Sony Ericsson R306i Review : Best buys for Sony Ericsson Phones UK : Sony Ericsson R306i Reviews

Sony Ericsson R306i Overview

Expected UK Release Date: Available

Key Features
FM & AM Radio with Radio Keys
Horizontal Radio Design
TrackID™ Music Recognition
External Mono Display (96 x 32 Pixels)
Bluetooth® Technology
5 Mbytes Memory
1.3 Megapixel Camera

Design

90%

Usability

95%

Features

90%

The above ratings are average figures, which have been generated from submitted mobile phone reviews.

Sony Ericsson R306i Review

The Sony Ericsson R306i is a radio & music focused mobile phone which comes in a slim & sleek clamshell casing. The casing is available in two colours which are coffee black & champagne white. The coffee black coloured casing comes with a mainly black coloured body with a subtle coffee colour on the external mono display & highlighting the external radio controls. The champagne white colour option comes with a white coloured body which sophisticated champagne colour highlighting the radio controls & external display. The R306i is a small & compact mobile phone which measures only 16mm deep which is slim for a clamshell handset & the height of the phone is 90mm with a width of 48mm which feels good to hold in the user's single hand. The Sony Ericsson R306i is also known as the Sony Ericsson R306i radio mobile phone or the Sony Ericsson R306 Radio. This beautiful radio focused phone is a member of the Sony Ericsson R series which includes the Sony Ericsson R300i which another radio featured mobile handset.

This radio orientated handset can be placed on the user's desk or table in the horizontal position which looks like a radio & works like a table top radio with its stereo speakers. The exterior appearance of the R306i is extremely unique to this phone & will certainly catch everybody's eye. The Sony Ericsson R306i comes with an external display which allows the user to view their radio information easily when their handset is closed to look like a stunning portable radio rather than a mobile phone. The external screen is a mono screen which comes with a 96 pixel by 32 pixel screen resolution. The user can access their FM & AM radio feature when the Sony Ericsson R306i is in its closed position as the phone comes with easy to access radio keys. The user can enjoy hearing their favourite radio station out loud over the phones stereo speakers. A built in alarm feature complete with radio alert allows the user to wake up each morning hearing a FM or AM radio station out loud. The user can use the alarm feature to remind the user of a meeting, important event & much more. The Sony Ericsson R306i supports MP3, AAC & polyphonic ringing tones. A built in TrackID™ music recognition feature allows the user to record a few seconds of a song that the user likes the sound of when the user doesn't know the name of the song & the TrackID™ feature will provide the user with the name of the song, the artist & the album which the song is on, all in a few seconds. The TrackID™ music recognition feature is powered by Gracenote mobile MusicID™.

Sony Ericsson R306i Mobile Phone Front View

Sony Ericsson R306i Mobile Phone Back View

Sony Ericsson R306i Mobile Phone Side View

This stunning handset comes two displays which provide the user with their radio information externally & their phone menu options & pictures on the 1.9 Inch internal display. The internal screen has a screen resolution of 128 pixels by 160 pixels & can display up to sixty five thousand colours on this well proportioned screen. The user can enjoy viewing & changing their colourful wallpapers which can display animation & personal pictures. This internal screen works as a viewfinder for the built in camera feature. The camera is a 1.3 megapixel digital camera which comes with dedicated camera menus which allows the user to view, store, edit, delete & share their pictures on their Sony Ericsson R306i. The camera comes complete with video capabilities which allow the user to record & playback video as well as enjoying video clips on their R306i radio phone.

The Sony Ericsson R306i has a WAP browser which is accessible from the phones menu system & is a XHTML browser which allows the user to access their preferred sites when they are away from their personal computer. The built in messaging services allow the user to stay in contact with other compatible contacts & contacts with an email address as the Sony Ericsson R306i supports MMS picture messaging & SMS text message with a long messaging feature. The user can send a MMS picture message to any contact that has MMS messaging in their mobile phone or to an email address, which is a great way to share pictures with others to brighten up their day.

The R306i comes with five Mbytes of built in memory which allows the user to store their contact details, messages & pictures on their mobile phone. The user can gain up to nine hours of talk time from a full charged battery which is dependent on the features being used or approximately four hundred & ten hours of standby time. The Bluetooth® technology provides the user with a wireless connectivity option on their Sony Ericsson R306i which allows the user to connect their sleek handset to other Bluetooth® compatible devices without the use of wires. A USB port allows the user to connect their phone to other devices using a USB cabled connection when a Bluetooth® connection is not an option. The Sony Ericsson R306i comes with a time features which include a stop clock, timer & of course the radio alarm feature will are all useful time features for the music loving user on the move.

Sony Ericsson R306i Specifications & Features

Screen
Internal 1.9 Inch 65k TFT Colour Screen (128 x 160 Pixels)
External Mono Display (96 x 32 Pixels)

Imaging
1.3 Megapixel Camera
Viewfinder Display
Dedicated Camera Menus
Video Record
Video Playback
Video Clip
Picture Wallpaper
Wallpaper Animation

Messaging
SMS (Text Messaging)
MMS (Multimedia Messaging)
SMS Long
Predictive Text Input
Sound Recorder

Sound
FM & AM Radio
Radio Keys
Horizontal Radio Design
Radio Alarm
Stereo Speakers
TrackID™
Polyphonic Ringtones
MP3 & AAC Music Tones

Entertainment
Java™ Games
Downloadable Games

Organiser
Phone Book
Alarm Clock with Radio
Calculator
Notes
Stopwatch
Tasks
Timer
Speakerphone
Vibrating Alert

Connectivity
Bluetooth®
USB

Network
Tri Band (GSM 900, GSM 1800 & GSM 1900)

Internet
WAP 2.0 XHTML

Memory & Talk Time
5 Mbytes Memory
9 Hours Talk Time
410 Hours Standby

Weight & Size
93 g
90 x 48 x 16 mm

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Your Sony Ericsson R306i Reviews

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Reviewer: Raghav - Dinanagar, India
Date: 28th Sep 2008

It is beautiful mobile & has many features but it has less memory & look like a pocket radio.

Design

90%

Usability

90%

Features

90%

Reviewer: Michael Anthony - Harrogate, UK
Date: 11th Feb 2008

I got this phone off eBay before it was launched & it is the best Sony Ericsson I have had by far. The little buttons you can see on the outside are actually dedicated radio keys.

Design

90%

Usability

100%

Features

90%

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