efficient Receivers & Expensive Deceivers. I would regard this in the latter, Good Luck. Kevin.

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Reviewer: Satish - Bangalore, India
Date: 2nd Jan 2008

Very good phone with great.

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Reviewer: Phill - West Midlands, UK
Date: 28th Dec 2007

Very nice phone, all in one place.

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Reviewer: Chinxoun Chong - Oakville, Canada
Date: 22nd Dec 2007

Good excellent phone.

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Reviewer: Dave Sable - Cambridge, UK
Date: 21st Dec 2007

Got one second hand. Really simple but clever. I am looking at P1i or iPhone for a update though. Good phone, none the less.

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Reviewer: Simon Happy Lad - Bristol, UK
Date: 15th Dec 2007

Used the 910 previously that was great & fast, could be worked one handed with the joggle wheel. This is slow, I can't see it in daylight, it freezes & the key boards useless.

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Reviewer: Magid H - Isfahan, Iran
Date: 11th Dec 2007

IT'S A VERY GOOD FOR EVERYBODY.

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Reviewer: Sumitra - Brunei Darussalam
Date: 22nd Nov 2007

I THINK THIS PHONE IS the COOLEST PHONE BECAUSE IT INCLUDES ALL the LATEST & NEWEST THINGS THAT the OTHER PHONES don't HAVE. SO EVERYONE HAS TO BUY ONE OF THIS BECAUSE I HAVE GOT ONE, MY FRENDS ARE DETERMINED TO GET IT BUT HOWEVER THEY can't IT'S TOO PRECIOUS & TOO good FOR THEM.

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Reviewer: Martin Yau - London, UK
Date: 18th Nov 2007

I had a P800 & liked it very much & expected much from the p990i. Alas it was disappointing. Why did Sony Ericsson removed the 3d jog dial? Why did they remove the big screen & use some of the space with a next to useless keyboard? the P800 was intuitive, the P990i was not. Things like speakerphone on when you open the flap was very useful when driving hands-free, now it is not possible.

Whoever made the decision to ditch or change these usability features that made the p800 & p900 a joy to use should be sacked for ruining a previously good series of Smartphones (p800, p900, p910).

If you had p800 you will not like the p990. Try one before you buy, otherwise you could be disappointed.

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Reviewer: Unis Khan - London, Albania
Date: 12th Nov 2007

I had the P900 & upgraded to the P910i (which I have still not used) & also got the P990i as an upgrade. My P900 was excellent, good design, easy menus & fast & did me well for the last 3 years (that's why I never used the other two phones) until last week when I couldn't synchronise the screen anymore. So I thought let me take out the P990i & start using it, what a rubbish phone!

Keeps on freezing, menus are too multi layered & simple things such as Contacts are much more complex than the P900, options sometimes appear & sometimes go missing & then it freezes! Problem after problem after problem really infuriates me that a company can actually go backwards in their design & usability instead of building on an excellent phone (P900). I don't think the techie's behind the P990i actually used any of the other P9's, they should all be sacked! Sony should recall all the phones until the problems they have with it are sorted out!

My advice to anyone thinking of buying this phone is DO NOT BUY IT! DO NOT BUY IT! DO NOT BUY IT! DO NOT BUY IT! DO NOT BUY IT! DO NOT BUY IT! DO NOT BUY IT!

P.S If they had a figure in the options less than 5% then I would have chosen that!

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Reviewer: Saeid - Avani, Iran
Date: 5th Nov 2007

This is a very good phone.

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Reviewer: Kianoosh - Esfahan, Iran
Date: 31st Oct 2007

Thanks for making p990i. I am so glad to buy a p990i mobile phone.

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Reviewer: Javad - Shiraz, Iran
Date: 31st Oct 2007

It is best phone, buy now.

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Reviewer: Mohammad - Iran
Date: 27th Oct 2007

I think this mobile is really very big.

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Reviewer: Nicole - Lodon, UK
Date: 26th Oct 2007

Generally speaking, I like the phone. I like almost every device comes from Sony Ericsson. Nice design with all the feature I need, big display. The only thing is, it would be better to support the voice dial feature requires no training. As I see the voice recognition program on Nokia or iPAQ devices, there is no need to record a tag for my contact. On iPAQ, it also supports to check appointments or read SMS. Looks cool!

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Reviewer: Mohammed Bux - Preston, UK
Date: 26th Oct 2007

It's a very nice mobile phone it's got what I need. I recommend you buy p990i it's your future.

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Reviewer: Naeim - Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
Date: 22nd Oct 2007

The device processing operations are very slow & it always crashs so you have to restart the device.

