Sony Ericsson G502 preview: First look

2 megapixel camera not much of a boast

Sony Ericsson G502 has a 2 megapixel camera with no autofocus, nor flash. The user interface is Cyber-shot SE v2.0, which earns the otherwise mediocre camera a point. The major benefits are the pop-up sub-menus enhanced with icons and the large number of configurable settings.

The camera interface uses the toolbar layout, which is our favorite. Accessibility is quite good, with the more important settings conveniently placed. The Settings multi-menu has pretty much standard digicam looks.

Sony Ericsson G502 camera user interface

All the camera settings are displayed in two menu columns: the left displays the features and the right shows which setting is in use. Some of the available options on the menu are: Picture Quality, Review, Save to, Shutter sound and Reset counter. Unluckily, the BestPic feature is not present here.

The picture quality of the camera is not much of a brag. It will do the job for very basic imaging and that is exactly where its capabilities end. Its fixed focus makes taking photos of closely situated objects impossible. In addition there is very little detail on most of the pictures, leaving the comparatively precise colors one of the few positive things about the images taken with Sony Ericsson G502.

Sony Ericsson G502 camera samples

The videos taken with Sony Ericsson G502 are in QVGA resolution at 15fps. Not worth much comment. Captured videos turning out usable will surely be a rarity. On the other hand, like with the still camera, the video interface is nice and user-friendly.

Web browser is the highlight

Pitched as an internet device, we were keen to check out the Sony Ericsson G502 web browser. As it turns out, it uses the rather common Access NetFront HTML browser, this time it's the latest 3.4 version. The main improvement here is the integrated virtual mouse pointer, the webpage map view, the "find on page" and "mark and copy" options.

In fact, we have seen this version of the NetFront web browser in action in some Samsung handsets but we do like it better on the Sony Ericsson G502. In all fairness, Sony Ericsson K660 was even better with its handy keypad shortcuts but the difference isn't that great.

Sony Ericsson G502 web browser in action

Sony Ericsson G502 has a rather quick web browser, even content-heavy pages load with no significant lags. Panning and scrolling was quick and smooth, which can't be easily said for the Samsung devices. The speed of panning and the efficiency of the web page mini-map, controlled by the Zoom shortcut key on the keypad, are comparable to the best browsing devices out there.

All in all, we are more than happy with the browsing experience the Sony Ericsson G502 delivered so far. We are to check in the full review if it will stand the test of longer use.

First impressions

A slightly less feature-loaded alternative of K660, Sony Ericsson G502 has some good chances of turning into a market success. It manages an excellent performance with nice and snappy interface and a decent set of features.

Though there is little chance that you will instantly fall in love with the G502, it has nice looks and commendable ergonomics, and the user-friendliness to back those up.

Those are all however just our first impressions after a very short time spent with the handset. We are yet to make one of our detailed reviews before we are ready with the verdict. Stay tuned in the weeks to follow, so you have the rest of your questions about Sony Ericsson G502 answered.