mobiles: Sony Ericsson C905

The Sony Ericsson C905 is (as far as we know) the first 8.1 megapixel phone to hit Europe and the general world market, and it promises to bring a new round of the megapixel wars as other manufacturers try to catch up.

The camera is clearly the main selling point with the C905, but Sony Ericsson haven't skimped on other features. The C905 has GPS, WiFi, HSDPA high-speed data, stereo Bluetooth and an FM radio.

The display is a 2.4" 240 x 320 pixel panel, and tucked behind it is a slide-out numeric keypad. There's also a version of the Access Netfront web browser, push email support, instant messaging and of course a multimedia player.

Because it bears the Cyber-shot name, the Sony Ericsson C905 is obviously going to be very capable when it comes to digital imaging. Yes, the 8.1 megapixel sensor is the best in its class, but the C905 also has a bright Xenon flash, autofocus, face detection, red-eye reduction and an image stabilizer. The C905 also features Sony Ericsson multishot "BestPic" functionality and supports photo blogging.

The camera integrates with the inbuilt GPS to allow geotagging of photos. For video capture, the C905 again has an image stabilizer plus a video light, and an optional TV out cable (ITC-60) allows video clips to be played back on a standard television. There's no mention of the C905's video capture resolution and frame rate though. On top of that, there's a secondary video calling camera too. There's also a tripod kit (IPK-100) which is something we think may come in very useful.

The C905's GPS can be used with Google Maps or Wayfinder, but it's not clear what sort of satellite navigation options might be available as standard. As the C905 isn't a smartphone, then the GPS functionality might be a little limited.

Internal memory is 160MB, and the C905 comes with a 2GB Memory Stick Micro M2 card in the standard sales package. Talktime on 3G is up to 4 hours, with a maximum of 9 hours on GSM. Standby time is a maximum of 15 days, and the C905 also has a flight mode so that you can turn the cellular radio off completely.

It's certainly a nice phone, but there are a couple of drawbacks. The biggest one is the screen size - at just 2.4" the C905 doesn't compete well with the rival Nokia N95 8GB or upcoming N96. It would be nice to see a touchscreen, particularly when you consider the built-in GPS. The other issue we have is with the camera.. yes, 8.1 megapixels and all of those other clever features are

very nice to have, but we would have hoped to see a decent optical zoom - after all, Sharp were offering optical zoom on the Sharp 902 back in 2004.

Coming in at 136 grams, the Sony Ericsson C905 is hardly lightweight and is actually heavier than the Nokia N95 8GB and N96 despite having a much smaller screen. On the other hand, the C905 does have a pretty good battery life, so perhaps that accounts for some of the increase in mass.
Despite some quibbles, the C905 looks to be a very good camera phone. Sony Ericsson say that the C905 will be out sometime during the early fourth quarter of this year in Night Black, Ice Silver and Copper Gold colour schemes.

The c905 wants to be a digital camera than a phone. At 8.1 megapixels, this camera phone has a Xenon flash, face detection and image stabilization.

So far this is the only camera with the highest MP in tow (only one beyond the 5MP range). It’s got more camera photo and video features than phone features.

With all that MP we’re talking about, the C905 Cyber-shot comes in with a 2GB Memory Stick Micro (M2). The screen is 2.4” scratch-resistant mineral glass display. You can send your photos wirelessly from your phone to the TV via Wi-Fi (using DLN

A), or connect with wires using the TV-Out Cable ITC-60.