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Reviewer: Sajjad - Esf, Iran
Date: 19th Oct 2007

I need programs & films & games for my phone.please give some help.

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Reviewer: Ravi - Madurai, India
Date: 17th Oct 2007

P99Oi, It is a very good Smartphone. Other brands with the same features are exorbitantly priced. But, Windows operating system is very vital to enjoy/test the phone features & the NET POWER. Sony should come up with upgrades for change over to WINDOWS O.S from Symbian O.S. FREE OF COST. Sony should also find a way to switch on FM without hands-free. Installation CDS are not working with older versions of windows XP. Is there any solution?

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Reviewer: Gamad - Iligan City, Philippines
Date: 13th Oct 2007

Need to have anti-virus to protect my mobile.

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Reviewer: Martin - UK
Date: 2nd Oct 2007

The phone is not good & I am on my sixth one from Orange with various faults ranging from the camera not working to calls not coming in. This is a business phone. I have probably lost more business through this phone than it's worth. Now sits in the draw & I use a Nokia 6230i. Please don't buy one!

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Reviewer: Explore - Nepal
Date: 2nd Oct 2007

How is the MP3 playback quality of the phone? Is it as loud as Walkman phone or can any player be installed to increase the volume of the phone?

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Reviewer: Gurps - Hounslow, UK
Date: 13th Sep 2007

Hi there I have just bought a P990i & a lot of people are complaining about problem with the phone all you need to do is update the firmware, it's like a operating system like windows vista for example. You have to update it in order for the phone to be better because the phone does have a o/s on it so you have to understand.

Dharmendra - all you have to do it purchase a anti-virus for your phone or you can re-flash the software on it from a phone shop.

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Reviewer: Brent - Chicago, US
Date: 25th Aug 2007

Alright, the Sony Ericsson P990i is one of the best Symbian phones for me even though it's Symbian UIQ, but it's OK. You can choose 2 types, where in its in PDA form or just a simple Smartphone with flip, clear LCD & display, not bad at all, large screen, 2.0 MP, very crisp images, nice autofocus, I have no complaints on P990i, good organizer, memo's, calendars & so forth.

Good:
- 2.0 megapixel camera with autofocus & zoom.
- Large LCD display.
- Touchscreen.
- When the flip is removed, you can use the jog slide at the side panel of the phone.
- Shortcut for the Music player - play/stop.
- 3G.
- Camera protector.
- Shortcut key for keypad lock below the 'back' button.

Bad:
- It's like a Brick.
- Kind of heavy.
- Poor brightness when you use it in direct sunlight, even though its in 100%.
- Not that Slow firmware. Just below the average but not slow.

This review of mine is based on my experience. This is a great phone, Imaging capturing Smartphone. Due to the release of the 3.2MP P1i, I am sure P990i's price should drop down.

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Reviewer: Sean - UK
Date: 22nd Aug 2007

This is the best buy I have had & it does everything I need it to & more! I don't know what people are on about 'it hangs & crashes' mine don't? Anyway I wish people could stop giving it a hard time.

It takes ages to load because it's a mini computer! Windows XP & Vista take a while to load don't they? It's got to load all the cool features & the 3G.

The P910i didn't take long to load because it didn't have as many features! & it takes a while to load a program because it's got to load a lot of things, GIVE IT A BREAK!

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Reviewer: Mohammad - Iran
Date: 21st Aug 2007

It is the best phone for you. Its camera is very good & LCD is great.

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Reviewer: Robert Stokes - Calne, UK
Date: 30th Jul 2007

I upgraded to the P990i from the excellent P910i. Now wish I never had done - it crashes regularly, restarts itself when you answer calls etc. Done all of the firmware updates & now Sony have discontinued support for it bar the final firmware update in August.

Been a Sony Ericsson fan since my first mobile but this has dented my views. I am considering a P1 but don't want to get stuck all over again & also need to get out of my contract. Anyone recommend a good alternative to the P990i for a phone that does Internet & email well plus has a built in camera for those occasional pictures. P1? Nokia?

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Reviewer: Julius - London, UK
Date: 26th Jul 2007

This is the worst phone I have ever owned. The OS is abysmal, menus don't make sense, aren't intuitive, features that were easy in the P910 have either vanished or been hidden behind several sub-menus. It crashes once a day, can't take a picture & the PC suite drivers don't work properly. I have returned the phone to O2 & told Sony Ericsson what I think about this mess of a phone. If you liked the P910, you'll hate this phone.

