Sony Ericsson P990 review: A coveted smartphone

04 August 2006
Highly awaited as it is, Sony Ericsson P990 is going to be the flagship of the Sony Ericsson product line. Equipped with every possible current connectivity features, an autofocus 2 megapixel camera, a second video calls camera, a conventional keypad and a QWERTY keyboard, Memory Stick slot, FM radio with RDS, the latest Symbian 9.1 OS, and last, but not least with a large 2.76" TFT touchscreen with a QVGA (240x320 pixels) resolution it surely made the news for many impatiently waiting fans when it finally hit the market.

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • iA@
  • 06 Aug 2006

Looks like as brick. Nokia has offered all this ages ago.. not interested.

    • F
    • Florin
    • mAM
    • 06 Aug 2006

    Hello everybody !

    Does anyone knows if the P990 can be used also as a web cam ?

    Tks. !

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • 2@H
      • 05 Aug 2006

      I m new on this forum... Some names were not mentioned so I used the codes in my below post...

        • H
        • Harry
        • 2@H
        • 05 Aug 2006

        Dea mmnb, what do u mean??? Someone who has never owned a touchscreen or P-series should never even buy one??? Why so???

        There was a time I was not using a touchscreen phone and when the P800 came, it became my first touchscreen phone and since then I m using touchscreen phone...

        Its not at all an awful phone, thats why it has a flip so that atleast the basic phone featres can be carried out as with a normal phone... The whole P-series is fabulous except for few like u who have a different menatality... Basic stuff like sms or call are really easiy with this phone, qwerty keypad and flip remember...

        For yKN2, have u even read the whole review rather than the conclusion??? U think that even for calling u need both hands... Well first u got the flip, second read the line below taken from the review itself:
        "When the flip is opened or off though you should make use of the integrated phone application in order to dial a contact using the touchscreen display. The virtual keys are nicely set apart so that you can press the numbers with your thumb without any mistake even if you have large fingers."

        People use ur brains before posting a comment... The phone has great usability and 'basic phone features' can be carried out with one hand alone even with the flip open... Though previous P-series had better scroll wheel...

        mrFZ, come on, N80 should be turned on if u wanna use it... How r u gonna utilise its features when its battery would be over within few hrs...

        The phone was announced last year, but by now they should have reduced its size and the price should have been US $600-$700... I dont know the exact price though... Yeah a 'black color' too...

        One thing mentioned in the review, the loudspeaker is not impressive... Can anyone comment on this??? Is it because its a test version or the phone wont have good sound at all...

          • T
          • Tarantula
          • P9n
          • 05 Aug 2006

          Wich smartphone with touchscreen can be operated with one hand???? if you find one, please warn me because this will be a revolution. Why the flip with all buttons????
          Read the review before post useless things
          N80 compared to P990????????? maybe you are blind, maybe you are a st***d. How can you compare a poor phone with a business phone, starting in battery life, N80 are simply poor. Maybe 1MP more and WiFi g, but overally is a mediocre phone, buggy and very slow.

          E70, the most closest, but cant reach the feature set in software and reliability, starting with touchscreen.

          P990 is expensive, very expensive. It is the negative part

            • a
            • alec
            • Nxs
            • 04 Aug 2006

            One hopes that S-E will have learned from past mistakes and address vital issues on the P990.
            1. The option to set the alarm and switch the phone OFF and know that the alwarm will wake you.
            2.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • PVt
              • 04 Aug 2006

              sure a great smart phone.GOOD by Stupid,ugly nokia E .it is complete set for all users

                • T
                • Totalfixation
                • 4VX
                • 04 Aug 2006

                How come the reviews says there will be a P990A?

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • mrF
                  • 04 Aug 2006

                  Looks like a good phone but its not strong enough to make me drop my Treo. Two hands to make a call?...forget it. Why 802.11.b?...g is the standard. Its just a showoff phone, loads of features with low overall usability. No regrets choosing the N80 over this.

                    • M
                    • Muddrik
                    • PDT
                    • 04 Aug 2006

                    ASALAMALIKOM.i love this phone i waited much for this but i was forced 2 buy w900 but i happy with w900 but p990 has evey thing u need enge is no vital coz 3 g is more powerful. it has 2 mp auto focus camera,symbian beautiful desing and it has 30f/sec vidoe recording plzz keep in mind coz its wriiten on sony"s own site iofficial site.when this phone will be in my hands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • yKN
                      • 04 Aug 2006

                      The conclusion part of the review says it all.. I would never buy a phone that requires both hands to make a call.. And, frankly, I still find the looks horrible, the flip looks like a sad last minute add on that does not fit. Pricy, not convenient.. why bother?

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • MmR
                        • 04 Aug 2006

                        this phone is for all nokias series E!!!
                        whole P series is the best from P800 on!
                        i would buy it but i rather buy W950 beacuse has 4GB space for music:))

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • mmN
                          • 04 Aug 2006

                          Normal mobile phone users should not get this phone. It's for people who like showing off or need a PDA/phone and are used to the interface. It would be an awful first phone. Unless you know this is the right phone for you - don't buy it. The whole P-series are awful. This phones looks amazing and full of features but the novelty will wear off quickly. Basic stuff like making a call or texting is a hassle. The touchscreen may seem cool but trust me - buy a nice phone and decent PDA. Yes, there will be some people who find this phone amazing but for majority of people, this phone will frustrate you and although an improvement of the previous P-series - it should be avoided.

                          This phone may be jack of all trades but it's master of none.

                            • S
                            • SHaKeeL
                            • PGh
                            • 04 Aug 2006

                            Great that set is but they mentioned about autofocus thats not fine enough thats bad i was using K800 also with 2M camera but ita shutter was not working and what about that? otherwise that set is good but only missing Edge design is good features r good thats very nice set is

                            Love u SE

                              • b
                              • bong
                              • wY5
                              • 04 Aug 2006

                              wow! I never looked into the P-series or symbian in general, but this one has really got it all! im very impressed with the music player features, i was expecting everything that isn't a W*** to suck in the category.

                                • B
                                • BeK
                                • mLv
                                • 04 Aug 2006

                                Some information about SIP? Is it or not compatible?

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • 2@e
                                  • 04 Aug 2006

                                  hi,thanx gsmarena for such an in-depth review.
                                  wanted to know how much of a prob is it to use it in u.states wid 900 freq band.

                                    • a
                                    • artesea
                                    • Mx@
                                    • 04 Aug 2006

                                    Did you try
                                    Settings -> Phone Settings -> Setup Wizard
                                    to re calibrate the screen?

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • PFM
                                      • 04 Aug 2006

                                      very gd phone, but i dun need qwerty keyboard. if SE take it out and make it alot smaller and thinner, (and black color), I will make no second thought to buy it.

                                        • J
                                        • Joseph Mostarda
                                        • kec
                                        • 04 Aug 2006

                                        So this is the ultimate Sony Ericsson at the moment, eh? Sounds like a very impressive smart phone. Nice review. It was very in-depth.