Sony Ericsson C905 Plus

Quality control issues?

I had thought about getting one of these but I've read bad things about the phone not working properly, breaking after a couple of months etc. (just google "c905 problems")

Anyone know if these issues have been ironed out?

@AC (the one at 11.34GMT)

The problems which affected the original C905 were with the earpiece (not the headphone one, but the one you normally listen through when using the phone) becoming disconnected after a period of time, so the only way to hear a conversation was through either a handsfree of some sort or via the loudspeaker. I believe the main change with the "plus" edition was to fix this problems - all of the other features came out in a software update earlier this year.

For the record I have an original C905 (as does my girlfriend) and it's been great - no problems at all with either of them - so I think the problems may have been with a particular batch.

Sony sells a headphone adapter for it...

Sony does sell an adapter cable that enables you to connect standard 3.5 mm mini-phone plug headphones to the C905 headphone socket: I have one, they're about ten bucks.

This enables you to use any headphones you like. It also provides an "answer" button and external microphone for phone calls, and functions as the antenna for the radio.

I use it with noise-canceling headphones on long-haul flights. Ask for it at your nearest Sony shop, or you can get after-market copies online. Cheers

Has SE lost its way?

My girlfriend got a K750i as an upgrade yonks ago. I found it to be a little chunky. But I got a K770i as soon as it came out. Very happy with it, but after finishing my 18 month contract I was loking around for a replacement/upgrade.

The C905 looks like a nice phone that's quite adept at taking photos. But the price it's going for is just far too much for what it is in today's market.

Yes, it's got a better camera (esp. the flash) but the K770i's camera is a 3.2MP job that was far from naff. The only major functional improvement is the iPlayer support. OK, there's GPS. Big wow. Google maps on the K770i is decent.

The C905 is just not enough of an upgrade from the K770i for me to consider paying out nearly 50% more each month than I was before (i.e. £30ish instead of £22). And it's a slider.

I tried out the HTC Magic/G2. But I wasn't blown away and I don't like the idea of my phone being so fragile that it's borked if the screen gets damaged by a keyscratch etc.

So the call of Nokia was too strong to ignore. The E71 can be had for £20 per month. So now I'm paying less than I was before for a phone that is oh-so-much-more. The reviews uniformly pick out the 3.2MP camera as it's weak point. But while it's not as slick to use as the K770i, the results are just as good. And the K770i has been absolutely fine for snaps. Yeah, the C905 has a slightly better flash, but's not a match for even an average digicam. And if I wanted pics that were any better than phone snaps, I'd buy a DSLR and do the job properly. In all other departments, the E71 trounces the SE range.

Going from a K770i to any other SE model would be like going from a Spectrum +2A to a +3.

Going from a K770i to an E71 is like going from a Spectrum to a full fledged PC.

Why did I ever leave you, Nokia? Can you forgive me? And that's not just me. My GF was sold on the E71 and got one too.

So in answer to my title, judging by SE's faltering market share, the fact that SE haven't made any significant strides in two years or more, and my own personal experience, I'd say yes, SE has lost it's way.

No stand out dirt cheap models to compete with the Nokia 1100s of this world. No stand out trailblazing models a la iPhone/N95. No style icons like the RAZR. No business focus as per the Blackberries.

Just a seeminly endless stream of minor adjustments to a bloated line-up of (admittedly decent) mid-range phones.

Also, El Reg:

As has been pointed out, a hands free adaptor can be had for a small price, and a straight headphone only adaptor can be had for less than £3 (delivered) from eBay.

We get the point, but the inconvenience and cost of memory stick incompatibilities far outweights that of the headphone issue.

So why do you not mention that SE has taken the backwards step of accepting only Sony's M2 cards as opposed to also accepting MicroSD like it did with the K850i.

Regardless, both gripes come across as yet more evidence of Sony's grasping proprietary side coming through. While the 2.5mm jacks on Nokias cannot be completely excused, slimness of the E71 handset is a plausible excuse (especially as the chunkier E63 does have a 3.5mm socket).

Speaking of which:

I can understand why the EEE PC 901 got displaced by lesser scoring netbooks in the top 5 on the right hand column of this page. It's effectively a discontinued and superseded model.

But how come the Nokia E71(90%) doesn't place above the 85% rated HTC Magic and SE C905 phones? It's less than a year old, is still a leading model in it's range, it's widely available in the shops and selling very well.

On top of that, surely the C905 Plus supersedes the C905, and so to have both in your top 5 is a little OTT.

I mostly like the slant of El Reg reviews in the way they don't get too bogged down with reams of tech specs, but your relative scoring and ranking system is very often, just plain odd.