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Reviewer: James Iruero - Nigeria
Date: 25th Jul 2007

I love the phone but does it have a GPS like Nokia N95? Can the memory card be upgraded up to 8 Gig as stated in the technical manual? Sometimes it hang when trying to fast switch it to operate in other files, can't there be improvement made by Sony Ericsson? Can it be used for TV as well?

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Reviewer: Michael - Corby, UK
Date: 9th Jul 2007

Had my phone for 7 months, it's about to go in for repair for the 2nd time. The 1st problem was the charging port was faulty, now the top row of keys on the number pad have stopped working. The only other problem has been the camera rarely manages to take a picture that is in focus, should have gone for the M600, I don't need a phone for taking pictures.

All the features are great, especially being able to watch movies on the train. Use mine most of the time, although bought a cheap 'tiny' phone for going out, had Sony dropped the second keypad with the tiniest of buttons they could have made a smaller phone.

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Reviewer: Anirudh Singh - Punjab, India
Date: 27th Jun 2007

What is the price of Sony Ericsson p990i please?

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Reviewer: Prem Sagar - Bangalore, India
Date: 24th Jun 2007

It is the most fantastic mobile ever seen by me. Each & every features are very useful for each working man.

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Reviewer: Bryon - Kettering, UK
Date: 7th Jun 2007

I changed from a P900 to the P990i & initially found it was a bit of a disappointment suffering numerous glitches but after upgrading the software it is behaving pretty well. I have also gotten use to the rather poor on board navigation. I must admit I only use it for the phone, text & very occasionally the radio. The camera is OK indoors but external use is pretty useless because of the poor contrast screen.

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Reviewer: Tom - Preston, UK
Date: 4th Jun 2007

Had the P990i phone 2 months after previously owning & using a P910i. It is certainly different. I updated the operating system immediately I received the new phone & have experienced NO freezes.

Following the excellent layout of the P910 the design of this phone has its faults. The Stylus is on the left rather than the logical position on the right. The jog dial should be easier to access as it is recessed too far & should have the 5 way function of the P910. To end a call the button to press should be the left button but is currently the right button. Just ergonomically poor design. It is a pity that you cannot listen to the radio & music without having to use ear phones. Also the battery is too small & needs re-charging a lot.

On the upside the phone build quality is good & the phone works excellently with very clear signal. The Wi-Fi WLAN is excellent as is the email facility. The camera is excellent & I love the business card recorded. As I get more used to it I think it is not as well designed as the P910 but an excellent phone for all that. I will continue to use.

I just hope that Sony Ericsson listen to the comments & make the small changes as this could be not just a good phone but an excellent phone.

Do not be put off by all the adverse reviews, try this phone.

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Reviewer: Keith Watson - Droitwich, UK
Date: 3rd Jun 2007

I've given up on this phone its total rubbish. You can't configure 'any key to answer' & if you touch any key other than answer it rejects the call which is a pain when trying to get the phone out of your pocket without touching any of the keys. The answer key is a rocker key that combines with the back function & when trying to answer a call you always seem to hit the back function button thus rejecting the call. Give this phone a miss it's badly designed & has bad software. It keeps freezing which sometimes discharges the battery or rebooting & switching itself off it's a nightmare.

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Reviewer: Ash Moj - London, UK
Date: 2nd Jun 2007

Guys I have just ordered one but you guys are scaring me. I had P800, P900 & now I am getting hold of this P990i. Hope it is better than P900.

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Reviewer: Alex Lee - Singapore
Date: 30th May 2007

Many features, many freezes, always having to restart. half the time have to turn off and restart just to divert calls. Brightness changes by itself. SLOW, so slow in every movement, change in interface. If in middle of input, call comes through then black out- restart again, but this must be the slowest phone to restart. Disappointed.

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Reviewer: Elliott Griffiths - Hawkinge, US
Date: 19th May 2007

Easy to use, I recommend for office use. Very big casing which is hard to fit in your pocket.

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Reviewer: Lozz - Manchester, UK
Date: 18th May 2007

I have a P990 with the latest software which works fine. Some interface glitches that detract from the usability big me, such as having to click through 3 times to read a message rather than just one 'view now' button. Great phone, but will be getting a Sony Ericsson P1 as soon as I possible can.

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Reviewer: Navid Amiri - Iran (Islamic Republic Of)
Date: 16th May 2007

I have had the P990i for nearly 4 months now. There were many crashes & system reboots, countless bugs & programming mistakes, but after upgrading the phone through Sony Ericsson upgrade program. I now have the BEST 2MP camera (many bugs fixed & sharper image). I now have a Walkman MP3 player which can play WMA & much more. I have a phone that I can play my MP4, WMV & AVI (through a software) movies on it with outstanding quality. I have a PDA with office & PDF programs & much more. NOT A SINGLE CRASH FOR 5 WEEKS NOW & my battery last 2 days with extensive use of camera & Wi-Fi. I think it's the best phone.

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Reviewer: Dharmendra - Dubai, India
Date: 12th May 2007

I recently purchased the K810i. It is really beautiful? I like it. But my mobile has been infected with a virus? Can anyone suggest me how to remove the virus from my mobile?

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Reviewer: Cheng San - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Date: 10th May 2007

Whether this is a great phone or not depends greatly on whether you update it or not.

Before the upgrade it is mostly an impractical phone hanging & crashing all the time.

After the upgrade it is pretty stable. Hasn't frozen on me yet but does close a program if you open far too many programs at a time.

Programs run at a decent speed too. Navigation is terribly initially but once you get used to it is alright. Features are a major+ point for the phone.

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Reviewer: Mick - London, UK
Date: 2nd May 2007

I jumped from the P900 straight to this model. VERY disappointed. I agree with previous reviewers that they seem to have given up on all the great features they had before. The 3-way jog wheel was inspired, now I have to bend my thumb down to try to find the back button. Can't customise the main page fully, seems to 'restart to improve performance' as & when it feels like it. I am now getting calls with the wrong contact info coming up. I don't get a call for half a day & then when I restart, all the voice messages come through from 6 ours ago. I was about to take it back as I thought it was my particular phone, but it seems that Sony Ericsson have just got it wrong. Very expensive paper weight.

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Reviewer: Marcel - UK
Date: 2nd May 2007

Freezes, rubbish. Don't get this phone. It is a brick & sticks out in your pocket.

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Reviewer: Andy - Sheffield, UK
Date: 30th Apr 2007

I didn't see a phone like P990I, always dead & restart. Sometimes you can get any call from others when the phone is still open. Very bad software & hardware, I just recommend guys don't buy this phone, don't get trouble for yourself.

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Reviewer: Spen - Barrow In Furness, UK
Date: 26th Apr 2007

After a while its just got worse & worse into were I am fed up to the back teeth of it. It's mainly been in its box while I use my n80 or n73.IT JUST STALLS RESETS & USUALLY YOU HAVE TO REMOVE BATTERY. Some one said earlier that s/e should have a disconnect battery switch onboard to save removing battery. All I can get for it at the mobiles to cash website is £59. Somehow I knew in my mind it was running far to fast for a Smartphone & it was probably because initially all memory was freed up by nothing being used yet a it was brand new.

Summary, big phone, big ideas, big features, big useless lump of lard, big on crashes/restarts, it would be BIG of Sony Ericsson to refund my money.

Maybe watchdog is the next step as they got round the LG 8120 saga or at least got it mentioned about the ridiculous '3' support line fiasco. I am curious to why others are OK with it & am inclined to think that they just bought it for phoning & txting BUT in real life these crashes etc cannot sustain a business as you can't spend all day getting the phone to do what its supposed to do you would have no business left.

If it was not for the cost & my saneness I would have smashed the piece of junk to pieces.

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Reviewer: Victor - Hong Kong
Date: 3rd Apr 2007

This phone is terrible. I had previously P900. This one now freezes all the time, I cannot answer SMS without being freezes out & restart.

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Reviewer: John Smith - UK
Date: 28th Mar 2007

The BEST PHONE BUY EVER.

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Reviewer: Raymond Axon - UK
Date: 26th Mar 2007

EXCELLANT, & RUNS TOMTOM 6 NAVIGATOR.

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Reviewer: Salahuddin - United Arab Emirates
Date: 26th Mar 2007

The camera is excellent. But the memory problem of the phone is irritating sometimes when you are in a call. I have been using this phone 4r the past 6 months & it was stuck for almost 30 times! I think it's a failure phone & Sony Ericsson should replace its software.

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Reviewer: Sava Ponco Mulyono - Jakarta, Indonesia
Date: 21st Mar 2007

I think p9901 is a great mobile phone because it's like pda & Smartphone. Just less TV tuner & camera 5 mp.

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Reviewer: Joe Bloggs - London, UK
Date: 18th Mar 2007

What a useless piece! I was an enthusiastic user of the P900 & P910. I was very pleased when I received a free upgrade to the P990. When I got it out of the box I could not believe it. The greatest feature of the earlier phones was the huge screen. This is now replaced by a smaller screen & a keyboard that is so small it is barely usable. The fantastic 3D jog wheel is now 2D. However what I cannot get over is the stupidity of moving the stylus from being kept on the right side of the phone to the left side. Ergonomically this is a disaster. Was this a gesture to our left handed brethren? So amazed was I at what Sony Ericsson had done I wrote to them to try & discover their thinking. This was their response

'One of the reasons why the stylus was placed on the left hand side is due to the fact that when the stylus is removed with your right hand, it is guarded by the palm so that it is likely to fall out when you are on the move.'

What!? I'll be selling mine unused on eBay.

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Reviewer: Steve Williamson - Plymouth, UK
Date: 15th Mar 2007

Having had the P900 I find this phone a lot harder to navigate in comparison, however, that being said this phone is a great for both business & personal use.

It will accept up to a 4GB Pro-Duo Memory stick (though comes with 64MB). The display is great inside, but like most phones it is very difficult to see the screen, even in poor light quality if outside.

Sony Ericsson would have had one of the best phones in the world if they had combined the easy to navigate icons from the P990 with the upgraded software & features of the P990i. In my opinion it would have also been beneficial if the light that eliminates the keys had been left blue (as it is on the P900) instead of the white of the P990i (though white may suit some people better).

One of the many great features of this phone is that it is so easy to put your memory card into your card reader (mine is via my HP Printer), & drag & drop MP3 music from Windows Media Player directly onto the Memory card. Then just put it back into the phone & off you go! High-resolution, great sound via speaker &/or headphones. Excellent RDS FM radio quality. I wouldn't be without this phone, well not until I get my hands on a Blackberry that is.

To lock the keys from accidental dialing etc, you just slide down a switch on the left hand side & its done, slide down again & its unlocked.

Navigation is difficult at first, but play around with this phone & you will reap the rewards. Personalise your caller's ringtone & their picture, its great. So much to do & a lot to learn but once you master it, this phone is brilliant. Great for the business man on the move. Good luck & enjoy it!

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Reviewer: Mark - Plymouth, UK
Date: 12th Mar 2007

I have a P990i on the Orange network, actually it's the second one in less than 3 months. Before I continue here I need to stress that I am a life long fan & user of all the 'P' series phones, but not this one. The P990i is a sub standard over hyped unusable piece of junk. Continual crashing, restarting & 'access denied/insufficient memory' warnings. Mine for instance will not allow me to access the calendar, just flashes 'busy' for 30 seconds then says 'insufficient memory' (66Mb on available on the phone & 960Mb on the card! ). Video camera is pathetic, with voice to video out of sync by almost 1 second, stills are OK though if it does not crash after the capture.

Rings as & when it feels like it, place it on your desk & call it 10 times, will probably ring 6 times if you're lucky.

Use of any application is painfully slow & frankly (like the rest of the phone) just irritating. Complain to Sony & they tell you over & over to reload the software (done it 76 times now) restart the phone to clear memory blocks (done around 15 to 20 times per day) & master re-set (achieves nothing).

Funnily enough I met a gentleman at a New Years Eve party, my phone rang (novelty) whilst talking to him. & after the call finished he listed all the definitely Orange & he told me its rubbish, simple as that.

So, should you buy one? Definitely, stress, irritate & at times depress you. I really wish I had kept my P910 now that was a brilliant phone, no doubt.

Best of luck to you all (if you have a P990 you will need it).

Marcus

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Reviewer: Magnum - Leicester, UK
Date: 11th Mar 2007

I REPLACED P910i hoping for improvement but to my total dismay the phones publicity was too exaggerated no wonder it took eight months to avail. Totally felt down with flared phone too much to fault it has to go back & be replaced with Nokia n95 I hope this stands to its publicity.

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Reviewer: Karthik - Chennai, India
Date: 27th Feb 2007

I brought this phone with lot of expectation, this phone as everything but you can't use. It gets restarted frequently.

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Reviewer: Bobby - London, UK
Date: 25th Feb 2007

Hi, already return 3 phones I would recommend don't buy this expensive piece of junk.

Its slow, crashes, battery is poor & I really think camera is rubbish too. Sony Ericsson p910i & w810i are better than this. I am still using p910i now & probably buy Nokia n95 in a day or 2.

This phone upset me cos I waited for like 14 months & it turned out to be worse. I won't recommend you to buy this shop around.

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Reviewer: Mike - Montreal, Canada
Date: 16th Feb 2007

I have to sat this phone is a good upgrade to the p910 & p900 having intimate knowledge of both I can safely say it is better, yet it still has bugs & restarts. Apparently the new firmware quells the problem but as it is it is great for MP3, video & taking notes & surfing the net, I really like it & if you update the software I think you guys will too.

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Reviewer: Peepo - Leeds, UK
Date: 14th Feb 2007

I have had this phone for 4 months & consider that an appropriate amount of time to ensure that this review is honest & subjective.

Initially I was disappointed because of the instability of the operating system, but the firmware updates (which you can easily do yourself) have sorted out most issues. My previous phone was a Windows Mobile 5 HTC Product (TyTN) where system updates were few & far between. At least the errors on the p990i have been identified & are actively updated.

The windows operating system is as flawed as its PC counterpart & the chance of multi tasking is limited - & I often experienced major slow down of the system. However with the UIQ operating system on the p990i there is true multitasking & switching between applications. - This alone is the reason to buy the P990i. The phone is slightly bigger than the TyTN but fits well into a trouser pocket without being too obtrusive.

The phones biggest asset is the features - there is almost everything you need in this phone to utilise as a proper business tool. I am absolutely thrilled with my phone & anyone who (like me) has tried a number of pda type phones & has always been disappointed then the p990i is truly worth a look.

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Reviewer: Shami - Canada
Date: 13th Feb 2007

Plz help I would like to no which phone to buy, Nokia N93i or P990i?

Plz Repley, Thnx

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Reviewer: Costas - Athens, Greece
Date: 7th Feb 2007

MOST EXCELLENT

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Reviewer: David Latimer - Dublin, Ireland
Date: 31st Jan 2007

This is the first PDA phone I have ever owned. It's chronic. It's not a business phone! It's an anti-business phone. Be prepared to accept system resets mid call & just about any time of the day. Trying to move through menus & using the scroll wheel ends up like operating with an astronaut's glove in thick trickle. Seriously how they released this product onto the market is beyond me. It barely works, & when I say barely that's it. Buy a notepad & a simple mobile phone. It will be a billion times better than this piece of 650 Euro rubbish. After 3 months I lost my temper with it yesterday & threw it in the sea just of the coast here in Dublin. I feel better already.

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Reviewer: Chris - Basel, Switzerland
Date: 25th Jan 2007

This Device is just Usability-Horror, at least compared to P900 & P910. Besides that Some Functions are very buggy. If you've got a P910, ore any Nokia E-Series Phone, my advice don't buy this rubbish.

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Reviewer: Paul - Warrington, UK
Date: 24th Jan 2007

In three weeks I have had THREE phones & TWO sim cards & even down loaded latest software from the website only to be told by Orange there are problems with the software. Simple things like the clock never keeping time to major issues like dropping calls all the time & the Bluetooth failing are constant problems. Not very reliable as a phone, camera OK though!

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Reviewer: Andrew - London, UK
Date: 20th Dec 2006

This was an eagerly awaited upgrade from the excellent p900, I just wish I had bought a Blackberry. What this phone needs most of all is a button to disconnect the battery to save you the trouble of taking the back off. (Something you have to do quite a lot) Even when it is working the performance is so sluggish that you wonder whether it has hung. Often it decides to restart 'to improve performance' just when you want to make a call. My advice is to avoid it like the plague. The only plus is that the PC Connect software is much faster than before.

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Reviewer: Roger Ellis - Chester, UK
Date: 4th Dec 2006

I have upgraded from a P910i. This new phone is very disappointing & inferior in everything but specification. It is slow, prone to regular crashes on all functions & liable to lock so that it has to be 'switched off' by removing battery. The interface is slower & less immediately intelligible. Today it stopped entering Orange World. This could not be cured by a succession of texts & talk-throughs with Orange technicians. I think it looks & feels cheaper than the 9910. The specification is great & I think unique but the firmware simply isn't ready. I am getting a replacement in case this is a rogue phone. I hope so but, judging by reviews on web, fear not.

Come on Sony Ericsson recall or update through firmware. Your silence in the face of incessant criticism is baffling.

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Reviewer: Steve - Newcastle, UK
Date: 30th Nov 2006

I waited ages for the phone to be released & sent it back after 4 days. It is so very slow & I think this is due to it trying to do so much. The qwerty keys are far too small & as such you make loads of spelling mistakes.

The battery life on mine was less than a day it would be 100% in the morning & by lunchtime be down to 50%.I think Sony have tried to hard to make this a pda/phone & as such have ignored the fact that it needs much more speed.

I dare say that this is a good phone if you need ALL the options but to be truthful if you want this as a phone first then don't bother get something else & if you want it as a pda then get a blackberry.

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Reviewer: Spen - Barrow In Furness, UK
Date: 29th Nov 2006

It has taken me a while to get used to but finding new bits all the time. I have just got my 4GB card & have 2.7GB of mp3s on it plus my favourite video clips. I am having no where near as many problems as others but yes it can stick I just regularly end tasks in the tasks manager. Next on my agenda 'I have just upgrade headphones to download a MP3 player with customisable equaliser as the p990i preset doesn't suit me. This is a super phone a properly managed & understood is an excellent effort & only can be enhanced by making it a sexier looking & reducing its footprint.

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Reviewer: Anom - UK
Date: 26th Nov 2006

Good mobile phone, a best buy.

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Reviewer: Herman Felix - Stevenage, UK
Date: 20th Nov 2006

I have been a 910i user now for awhile & was very excited when I was offered the 990i. It does have some more welcome features. But falls short with the camera which should be at least 4 to 5 mega pixels & can't be used as a SatNAV seeing that I do a lot of international travel. It is also not as simple to enter details in the contacts as the 910i. Battery staying power could be 2 hours more & then I would be a happier man.

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Reviewer: Jansq - Davao, Philippines
Date: 16th Nov 2006

I've been use p990i for 2 weeks & I think this a bad phone. For the camera. I think great but for the stability is really bad.

When I use Wi-Fi, my p990i was restart & after restart it's taking so long. The main idea is p990 is not ready for being a business mobile phone.

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Reviewer: Cheverlou - Philippines
Date: 30th Oct 2006

Good mobile phone, bye for now!

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Reviewer: JJ - Argentina
Date: 16th Sep 2006

The best mobile phone.

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Reviewer: Lee Jones - Birmingham, UK
Date: 12th Sep 2006

Well worth the wait, received by post this morning, nothing to complain about the phone or features, all new features & great sound quality...best ever phone, & I have had many, please buy you wont be disappointed.

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Reviewer: Nouf - London, UK
Date: 31st Aug 2006

I think it's a great phone. But I'm still in two minds whether I should get this or wait for the W850i, not same category, but sounds as fun.

To Ummar from UAE, the phone is out in the UK next week.

To someone else who mentioned O2, I can get the upgrade on O2, they will have the phone in stock on 11/09 & obviously will have all the setup that goes with it when it's released.

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Reviewer: Ray - UK
Date: 31st Aug 2006

Anybody know when it is going to be released in the UK & why are sony holding it back, what is wrong with phone?

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Reviewer: Allan Keston - Brixton, UK
Date: 28th Aug 2006

Sony Ericsson have now shot themselves in the foot, I have had one of these phones all over the weekend & gave it a thorough work out. Due to the phone being so late the 2MP is very good but not excellent, the Nokia N93's camera is different class, where the letdown is on the SE is when you print out the pictures on your home printer, if you are happy just to view the pics on the screen then the quality is very good. The same applies with video playback again this is very good, the best I have seen on a mobile but DVD quality it is not & I am sorry to mention it but the Nokia N93's video playback just blew me away. Sorry I know this is meant to be a review for the SE 990i.One great thing is the qwerty keyboard which lights up a luminous blue/green which is really great but the downside is that the screen on the 990i is only 2/3rd's of the size of the P900/910i which is a shame especially if you like your full page internet browsing. The thing which really sucks on the P990i is the overall phone which I am afraid feels quite cheap & nasty as it is all a bit plasticy (is that a word?) any it has a cheap feel to it for a £500 phone. At best I can give it a 6/10. Hope that helps

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Reviewer: Benedict - BSB, Brunei Darussalam
Date: 25th Aug 2006

This Phone is SO COOL!!!
Despite of its huge size & Heavy weight, It has everything in it, Mostly I should say.
Wee... I'm waiting for this phone to be sold out.
What a great phone it is! The Unfortunate things are it has no Megabass & not 3.2 MP phone... But still, it is the most outstanding pda like phone... WELL DONE Sony Ericsson! ;)

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Reviewer: Ummar - United Arab Emirates
Date: 24th Aug 2006

Anybody have an idea when it will available?

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Reviewer: Mike - UK
Date: 18th Aug 2006

Does not connect to the Internet & there's no support or settings for O2 at the moment with Sony Ericsson not even on the Sony Ericsson website.

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Reviewer: Andy Henry - Castries, Saint Lucia
Date: 9th Aug 2006

I love every thing about this phone & have been waiting awhile & since it won't be coming to the Caribbean any time soon, I'll have to get it unlocked & have it setup down here. GREAT WORK GUYS!!

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Reviewer: Dev - UK
Date: 2nd Aug 2006

This has just been painful.. the wait I mean. I have been waiting for its release for almost 4 months now. This phone is amazing, I have used sony ericson p series for 4 years now... Brilliant but wait is too long.. Anybody know when it is going to be released in the UK & why is it taking this long......?

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Reviewer: Julian - H.H., UK
Date: 1st Aug 2006

I have been eagerly awaiting this phone since getting a P910i 2 yrs ago, but I have a few reservations, yes it has a 2 mega pixel camera that I would like the 910s was awful & while I know from the K750i how good the camera is but its over a year old now, again SE are behind the competition, it should be a 3.2M at least for their flagship handset.

As for the wireless networking again it should be 802.11g, nut what level of security have they implemented? I personally won't expose anything less than WPA encryption on my wireless network, no where do they state this.

Then there are the already documented retrograde steps of simplifying the splendid jog/click/wheel for navigation & the loss of the headphone adaptor. I use my 910 as my MP3 player, I don't want to waste extra battery life by enabling Bluetooth when I don't need it for headphones.

Finally will it run my TomTom 5?

Other than that I defiantly want to get my hands on one to see if it is worth the upgrade cost!

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Reviewer: Sameer - Ahmedabad, Ireland
Date: 1st Aug 2006

IT'S JUST MIND BLOWING. ONE OF THE WORLDS BEST COMUNICATOS. JUST FANTASTIC.

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Reviewer: Neal Hohnke - Newcastle, Australia
Date: 31st Jul 2006

This looks like a great phone but have they missed the boat by holding it back for so long?

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Reviewer: Tillo - Llanaber, UK
Date: 31st Jul 2006

Just recieved mine. Its the nuts its cool it does everything & more. Buy one if you have the p900 like i had its a super phone. Bit big !

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Reviewer: Dan - London, UK
Date: 27th Jul 2006

SE have missed the market with this model & have been overtaken by other manufacturers. I will be swapping to either a Nokia N80 or 3g qtek.

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Reviewer: Mangesh Hotkar - Sholapur, India
Date: 24th May 2006

Hi SE. What a great phone you have made. Simply amassing... I always believe in SE. I just hate nokia, design is so nice, & features are mind blowing. But I m little bit disappoint with the keypad, but its okkkkkkk. All-around a great phone, im waiting for the release of this little smart baby in India. I m a p910i user & I just want to upgrade my p910i with these gadget as soon as possible. So please launch it sooooooooooooon, eagerly waiting...

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Reviewer: Juergen - Munich, Germany
Date: 14th May 2006

It's amazing how cell phone changed the past years. Right now I'm using a P900 & let's say, I'm happy with it, I like it but sometimes I'm thinking about to have this & that feature. And actually I'm sitting on fire when I look into the specifications of this cell phone. It's unbelievable..... Congratulations to the guys that are developing such things.

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Reviewer: Naz - Kota Bharu, Malaysia
Date: 29th Apr 2006

This phone has lots of functions, but it does not have Tv, Upnp or EDGE

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Reviewer: UK
Date: 31st Mar 2006

Simply Sensational

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Reviewer: Jim Lyons - UK
Date: 22nd Feb 2006

The P990i's look like the perfect business requirement, but the specification is extremely high & when the spec is high there is normally a few flaws in the technology. I will wait with bated breath & hope that it is as great as it promises. It could be a really great phone but I must try it for myself.

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Reviewer: Suzie Gasworth - London, UK
Date: 17th Feb 2006

Big Sony Ericsson fan & I am very interested to get this upgrade to the SE P910i. My partner has the P910i & it is a very powerful business tool which to be honest we could not run our business without. Our phones must be reliable, have great connectivity & basically be able to do it all without room for error or failure. 3G is a must, WLAN, document sending & receiving, video call features are all very attractive. This has it all & made by a reliable manufacture, love the Sony style & keys.

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Reviewer: Harvey - Newport, UK
Date: 15th Feb 2006

Size is too bulky & I wouldn't use half the features, aimed at the business users & looks pretty good for the briefcase phone users out there, would like to have a play with it but not the phone for me. Respect the overall design...

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Reviewer: Carla K - UK
Date: 9th Feb 2006

Super looking & size is fair considering what this phone has piled into it, there is not a feature missing from this darling. I expect it to be popular & even my kids would like one but that is not going to happen. Expensive phone but not when considering its potential, a working phone not a fashion accessory.



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